Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Top U.S. Senate Democrat Calls for Israeli Elections; Voting Underway as Putin Expected to Secure His Fifth Term; Judge Denies One of Trump's Motions in Classified Docs Case; Hamas Official Answers Questions about Hostages, Negotiations; Elon Musk's Tesla Performs Poorly Amidst Controversy. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired March 15, 2024 - 00:00   ET

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

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Coming up here on CNN.

[00:01:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost his way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Benjamin Netanyahu on the receiving end of unprecedented public criticism from Chuck Schumer, majority leader in the U.S. Senate, now calling for fresh elections in Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The elections in Russia will not be free and fair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: But they are now underway with three days of voting for Russia's next president. He's also the current president and the president before that. Yes, that guy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And one giant leap towards a manned mission to Mars with a successful third test flight of a gigantic, gigantic Starship.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: We begin this with what appears to be another deadly strike on civilians in Gaza City as they were waiting in line for food assistance. Those who survived the attack say they heard the sound of tank or artillery fire, which according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, killed at least 20 people, injuring more than 150 others.

Many were rushed here to Al-Shifa Hospital. But officials there say medical teams have been unable to deal with the type of injuries, as well as the number of wounded.

Palestinian officials have accused Israel of a targeted attack on hungry people. But in a brief statement, the Israeli military says those accusations are false.

But the details of this strike on a food distribution area are similar to an attack last month also in Gaza City, which killed more than 100 Palestinians.

Food shortages in Gaza's North are particularly severe, with Israel's chokehold on distribution dramatically reducing the amount of aid which can access the area.

Now the highest-ranking Jewish official in the United States, Senator Chuck Schumer, has done what no politician has ever done before. In remarks from the Senate floor, Schumer publicly excoriated Benjamin Netanyahu, describing him as an obstacle to peace, who'd lost his way.

He called for Israelis to vote Netanyahu and his far-right coalition out of office in fresh elections. And if they didn't, Schumer hinted that U.S. support for Israel may no longer be unconditional.

The Senate majority leader accused Netanyahu of putting his own political survival ahead of the needs of the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHUMER: As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me the Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7. The world has changed radically since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Here's how Netanyahu's conservative Likud Party responded: "Israel is not a banana republic, but an independent and proud democracy that elected Prime Minister Netanyahu. Contrary to Schumer's words, the Israeli public supports a total victory over Hamas and opposes the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza."

To Jerusalem now and Yaakov Katz, a senior columnist for "The Jerusalem Post" and a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute.

Yaakov, welcome back. Good to see you.

YAAKOV KATZ, SENIOR COLUMNIST, "THE JERUSALEM POST": Thank you, John.

VAUSE: So when it comes to Israeli elections, Senator Schumer did acknowledge this one very important point. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHUMER: The United States cannot dictate the outcome of an -- of an election. Nor should we try. That is for the Israeli public to decide. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: But he then went on to warn that the U.S. -- what the U.S. would do if Netanyahu and that far-right coalition remains in power.

Again, here's Schumer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHUMER: The United States will have no choice but to play a more active role in shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage to change the present course.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So the U.S. won't interfere in an election outcome. But if the outcome from the next election is not what they want, it's not to Washington's liking, then it seems he's implying that U.S. support for Israel will be downgraded in a way from unconditional to conditional.

[00:35:03]

Is that how you heard what he was saying?

KATZ: That's exactly how I heard what he was seeing, and that's exactly what election interference is, right? And that is what Chuck Schumer did yesterday in probably the grossest way possible for one democracy to try to interfere and dictate what another democracy should do in its election process.

Israel is not yet in an election. It's very likely that, as a result of the attacks of October 7 and the failures of this government leading up to those attacks, not being able to prevent them, that we will go to an election sometime in the next half a year to a year.

But to try to dictate to the Israeli people what the results should be is something that I think wall-to-wall in this country, you will find resistance to that, despite the fact that I think, for the most part, a vast majority of Israelis cherish, respect, and highly value the relationship that we have with the United States.

Not just because of the physical manifestation or the benefit when it comes to weapons and military aid. But also because of those shared values that we used to believe that we had at the core of the foundation of what this relationship is about.

VAUSE: A spokesman for the U.S. State Department implied the remarks from Senator Schumer, where essentially his and his alone. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW MILLER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: Congress is an independent branch of government. I think the Israel -- the government of Israel understands quite well how the U.S. government works. And I'm sure that they fully understand that he speaks for himself. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, while Schumer was not speaking for the administration, the administration knew that he was speaking. They knew this speech was coming.

That seems it came with some kind of tacit approval from the White House.

But it also reflects this riff, this growing division between the Biden administration and Benjamin Netanyahu, which is becoming a problem.

KATZ: Without a doubt, John. And you know, while Schumer does not speak for the Biden administration, he definitely spoke last night for the Biden administration.

We've been seeing over the last few weeks, as the U.S. is feeling a little frustrated with the continuation of the war, and I think primarily with the fact that Prime Minister Netanyahu has failed to articulate an outline what the day after plan would look like. And he's not -- and he's refusing, essentially, to embrace what President Biden has outlined as what he would like to see happen, eventually culminate in a two-state solution. Netanyahu's refusing to do that.

So they're growingly frustrated, and I think Schumer went the farthest that any U.S. administration official has said until now. But we've heard some harsh remarks from President Biden just last week, where he said that he thinks Netanyahu is not doing a service to his people. We've heard strong remarks from the vice president.

But I just want to say here, John, an important point for people to keep in mind. Israel is still fighting a war. We have multiple active fronts in the South in Gaza, in the North by Hezbollah. We have Iran, which we're seeing from reports from the U.N. is continuing to pursue a nuclear capability.

If the world thought that they could attack Israel on October 7 and commit the greatest massacre since the Holocaust of Jewish people back when the alliance was believed to be stronger, what do we think that our enemies are thinking right now; when they see that Israel's greatest ally is moving away from it?

Do they think that Israel is stronger? Do they think that they cannot attack Israel? Or do they think that maybe actually, now is the time to double down on their attacks against the Jewish state of Israel?

So I'm concerned that these comments like Senator Schumer's are actually putting Israel at greater risk right now.

VAUSE: Well, the remarks from Schumer have been widely criticized on both sides of politics. Republican and Democrat lawmakers have taken issue.

And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, he seemed to call out the elephant in the room. You mentioned this earlier. Here he is. Here's McConnell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): It is grotesque and hypocritical for Americans who hyperventilate about foreign interference in our own democracy to call for the removal of a democratically elected leader of Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You mentioned Israel is likely to face an election sometime, what, in the next six months or so. Netanyahu's poll ratings are way down. There's disapproval of how he's handled the war in Gaza, the situation before that.

But could these comments by Schumer actually help Netanyahu be reelected in some way? Israelis are not very appreciative of being told what to do.

KATZ: Exactly, John. You just hit the nail on the head, right?

This is probably going to have the opposite effect of what the administration and what should Senator Schumer might have wanted in his speech yesterday.

Israelis look at this interference, and they look at the attacks in the personal attacks against their prime minister. And let's remember: most of Israel does support these policies, right, whether it's Benjamin Netanyahu, Benny Gantz, Yair, Lapid, Naftali Bennett, whoever might be prime minister right now.

[00:10:06]

All Israelis believe that this war needs to continue until we see a defeat and a victory over Hamas and a toppling, essentially, of Hamas's regime. We're not yet there. Hamas still is in control of the Gaza Strip and still has capabilities.

So it's not as if it's a policy difference. It's a personal difference. And when Israeli's see that there's a personal attack on that personality, Netanyahu, they might actually fall in behind him. So this might actually have the opposite effect and lead Netanyahu to potential victory in whenever those elections are going to be held.

VAUSE: Yes. Well, you know, Benjamin Netanyahu is the great survivor. We'll see what happens. And Yaakov Katz, as always, sir. Thank you.

KATZ: Thank you.

The first of three days of voting is now underway in Russia's presidential election. And while it's all but certain that Vladimir Putin will be reelected for another term, what he plans to do during those six years isn't exactly clear.

Voting began several hours ago in the far East, with polling stations opening throughout the day across Russia's 11 time zones. Voters in the capital, Moscow, will be able to cast their ballots from the top of the hour.

Russians can vote either for Vladimir Putin or three Kremlin-approved candidates. Any credible challenger has either been jailed or killed or both; sent in exile or simply banned from running.

Putin has now been either president or prime minister of Russia for 24 years. He's now the longest-serving Russian leader since dictator Joseph Stalin. For more now, here's CNN's Matthew Chance, reporting in from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In some areas, like annexed parts of Ukraine, voting in this Russian election has already begun. The outcome, say observers, is inevitable.

"I'm just happy Russia has accepted us," says this woman in Donetsk. "And I love everyone who votes for Putin," she says.

The Kremlin leader has barely campaigned for his fifth term in what observers say is the most vacuous, empty Russian election in memory.

Putin's campaign ads simply ask voters who they trust. Eighty-six percent, according to the latest opinion polls, say it's him.

The Kremlin's crack-down on dissent makes a mockery of public surveys. The sudden death in jail last month of Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin's most prominent critic, has left the Russian opposition even deeper in despair. And with no one they feel they can support.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe, if Alexei were in the election, I would vote for him. But not for anybody now.

CHANCE: So if Alexei Navalny was on the ballot, you'd have voted for him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, but of course.

CHANCE: But now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But now -- maybe I write his name.

CHANCE (voice-over): Of course, officially, there's a choice like voting for the Communist Party candidate Nikolay Kharitonov, and his vision, which few Russian share for return to a glorious socialist past.

"We've all played the game of capitalism," he says, "and now that's enough."

Leonard Slutsky was once at the center of sexual harassment allegations. He denied any wrongdoing, later apologizing for the stress he may have caused.

But he's now a presidential candidate and extremely reluctant to criticize the man currently in power. NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Do you think you would be a better president than Putin? A better president than Vladimir Putin?

LEONARD SLUTSKY, RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This -- this decision of our population.

ROBERTSON: What do you think? You're standing against him. You don't think you're going to be better, why would you stand against him?

SLUTSKY: For me. Now, if you are a leader of political policy, it's necessary to check who participate in election.

CHANCE (voice-over): And participation without criticism of Putin is what this entire Russian election is all about. Independent election observers described Vladislav Davankov, the low-key final candidate, as trying not to attract undue attention, focusing on internal problems and development tasks.

And against the backdrop of a costly war in Ukraine, which Russia calls its special military operation, neither the Kremlin nor the candidates allowed to stand in this presidential election seem interested in genuine debate.

Criticism in Russian politics, it seems, has become a thing of the past.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Daniel Treisman is a professor of political science at the University of California in Los Angeles. He's also co-author of the book "Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century."

Daniel, thank you for being with us.

DANIEL TREISMAN, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, UCLA: Thank you.

VAUSE: So just because we know the outcome of the election, doesn't mean there won't be any suspense. Many inside Russia and beyond will be watching the margin of victory for Putin. It'll be tough to beat the former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, who back in 2002 received 100 percent of the vote.

Nonetheless, Putin would like a strong showing of around 80 percent. Why that number and why does that matter?

TREISMAN: Well, yes, he's made it very clear that he wants to get more than 80 percent. I don't think he wants to get 100 percent, because that looks rather old-fashioned. It makes it very clear sure that the election is a stage show rather than a genuine choice for the photos (ph).

But 80 or above, he doesn't -- each time, he doesn't want to get less than he got the last time, because that suggests falling popularity and weakness, which means that the total has to ratchet up with each election. And so far, he's -- he's got up to 80 percent or more.

VAUSE: So he's sort of, this electrode is being sort of, you know, billed as a referendum on Putin and his war in Ukraine. And a big turnout at a big vote for that will basically be approval for -- for Putin and for the war to continue?

TREISMAN: He'll certainly spin it that way. And those who do vote, and who do vote genuinely for Putin, I think, will largely be the ones who do support the war.

Of course, many in Russia -- it's very difficult to know exactly how many -- but a large share of the population that is uncomfortable with the war; that sees very little hope in domestic development, in the economy and so on. And is not so happy with the way things are going.

Nevertheless, they're under a great deal of pressure to keep that to themselves and go out and vote for Putin. And if anything fails, they have electronic systems to tally the votes, which can arrange for the right numbers to come out at the end of the -- at the end of the operation.

VAUSE: And this time, this election, Ukrainians living under Russian occupation will be voting -- are allowed to vote, at least, in this election. Here's part of a statement from Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Holding 'elections'" -- in inverted commas -- "of the president of the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine is illegal and will not have any legal consequences."

Clearly, holding this vote here in the territories, in the occupied territories, which have been illegally annexed, seems to be an attempt to legitimize Russia's presence there. And it's also, as we said, a referendum, if you like, on the war in Ukraine.

But there's a strange juxtaposition going on here. You know, it's all about the war in Ukraine, but no one's talking about the war in Ukraine on the campaign. It's sort of almost kept a secret. So how do you explain these two things? that seem to be at odds with each other?

TREISMAN: Well, of course, you can only talk about victory, right, when you talk about the campaign, and you can't call it a war. It's a special military operation.

So everybody has been very careful not to mention that, in Belgorod and Kursk, there have been incursions by military groups of anti-Putin Russians, working with Ukrainians. And there have been drone attacks on border areas and even quite far inland on oil depots.

So the goal is to make people feel that everything is going well, to create this burst of patriotism and warm feelings. But not to get into the details of actual fighting at the front, which might make people a little bit more uncomfortable. VAUSE: And for Europe, there's now a growing concern over what Putin

plans to do with another six years in power, especially should Ukraine fall. Here's the French president, Emmanuel Macron. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): If Russia were to win, the lives of French people would change. We will no longer have security in Europe.

Who can think for a second that President Putin, who has respected none of his limits and none of his commitments, would stop there?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Yes, there's some theory out there that Putin may use a big win, a big turnout in this vote for maybe a national call up of reservists. You know, sending hundreds of thousands of troops to overwhelm Ukraine. There's all sorts of possibilities out there.

What are your thoughts on where this election could be heading once Putin is reelected?

[00:20:04]

TREISMAN: Well, he has avoided a major new conscription drive -- round of conscription until after the election. The military desperately needs more troops.

So it's certainly possible that we will see several hundred thousand more Russians conscripted in the aftermath of the election.

It's not clear what he plans to do domestically. Of course, he'll try to keep the economy rattling along. And it's actually been doing better than many people expected recently.

The oil price has been reasonably high. Oil exports have not been affected that much because India and China and various other countries continue to buy Russian oil.

So he's aiming for stability. That's his motto. That's his -- that's his goal. And he would like to minimize the discontent that more conscription will inevitably bring, but it does seem that is going to be inevitable.

VAUSE: Daniel, thank you for being with us. We really appreciate it.

TREISMAN: Thank you.

VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN, a legal setback for Donald Trump. A judge denies the former president's motion in the classified documents case. Find out why in a moment.

Also, a large part of the central United States wallet by 20 and hundreds of storms. And more could be on the way. Details in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is a huge tornado! Wow! Oh, my God!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That's one of seven reported today. Those in Ohio and Indiana. A tornado watch has been extended for several hours for those two states, as well as Northern Kentucky.

The storm prediction center says over 240 storms were reported from Texas to Pennsylvania on Thursday. More are on the way.

It's expected to go up. More than 10 million people are under tornado watches from North, Northeastern Texas to central Ohio.

High winds and large hail also causing damage. The Ohio Department of Transportation says snowplows are being used to move trees and other debris after a tornado hit Thursday night.

To the West, Colorado is dealing with a powerful winter storm. It's already dumped about 25 centimeters or ten inches of snow in Denver. UP to 114 centimeters, or 45 inches, in other parts of the state. To Michigan now, where a jury has found the father of school shooter Ethan Crumbley guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

James Crumbley faces a maximum of 15 years in prison. Prosecutors say he bought the nine-millimeter pistol for his son days before the shooting, failed to secure it, and ignored his son's deteriorating mental health.

Ethan's mother, Jennifer Crumbley, was convicted last month on the same charge.

The 15-year-old gunman killed four people in a November shooting back in 2021.

The judge presiding over Donald Trump's federal classified documents case has rejected one of the former president's motions to have the case thrown out of court.

[00:25:04]

Here's CNN's Katelyn Polantz with details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Five hours in a courtroom in his classified documents case on Thursday. Donald Trump's team made two different arguments, trying to get his case dismissed and has already lost one of those arguments.

The judge here, Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida, she has rejected Donald Trump's attempt to have his case dismissed, because his team were trying to claim that the law was too vague.

But Judge Cannon very shortly after the hearing said that's not going to be the case. That's going to be a question and an argument that perhaps he could talk to her and to the jurors about at a later time, but it's not enough of an argument that the national defense laws are so vague that he wouldn't have known what he was doing and couldn't be charged with a crime like this in this classified document mishandling case.

Now, there's another argument still out there that Judge Cannon has not yet ruled on. That's Donald Trump's argument that the papers that he had kept at Mar-a-Lago after his presidency -- things about weapons, military plans, military responses in the case of an attack, foreign powers -- all of those things Donald Trump wants to say where his personal papers. And he had the ability to keep them, because he could have chosen to do so as president.

That's something that Judge Cannon was also skeptical about. But she hasn't yet said exactly what she's going to do with that request from his team.

It's only a small portion of what his team has been arguing to this judge to have his case dismissed. And so there is a lot more to do, both in court and then to await as the judge proceeds toward trial here in this case against Donald Trump in South Florida.

Katelyn Polantz, CNN, Fort Pierce, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: When we come back here on CNN, pressing a senior leader of Hamas on treatment of Israeli hostages, as well as the status of the ceasefire negotiations. We'll tell you what he says, in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Hamas has made a counteroffer in ongoing negotiations with Israel for a ceasefire and the release of hostages. It seems significant gaps, though, between both sides are yet to be bridged.

Unclear what that Hamas counteroffer was, but CNN has previously reported the first phase of a potential deal could include a six-week humanitarian pause in fighting; the release of around 40 Israeli hostages, including the remaining women; and a large number of Palestinian prisoners.

A U.S. official says the Biden administration is cautiously optimistic where these talks are heading.

[00:30:03]

For the first time since Hamas launched the October 7 attacks on Israel, CNN has conducted an on-camera interview with a senior Hamas official.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports now from Tel Aviv.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With negotiations to secure a ceasefire and the release of some 130 hostages seemingly at an impasse, I interviewed Basem Naim, a member of Hamas's political bureau, who spoke to us from his office in Istanbul.

I spoke with him in order to press him on the state of these negotiations, Hamas's calls for violence during the month of Ramadan, and the U.N. report accusing Hamas of sexually abusing hostages.

But I began by asking him about the fate of the hostages still held by his organization.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND: What conditions are those hostages being held in, and what assurances can you provide their families of their well-being?

BASEM NAIM, HAMAS POLITICAL BUREAU: I cannot now reassure anyone, because all these war prisoners are facing the same bombardment and starvation our people are facing on the ground. Therefore, we have repeatedly called for a ceasefire to be able to care for them, to collect more data about them, and to go or to engage in (inaudible).

DIAMOND (voice-over): The Israeli government believes at least 32 of the hostages are dead, their bodies still held as bargaining chips. But now there is growing concern for the fate of the remaining female hostages.

DIAMOND: The United nations said that it found, quote, "clear and convincing information" based on first-hand accounts, that women being held hostage by your organization, Hamas, have been raped, have been tortured, have been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment. What do you say to that?

NAIM: First of all, the lady -- button (ph) has said this is not an investigation committee. This is a data collection committee. She hasn't seen -- she hasn't -- she was not able to show any proof. And if as solid evidence from an eyewitness in the report --

DIAMOND: These are first -- first-hand accounts by former hostages.

NAIM: Yes, but she hasn't met any of the victims. She has heard from someone who has heard about this.

DIAMOND: That's because they're still being held hostage by your organization.

NAIM: Look I can -- I think the photos and the videos, the footage we have seen after releasing the women, released inside Gaza are in contradiction with what -- with all what Ms. Patina (ph) said. DIAMOND (voice-over): But those images of hostages being released are

pure propaganda, with some hostages instructed to smile and wave on the cusp of freedom.

And this is the United Nations report: "Based on the firsthand accounts of released hostages, the mission team received clear and convincing information that sexual violence, including rape, sexualized torture, and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, occurred against some women and children during their time in captivity."

DIAMOND: Do you deny that any women being held hostage by Hamas have been raped or tortured, or subjected to sexual violence?

NAIM: Absolutely.

DIAMOND (voice-over): That absolute denial coming even as Naim previously said he cannot account for the fate of the hostages. And his talks that could lead to their release appear to be at an impasse.

NAIM: I think we cannot talk about breaking down of that negotiations. There are still some talks, some communications. But we cannot talk about serious negotiations at this moment, because we are waiting for the Israeli response about our proposals.

DIAMON: And your proposal, as far as I understand it, is still calling for a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of all troops from Gaza. Is that correct?

NAIM: I think this is the natural or the minimum demands we can ask for after this long suck six months aggression that that we are reach permanent comprehensive declared ceasefire, total withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the occupied territories in the West in the Gaza Strip. And the right of all Palestinians displaced from their houses to return back to their houses before October 7.

DIAMOND (voice-over): In a statement, an Israeli government official said, "Prime Minister Netanyahu's government has freed 112 hostages to date and is committed to free all the hostages. Once Hamas's delusional demands come down to earth, there can be another humanitarian pause for a hostage release deal."

Some Israeli officials believe Hamas is stalling, hoping to incite more violence during the month of Ramadan.

DIAMOND: Let me ask you this. In Hamas's latest statement, you call on the, quote, "brave masses of our people to continue to clash with the Zionist occupation."

And you put it in the context of Ramadan, which you call the month of jihad and resistance. Are you holding out on a ceasefire because you hope to inspire more attacks against Israel?

[00:35:08]

NAIM: What we are calling for is clear. We are people under occupation. We are looking for our freedom and dignity. And we have all the right and all the tools to reach these goals, starting by political, diplomatic were tools up to and resistance.

DIAMOND: But you're not -- you're not answering my question. Are you hoping to inspire more attacks --

NAIM: No, no, no.

DIAMOND: -- including terrorist attacks against civilians during the month of Ramadan?

NAIM: Please don't talk about terrorism, because I think what is committed against us is state terrorism. If we have to talk about terrorism, we have to define it.

Are -- what we are doing is resistance against the operation, against the occupation. And again, I think this is a guarantee under international law that all people under occupation have the right --

DIAMOND: Not when you target civilians.

NAIM: -- to resist occupation.

No, we are not targeting civilians. I don't think that --

DIAMOND: Hamas doesn't target civilians?

NAIM: I think Hitler (ph), who is getting an M-16 or gun in a TV studios, or in the streets, or who was burning our -- our people in mortar while they are sleeping. Or inside the West Bank. I'm not -- are not civilians.

DIAMOND (voice-over): But Hamas does target civilians. On October 7th alone, Hamas militants stormed into Israeli homes, killing hundreds of men, women, and children, a massacre that unleashed a devastating war.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Up next on CNN, for Elon Musk, success in space overshadowed by controversies back on Earth. More in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four, three, two, one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: SpaceX and NASA had declared Thursday's Starship test flight a success after the world's most powerful rocket traveled faster than ever before and further than ever before, before breaking apart.

The spacecraft is a key component of NASA's Artemis program, set to be part of the future U.S. moon landing, maybe even the flight to Mars one day.

The test flight was a rare moment of celebration for SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. His other big company, Tesla, is currently the worst performing stock on the U.S. S&P 500.

A Tesla plant in Germany was also target of an arson attack. And then there's the ongoing controversy on X and what Musk posts and reposts. CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports now from Berlin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): It seemed like a major win for Elon Musk: his company SpaceX, managing to launch the world's most powerful rocket, called Starship, further than ever before, while losing both the ship and the booster rocket in the test.

[00:40:07]

But back on Earth, Elon Musk is in damage control mode, visiting his Tesla factory near Berlin, Germany, after an arson attack, claimed by an activist group opposed to the plant, knocked its power out for more than a week.

Musk unwilling to speak to the press. Some reporters yelling questions through a fence.

ELON MUSK, CEO, TESLA: Deutschland rocks. Dig in Berlin for the win.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Near Berlin, hundreds protesting, fearing the electric vehicle production could seriously impact the entire area's drinking water supply.

"Tesla's production is in a drinking water protection area," this protester says. "They therefore endanger people's drinking water, not just here, but in this region and also in Berlin."

Musk is facing backlash after reported work safety issues at Tesla factories, the company rejecting such claims, saying worker health at its German plant is a top priority. And the company stock taking a nosedive.

Musk also regularly faces backlash for controversial posts and re- tweets on his social media platform, X.

"Woke ideology wants you to die," this one says. "DEI is just another word for racism," he writes here, while another user claims Democrats are trying to replace the U.S. electorate by allowing migrants into the country. Musk calls it crazy in a tweet.

DON LEMON, FORMER CNN ANCHOR: Hate speech --

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Pressed on his views by former CNN host Don Lemon in what was supposed to be Lemon's new show on X, Musk, thin- skinned. MUSK: I don't have to answer questions from reporters. Don, the only reason I'm doing this interview is because you're on the X platform, and you asked for it. Otherwise, I would not do this interview.

LEMON: So you don't think you -- do you think that you wouldn't get in trouble, or you wouldn't be criticized for these things?

MUSK: I'm criticized constantly. I could care less.

LEMON: The whole idea of --

PLEITGEN (voice-over): X immediately axed its partnership with the show, Lemon says. Elon Musk's claims of being a champion of free speech called into question, Lemon told Erin Burnett.

LEMON: Free speech is only important when someone you don't like, or I would say someone who doesn't have your same point of view, are -- someone is -- if they're allowed to speak freely. And to say their point of view.

Apparently, that doesn't matter to Elon Musk. It's just --

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, after weeks of intense speculation, Japanese baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani has revealed the identity of his new wife.

Two-time American League MVP posted a picture of the bride, Mamiko Tanaka, on Instagram.

Tanaka is also an athlete, has played in Japan's women's baseball -- basketball league, rather. The couple were married last month.

I'm John Vause, back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. But first, WORLD SPORT starts after a short break. See you back here in about 18 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:45:35]

(WORLD SPORT)

[00:57:54]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)