Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Trump, Biden Look Ahead To General Election In November; Nikki Haley Refuses To Step Aside As SC Primary Looms; Multiple Countries Suspend Aid For UNRWA After Allegations Of Workers Involved In Oct. 7 Attacks; Hamas Tunnels Still Pose A Challenge For Israel Forces; Ukrainians Short Of Ammo As Russia Tries To Push Ahead; Experimental Gene Treatment Allows Deaf Boy To Hear. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired January 28, 2024 - 05:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:00:35]

ANNA COREN, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Anna Coren, live from Hong Kong. Ahead on CNN Newsroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Joe Biden is a threat to democracy.

JOE BIDEN, (D) U.S. PRESIDENT: Donald Trump is a loser.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: There was no shortage of barbs as Donald Trump and Joe Biden campaigned on separate ends of the country, previewing what just may become a rematch of their 2020 race.

Disturbing allegations against some U.N. staff members have led a growing number of countries to suspend critical aid to Gaza. We'll speak to one Israeli official about what they say about the 12 staffers implicated.

Plus, a young boy born deaf can now hear for the first time after a life-changing procedure. Our gene therapy treatment gave one child a new lease on life.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden are treating this weekend as the opening salvo for the 2024 general election. Both men are visiting states they'll be sure to win in February's nomination contests. While current President Biden is in South Carolina, former President Trump is in Nevada.

At a Las Vegas rally, Trump had strong words for his successor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Joe Biden is a threat to democracy. He is, for a lot of reasons, number one, he's incompetent. That's a threat to democracy. You know, incompetence is a gross threat to democracy. What Joe Biden is doing is a crime against our nation. It's an absolute betrayal of our country, and it's an atrocity against our Constitution. Nobody's ever seen anything like it. Crooked Joe will not get away with these crimes. He will be tried at the ballot box in November.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: the leading Republican presidential candidate continued to stoke fears over immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: There's a 100% chance that there will be a major terrorist attack in the United States, or many attacks, maybe. And it's all because of what's happened over the last three years. When I'm President, instead of trying to send Texas a restraining order, I will send them reinforcements.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Trump broadly called migrants, criminals and rapists, and he said he opposed a bipartisan immigration deal currently in the Senate.

Well, meantime, U.S. President Joe Biden is vowing to put tougher immigration measures in place as he tries to counter Trump's attacks. He's also working to energize black voters, a group that helped him win the White House in 2020.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: And you're the reason Donald Trump is a defeated former president.

(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: You're the reason Donald Trump is a loser. And you're the reason we're going to win and beat him again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Well, CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is traveling with the President and has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Joe Biden drew a sharp contrast from former President Donald Trump here in South Carolina on Saturday. In what was a preview of his general election arguments, casting the former president as, quote, "defeated and a loser."

President Biden also making the case that Trump is only thinking about himself and not the country, saying, quote, "what's good for America is bad for him politically."

But the president also spent time making connections with what his administration has done on a range of issues to what communities are seeing on a day-to-day basis, be it investments in HBCUs, driving down insulin costs, and also student loan debt relief, which earned applause in the audience.

But notably, the President also weighing in on border security and putting his support behind a border deal that Senate negotiators have been working on for weeks, saying that if given the authority, he would shut down the border and do it quickly.

BIDEN: That bill with the law today, I'd shut down the border right now and fix it quickly. A bipartisan bill would be good for American health, fix our broken immigration system.

ALVAREZ: Now, as he has faced in other remarks in the last few days and weeks, there were also protesters in the audience calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. They were escorted out and President Biden did not engaged with them, but it was yet another example of the fractures within the coalition that the President is having to navigate.

[05:05:07]

But the bottom line here, was that he needs South Carolina to state that he has credited for turning the tide in 2020. And it is one that's going to have its primary next week. It'll be the first after the Democratic National Committee overhauled the schedule with President Biden's support, the president reflecting on that.

And while this is not a competitive primary, it will be a test of his standing with black voters, a key constituency, to clinch that win in November. Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, South Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Also in South Carolina is Nikki Haley, who's mounting a month- long stand against Donald Trump before the Republican primary there on February 24th. Haley's attacks on Trump have escalated recently after she largely avoided conflict with the former president for nearly a year.

Her campaign is getting a boost by Trump's legal battles and heavy investments from political networks linked to people like billionaire Charles Koch. She's facing an uphill battle, but the former South Carolina Governor is refusing to step aside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Only two states have voted. There are 48 more that have to vote.

(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)

HALEY: No matter what Donald Trump thinks, he can't bully his way to the White House. It's not going to work.

(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)

HALEY: And after he did that, we raised another $1.4 million.

(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)

HALEY: So Donald, keep them coming, because it's great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: joining me now from London is Jonathan Freedland, he's a Columnist with "The Guardian" and host of the paper's Politics Weekly America podcast.

Great to have you with us. We'll get to Nikki Haley, but it feels like we're getting a glimpse of what could very well be the

Biden versus Trump matchup. Biden in South Carolina showing that he's ready to use name calling as a tactic if it is a smart move, you know, rolling around in the mud, or is he watching the likes of Haley and other Republicans going too soft on Trump and perhaps paying the price?

JONATHAN FREEDLAND, GUARDIAN COLUMNIST: I think it's probably important for Joe Biden to see that he can be tough with Donald Trump, that they can go, that he can go, you know, head-to-head with him, partly because part of Donald Trump's campaign is to say that Joe Biden is past it, that he's too weak, too old, and how it lacks bigger, and so in some ways it helps.

It's partly also just because this is going to be a long, general election campaign, despite what Nikki Haley's doing and staying in. And by the way, that helps Joe Biden because she's a Republican attacking the Republican likely nominees, so that helps the Democrat.

Despite her being there, it is now essentially a general election contest and he has to go after Donald Trump and do it in some ways harshly because the Republicans really until now with Nikki Haley were wary of pointing out these obvious flaws in Donald Trump's candidacy and in a way it falls to Biden to do it.

COREN: Jonathan, Biden is looking at some pretty low poll numbers. It doesn't seem like he's getting much credit for any improvement in the economy, even though we're getting this news that the U.S. is obviously growing. Is this a messaging problem or, people just not seeing the benefits of Bidenomics?

FREEDLAND: It's partly a messenger problem. I mean, I think the message actually could be effective. The problem is really in some ways, him. That polling does show that huge numbers of Americans, majorities -- even majorities among Democrats, do worry that he is too old to serve a second term, which would end with him being in the Oval Office age 86. That is a big, almost fundamental problem.

Nevertheless, those numbers, as you say, are rising of economic growth, of consumer confidence, inflation is going down. He just has to hope that that feeds through in the 10 months, and that can be a long time in politics, between now and November.

And he does enjoy some structural advantages. I mean, one is actually embodied by Nikki Haley, which is that she -- he, Donald Trump, is hugely popular, obviously, among Republicans. But to win a general election, you have to win people beyond your party, and you particularly have to win independent or swing voters. And those are the people who were fueling, for example, Nikki Haley's campaign, which I saw in-person in New Hampshire, they were moving to her, and those voters, 25% of them are sort of -- or more than that, were -- are adamantly against Donald Trump 25% -- are adamantly against Donald Trump.

[05:10:07]

And those are the people who Joe Biden has to be targeting. And he can do that partly because no matter how flawed he is, what those voters are telling people in exit polls, and in their votes, voting for Nikki Haley, is that they really cannot stomach Donald Trump. I mean, he does not, in their view, get any lesser polling. And you can see the longer Nikki Haley continues to run and provoke Donald Trump, the more he comes up with these insults and these, you know, these aggressive rhetoric, which turns off those independent voters, suburban voters, often women. Those people are people who, even with all their misgivings about Joe Biden, will in the end go for anybody but Trump. And so that's what he has to hope solidifies over these next 10 months.

COREN: Well, let's speak about Nikki Haley because she's staying in the race. She says she's not going anywhere. Does she have a path to victory, as slim as it might be?

FREEDLAND: I mean, it is vanishingly slim. It would require an upset for the ages for her to turn this around, partly because she's now on, despite being in her home state, it's relatively hostile territory for her. All of the party big weeks in her state have lined up with Donald Trump.

It's not the state, politically, that it was when it made her governor in 2010. Instead, it's become very, you know, MAGA, very Make America Great Again, very Trumpian. And that makes it so hard for her.

The other states that follow, there's not many that are congenial for her. Bottom line is Donald Trump is popular among Republicans, and that's pretty handy if you're trying to win the Republican nomination.

Nevertheless, the longer she stays in, it is significant because there will be some of those dissenting Republicans. That's where the 25% figure I referred to before refers to in New Hampshire. There was that sort of number. That's a big number of dissident Republicans who do not like Trump. And those people can rally to her again, when independence can vote, they help her. And every day she stays in, it's good news for Joe Biden because it means the Republicans are fighting each other rather than fighting him.

And because, as I mentioned, it provokes Donald Trump to get angry. He does not like anybody, but particularly, Trump record suggests women standing up to him and not falling into line. We see that in the E. Jean Carroll case, that huge $83 million sum that he has been -- that he has to pay out to her for defaming her, the advice columnist.

That, and Nikki Haley, it all keeps in the mind of many of those suburban swing voters, the sum of those personality traits they do not like about Donald Trump. And when, you know, Donald -- Joe Biden always says, don't compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative.

Until now, people couldn't see clearly that alternative. The alternative is Donald Trump, and he has to hope that somehow, in that comparison, he comes with all his flaws, he comes out the best. So that's why the Niki Haley candidacy may not win. I think it's almost certainly will not win, but it has a huge impact on the 2024 race.

COREN: Jonathan Freedland, fascinating getting your insights. Many thanks for your time.

FREEDLAND: Good to be with you.

COREN: Well, the head of the U.N. agency helping -- I beg your pardon, Palestinians in Gaza, says the group might have to end operations there. These nine countries paused funding for the U.N. relief and works agency also known as UNRWA. After accusations by Israel that a handful of UNRWA workers were involved in the October 7th attack.

Well, now the U.N. Secretary General is weighing in saying the abhorrent alleged acts of these staff members must have consequences. But the tens of thousands of men and women who work for UNRWA should not be penalized. The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met.

Well, the need for aid is painfully clear in Khan Younis' hospitals. According to the Hamas' controlled Ministry of Health, the NASA medical complex is running out of anesthesia drugs, other medications and blood for transfusions, a shortage that the ministry spokesman calls severe and dangerous.

Well, Doctors Without Borders says the hospital's vital medical services have collapsed. The Palestine Red Crescent Society warns that oxygen supplies at Al Amal Hospital have been depleted and medical teams are unable to perform surgeries.

Heavy fighting continues today for the seventh day near both hospitals. The Israel Defense Forces said again today it is carrying out what they call precise operations against Hamas in Khan Younis. Palestinian officials say in reality the hospitals themselves are under siege.

[05:15:08]

CNN's Paula Hancocks is live for us in Abu Dhabi with more on the UNRWA controversy and the need for aid in Gaza.

Paula, let's start with UNRWA. It's a lifeline for Palestinians in Gaza. What happens if the agency stops operating? PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anna, it's the biggest

provider of humanitarian aid in Gaza. And if it were to cease operations, it is not the case that another group could then take its place. It does have infrastructure within the Gaza Strip itself.

And we've heard from U.N. officials right up to the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres asking countries which have pulled their funding temporarily to reconsider the Secretary General saying that some two million people rely heavily, especially at the moment with such a dire situation in Gaza, on this aid, also pointing out that they only have funding through to next month and not even until the end of next month. So there could be catastrophic consequences if that aid were to end.

And now we heard from the UNRWA Chief Philippe Lazzarini, he has called the decision to pull the aid and the funding shocking by some of these countries. He released a statement saying, quote, "It would be immensely irresponsible to sanction an agency and an entire community it serves because of allegations of criminal acts against some individuals, especially at the time of war, displacement and political crises in the region."

Now, there are other countries, for example, Norway and Ireland, who have decided not to pull their funding. They have said they understand the need for it and also have put their trust in the United Nations to be able to investigate what has happened. We've heard from UNRWA and also from the Secretary General that nine individuals have been immediately terminated. One has already been killed during the hostilities in Gaza and two more, they are clarifying that information. Anna?

COREN: Paula Hancocks from Abu Dhabi. Many thanks.

Well, coming up a little later in the program, I'll speak with a foreign policy advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Neshanyahu about the UNRWA allegations.

Meantime, as the war between Israel and Hamas in the years four months, Israel Defense Forces estimate that only 60% of the tunnels built by Hamas under Gaza have been found so far. But as CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports, that's just one of the challenges facing Israel as they work to drive out militants and find the remaining hostages.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MASTER SERGEANT OMRI ERENTAL (RES.), ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: The bullet went in the cheek, got inside my jaw, and took a piece of my jaw under a corner and went down over here to my neck and stayed there.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Master Sergeant Omri Erental is lucky to be alive.

ERENTAL: That's the bullet here.

DIAMOND: Kneeling on the edge of this tunnel shaft, he says he was shot by a Hamas militant hidden inside. A ricochet off the tunnel wall likely saving his life.

ERENTAL: When I turned my flashlight on I saw a gun light like flash -- yeah, a gun flash. And then I felt like 5 kilos hammer that was inside hot lava just like punched into my face.

DIAMOND: As he crawled away from the tunnel shaft, the soldiers in his combat engineering unit killed the gunman. But his brush with death speaks to the enormous challenge Hamas tunnels still present to the Israeli military after three months of war.

BRIG. GEN. NITZAN NURIEL (RES.), ISRAEL DEFENCE FORCES: There is the upper Gaza and lower Gaza. There is upper Khan Younis and lower Khan Younis. It's a very tough mission.

DIAMOND: General Nitzan Nuriel, a former member of Israel's national security council, estimates that Israel has only discovered about 60% of the hundreds of miles of tunnels below Gaza.

NURIEL: We blew up something like 20%, so a lot of work ahead of us. It's not something that can be finished within a few weeks. It's a question of months.

DIAMOND: Exposing and destroying these tunnels has been central to Israel's mission in Gaza where it has dropped enormous bunker busting bombs that penetrate deep underground leaving enormous craters and often causing heavy civilian casualties.

But there is also concern for Israeli hostages held underground.

NURIEL: We cannot just blew up all those tunnels assuming that -- that hostages aren't there, at least 50% of them. So we have to do it slowly, slowly.

[05:20:13]

DIAMOND: That means sending troops deep into booby trapped tunnels where Hamas fighters could be laying in wait before rigging and detonating them.

In the meantime, many Hamas fighters are surviving in sophisticated tunnels equipped with electricity, bathrooms and stocks of food and water. But for how much longer?

NURIEL: How long they can stay there it's a good question. Not for good. They will not be able to survive there because of all those conditions for, let's say, more than two more months.

DIAMOND: For now, at least, that means the battle rages on, both above and below the surface.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Jeremy Diamond reporting there. Well, Russia launches a widespread offensive in Ukraine, but the big guns on the defender's side are often silent. Ahead, we'll explain why it's not by choice. And Paris is entering the final stretch of construction ahead of this

summer's summer, this year's summer Olympics, I should say, the impact it's having on residents when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:25:20]

COREN: Ukraine's security service says it has uncovered a major embezzlement scheme involving the purchase of military equipment. Officials say Ukraine set aside $40 million to buy mortar ammunition from a private company in 2022, but the ammunition was never received while some of the money was transferred abroad.

Officials say five people have been indicted and they're facing up to 12 years behind bars. One suspect was detained while trying to leave the country, while investigators are still working to find the others.

Ukraine is forced to play defense as it approaches the second anniversary of its war with Russia. That's partly because a lot of the Western military aid it needs is stalled by internal politics, political disputes in the U.S. and the E.U. As Frederik Pleitgen reports, Ukrainians are running short of ammunition, just as Russia's military machine goes into overdrive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Artillery is key as Ukrainian forces try to hold off massive Russian assaults on the eastern front, but Kyiv's ammo shortages are getting worse by the day.

This U.S.-provided M109 Paladin Howitzers near Bakhmut is often silent because they don't have enough shells to target the Russians, the commander tells us.

We cannot fulfill our tasks 100%, he says, although we really want to. My crew and other crews are just waiting for it and are ready to work around the clock.

But it gets even worse. Finally, resupply does arrive, but it's only four rounds. And this type of ammo won't hurt the Russians much.

PLEITGEN: This really illustrates the shortages the Ukrainians have to deal with. Four rounds. That's all they're going to get right now. And by the way, wait, they're not even explosive rounds. They're smoke rounds.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): These shells will barely explode on impact. It's almost like firing cannon balls in medieval times. But the commander says, sometimes, it's all they can do.

Every shell that is suitable for the Paladin, we use, he says. It's better than no shells.

The Russians face no such shortages in this area. Ukrainian military intelligence believes Russia produced around 2 million rounds last year and acquired around 1 million from North Korea. Massive barrages have laid waste to Bakhmut and much of the surrounding area. At the headquarters of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade's artillery division, the frustration is palpable. From their drones, they can see the Russians gather to continue their assaults on Ukrainian positions. But they often can't take them out because they need to conserve ammunition, the commander tells me.

The ratio is about ten to one, he says. Ammunition is very important to us. Russia is a country that produces ammo. They have strategic reserves. Yes, they use old Soviet systems, but Soviet systems can still kill.

Even without enough ammo, the Ukrainians say they are stopping most Russian assaults here. And the M-109 crew did manage to fire at Russian positions. But they know they'll need a lot more firepower to stop Russian advances.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, near Bakhmut, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Flooding rains are finally moving out of the eastern U.S., but get ready for another atmospheric river that's coming to the west. Details when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:32:12]

COREN: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Anna Coren and this is CNN Newsroom.

More now on the situation in Gaza. The United Nations Secretary General is asking countries not to suspend funding for the agency helping Palestinians in Gaza.

Well, nine countries paused funding for the U.N. relief and works agency also known as UNRWA after accusations by Israel that a handful of UNRWA workers were involved in the October 7th attack. Israel has not publicly released its evidence.

UNRWA fired the accused staffers and launched an investigation into the allegations. UNRWA provides humanitarian and other services to the more than two million people in Gaza.

Ophir Falk, he's a Foreign Policy Advisor for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He joins us now from Tel Aviv.

Dr. Falk, thank you for your time. What is the evidence against these UNRWA --

OPHIR FALK, FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER TO ISRAEL PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Thank you for having me on.

COREN: -- staff members? Please tell us. FALK: Well, there is an abundance of evidence against at least a dozen

UNRWA employees who participated, actually participated in the October 7 atrocities where 1,200 Israelis were murdered, women were repeatedly raped, people beheaded, children burned alive.

Again, there was at least 12 UNRWA employees who participated in these atrocities. And it seems like this is just the tip of the iceberg.

COREN: So you're saying at least 12, you think that there will be more?

FALK: Well, it looks like that, and it looks like we're getting -- an in-depth investigation is needed. We've seen an abundance of evidence through these GoPro's that these Hamas ISIS terrorists were using during these atrocities, and by means of investigations of these Hamas terrorists that were arrested. So there is an abundance of evidence, and an in-depth investigation is underway.

COREN: So these staffers were caught on camera? Is that what you're saying?

FALK: What I'm saying is, if there is an abundance of evidence, and that is one of the reasons why there are at least nine countries that have frozen the funds to UNRWA. UNRWA, in essence, has perpetuated the Palestinian problem. It hasn't solved anything. They just perpetuated this. For them, it's this refugee issue is a big business. They get over $1.7 billion of budget yearly. And for them, it's just a big business.

COREN: You talk about this abundance of evidence that has been gathered, but what specifically is the evidence? I think that's what the public wants to know.

[05:35:02]

FALK: Well, there is an abundance of evidence that has been -- it's on film, it's on camera, based on investigation of Hamas terrorists that have been arrested and they've provided a lot of information. And this is being exposed, it's being exposed daily.

And clearly, UNRWA is perpetuating the Palestinian problem, a problem that ostensibly had about 200,000 refugees in 1948 has expanded into something like a five and a half million. That's outrageous. And it's just simply a big business for UNRWA. For UNRWA and actually for their leadership.

COREN: We know that the staff have been fired, but if the allegations are true, why haven't these 12 members, one I believe is dead, why haven't they been arrested?

FALK: Well, the first step is -- was for them to be fired. Obviously, UNRWA wouldn't fire these guys if there wasn't an abundance of evidence. And the next step will obviously be to take more further measures against these dozens, and there's probably dozens of more UNRWA employees who have taken part, participated, clearly know -- they knew about this, and are gleeful about this. There are thousands of employees who have expressed enthusiasm over

the October 7th atrocities. And I think that the -- an in-depth investigation is required. At any rate, Israel is -- sorry. Go ahead, sorry.

COREN: I was just going to say, we know that there is a long-standing friction between Israel and UNRWA, decades, in fact. And your foreign minister is now calling for the agency to cease operations once Israel ends its military operation. Isn't Israel punishing all Gazans for the alleged actions of a few?

FALK: Absolutely not. Israel is a waging war at Hamas, not against the Palestinian people. The IDF and Israel is destroying Hamas. As we speak right now, we will destroy Hamas. We will demilitarize Gaza so that it will not pose a threat to Israel ever again.

And then most importantly, Gaza and the Palestinian society at large needs to be de-radicalized. The 100 square miles to the south of Israel's border might be the most radical area on earth. Why? Because UNRWA and other organizations have poisoned the minds of Palestinians for decades.

They've manipulated the minds of the youth. They have told the youth to cherish death instead of to cherish life. They have taught them that to murder Jews is a good thing. That has to end. That's the radicalization --

(CROSSTALK)

COREN: Dr. Falk, I think UNRWA would definitely rejects those claims that you are making. They say that they have informed you of weapon storage, they have named militants in the past. So I think they certainly would object to what you're saying.

FALK: Anna, first of all, Anna, we can start -- Anna, first of all, we can start by calling people who beat head children and burn babies alive. We can call them terrorists. We don't have to call them militants. Call them what they are. They are terrorists. And we will destroy the terrorist organization called Hamas. We will destroy them. And we will demilitarize Gaza.

COREN: Dr. Falk, we are talking about UNRWA right now. And the concern is, if aid is suspended, what does that mean for the Palestinians? You are talking about two million Palestinians that UNRWA provides a lifeline to those Palestinians. What is going to happen to them if there is no one? Who is going to look after the Palestinians in Gaza?

(CROSSTALK)

FALK: UNRWA does not provide -- Anna, excuse me. Anna, excuse me. UNRWA does not provide them a lifeline. They perpetuate the problem. Why? Because it's a big business for them. $1.6 billion a year. That's a big business for UNRWA. UNRWA and Hamas are intertwined. It's very important to understand that.

Now, we have an abundance of evidence of over 12 or over a dozen UNRWA employees who took part, participated in the atrocities of October 7th. The beheading of children, the burning of babies alive. We need to understand this. Now, in-depth investigation needs to take place and people should start resigning from UNRWA, frankly.

COREN: But you want to see UNRWA abolished, is that correct? You want it to cease operations. What is the alternative? What is the body that is going to look after the Palestinian people in Gaza?

FALK: There are international humanitarian organizations that are not tainted with terrorism, that do care for humanitarian aid, and they need to step up to the plate. There are organizations that have stepped up to the plate.

[05:40:05]

But UNRWA, again, they just perpetuate the problem. They're intertwined with Hamas. Over a dozen of their employees took part in the atrocities of October 7th. And it's taken four months, it's taken four months for their leadership to take out these employees and to fire them. So I think we should wake up. This is just the tip of the iceberg. And it's being exposed now. UNRWA is being exposed now. And I'm very happy that the U.S., the U .K., Germany, and other countries have frozen the funds for this organization, which is tainted with terrorism. They're intertwined with Hamas. We need to understand this.

COREN: So just to be clear, this U.N. body, you would like to see it completely abolished from Gaza, is that correct?

FALK: What I would like to make clear is that Israel will destroy Hamas, will dismantle Gaza so that it will not pose a threat to Israel ever again, and that Gaza needs to be de-radicalized, so that the children of Gaza will not be taught to murder Jews, that they will be taught to cherish life and not be taught to cherish death. The best way of doing that is to --

COREN: And you believe that UNRWA is responsible for radicalizing the population in Gaza, just to be clear?

FALK: Well, they sure have their fair share of responsibility. Yes.

COREN: Tell me, how can Israel ensure humanitarian aid is stepped up in Gaza? And how will this meet the new obligations under the ICJ ruling?

FALK: Well, Israel has enabled hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of humanitarian trucks, trucks that have provided humanitarian aid from day one, food, water, medical aid to the civilians. And it's very important that, that humanitarian aid is reached to the civilians, to the humans, to the civilians of Gaza, and is not hijacked by Hamas.

The President of the United States made that very clear on October 18th that we have to make sure that Hamas does not hijack the aid. And there are humanitarian aid or humanitarian organizations that can step up to the plate, humanitarian organizations that are not tainted with terrorism, like UNRWA is. COREN: Dr. Falk, can you tell us the status of the hostage

negotiations? Will Israel suspend fighting for two months in exchange for the release of more than 100 hostages as has been reported?

FALK: Well, Israel has been able to release 110 hostages to date. The main reason, perhaps the only reason, that Israel has been able to release these hostages was because of pressure, more pressure, and pressure applied by the IDF on Hamas.

The more pressure that there is applied on Hamas, the greater the probability of freeing more hostages. We intend to free all the 136 hostages to get them back home. And the best way of doing that is to apply pressure on Hamas. That is what is being done right now as we speak. We're destroying Hamas. We've killed thousands of these terrorists. We have dismantled hundreds of miles of terror tunnels and infrastructure in Gaza.

We will continue to do so until Hamas is destroyed. Gaza is demilitarized, and there will be total victory in this war that the Hamas waged on us on October 7th.

COREN: Dr. Falk, I just want to ask you one more question. You obviously advise Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is under growing pressure to step down. He stands by his criticism of Qatar at a time when, obviously, there is this progress in negotiations for a hostage deal. Was that a smart thing to do, him criticizing a country that's playing a key role in these negotiations?

FALK: Well, anybody who can play a key role, anybody who can facilitate the immediate and unconditional release of hostages should do that. Over 100 days have passed since these Hamas monsters have taken over 240 civilians hostage.

And I think anybody who has the ability of playing a role should do that. If Qatar has the ability to do that, they should prove it and do it.

COREN: Dr. Ophir Falk, we appreciate you coming onto the program and speaking to us. Thank you for your time.

FALK: Thank you, Anna. Thank you very much.

COREN: Stay with CNN, much more after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:48:04]

COREN: A breakthrough in gene therapy has allowed a young boy to experience the sensation of sound for the first time in his life. The 11-year-old was born with an extremely rare form of deafness due to a mutated gene. CNN's Danny Freeman walks us through the experimental treatment that has changed the boy's life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Aissam Dam was once a stranger to sound. Deaf since birth in both ears. But now after 11 years of life, Aissam can hear, hear noises, speech, his dad's voice for the first time.

DR. JOHN A. GERMILLER, ATTENDING SURGEON, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: He was actually a little scared when I first got his hearing back because he wasn't sure what all this new information was all of a sudden. So -- but it's exciting. He's loving it.

FREEMAN: Aissam is the first patient in the U.S. to receive gene therapy as a treatment for hereditary hearing loss. In October, doctors at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia replaced his mutated gene with copies of the functional version. Four months later, Aissam is finally able to hear what sound sounds like.

DR. GERMILLER: Now, he can hear at a level that we say is mild to moderate hearing loss, which is quite good. It's actually remarkably good for someone because it's the first patient treated in this country.

FREEMAN: There are more than 150 genes that can cause hearing loss at birth, Germiller says. ISOMs, which is rare, is the first doctors in the U.S. have been able to treat. The breakthrough has researchers eagerly working towards the same technology for some of the more common genes.

DR. GERMILLER: It's not likely you have this gene, and it's not for every gene, it's just this one gene that we can treat now on this clinical trial. But stay tuned for more in the next five to 10 years.

FREEMAN: Children's Hospital Philadelphia is one of several teams around the world doing clinical trials with gene therapy. And it's needed. The hospital says about 1 in 500 infants is born with some sort of genetic hearing loss.

[05:50:09]

But it's just a matter of time before Aissam is among several deaf children given a chance at what many of us take for granted, hearing.

Danny Freeman, CNN, Philadelphia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Truly amazing. Well, it's a big day for football fans waiting to find out which teams will end up in the Super Bowl including one that has a chance to make history. That's next on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: In America, the Super Bowl matchup will be set by the end of the day Sunday. CNN Sports Correspondent Carolyn Manno joins me.

Carolyn, there's been plenty of conversation around Taylor Swift and the Kansas City Chiefs, and we'll get to that in a moment. But let's start with the other game and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Detroit Lions and their fans.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Anna, it really is. This is something that their fan base has been waiting decades for. They've never been to the Super Bowl. In fact, they've only been to the NFC Championship twice the game before the Super Bowl, and it's going to be a very tall order for them against a talented squad.

[05:55:11]

But if the fans are any indication, they will certainly be ready. Their touchdown underdogs on the road tonight against the San Francisco 49ers. But after nearly seven decades of utility as a franchise, Detroit has the feeling of a team of destiny.

Listen to this, a watch party at their home stadium has sold out, with tickets selling on the secondary market going for over $100. That's just to watch on a giant television. One fan got a tattoo way back in August before the season even started. He proclaimed that they would be Super Bowl champs. This team has the full support of its city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MONTGOMERY, DETROIT LIONS RUNNING BACK: Just second to none. I've never been a part of or seen anything like it. You know, just the way that this place, this city, you can feel how authentic it is. You can feel, you know, the love and the want from the entire city. So just being a part of, it is special.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: Meanwhile, a couple MVPs squaring off in the other game, Lamar Jackson leading the Baltimore Ravens to the AFC championship for the first time while Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City are back for a sixth straight season.

Of course, there's the Taylor Swift factor too. Like you mentioned, Anna, no doubt that she will be in Baltimore cheering her boyfriend, Travis Kelce and the Chiefs. But back to December, when all the doomsayers were talking about distractions, Kelce says not a chance and he isn't the only one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRAVIS KELCE, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS TIGHT END: I brought this upon myself and I do enjoy having fun with it all and the biggest thing is making sure my focus is right here in this building. The only thing we've talked about is as long as we're happy we can't listen to anything that's outside noise.

JOHN HARBAUGH, BALTIMORE RAVENS HEAD COACH: I've got some Taylor Swift songs in my phone. I do, I do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are they going to be deleted this week?

HARBAUGH: Yeah, what does that have to do with this? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is staving the opponent.

HARBAUGH: Is there a time limit in this press conference?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: There'll be a lot of that going around, Anna, Swift of course coming off a very tumultuous what I presume to be a difficult week with those AI images circulating so hopefully. She'll be in attendance and feeling good. It should be a lot of fun as we get set for the Super Bowl on Sunday.

COREN: Absolutely. Carolyn, thanks so much for your time.

I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong. Thank you for your company. For viewers in North America, CNN This Morning is next. For the rest of the world, It's Beyond COP.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)