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CNN International: Israel Issues An Ultimatum To Hamas On Hostage Release; Kremlin: "Not Involved" In Returning Navalny's Body To Family; Some In Russia Taking Risk By Paying Respects To Navalny. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired February 19, 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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CHARLOTTE COWLES, COLUMNIST, THE CUT: -- who you would reach out to in a situation like this, and then think of the ways that you would get off the phone if you really had to. Why? Make up a reason. Say you have to go to the bathroom. Say that you're losing cell phone service. And just slow down. Take a beat. Call someone. Reach out to someone else. It's the best way to do a gut check and really get yourself out of a situation when you're in over your head.

JOHN BERMAN, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM: Thanks for doing this. I know it couldn't have been easy.

COWLES: Thank you.

BERMAN: I think it's really important what you've done here, and I hope people are paying attention.

COWLES: Thank you.

BERMAN: All right. CNN This Morning continues right now.

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

Just ahead, Israel sets a deadline for the release of hostages before it expands its military operations in Rafah. We are live here in Tel Aviv. Their claims, he went for a walk, fell ill, and collapsed, now the family of Alexey Navalny says they can't even get access to his body. And the Russian flag rises over the fallen Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, a stark reminder of the challenges Kyiv's troops are facing as U.S. aid dries up.

Israel is issuing a warning and a deadline to Hamas. War Cabinet Minister, Benny Gantz, says forces will expand military operations into the southern Gaza city of Rafah where displaced Palestinians are taking refuge if Hamas doesn't return the remaining hostages by Ramadan. The holy Muslim month is expected to fall on the second week of March. There is growing international concern that the roughly 1.5 million people sheltering there will have nowhere else to go.

CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now from Tel Aviv with the latest developments. Was he speaking for the government? Can we expect this deadline to stand?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I don't think the government is going to back away from it. He is a member of the war cabinet. Pre-October 7, Benny Gantz (ph) was the biggest political rival to Prime Minister Netanyahu. So, if he is in the war cabinet and he is saying this, this is something that you can be pretty sure. The Prime Minister has already signaled his absolute intent to continue to what he calls absolute victory. He says that the people of Rafah can go and find safety and shelter further north, though, as we saw over the weekend, families leaving Rafah. They went to central Gaza, found themselves being bombed by Israeli aircraft there.

So, there is no particular safe places for people to go to in Gaza right now. The government says it's not going to launch this military operation into Rafah until they've safely evacuated the citizens there, the roughly 1.5 million citizens there. It's not clear what that plan looks like, how they'll actually manage to do it, how they'll provide food and shelter for all those people, even if that's something that they plan to do.

But, this is a very clear line being taken by Benny Gantz. He says Hamas has a choice. If they want their citizens in Gaza to enjoy the holy month of Ramadan, which begins 10th or 11th of March, fairly soon, then they need to hand over the hostages. It's a message that the government is trying to impress upon the families of those hostages as well, because a lot of those families have given up believing the government genuinely wants to prioritize them over and above defeating Hamas. So, his message was in part to those families as well, is to Hamas.

FOSTER: OK. Nic Robertson, thank you.

The widow of Alexey Navalny speaking out following the death of her husband. In an eight-minute address posted on social media, Yulia Navalnaya promises to find out who carried out what she described as a crime, and she vowed to continue her husband's work. The late dissident died on Friday in a Russian penal colony. A spokesperson for the family says Navalny's and lawyers were denied access earlier today to the morgue where his body is allegedly being held. The exact circumstances of his death remain a mystery. Over the weekend, a human rights group as hundreds of people were detained after attending vigils across Russia.

CNN's Matthew Chance has been talking to us from Moscow. Take a listen.

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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, it's been a shock to reaction. I mean, everybody knew who Alexey Navalny was, as the country's most prominent opposition leader. And everybody is shocked, if not surprised, that he met this untimely death in his penal colony in the far north of the country.

You're joining me now in the middle of Moscow, right outside the FSB headquarters where you can see people are still coming. There is a lady just down that (inaudible). Some more people over here. They're coming to pay their respects, to offer sympathy and condolences to the family and friends and the organization of Alexey Navalny.

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These are all the flowers that have been put down so far. Just go ahead, (inaudible). And as I say, this is a monument to the victims of repression during the Soviet period. And so, it's interesting that this is the place where people have chosen to come and pay their respects to Alexey Navalny. There is a photograph of him here. Somebody has laid that. People are putting traditional red roses, children's picture over here, saying on the tombstone there, Alexey Navalny, geroy, which means hero. And that's how, of course, many people in this country see him as.

Now, the act of putting that flower on this memorial is risky in a country like Russia, because all kinds of dissent, all kinds of political opposition have been crushed by the Kremlin. And even though people are doing this now, it's not large numbers, but it is a steady flow, you can say, shows just how angry and how much people are sort of braving that repression to come out and put these flowers on this money.

Remember, across the country, hundreds of people have been dragged from these snowy parks in towns and cities across Russia and taken away and detained for doing exactly this. And so, it is a huge risk that people are taking. There is a whole line of people coming here now, huge risks that people are taking to come out and pay their respects to Alexey Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition figure.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, as the Kremlin says very little about Alexey Navalny's death, today, the Russian flag is flying over the city of Avdiivka. That's in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv's troops have been forced to retreat, and Ukraine is facing renewed pressure across the eastern front, compounded by shortages of ammunition. In the south, sources are talking of a massive rush and build up near Zaporizhzhia.

Let's bring in CNN's Fred Pleitgen. It does feel as though there is some sort of operation building out there, Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, absolutely. And it looks as though the Russians certainly are pressing the Ukrainians on many sectors of the front. You were just mentioning the south where apparently there have been renewed offensive efforts by the Russians there near the Zaporizhzhia front which is a very long one, which is also the place where the Ukrainians actually conducted their massive counteroffensive that started in the summer of last year, which then obviously fizzled. It looks as though the Russians are now trying to win back some of that territory.

However, Max, of course, the big story from the weekend was the Russians managing to take the town of Avdiivka, which actually has been in Ukrainian hands throughout the entire time since 2014, since the Russians and Russian-affiliated militias first entered that area and took parts of eastern Ukraine. So, certainly, something that the Russians are celebrating as a big win. The Ukrainians, for their part, however, are saying that they inflicted massive casualties on the Russians as they were moving forward. The talk is of destroying hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles, and killing thousands, if not, tens of thousands of Russian soldiers the Ukrainians say were in many cases assaulting without any sort of protection.

So, it seems as though from the Ukrainian perspective, they have lost this town and obviously is a pretty big loss for them. But, they also said they inflicted massive casualties on the Russians as the Russians were moving forward. So, right now, we have a situation, Max, where the Russians are pressing on several sectors of the eastern front. The Ukrainians, you were just mentioning that the Ukrainians were outgunned. They certainly also are outmanned also on the front lines as well. They say they hope to be able to fight back at some point, but for now, a very difficult situation for the Ukrainian military, Max.

FOSTER: OK. Fred Pleitgen, thank you.

U.S. President Joe Biden says he fears other Ukrainian towns will fall without further American assistance, and he is calling on Republican lawmakers to do more to help Kyiv on the battleground by passing a critical aid package. The White House is also making it clear, it believes Vladimir Putin is directly responsible for Alexey Navalny's death. And Mr. Biden says the U.S. is looking at a number of options to punish Russia for the death of the opposition leader.

CNN's MJ Lee joins us live at the White House. What are those options then, MJ?

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, it's worth pointing out that President Biden, as you said, has made it repeatedly clear that in his mind there is no question that it is Vladimir Putin that is responsible for Alexey Navalny's death. He says that this is one of the clearest signs yet of the Putin regime's brutality. And what we have seen here in Washington is that the news of Navalny's death has injected even more urgency into the ongoing consideration and debate over U.S.' to support for Ukraine.

For months and months, we've heard the Biden administration warning that if additional aid for Ukraine is not approved, then the existing pot of money is going to run out.

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And U.S. officials have said recently that that in fact has happened that that money has run out and that they're now seeing detrimental effects of that on the battlefield for Ukrainian forces with them running out of ammunition, running out of other important equipment, as they continue their fight against Russian forces. And over the weekend, what we heard from President Biden again is that he is worried that additional Ukrainian towns could end up falling is U.S. aid is not approved quickly. This is more of what he had to say over the weekend. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Look, the Ukrainian people have fought so bravely and heroically. They've put so much on the line. And the idea that now, when they're running out of ammunition, we'd walk away, I find it absurd. I find it unethical. I find it just contrary to everything we are as a country. So, I'm going to fight until we get them the ammunition they need and the capacity they need to defend themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: We are now, of course, less than a week away from the two-year mark of Russia's invasion into Ukraine. And we know over the weekend, President Biden spoke on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And according to the White House's readout of that conversation between the two leaders, President Biden is set to have emphasized to his Ukrainian counterpart that he does believe there is strong bipartisan support for Ukraine's sovereignty within the U.S. government. Of course, this alludes to the fact that the President has said and he says he believes that it is only because of a small faction (ph) of extreme House Republicans that funding for Ukraine is currently stalled.

But, even if that is the case, that is certainly the political reality that is sort of haunting President Biden right now that these House Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, is declining to bring up for consideration in the House a national security supplemental package that includes some $60 billion for Ukraine aid.

FOSTER: OK. MJ, thank you so much for that.

U.S. stepping up its campaign to stop the Houthis from attacking ships in the Red Sea. U.S. forces staged multiple attacks on Houthi missiles and vessels over the weekend, including a strike on an unmanned underwater vessel. It comes amid reports of a Houthi attack on a cargo ship on Sunday that forced the crew to abandon the vessel. The Houthis claim the ship is now in danger of sinking in the Gulf of Aden.

Katie Bo Lillis is tracking this story for us. A very unusual operation we saw play out here.

KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN REPORTER: Yeah. So, the U.S. military saying in a statement that it struck five targets in Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen on Saturday, three anti-ship cruise missiles, one drone boat and one underwater drone. The military saying in a statement that this is the first time that they have seen the Houthis use this kind of underwater drone, essentially a submarine drone. Now, they didn't provide us a whole lot of detail here. So, we don't know at this point how the U.S. was able to identify that system, how many of them the Houthis might have, and what specific threat that system might pose to both commercial shipping and military ships in the region.

It's certainly an underwater drone, one would presume would be more difficult to detect and destroy. So, this may be a shift in Houthi strategy because they haven't yet been successful in hitting a U.S. Navy ship. But, these strikes on Saturday were just a -- of a piece with a series of U.S. military strikes against the Houthis, which is this Iran-backed group in Yemen that has been carrying out now dozens of attacks since the onset of the conflict in Gaza in October in what it says is retaliation -- or sorry -- solidarity with the Palestinian cause there. And so, the U.S. -- the attacks -- the strikes on Saturday in fact followed another round of strikes by the U.S. on Friday, also destroying two anti-ship cruise missiles or an anti-ship cruise missile and a surface drone, a drone ship as well.

So, the big question is, will the accumulation of these U.S. retaliatory strikes against the Houthis have the effect that the U.S. is hoping, which is deterring additional attacks? Right now, Houthi attacks continue at the same pace that they have been for months, and the leaders saying that they have no intention of stopping their attacks on commercial shipping until the Israelis are out of Gaza.

FOSTER: OK. Katie, thank you so much for bringing us that.

Still to come, I'll be joined by an aid worker, as Israel gives an ultimatum to Hamas to release the hostages. We will take a close look at the reality there on the ground.

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FOSTER: Let's take a look at our -- a closer look at our top story. The Israeli government has warned that it will expand its military operation in Rafah if the hostages held by Hamas will not be returned by Ramadan. War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz made it clear during a public event that fighting will continue in Rafah, the southernmost city in the south of Gaza bordering Egypt. It is estimated that around 1.5 million people are sheltering in Rafah. And there are growing concerns that in the event of a further escalation, they'll have nowhere to go. This while on Saturday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims that there is "a lot of space in the north of Rafah for people to flee."

Joining me now Shaina Low, Communication Officer at the Norwegian Refugee Council. She joins me live from Jerusalem. As you understand it, where is this area where people can go to, and how much space really is there?

SHAINA LOW, COMMUNICATION ADVISOR, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: There simply is no space north of Rafah. First of all, large parts of Gaza have already been completely destroyed by Israeli bombardment over the last four plus months. The middle area of Gaza, which has seen a little bit less destruction, does not have any open space. It doesn't have facilities. It doesn't have shelters to accommodate people. And northern Gaza has been largely destroyed. There is expectations that there could be hundred, thousands of unexploded ordinances, making it unsafe for civilians to return there.

On top of that, humanitarian relief efforts have been focused on the Rafah area. That's where aid, international aid is coming in. That's where over half of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been forced to flee over the last four months of fighting and are seeking aid and assistance there.

FOSTER: The Israeli government insists they are -- they do -- they will have a plan for protecting civilians as part of this operation. Have they outlined any of that plan? Do you understand there to be a plan in place?

LOW: No. There has been no presentation of any type of plan. And if we're going based on the last four months experience, we've seen that the so-called evacuation plans were not evacuations at all. In order for an evacuation to be lawful under international law, evacuees need to have guarantees of safe passage when they're seeking safety. They need to have guarantees of safety where they end up seeking refuge, and then they need to be guaranteed their right to return home and ability to return home once hostilities have ended. Anything that doesn't meet those standards amounts to forcible transfer, a grave violation of international law. That's what we've seen unfolding in Gaza over the last four months, and that's what we anticipate to happen should there be a ground operation in Rafah.

FOSTER: Are you calling on other governments to put pressure on Israel around this operation? Because it seems a lot of pressure is already on Israel, and it's still going ahead.

LOW: Absolutely. The international community needs to use, not only their rhetoric, but any leverage that they have to prevent further displacement.

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Palestinians have already been devastated over the last four and a half months. We have over 20,000 Palestinians killed. We have over a million -- about -- over 1.7 million Palestinians who have been displaced, many of them repeatedly. We have over 70 percent of housing in Gaza damaged or destroyed. And what we need is the international community to do all that they can to put pressure on Israel to halt this planned ground operation and to push for a long-term ceasefire. That's the only way that this conflict will be resolved through negotiations, through political means, not through military might.

FOSTER: Shaina Low, appreciate your time today. Thank you for joining us.

Still to come, the BAFTA has rolled out the red carpet. But, after the award, some walked away without a price, or is the case really? We'll have a look at the winners and the losers.

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FOSTER: Oppenheimer was the big winner in the 77th of British Academy Film Awards, or BAFTAs in London last night. The biopic about the man who helped usher in the nuclear age got 13 nominations and won seven awards.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: London rolling out the red carpet. Welcome to the BAFTAs, the biggest night of the year for the British movie industry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So much talent comes out of England. So, to be here, it's exciting.

PHOEBE DYNEVOR, NOMINEE, EE RISING STAR: I'm having the best time, kind of (inaudible) but also just in the best way.

FOSTER (voice-over): The British Academy Film Awards are where cinema royalty meets UK royalty, but some glamour was missing this year as the Princess of Wales continues to recover from surgery. Prince William attended alone, signaling that Kate is at least well enough for him to return to public duties. The night, a celebration of British culture, seeing Sophie Ellis-Bextor perform her 2001 single "Murder on the Dancefloor", currently experiencing a social media explosion after his appearance in 'Saltburn'.

SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR, SINGER AND SONGWRITER: Other songs have had a resurgence, like many decades after they're released, never in a million years I thought I would be able to experience that.

FOSTER (voice-over): The ceremony also paid tribute to those impacted by the war in Ukraine as "20 days in Mariupol" took home the prize for "Best Documentary".

MSTYSLAV CHERNOV, DIRECTOR, "20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL": Thank you for empowering our voice. Let's just keep fighting.

FOSTER (voice-over): But, alongside the impassioned political statements, the ceremony found some lighter moments.

HUGH GRANT, ACTOR, "WONKA": Oompa Loompa doompety dong, most of these films were frankly too long.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

FOSTER (voice-over): Despite taking some heat for its three-hour runtime, Oppenheimer cleaned up, bringing home seven BAFTAs in total.

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CILLIAN MURPHY, ACTOR, "OPPENHEIMER": I want to thank my fellow nominees and oppen-homies. That was a rhyme.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The BAFTA goes to --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Poor Things".

FOSTER (voice-over): An imaginative feminist take on Frankenstein --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good evening.

FOSTER (voice-over): -- "Poor Things" also took home five awards, including leading actress. EMMA STONE, ACTOR, "POOR THINGS": Thank you for the line. I must go

punch that baby.

FOSTER (voice-over): And in a BAFTA's first, the award for the best film, not in the English language, went to a British film, "The Zone of Interest".

CLAIRE FOY, ACTOR, "ALL OF US STRANGERS": I think that the BAFTAs celebrate smaller films in a way which I think is really amazing. I think it's really important that younger filmmakers are appreciated and that is a diverse set of filmmakers.

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FOSTER: Well, the BAFTAs are seen by many as a good indication of potential winners at the upcoming Oscars. That countdown has now started. And the 96th Oscars ceremony will be broadcast on March the 10th. And we are only hours away from the 66th Daytona 500 in Florida after rain delayed the race on Sunday. This is only the third time the great American race has been postponed in its history. Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Joey Logano, will start Daytona the head of the pack from pole position while last year's winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will start the rear, 35th position.

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

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