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Airstrikes Rock Rafah As Israel Rescues Two Hostages; Russia Has Recruited Up To 15,000 Nepalis To Fight Against Ukraine; Trump Asks Supreme Court To Stay Ruling Rejecting His Immunity To Prosecution; U.S. Allies Condemn Donald Trump's "Dangerous" Remarks On Russia; Growing Condemnation over Trump Remarks Threatening NATO; Biden Meets with Jordan's King Abdullah Amid Strikes in Rafah; Texas Church Shooting; Indonesia's Presidential Election. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired February 13, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead here on CNN Newsroom, a daring nighttime rescue freeze to is ready hostages and kills about 100 Palestinian civilians, the perfect operation says the Israeli prime minister.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENITIFIED MALE: NATO cannot be allied military alliance.
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VAUSE: NATO strikes back after Donald Trump says he would encourage Russia to attack Alliance members who haven't paid up.
And a CNN exclusive how Russia is recruiting thousands of men from Nepal to be Cannon Fodder on the frontlines of the war with Ukraine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: Israel's Prime Minister has described the rescue of two hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza not only as a perfect operation, but one of the most successful in Israeli history.
Part of the rescue plan involved hours of intense airstrikes around refer killing around 100 Palestinians according to the Palestine Red Crescent, among them, civilians, including children, and that has now increased pressure on Israel to stall its imminent ground offensive on Rafah with the U.S., the United Nations International Criminal Court and others, raising concern for the safety of more than a million people taking refuge in Gaza southern most city.
But for Israelis Monday, there were celebrations as two hostages were reunited with family. This is only the second successful hostage rescue by the IDF bringing high praise from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): A perfect operation of perfect execution. And I want you to tell you how proud I am of you. I'm proud of you of the Shin Bet, the IDF, you work together like an oiled machine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
But Sources tell CNN the U.S. president is growing increasingly frustrated with the Israeli prime minister, who he says is ignoring his advice. President Biden though has not criticized Netanyahu publicly but he was blunt about his concerns of Israel's ground offensive in Rafah issuing this warning during a joint appearance with the King of Jordan at the White House.
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JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: The major military operation in Rafah should not proceed without a credible plan, a credible plan for ensuring the safety and support of more than 1 million people sheltering there. Many people there have been displaced, displaced multiple times, fleeing the violence to the north, and now they're packed into Rafah, exposed and vulnerable they need to be protected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The two Israeli hostages both men are said to be in good health or relatively good health, despite being held for 128 days by Hamas. A new details have emerged about the complex nighttime rescue mission by Israel's counterterrorism force. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has late details reporting in from Tel Aviv but first a warning. Some images in his report are disturbing.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Louis Har and Fernando Marman are all smiles aboard an Israeli military helicopter. After 128 days in Hamas captivity they are going home rescued by Israeli Special Forces. Hours later, the two men embracing their families for the first time in months. Overwhelmed with emotion.
IDAN BEGERANO, LOUIS HAR'S SON-IN-LAW: From a lot of tears, hugs, not many words, just being together surrounded by the family and surrounded by our beloved people that without us for so long. Mentally, they look OK, physically they look okay, but I'm sure that, you know, we're going to have ups and downs in the coming days or weeks.
DIAMOND: The Israeli military released this video of the dramatic moment they were taken to safety, the result of a daring overnight raid in Rafah, Gaza southernmost city.
At 1:49 a.m. Israeli Special Forces breaching a residential building where intelligence indicated they were being held on the second floor. REAR ADMIRAL DANIEL HAGARI, ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON (through translator): From the moment they broke into the apartment. The Imam fighters hugged and protected Louis and Fernando with their bodies, and a daring battle and heavy exchange of fire began in several locations, at the same time with many terrorists.
DIAMOND (voice-over): As they escaped the Israeli Air Force launching heavy strikes on Rafah they say it was to divert Hamas fighters in the area. But among the dead and the injured there are also civilians including children.
Inside Kuwait Specialty Hospital a girl trembles in shock, streaks (ph) of blood run down the face of the boy in front of her.
[01:05:05]
At least 94 people killed in the overnight strikes, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Hamas controlled Gaza, scores more injured are still under the rubble survivors were counting the horrors of the previous night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I took all my kids and put them in one room, a small room and told them to stay there because if we left, we would die. Once I went back to close the outside door, and once I locked it, I found the stones on top of my head. I didn't know what happened until I was taken out.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The overnight strikes offering just a glimpse of the devastation that could come as Israel vows its next offensive on here.
IBRAHIM ABU JABER, RAFAH RESIDENT (through translator): 100 murderers in five minutes is a very large number. What if the actual invasion took place? 100 people were killed in different places. What if there was an attack where they would all gather? I think the martyrs will be in the thousands.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: To Tel Aviv now Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, Spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces. Peter, good morning.
LT. COL. PETER LERNER, SPOKESPERSON, ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES: Good morning, John.
VAUSE: Can you provide any details right now about Israeli plans to evacuate more than a million Palestinians from Rafah? Where exactly will they evacuate to how safe is that location? What's the timeline for evacuation? And how do you prevent Hamas fighters for blending in with the civilian population?
LERNER: Lot of questions there, John. I would say that the government has instructed the IDF to devise a plan to achieve our goals, our war goals in the area of Rafah to continue the war, to dismantle and destroy Hamas, and bring home the hostages 134 that remain in the clutches of Hamas.
The plan that you're asking for, I'd say is it still -- has still yet to be presented, of course, to the government. And as we move forward in anticipation for the potential war effort, our goals are to create a plan that evacuate civilians out of harm's way to differentiate them and distinguish them between civilians and Hamas.
What we -- what -- if we can learn anything from the special operations that Jeremy Diamond went through and reported on just moments ago, is that hostages are being held in Rafah. We would not need to go to Rafah if Hamas would just let them go. At the very least, we would not even be in this war if that if it was more for that case.
VAUSE: We'll get to that in a moment because so clearly Hamas has a role to play in all this as well. They get a vote in how this plays out.
But the White House, the U.K. government, the U.N. Secretary General, the king of Jordan, and the ICC, and many others, either wanting Israel against a ground offensive on Rafah or raising concerns about an evacuation plan is not being realistic or possible. Why are they all wrong?
LERNER: So first of all, throughout the course of this war, anytime we've wanted to do something substantial that has had an impact on Hamas, whether it is taking Hamas' capabilities in hospitals, operating in evacuating mass evacuation of people out of harm's way, in the north, there have been components in the international arena that have been telling the Israel and the IDF not to do it, it can't be done. That is those are the words that keep being repeated by players, it can't be done.
The alternative that they are suggesting is to surrender to Hamas, and to sacrifice 134 people. That is not an option from Israel's perspective. We need to bring home the hostages, we need to bring them now. We can do it. We have done it in the past. We've proven time and time again, that we can evacuate mass amounts of people out of harm's way. We have done so. So we need to be able to understand that where there is a will there's a way. And indeed it won't be a simple task.
But let's go back just a few months at the beginning of the war. For over three weeks, we were calling on evacuation in the northern Gaza Strip, to get people out of harm's way as we intended to mobilize. And when we refined our operations in the south in the areas of Khan Younis, so it was specific neighborhoods that we mobilize to and from there evacuated so that it can be done.
We have confidence in our ability to get to the project and distinguish not without challenge and of course it is just part of the bigger tragedy of this war that Hamas brought on us.
VAUSE: Yes, look, no one is disputing, you know, the grubby roll of Hamas' playing and all this from the get go but Rafah right now is the only access point right now for humanitarian supplies into Gaza. Bob Kitchen, Vice President of Emergencies at the International Rescue Committee, and many others have warned that if they aren't killed in the fighting, Palestinian children, women and men will be at risk of dying by starvation or disease.
So again, what are the plans here by Israel? Because it's the responsibility is here with you to ensure this trickle of humanitarian aid that's going to Gaza which is not enough but will it continue through any ground offensive.
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LERNER: We've conducted our humanitarian effort in conjunction with the operational efforts, the humanitarian aid will continue and continues to go in every single day. Of course, there are challenges even to the supply of humanitarian aid because of the war effort that is ongoing, that the combat that is taking place even as we extracted the Louis Har and Fernando Marman yesterday, the forces came under extensive fire. They came under extensive fire in Rafah from residential areas by Hamas terrorists.
We have to understand that this is a developing war that has a clear goal, a goal that I would say even all of those international players that you pointed out, definitely the government's all agree upon. Hamas have to go. The paradigm has to change. There needs to be a new reality for safety and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
We will not agree to a situation where we are expected to surrender to Hamas and sacrifice the 134 Israelis that maintain continually held by Hamas, that has to change.
VAUSE: In between this point and getting to that point, though the chief prosecutor the International Criminal Court has issued a rare warning if we do this to all those involved. My office is actively investigating any crimes allegedly committed those who are in breach of the law will be held accountable.
Israel may not recognize the court, but it does have jurisdiction over Gaza because of what happened in 2015 with Palestine is sending to the Rome Statute, the Rome agreement. How seriously do you take that warning from the ICC?
LERNER: As well as very attentive to the sentiment and the actions and intentions of the different international players. We are operating as the IDF within the realm of the laws of armed conflict. That is how we operate, that is how we conduct ourselves contrary to how Hamas are intentionally weaponizing the civilian arena and creating a much larger, devastating reality for the people of Gaza.
Our role is to change the paradigm. Our role is to make sure that a governing authority a terrorist governing authority, Hamas, cannot use the state of the Gaza Strip as a staging ground to attack Israel ever again. That has to change.
VAUSE: Peter, these are difficult days ahead for you and for Israel for the Palestinians. We'll talk to you again soon I hope. Thanks for being with us.
LERNER: Good day.
VAUSE: Well, national call up in Russia remains deeply unpopular. It seems Russian military recruiters have a much greater success thousands of kilometers away in Nepal, as 15,000 Nepalese men sign up to fight in the war in Ukraine.
Sources tell CNN, Moscow announced a lucrative package last year were in fighters to the frontline with just two weeks of training on a promise of far higher wages than they could ever earn at home.
Nepal says about 200 of its citizens are fighting for the Russian Army, at least 13 have been killed in the war zone. More details now from CNN's Matthew Chance with this exclusive report.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It should be a world apart from the battlefields of Ukraine. But this Himalayan state has become an unlikely casualty of Russia's brutal war.
Nepalis like Ramchandra, who escaped the Russian army with his life, and praying for his comrades still fighting on the frontlines. He took a bullet and shrapnel in Ukraine, he told me and so many Nepalis killed.
Some complained they were sent forward while Russian troops held back, he tells me, but the main problem was the language barrier. Sometimes you couldn't even understand where you're supposed to be going, he says, which way to point your gun.
But that chaos hasn't stopped Nepal is signing up. Many posting upbeat videos on social media of their military training in Russia, where they're meant to be prepared for the hardships of the Ukraine war.
In reality, several former Nepali recruits tell CNN, they were sent into battle after barely two weeks to fight for the Kremlin armed with a rifle and a contract for a few $1,000 a month of fortune in Nepal, where unemployment is high.
CHANCE: While the vast majority of Nepalis fighting for Russia and Ukraine are doing it for the money, and they come from these down at hill, impoverished areas across the country. We've actually come to one of them now on the outskirts of Kathmandu to meet a woman who in the past few days has learned that her husband has been killed fighting in that distant war.
Hello. Namaste. Namaste.
[01:15:05]
He was with a unit of Nepalis battling Ukrainians, she tells me, when he was gunned down.
It was my husband's friend, his Nepali commander in Ukraine, who called me in the middle of the night and told me he had been killed, she tells me, still shocked at the news. There's been no notification from the Russians, she adds, nothing.
It's a growing frustration with Russia's treatment of Nepalese, as cannon fodder in the Ukraine war, shared with these protesters near the Russian Embassy in Katmandu.
And the Nepali foreign minister who told me he's pressed Moscow to curb recruitment to no avail.
N.P. SAUD, NEPALI FOREIGN MINISTER: They have told me that they will sort it out the concern of Nepal.
CHANCE: So they told you they will sort it out.
SAUD: Yes.
CHANCE: But they haven't done anything yet.
SAUD: Yet to did -- didn't have. We don't have any information of doing anything.
CHANCE (voice-over): There's not much information either on how many Nepalis even fighting for Russia, about 200 according to Nepali officials. But multiple sources, including campaigners, lawmakers, and returning fighters, tell CNN as many as 15,000 Nepalis could be fighting in Ukraine.
CHANCE: What we've asked the Russians having in the Nepalis they've recruited and how many have been killed, and what the Kremlin calls its special military operation. So far, there's been no response. But there are concerns here in Nepal, the casualty figures, maybe high. CNN has learned that hundreds of Nepalis who joined the Russian military out of contact, and it's uncertain if they're dead or alive.
CHANCE (voice-over): Januka, a young Nepali mother is assuming the worst. Her husband hasn't called for more than two months now. Children asked me when their dad is coming home, she sobs, even if he doesn't love us anymore. We just want to see his face. But another Nepali recruit to Russia's war may never be seen again. Matthew Chance, CNN, Kathmandu in Nepal.
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VAUSE: At this time yesterday, CNN ran a story about the tragic passing of Herbert Wigwe, his wife and his son in a helicopter accident. During that report, CNN ran an incorrect picture of Abimbola Ogunbanjo, who died in the same incident. And show a set of photo of Mr. Ademola Ogunbanjo, Executive Vice President of Oanda Clean Energy seen here who is alive and well, and we apologize for the error and the distress it may have caused.
And when we come back, the Trump legal team heads to the Supreme Court again this time to argue why a lower court ruling was wrong on presidential immunity. Also, the former president taking aim at a familiar target in 2016 he want to do it again, his (INAUDIBLE) comments about NATO and why has Allies on edge.
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VAUSE: It wasn't enough for a report by the Justice Department to be highly critical of U.S. President Joe Biden. Well, that's not enough House Republicans that is. Sources tell CNN they want special counsel Robert Hur to testify before the Judiciary Committee. Hur did not bring charges against Biden for his handling of classified documents during his time as vice president. But Republicans have seized on comments made by Hur characterizing Biden as a well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory a bit like Mr. Magoo,
Democrats and the President had pushed back forcefully calling the comments false and gratuitous.
Well, these move by Trump's legal team today his trial on election subversion is now playing out before the Supreme Court. His lawyers have filed an emergency appeal to delay the hearing until after this year's elections. CNN's Paula Reid explains why.
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PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: On Monday, the Trump legal team asked the Supreme Court to pause a scathing unanimous D.C. appeals court ruling from last week holding that Trump does not have immunity that would shield him from the federal elections diversion case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Now, as part of the brief, they rehashed a lot of the arguments that they've already made arguments that have already been rejected by four federal judges, arguing that their client has absolute immunity from criminal prosecution.
But we know in addition to the legal arguments, the strategy here is really delay, try to use any thing they possibly can to get this trial pushed until after the 2024 presidential race. And here they're asking the Supreme Court to pause that appeals court ruling while they exercise some of their options.
They said they'd like to go to the Supreme Court formally and ask for an appeal, they might go back down to the appeals court, seek a full panel review down there anything they can do to push this back a few days, a few weeks, in the hopes that Jack Smith will not be able to bring this case before the presidential contest, because if former President Trump is reelected, he through his attorney general could fire Jack Smith and make this case as well as the Mar-a-Lago classified documents prosecution go away.
Now, what happens next? Well, the Supreme Court could do pretty much anything they want. They have a lot of options here. But it's widely expected that the Chief Justice will set out a schedule, allowing both sides to weigh in the Special Counsel, expected to weigh in pretty quickly because they're trying to move this along.
But legal experts sources in and around the Trump legal team say they would be surprised if the Supreme Court were to actually take up this case. They're already contemplating a historic case, covering ballot eligibility and whether Trump can appear on the ballot. They say they'd be surprised if they took up this case, too.
This is also expected not to be as strong for the former president not as likely to succeed at the High Court. So, as is the monitor for 2024, all eyes on the Supreme Court, not just for how they handle this, but for how quickly they weigh in and move this along. Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.
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VAUSE: And Donald Trump's outrageous and ill-informed weakened remarks about NATO have done what he almost certainly had expected. Continue to spark anger and make headlines. The U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the latest senior U.S. official to speak out, saying us credibility is at stake. We have a responsibility to uphold those alliances.
During a campaign rally on Saturday, Trump encouraged Russia to attack NATO members if they don't meet defense spending guidelines, his words that they haven't paid up. Well, some will dismiss his words as red meat for his rabid base. For others it was a threat heard loudly around the world, especially in European capitals, and also in Moscow.
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JOSEP BORREL, EUROPEAN UNION FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: NATO cannot be allied military alliance.
DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: Of course, we want all countries like us to spend 2 percent. But I think what was said was not a sensible approach.
KAJSA OLLONGREN, DUTCH DEFENSE MINISTER: Frankly, I think this is exactly what Putin loves to hear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: But many key Republican senators and other pleader allies of Trump are dismissing any concerns about his approach his approach to NATO. Florida's Marco Rubio says that since Trump has been president before, he knows what he's doing.
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MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN: Donald Trump is not a member of the Council foreign relations. He doesn't talk like a traditional politician. And we've already been through this. Now you think people have figured it out by now. He's not the first American president. In fact, virtually every American president at some point, in some way has complained about other countries in NATO not doing enough. You know, Trump's just the first one to express it in these terms.
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[01:25:00] VAUSE: Ivo Daalder served as the U.S. ambassador to NATO from 2009 until 2013. He is currently president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Mr. Ambassador, thank you for being with us.
IVO DAALDER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO NATO: Yes, my pleasure.
VAUSE: So the fallout across Europe continued on Monday from Donald Trump's threat, as uninformed and inaccurate as it may have been, perhaps the most upbeat reaction came from the Prime Minister of Estonia, listen to this.
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KAJA KALLAS, ESTONIAN PRIME MINISTER: I think what the presidential candidate in America says is also something to maybe wake up some of the allies who haven't done that much.
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VAUSE: Well, the French foreign minister was taking Trump's remarks quite literally.
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STEPHANE SEJOURNE, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Every minute counts to prepare Europeans to absorb the shock of the scenario that was described perfectly by Donald Trump.
And so we will work together during this period to analyze the context of what is to come, and in particular, the context of the American elections.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So if Trump does win in November, how seriously should NATO members take his threat, and what happens when European allies feel they can no longer depend on the United States?
DAALDER: I think they should take the idea that a Donald Trump lead United States will not be a reliable ally very, very seriously. You can interpret what he said in a whole variety of different ways. But it comes down to the same essential point.
Donald Trump doesn't like NATO. He has never liked NATO. He doesn't believe it is an alliance that serves American interests. His view of international politics is like everything else, it's a transaction. It's a question of what we get out of it, or in fact, what he gets out of it rather than that we can come accomplish together.
So I don't think this is just a question about who spends how much. I think it's fundamentally about a question about how do we work together, and Europeans and allies around the world are going to see the election of Donald Trump as the end of a time when they can rely on the United States, when they can believe in the United States, and when the United States is credible. That's a good news for America's enemies. It's not good news for America's friends. VAUSE: Well, the former president either doesn't understand or just refuses to understand how NATO actually works, especially that recommended minimum spending on defense a 2 percent of GDP. At the moment, 11 NATO countries are above that threshold 19 are below. Notably, defense spending among the Europeans increased, it has been increasing since 2014 with a surge after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Please explain why the former president is wrong when he talks about delinquent payments so that certain NATO members are billions of dollars to the United States.
DAALDER: Yes. So the United States doesn't get paid by foreign governments to do anything, let alone to defend them. The United States has its own defense budget, just like Estonia and France and the Netherlands and Germany and the United Kingdom, have their own defense budgets. And they provide for their own defense by doing so.
Now, NATO agreed in 2014, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the annexation of Crimea, that within 10 years, those countries who did not spend 2 percent on GDP should aim to do so. And I agreed a couple of years ago after Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine that the 2 percent guideline would be a minimum.
Now, more and more countries are starting to meet that guideline, including Germany this year is expecting to spend 2 percent of its GDP on defense. And that is a good thing.
VAUSE: And one of the real strengths of this NATO defensive alliance is Article Five, an attack on one considered to be an attack on all. That in mind, here's the foreign minister from Poland.
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RADOSLAW SIKORSKI, POLISH FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Article Five of the Washington Treaty was used for the first time after a terrorist attack on the United States after September 11. And at that time, Poland sent army brigades to Afghanistan for decades. And we didn't send the bills for that to Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Not just the first time, the only time Article Five has been invoked. NATO is also prevented World War III despite Putin's best efforts, so if you're in dollar terms, just talk money, something Donald Trump actually understand. How much has the U.S. benefited from not having to fight World War III, how much as the U.S. economy benefited from 75 years of relative peace?
DAALDER: Well, I don't know if I can put it in exact dollar terms. But let's look at the alternative. Remember what happened when the United States was not present in in Europe, when it wasn't part of an alliance system, when it didn't have deploy troops in Europe. That's what led to World War I and World War II.
It was the absence of the United States, it was the internal fissures within Europe that were causing wars that left the United States twice to deploy massive amounts of manpower and materiel across the Atlantic to help and ultimately complete a war.
[01:30:03]
Now, since 1945 indeed since 1949 when NATO was founded, the idea was that the best way, the cheapest way to deal with the possibility of wars do not have one. And that's what NATO has accomplished at an incredible pace.
And as a result, Europe was not only able to rebuild itself from the devastation of what were too, but as emerged as the most prosperous part of the world aside from the United States.
So the U.S. is prosperous because Europe is prosperous, I'd argue the U.S. is secure because Europe is secure. And indeed, Europe, the U.S. is free because Europe is free. That's the lesson.
I don't know if you can translate that into dollar terms, but it's sure worth quite a bit of money and quite -- and a lot for your national interest to be in that kind of position.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: 75 years of relative peace, that has to be priceless in many ways.
And Ambassador, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate your explanations as well as your insights. Thank you.
DAALDER: My pleasure.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is currently in a critical care unit at Walter Reed Medical Center after a non-surgical medical procedure for an emergent bladder issue. A visit to Brussels to discuss the war in Ukraine and also to attend a NATO meeting have been canceled.
Austin was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December. The Pentagon says this bladder problems should not affect the outcome of his battle with cancer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. PAT RYDER, PENTAGON SPOKESPERSON: The current bladder issue is not expected to change his anticipated full recovery. His cancer prognosis remains excellent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Before going under anesthesia Austin transferred power to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks. And this time unlike its hospital stay in January, the White House and Congress have been notified.
Doctors say the Secretary of Defense could be back at work as soon as tomorrow. Well, when we come back, international concerns are growing over
anticipated Israeli ground operation in Rafah. A close look at that and the destruction already left behind by this week's airstrikes.
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VAUSE: Welcome back everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
And more now on our top story.
CNN has learned Egypt is increasing fortifications along its border with Gaza and has deployed more troops as a precautionary measure ahead of expected Israeli ground operation across the border in Rafah. The move is to prevent more Palestinians from crossing over into Egypt.
Meantime, the U.N. urging Israel to call off its planned ground offensive, warning, such an incursion could likely result in many civilian casualties.
[01:34:52]
VAUSE: Rafah, now home to more than a million displaced Palestinians seeking safety though the airstrikes overnight Monday killed dozens of civilians, adding to concerns over what comes next.
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DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: What we are very concerned about, what is happening in Rafah because let's be clear, the people there, many of them who have moved 4, 5, 6 times before getting there and it really we think is impossible to see how you can fight a war amongst these people.
There's nowhere for them to go. They can't go south into Egypt. They can't go north and back to their homes because many have been destroyed. So we are very concerned about the situation and we want Israel to stop and think very seriously before it takes any further action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: For many around the world, the high death toll in Rafah overnight Monday was a preview, (INAUDIBLE) small, but still terrifying of what could happen during Israels looming ground offensive.
CNN's Nada Bashir takes a closer look at the aftermath of what the Israeli prime minister described as a perfect operation.
First a warning, some of the images in her report are graphic and difficult to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yet another distraught Palestinian mother, her hands and face bloodied, her injured daughter limp, carried out of the car.
Around them, more casualties arrive badly wounded. Some of the youngest in a state of shock. The horror that they have faced will be hard to move past.
"We were at home when the airstrikes began", this young girl says. "I told my mother that I wanted to use the bathroom. Then suddenly all the walls of the bathroom and all the water containers above us collapsed on me.
This was the scene overnight in the terrifying series of airstrikes by the Israeli military on a city where some 1.5 million people are now concentrated. The target said to be Hamas, part of an operation to secure the release of two Israeli hostages. But as dawn breaks on the southern border city, it's clear that the aftermath is yet again, one of sheer tragedy.
Bullet holes ripped through the thin plastic of this tent. Inside, the bodies of displaced civilians killed while they were sleeping.
"We were asleep and then suddenly heard the sound of missiles falling around us," Mousa (ph) says. "We could hear the gunfire, the destruction."
According to the Palestine Red Crescent, at least 100 people were killed overnight but that figure is expected to rise with many still believed to be buried beneath the rubble.
At least a dozen residential buildings are said to have been targeted, according to local officials.
"We're civilians. We're not part of a resistance. We haven't taken up arms," this man says. "Look around you, everybody here worked on the land. We're civilians, not fighters."
Eyewitnesses tell CNN that is really helicopters fired machine guns around the border area, a foreboding warning of what could lie ahead for this city with Israel now threatening to launch a ground offensive on Rafah.
"We were first displays to Khan Yunis where we had many difficult nights", Nafa (ph) says. "Then we came to the Egyptian border to Rafah. We can't be displaced anymore."
The Israeli military has been directed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prepare for a mass evacuation of civilians from Rafah, drawing criticism from many in the international community.
The U.N.'s human rights chief warned on Monday that any ground operation could lead to, quote, "further atrocity crimes by Israel" with nowhere safe for civilians to flee to.
Nada Bashir, CNN -- Cairo. (END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Jordan's King Abdullah was at the White House Monday, pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza. That won't happen but U.S. President Joe Biden says they did talk about a potential hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, which would include a six-week pause in fighting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The key element of the deal's around the table. There are gaps that remain. But I've encouraged Israeli leaders to keep working to achieve the deal. The United States will do everything possible to make it happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: King Abdullah issued his own warning about Israel's planned offensive in Rafah. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING ABDULLAH II, JORDAN: We cannot afford an Israeli attack on Rafah. It is certain to produce another humanitarian catastrophe.
The situation is already unbearable for over a million people who had been pushed into Rafah since the war started. We cannot stand by and let this continue. We need a lasting cease-fire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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VAUSE: More now on that White House meeting from CNN's M.J. Lee at the White House.
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M.J. LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Now, all of this coming as there has been mounting frustration as the war enters its fifth month.
President Biden, we are learning, has told advisers that he is frustrated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not heeding his advice enough when it comes to de-escalating the military operation in Gaza and doing more to alleviate the humanitarian crisis there.
We also know that the tension has been intensifying as Israel has been talking about preparing to make a ground incursion into Rafah.
We heard the president saying on Monday that civilians there must be protected but other U.S. officials have made clear that they are very skeptical about the idea of evacuating some 1.3 million people that are in Rafah. They said they simply have nowhere to go.
So this is expected to be a continuing point of tension, so long as Israel continues to talk about preparations to make a ground incursion into Rafah.
We also know that as far as the hostage rescue operation that led to the successful release of two hostages, U.S. officials are concerned about reports of some hundred Palestinians that were killed as a result of that military operation.
This is just one more sign of the very high civilian death toll and the humanitarian crisis that the Biden administration continues to speak out against and this will continue to be an area to look at going forward, particularly as the hostage negotiations between all the parties involved continue to move ahead.
M.J. Lee, CNN -- at the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Last hour, I spoke with Adil Haque, professor of law at Rutgers University. He's also an expert on law and ethics with armed conflict. Haque said other countries have legal or even ethical obligations to work with Israel to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza.
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ADIL HAQUE, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: So the international community has no obligation to help either party to the conflict. They do have an obligation to do what they can to help civilians.
And humanitarian agencies, U.N. bodies have been saying for months we can provide shelter, food, water, medicine for civilians, but we need time and we need those supplies to be delivered.
And with the pace and intensity of the bombing campaign, many of the places where that support for civilians could have been established has been damaged or destroyed.
So there just isn't that much space left in Gaza for that kind of major humanitarian operation to take place. The only place left where such aid could be delivered is Rafah.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Coming up here on CNN was anti-Semitism behind a weekend shooting at a Houston megachurch. Investigators revealed new details about the shooter's troubling past.
[01:42:48]
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VAUSE: Around the world. Many are mourning the sudden death of record- breaking marathon runner Kelvin Kiptum. The 24-year-old died in a weekend car accident in Kenya.
Kiptum didn't just break the long-held world record for men's marathon, he smashed it by 34 seconds last year in Chicago, finishing two hours and 35 seconds. His next goal was to complete a marathon in under two hours.
Police say Kiptum him was behind the wheel of the car when it hit a tree. His coach also died.
Police say they've connected anti-Semitic writings to a woman who opened fire in televangelist Joel Osteen's megachurch on Sunday. Officials also say the 36-year-old woman had a history of mental illness and legal trouble. She was killed by two off-duty officers soon after she entered the church and opened fire.
CNN's Nick Watt walks us through the thwarted attack.
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NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Moments before a Spanish language service was set to start those are gunshots
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want to believe that it's something different until you hear the second shots and then you see the fear in people's eyes is when you realize that there's an active shooter.
WATT: woman wearing a trench coat and a backpack had walked into celebrity Pastor Joel Osteen megachurch with her seven-year-old son and an AR-15 rifle and opened fire.
CHRISTOPHER HASSIG, HOUSTON POLICE HOMICIDE COMMANDER: There's a few minutes gun battle -- for lack of better term.
WATT: A gun battle with to off-duty law enforcement officers working security at the church.
KEVIN LILLY, CHAIRMAN, TEXAS ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE COMMISSION: These two officers held their ground. They held their ground in the face of rifle fire at point-blank range.
WATT: Police identified the shooter is 36-year-old Genesee Moreno. They say she had a second weapon in her backpack. She said she had a bomb.
HASSIG: She eventually falls to the ground. The seven-year-old child falls to the ground as well from gunfire. One gunshot wound to the head.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shooting at Lakewood, two people down, we need an ambulance.
We need this ambulance for the child.
CHIEF TROY FINNER, HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: what we need to do for him is just pray. He's still in critical condition fighting for his life.
PASTOR JOEL OSTEEN, LAKEWOOD CHURCH: I want to thank all these gentlemen because, you know, I can only imagine if it would have been during the 11:00 service.
WATT: That's when Pastor Osteen was preaching.
OSTEEN: God bless you. It's great to be with you today.
WATT: Thousands have gathered to hear this prominent pastor, televangelist, businessmen and author. He preaches that wealth is a sign of divine favor.
OSTEEN: God wants you to not only have all your needs supplied, but plenty leftover so you can be a blessing to others.
WATT: Officials say the shooter had a history of mental health issues. Apparently, she bought the rifle in December legally.
HASSIG: There was a sticker on the butt stock of the rifle that stated Palestine, a sticker simply stated Palestine.
WATT: Investigators say they have found anti-Semitic writings and believed there was some kind of dispute involving her ex-husband's family, some of whom are Jewish.
Why she targeted this Christian megachurch remains unclear.
Investigators are trying to piece together the life of the shooter -- a divorce, a bitter custody battle lay long, but fairly minor criminal history, possession of weapon, possession of marijuana, assault, forgery.
And there is at least one connection to the church on social media. In 2020, she posted a picture of a letter from Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church thanking her for a donation.
Nick Watt, CNN -- Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago has declared a national emergency over an oil spill and says government funding is needed for the cleanup. The spill happened last week from an overturned ship, but it's still unclear who it belongs to or where it came from. Attempts to stop the leak have not worked.
The spill continues to blacken the coastline. Residents say there's a constant stench raising some health concerns as well.
A new report from the United Nations warns hundreds of migratory species are facing extinction because of our actions. Whale sharks and turtles, elephants, wildcats, bats, for every birds and insects -- anything that migrates are all at risk because of a loss of habitat and over clearance of land by us.
Fishing nets, poachers, warming waters, as well as pollution also, taking a severe toll.
Well a brief but intense storm on Tuesday is expected to bring the most snow New York City has seen in years, up to 20 centimeters. The National Weather Service has placed New York under a winter storm
warning because of a nor'easter. First warning of its kind for New York City since January of 2022.
[01:49:49]
VAUSE: This is the snow from the nor'easter that hit that year. This time more than five centimeters of snow per hour could fall across parts of Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey.
Indonesia's presidential candidates are fighting to win the young people over. When we come back, a look at who stands the best chance of winning the election in a moment.
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VAUSE: Welcome back.
After just a few months behind bars former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been granted parole. Not exactly clear when the 74- year-old billionaire will be set free. This early release appears to be due to his age and chronic illness.
The former Manchester City Football Club owner was facing an eight- year sentence on corruption charges. He received a pardon in August from the Thai king who reduced his sentence to just a year. This after Thaksin spent more than 15 years in self-exile.
Over 200 million people are expected to vote in Indonesia's general election on Wednesday. It's been dubbed the world's biggest election day and it will decide as most elections do, the country's new leader. The race is between a former army general and two former governors.
And CNN's Anna Coren explains why young people could cast the deciding vote.
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ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Military hardman, or cuddly grandfather. 72-year-old Prabowo Subianto is shaking the stigma of alleged human rights abuses in an effort to win Indonesia's general election at his third time of trying.
ANDREAS HARSONO, SENIOR INDONESIA RESEARCHER, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Of course, it is a concern for human rights defenders like me. But at the end of the day, it depends on the voters.
COREN: Prabowo is accused of the kidnap and disappearance of democracy activists in the 1990s, as well as abuses against ethnic minorities in East Timor and West Parqua (ph), all while he served as a Special Forces commander under former dictator Suharto.
Prabowo denies those accusations.
Few would deny the effectiveness of his cartoon rebrand. HARSONO: Sophisticated image-making with P.R. companies, influencers, and of course, political muscle. And the most important is the backing of President Jokowi. He -- he keeps on moving. He is not the front runner.
COREN: Prabowo is hoping to score 50 percent of the vote on Wednesday when Indonesians go to the polls. That would avoid a runoff and make him Indonesia's next president after losing to the country's outgoing leader, Joko Widodo, known as Jakowi, at the past two elections.
This time may well be different, thanks in part to a slick social media campaign targeting Indonesia's youth vote.
FAUZAN HABIB, SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNER FOR PRABOWO SUBIANTO (through translator): The gamoy (ph) dance is quite viral, because it was introduced and even done by Mr. Prabowo himself. And it turns out the public loves it, as it seems nowadays, people prefer a happy campaign model which includes dancing.
COREN: Over half of the country's huge electorate of 200 million registered voters are either millennials or Gen Z. But that means Prabowo isn't the only candidate focused on youth.
His rivals in the three-horse race -- Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Baswedan have also made big plays at younger voters.
[01:54:51]
NURUL HIDAYAH, ANIES BASWEDAN SUPPORTER (through translator): It's so fun. It doesn't feel like a presidential election. I'm also a K-pop fan. So events like this are great for me.
COREN: Anies, a former governor of Jakarta, has leaned into the K-pop craze, while Ganjar has the most TikTok followers of all three.
Perhaps more importantly, Prabowo is being seen by many Indonesian voters as the continuity candidate.
Jokowi's eldest son, 36-year-old, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, is running for vice president on Prabowo's ticket.
This presidential election has often seen style put over substance. Whoever does win must immediately begin to tackle the issues voters care about, from cost of living to the environment.
Anna Coren, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: In about 48 hours from now, a private rocket will lift off from Texas heading for the moon. The lunar lander called Odysseus will be carrying a lot (ph) on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. If all goes as planned, Odysseus will be the first American spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon since the 1970s.
If this sounds familiar, that's because it is. We tried it all again as last month, give or take, with the launch of an American lunar lander which failed because of a fuel leak and never made it.
Finally now, labor of love in Colombia. With Valentine's Day coming up on Wednesday, flower farmers are working overtime. They're working night and day to meet a high demand in the United States. Colombian exporters say they shipped 52,000 tons of cut flowers in the leadup to last year's holiday. A lot of stems, lot of work, a lot of cutting.
Many Colombian farmers start their flower production six months ahead of Valentine's Day so they can just keep up with the demand.
Have you bought your flowers? It's probably too late if you haven't.
Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
CNN Newsroom continues with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church after a very short break.
I have heard flowers --
See you tomorrow.
[01:56:51]
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