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CNN International: Disguised Israeli Special Forces Raid West Bank Hospital; U.S. Releases Names Of Three Soldiers Killed In Jordan; Biden Weighs Response To Deadly Drone Attack In Jordan; Hamas Says It's Studying New Proposal For Truce In Gaza, Release Of Hostages; Imran Khan Jailed For 10 Years For Leaking State Secrets; Biden Calls On Congress To Pass Border Security Deal; Protests, Roadblocks In Place Across Europe; North Korean Leader Begs Women To Have More Children. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 30, 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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[08:00:58]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Hello, welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London.

Just ahead, shocking scenes inside a hospital in the West Bank. Israeli soldiers, dressed as civilians, carry out three killings. We'll have all the details for you.

Plus, as families of U.S. hostages in Gaza prepare for meeting at the White House, Hamas says it is studying a proposal for a new truce. We're live in Tel Aviv with the latest. And from the farms to the streets. Why farmers in France and across Europe are voicing their anger.

Dramatic undercover raid in the West Bank. Israeli Special Forces disguised as civilians and medical workers infiltrating a hospital in Jenin early on Tuesday, killing three Palestinian men. That's according to Israeli and Palestinian officials. The IDF says, the men were terrorists linked to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Hamas' military ring claimed one of the men as a member.

And earlier, Hamas said they were all Jenin Brigade's fighters, members of an umbrella group of armed factions in the city. Meanwhile, on the ground in Gaza, the Palestinian State News Agency reports that dozens of civilians were killed and wounded on Monday during Israeli strikes in Gaza City. CNN unable to confirm the exact casualty numbers or the claims.

CNN's Senior International Correspondent Ben Wedeman live for us in Beirut. And Ben, you were in that Hospital in Jenin, just in November. Take us through that video and what we're seeing.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is CCT video from the Ibn Sina Hospital, which is in Jenin, now in walking distance from the Jenin refugee camp, which has been the scene of dozens of Israeli raids over the last year. Now, the footage was shot between 5:00 and 6:00 a.m. on the third floor of the hospital. What you see is this Israeli hit squad special forces dressed as civilians, medical staff and women. One of them is pushing a wheelchair. One of them is pushing a wheelchair, one of them is carrying a baby's car seat and also automatic weapons.

Now they go in -- what you see is this is sort of the reception area on the third floor. Their target were three men, as you said, members of the Jenin Brigades, which is an umbrella group that includes Hamas, Islamic Jihad and others. Now, the target of the raid, according to the Israelis, was Mohammad Jalamneh, but also two other men were killed.

One of them, Basil Al-Ghazawi had been wounded in an Israeli air raid on Jenin in October, which killed four people, including a 15-year-old boy. Now, according to doctors at the Ibn Sina Hospital, Basil Al- Ghazawi was partially paralyzed in his lower body as a result of that attack. Nonetheless, the Israelis are claiming that this was -- that this these three men were part of a terrorist cell in their words, and that they were a ticking time bomb, planning an imminent attack.

Now we don't know if that's true, and it appears that at least one of the men from pictures we've seen from the hospital was shot point blank in his hospital bed. Now, according to staff at the hospital, the Israelis shot these three men with silencers. Now, this isn't the first time the Israelis undercover, disguised as civilians, have done this sort of operation.

Several years ago, Israeli undercover troops, disguised as a Palestinian news crew raided Birzeit University outside of Ramallah in the West Bank and nabbed a student leader. So this isn't the first time we've seen operations like this, but this one seems particularly deadly and using means that are somewhat questionable. Max?

[08:05:15]

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

Now, we now know the names of the three U.S. soldiers killed in Jordan. Specialist Kennedy Sanders, Specialist Breonna Moffett and Sergeant William Rivers, all hail from the U.S. state of Georgia. They lost their lives when a drone attacked their military outpost near the Syrian border on Sunday. The U.S. blames Iran-backed regional militias.

Breonna Moffett's family spoke with CNN about the last time they talked to her.

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FRANCINE MOFFETT, MOTHER OF U.S. SOLDIER KILLED IN JORDAN: If we knew what we know now, we would have held on to that phone call as long as possible. We would have recorded it. We would have got an I love you. And then we just make sure that she knew how much we loved her.

(END VIDEO CLIP) FOSTER: Well Scott McLean joins us from Istanbul with what we're learning about the attack, but also Scott, how the U.S. might respond.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, Max, look, the obvious question in the aftermath of this is how did this happen? How did the air defenses not pick up this incoming drone? And officials have offered two potential explanations. One, that it was flying quite low. Perhaps it wasn't picked up on radar. Second, it was also following behind another U.S. drone that was returning to base.

And so, perhaps there was some confusion about whether it was friendly and that may have led to some level of delay. But now the question, the more pressing question for the Biden administration is what to do about it. Because in the 160 or plus now, similar attacks on U.S. interests in Iraq and Syria and now this one in Jordan, the response has been relatively contained.

The U.S. has kind of been able to brush them off as not that big of a deal because while service members are injured, no one had been killed up until this point. And so President Biden is under enormous pressure to do something about this.

In fact, there are Republicans who are calling on him to strike inside Iran itself. And officials say that, look, nothing is off the table, including striking Iran, but they also say that that is the least likely option because they know that it is most likely to cause an all-out war or an expanded war beyond the one that we are already seeing.

It's also worth noting that the Iranians themselves are trying to distance themselves from this, saying that resistance groups don't take orders from Tehran. That's what they call the Iran-backed militias operating in Syria and Iraq. It is also -- Seth Moulton, excuse me, he is a congressman, he is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, and his view is that, look, Iran does not want war, the United States does not want war, but some of these militant groups, they do. Listen.

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SETH MOULTON, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: These militant groups are trying to start a war. That's what they want. They're not attacking U.S. troops to strike a trade deal here. They want a war. We don't want to play into their aims. We want to stop a war, not start one.

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MCLEAN: Officials also said, Max, that look, this attack was pretty run of the mill. It was just the one that happened to get lucky and happened to get through. They also say that, look, the response to this will be more powerful than we've seen them before, likely across more than one country, likely over the course of more than one day, perhaps a cyberattack. All of the options are being considered right now, Max.

FOSTER: OK, Scott McLean, thank you. As negotiation efforts gain intensity, Hamas says it is studying a new proposal for a truce in Gaza and the return of hostages. But it stresses the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza is still its highest priority. Meanwhile, America's top diplomat says there's a strong option on the table following Sunday's talks in Paris.

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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I believe the proposal is a strong one and a compelling one that again offers some hope that we can get back to this process. But Hamas will have to make its own decisions. I can just tell you that there is, again, strong I would say alignment among the countries involved that this is a good and strong proposal.

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FOSTER: The White House says National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet today with relatives of American hostages believed to be held by Hamas. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is live in Tel Aviv. Certainly a lot of the Western voices feeling quite optimistic right now, it sounds.

[08:10:06]

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there certainly does seem to be a sense by all the participants in this meeting on Sunday, including the Qataris as well, that significant progress was indeed made during this summit in Paris between the intelligence heads of Israel, Egypt, the United States, as well as the Qatari prime minister.

It seems like this was really an effort for all of those sides to try and get on the same page to bring to Hamas a new proposal to see if the significant gaps that exist between Israel and Hamas over the future of a next truce deal can indeed be overcome.

I want to tell you about some of the details of this broad framework that was apparently agreed to on Sunday. And that would see civilian hostages released over the first six weeks of an initial truce. Three Palestinian prisoners released for every one Israeli civilian hostage. And then there would be a second phase of this deal, potentially, that would see the release of Israeli soldiers being held hostage, as well as the bodies of some 28 Israeli civilian hostages being held by Hamas.

There would be a higher ratio of Palestinian prisoners for those Israeli soldiers being held hostage. But, ultimately, the question is, will Hamas accept this broad framework, and what kinds of changes will they be demanding? We know that one of the significant gaps, as the Israeli Prime Minister's office put it yesterday, between Israel and Hamas to reach a deal, is the fact that Hamas is seeking an end to this war altogether, trying to salvage their position in the Gaza Strip as a -- the party in power there. Hamas, for its part, says that it is reviewing this latest proposal, but they also once again say that their priority in these talks is to, quote, "stop the aggression, the brutal attacks on Gaza" and to see the, quote, "complete withdrawal of occupation forces from the strip".

Hamas's leader, Ismail Haniyeh, has been invited to Cairo in order to review this proposal. It's not clear whether or not he's on his way there now, but certainly it does appear like there is some kind of agreement at least between Israel, the United States, Egypt and Qatar on the next steps forward. The question now is whether Hamas is going to get on board. Max?

FOSTER: Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv, thank you.

Imran Khan has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for leaking state secrets. The former Pakistani Prime Minister is accused, or was accused, of leaking diplomatic correspondence following a meeting between a Pakistani diplomat and a U.S. official in 2022. Khan claimed the document was proof of a conspiracy to remove him from power. His party says it'll challenge the decision which comes ahead of next week's parliamentary elections.

A U.S. House panel is set to take a vote today on articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Republican hardliners are accusing him of refusing to uphold the law and breaching the public's trust in his handling of the southern border.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, meanwhile, has signaled he will reject a bipartisan deal being negotiated in the Senate that would address border policies. Democrats say they're ready to get to work on the issue, but it's Republicans who are standing in the way.

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HAKEEM JEFFRIES, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: We are ready, willing, and able to work in a bipartisan way to address the challenges that exist at the border. But the extreme MAGA Republicans have been directed by Donald Trump not to work together to address the challenges at the border.

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CNN's Arlette Saenz joins me now from the White House. Arlette, how is President Biden seeing all of the debate then around this immigration bill?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Max, President Biden has said that more does need to be done on the U.S. southern border to secure it at this time. And you have seen the President really evolved in his stances when it comes to the border and immigration.

Just over the weekend, he announced his support for this compromise proposal that's been hashed out by Republican and Democratic senators up on Capitol Hill. The details of that are expected to be unveiled over the course of this week.

But the president in his statement said that this bill would give him the authority to shut down the border when it reaches a certain number of high migrant crossings. Really this represents a change for President Biden and something that some immigration advocates have really pushed back against.

But it shows that President Biden recognizes the impact of the situation at the U.S. southern border, how it is impacting people's and voters' minds, especially heading into that 2024 election. What the White House and the Democrats have really tried to argue is that the president has put forth some compromises. He has signed on to that bipartisan negotiation, but it is Republicans who are standing in the way.

We have heard former President Donald Trump really voices opposition to this emerging border deal. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said that it's dead on the rival based on what he has seen in it. So it does for Democrats potentially create some type of opening out on the campaign trail and ability for Biden to say that he did work trying to get something done, but it was Republicans who have obstructed that at this moment.

[08:15:13]

Of course, we will see how all of this plays out on Capitol Hill over the coming days, but it is clear that voters do have concerns about immigration and about the crossings at the U.S. southern border. And one big question is how big of a factor that will play in people's minds as they head to the ballot box in November.

FOSTER: OK, Arlette, in the White House or outside the White House, thank you very much.

Still to come, farmers in France and across Europe have boarded their tractors and taken to the streets. We'll discuss what's behind all the anger.

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FOSTER: For more than a week now, farmers in France have been protesting over low pay and excessive government regulation. They've been encircling Paris, blocking major highways around the French capital, as you can see. It's a major challenge for Gabriel Attal promoted to Prime Minister barely three weeks ago. We're expecting his government to unveil some concessions to farmers later today.

Elsewhere in Europe, similar scenes outside the European Union's headquarters in Brussels, where farmers have promised to keep up the protests until an E.U. summit on Thursday.

Let's bring in CNN's Melissa Bell live in Paris. I mean, you've been covering this for a bit of a while now but, I mean, the amount of disruption being caused is huge. It's actually a very successful protest, isn't it? MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and the language is remarkable. What the farmers are now talking about is a siege of Paris, Max. With one of them speaking to our affiliate, BFM earlier, saying that their point was, at some point, to manage to starve Parisians in almost medieval terms.

What they're expressing is very modern anger about a sort of disconnect, Max, between what the E.U. regulations and the red tape that they say they're required to go through to get their subsidies from the European Union means for them. And the requirements and further pressures that are brought on them by, for instance, cheap imports of beef or grain or dairy products in parts of the world where the regulations are simply not as stringent.

Now, this has been going on for more than a week now. We've seen so many disruptions across the country along the motorways where roadblocks have been set up, manure has been dumped outside of local stores. What the government had said was that a red line would be any disruption, for instance, to airports. And yet that's exactly what's happening as I speak.

They're encircling the airport down in Toulouse. So a great amount of pressure on the French government to make further concessions to the ones they've already made. We expect the prime minister to speak in about an hour to the French assembly where we expect further concessions.

He's already announced, by the way, the scrapping of the hike on the diesel that had been the spark really that has set them off to begin with, Max.

[08:20:03]

FOSTER: And it's not just France, is it? This really taps into a wider concern amongst all E.U. farmers, certainly, in the bigger countries.

BELL: That's right. And what you have is at once common grievances, for instance, those grievances about the subsidy system within the European Union, how the common agricultural policy works, the various requirements, the paperwork that means for individual farmers across the European Union.

And then you have more local issues. For instance, in France, it's to do with negotiations over the price of food for the French government. In countries further to the east, it's about cheap, cheap imports of Ukrainian products because remember that all all taxes and levies and quotas were waived as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, leading to an influx of products that European farmers say they simply can't compete against elsewhere.

The Netherlands is to do much more with environmental rules. In Germany, they're protesting hike in diesel as well. So there are very local grievances that can be added to European ones. Now, what Gabriel Attal has said, the French government said, is that beyond the announcements that have been made today, they're going to take their grievances and this issue to the European Union on Thursday. As you mentioned a moment ago, European leaders will meet urgently now to discuss what they can do at European level to try and diffuse some of this anger and try and help European farmers to deal with what are complex procedures, growing environmental rules and a squeezing of their activity as a result of what they say is unfair competition from elsewhere.

So a lot for European leaders to deal with, but very immediate concerns, for instance, here in Paris about what the disruption will mean over the coming days and just how serious this siege of Paris will become and what it will mean for day to day life, Max.

FOSTER: Yes. All right, well, Melissa Bell in Paris. We'll see. Thank you so much.

Still to come, the powerful women close to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and why one of them is likely to be the country's next ruler.

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FOSTER: As North Korean leader Kim Jong-un rules with an iron fist, his inner circle is primarily made up of prominent women, from his daughter to his powerful sister. CNN's Will Ripley takes a look at the role women play in North Korea's future.

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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): North Korea's most powerful man, making an emotional appeal to women. Kim Jong-un wiping away tears, urging moms to have more babies, to boost the plunging birth rate. Pyongyang's patriarch persists, observers say, but things may be changing in Kim's Korea.

The North Korean leader bringing powerful women into his orbit. Foreign minister Choe Son Hui who recently met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim's younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, a close aid and trusted confidante, famous for fiery speeches.

[08:25:05]

And this dramatic demolition of the Inter-Korean liaison office. The younger Kim's meteoric rise likely fueled by her close brotherly bond and powerful Kim family bloodline. The family photo that shook the world, the supreme leader revealing his daughter believed to be Kim Ju-ae at a missile launch in late 2022, the first in a series of carefully staged father-daughter photo-ops, elevating the profile of Kim's elementary-aged child, raising questions about succession.

LEE SUNG-YOON, WILSON CENTER FELLOW/ AUTHOR OF "THE SISTER": Kim Jong- un is saying by appearing in public with his daughter, my nukes are here to stay, and my power will be handed down to my progeny or maybe somebody else, his sibling.

RIPLEY (voice-over): For three generations, the men of the Kim family ruling North Korea with an iron fist. Now many wonder could a woman be next in line? Could Kim be grooming his own daughter to someday take command of North Korea's growing nuclear arsenal?

LEE: The power will be kept. This absolute power will maintain, will be maintained in the family.

RIPLEY (voice-over): A family where the women seem to be faring better than the men. Kim's own uncle, Jang Song Thaek, seen half-heartedly clapping when Kim came to power. South Korean lawmaker said he was executed by anti-aircraft guns and possibly decapitated, former President Trump claimed.

Kim's exiled older half-brother Kim Jong-nam assassinated by poison at a Malaysia airport. Whoever the next North Korean leader is, man or woman, Kim's top priority, analysts say, protecting his family's fortune and power.

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RIPLEY (on-camera): Historians on both sides of the political spectrum left and right agree that North Korea has essentially perfected the model of the totalitarian state. They have near total control of information, very heavy propaganda, they surveil the population. It is a recipe experts say for success for the next North Korean leader whether they be a man or a woman, especially given the size of Kim Jong-un's nuclear arsenal.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

FOSTER: Thanks for joining me on CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London. World Sport with Andy Scholes is up next.

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