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Israel Defense Forces Fires Two Over Strikes That Killed Aid Workers; U.S. Preparing For Significant Attack By Iran On U.S. Or Israeli Assets; Taiwan Earthquake Death Toll Rises To 13; Total Eclipse Of The Sun On Monday. Aired 3-3:30a ET
Aired April 06, 2024 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to viewers watching from around the world. I'm Anna Coren, live from Hong Kong. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, an aid group warns of more grieving families if Israel doesn't work harder to protect those working in Gaza.
We have reactions to the report on the deadly Israeli strike on the World Central Kitchen convoy.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has a warning for Iran amid fears Tehran could be planning retaliation for an airstrike on one of its consulates.
And Mexico is breaking diplomatic relations with Ecuador following a shocking arrest that it says violates international law. We'll have a live report from Mexico City.
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COREN: The charity World Central Kitchen is reacting to Israel's investigation into the drone strike that killed seven of its aid workers. In a report released on Friday, Israel admitted its own decision-making procedures were violated and fired two of the officers involved.
The deaths of the aid workers prompted the charity to withdraw from Gaza for the time being.
After the IDF report was released, World Central Kitchen said in a statement, quote, "We demand the creation of an independent commission to investigate the killings of our WCK colleagues. The IDF cannot credibly investigate its own failure in Gaza."
CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more on the Israeli military's report and reaction to it.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Six months into the war in Gaza, the Israeli military tonight delivering its most thorough and public admission of wrongdoing for killing civilians in Gaza.
Four days after targeted airstrikes killed seven aid workers, the Israeli military says several of its commanders violated military protocols and made errors in decision-making, leading to a fatal sequence of events.
At 10:00 pm on Monday night, a World Central Kitchen aid convoy departs this pier on the Gaza coastline, heading south on Al-Rashid street. 28 minutes later, the Israeli military says its forces identify a gunman on top of one of the aid trucks.
As the convoy passes the World Central Kitchen Welcome Center, four additional WCK vehicles join the convoy, driving south along Al-Rashid and then east, arriving at a warehouse just off Salah al-Din Street at 10:46 pm.
As aid pallets are unloaded at the warehouse, Israeli forces misidentify a bag slung over one of the passenger's shoulders as a weapon. And soon, Israeli commanders make a deadly and false assumption, that the cars accompanying the trucks are not part of the aid convoy but rather carrying Hamas militants.
World Central Kitchen had cleared the convoy, including the cars, with the military but the Israeli military says the commanders involved in the strikes had not seen that information. As three vehicles carrying the seven WCK workers leave the warehouse heading south on Al-Rashid Street, Israeli commanders give the order to strike.
The first vehicle is hit at 11:09 pm An Israeli military official says some of the passengers survive, fleeing into the next vehicle. But two minutes later, an airstrike hits that vehicle a half mile down the road. At 11:13 pm, a third missile hits the final vehicle.
In just four minutes, seven members of the World Central Kitchen team are dead. International uproar ensues, triggering the most comprehensive Israeli military investigation into its deadly actions in Gaza to date.
REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESMAN: The strike on the aid vehicles is a grave mistake, stemming from serious operational failures, mistaken classification and identification, errors in decision-making and strikes that were conducted in violation of standard operating procedures.
DIAMOND: General Herzi Halevi, the IDF's chief of staff, dismissing two Nahal Brigade officers involved in the incident, Colonel Nochi Mendel, the brigade chief of staff.
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And an unidentified major serving as the brigade's fire support officer.
Three others are formally reprimanded, Colonel Yair Zukerman, the Nahal Brigade commander, Brigadier General Itsik Cohen, the division commander and General Yaron Finkelman, the head of Israel's southern command.
In a statement, World Central Kitchen called the disciplinary actions important steps but said, without systemic change there will be more military failures, more apologies and more grieving families, calling for an independent commission to investigate the killings. The IDF cannot credibly investigate its own failure in Gaza, the aid group said.
ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: It's very important that Israel is taking full responsibility for this incident. It's also important that it appears to be taking steps to hold those responsible accountable.
As Israel pursues any military operations against Hamas, it has to prioritize the protection of civilians.
DIAMOND: As bombs continue to fall on Gaza today, human rights groups continuing to raise questions about Israel's broader commitment to protecting civilians in Gaza, vowing a longer road to accountability -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
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COREN: CNN's Nada Bashir joins us with more.
And Nada, in the wake of the strike on aid workers, Israel says it's going to open another crossing to get aid into Gaza and allow the port of Ashdod to be used for aid shipments.
I mean, how soon will aid be delivered now to Gaza?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's going to take some time and really the assessment at this current stage is that this opening of another corridor is not going to be enough.
Now according to Israeli authorities, the Erez crossing is going to be opened up in order to allow aid shipments to get into northern Gaza. And as we know, it has proven almost possible to get aid in, crucially to get aid agencies into parts of northern Gaza, which have been heavily destroyed.
And as we know, according to a U.N. report, the vast majority of people in northern Gaza are facing starvation. And now there is a dire need in this particular region of Gaza.
Of course, that need is felt across the Gaza Strip. But there has been a huge amount of destruction. And the worry is that this simply will not be enough to alleviate the starvation that we are seeing across the Gaza Strip, particularly in northern Gaza.
Now the founder of an aid organization, INARA -- Arwa Damon, of course, a former CNN correspondent, was in Gaza. She had a look at the scene, of course, has been to Gaza several times for CNN.
But of course, seeing it now, after the war, take a listen to her assessment of the scale, not only of the destruction but also the need in Gaza.
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ARWA DAMON, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, INARA: Oh, I need everything, everything from baby powder to diapers to sanitary napkins, to food, to access to water, to basic medicine.
Kids have diaper rash and fungus and the hospitals don't have the support that they need. So in terms of what is, it quite literally is everything.
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BASHIR: We heard on Friday from the E.U.'s foreign policy chief, also saying that this simply will not be enough to prevent starvation in Gaza, again, calling for the implementation of a binding resolution for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
And of course, we have to think about the logistical challenges as well. Much of northern and central Gaza have been almost entirely destroyed. That is going to make it extremely difficult for aid groups to actually distribute aid within Gaza, to transport aid within Gaza.
So this certainly will not be an immediate fix. It will take time and what we will continue to hear from aid organizations is that more needs to be done. We need to see more aid getting in and more of those crossings being opened up.
COREN: Nada Bashir, many thanks for your reporting.
October 7th was just like any other day for Agam Goldstein-Almog and her family. before Hamas terrorists set off an IED outside their home on kibbutz Kfar Aza. They broke inside, shot and killed Agam's father and sister before taking the rest of her family hostage in Gaza.
Agam spent 51 days in Hamas captivity. She shares her harrowing experience.
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AGAM GOLDSTEIN-ALMOG, FORMER ISRAELI HOSTAGE (through translator): They shut me in darkness, take me to the toilet, ask me constantly what I'm thinking about and asking me not to feel or express any feelings. There are -- my body felt the horror that the -- my life is in their hands.
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COREN: A senior administration official tells CNN the U.S. is preparing for a significant attack from Iran in the coming days, retaliation for an Israeli airstrike in Damascus that killed at least seven Iranian officials, including a top commander.
The State Department says it warned Tehran not to use the strike as a, quote, "pretext" to attack U.S. personnel and facilities. CNN's MJ Lee has the latest from the White House.
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MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: CNN is learning that the U.S. is currently on a high alert and actively preparing for a significant attack by Iran that could come as soon as within the next week.
This attack would be in response to the Israeli airstrike this week in Damascus that killed multiple top commanders in Iran. U.S. and Israeli officials are saying that this attack by Iran is basically inevitable and that the two governments have been working together furiously to prepare for such a scenario.
Though, even as of Friday, officials are not entirely clear on exactly when and how Iran would carry out this attack.
We're also told that, after that Damascus airstrike by the Israelis that took out those Iranian officials, Iran actually sent a message to the U.S., blaming the U.S. for that attack.
And that the U.S.' response was to say that the U.S. had no involvement in the attack, didn't know about the attack ahead of time and that the U.S. also warned Iran against coming after U.S. personnel and U.S. assets, an exchange that certainly highlights how volatile this current situation is -- MJ Lee, CNN, at the White House
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COREN: At least six people are dead after a new Russian missile strike on Ukraine's second largest city. Well, that's according to Ukrainian police, who say 11 others were injured in Kharkiv Saturday morning.
The attack damaged apartment buildings and caused at least one fire. It comes a day after Russia launched a so-called double-tap strike on Zaporizhzhya, killing at least three people.
Ukraine says one wave of attacks drew first responders to the scene before they were hit by a second wave 40 minutes later; 19 people were injured, including two Ukrainian journalists. There's no word yet if first responders are among the victims.
Ukraine has reportedly launched its own back-to-back strikes targeting Russian airfields. Ukrainian sources say the attacks went after military airports in Russia's Saratov and Krasnodar regions on Friday, which came on the heels of similar strikes on an airfield in the Rostov region.
One source told CNN at least six Russian fighter jets were destroyed and about 20 service members killed or wounded. We cannot independently confirm those claims. Russia says it shot down dozens of Ukrainian drones in those regions but it's not saying anything about the airfields. A developing story from Latin America just ahead. Mexico says it's
breaking diplomatic relations with Ecuador. Next, the raid on Mexico's embassy that's at the center of the controversy.
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COREN: Well, Mexico says it's breaking diplomatic relations with Ecuador. This comes after police in the capital, Quito, entered the Mexican embassy and the rest of Ecuador's former vice president.
CNN shot this video a short time ago outside the Mexican embassy. In part of it, you can see a police officer with a weapon, standing atop a wall around the embassy.
Well journalist David Shortell joins us from Mexico City.
David, what more are you learning?
DAVID SHORTELL, JOURNALIST: A really extraordinary break between two important Latin American countries tonight, Mexico and Ecuador ending their diplomatic relations, suspending them, pulling this incredibly tense few moments in Quito that you see on video.
Ecuadorian police rating the Mexican embassy there, where Jorje Glass, the former vice president of Ecuador, had been sheltering since December and seeking asylum. Now he had served until 2017. He had been under investigation more recently for misuse of public funds and seeking political asylum in Mexico.
That case had been under review until earlier today, when Mexico's president announced that they would indeed be offering asylum to Glass. That, of course, preceding this dramatic few moments, when police were on top of the embassy, entering with rifles and pulling the former vice president out.
He is now in police custody. I want to play for you some sound from a senior official from the Mexican embassy in Quito. This was an interview that our CNN en Espanol correspondent got a few moments ago.
This is actually the man who, you can see in the video, being dragged to the ground by Ecuadorian police. Take a listen to what he had to say.
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ROBERTO CANSECO, HEAD OF CHANCELLERY AND POLICY AFFAIRS, MEXICAN EMBASSY (through translator): What you have just seen is an outrage against international law. And the unveil ability of the Mexican embassy in Ecuador.
Totally unacceptable. This cannot be. It's barbarism. It is impossible for them to violate the diplomatic premises as they have done.
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SHORTELL: And Jorge Glass is now in Ecuadorian custody. The future of relations between Ecuador and Mexico very much in doubt after this extraordinary break. Mexico's president, of course, has long defended Mexico's sovereignty.
That's been one of the most important points of his administration, defending Mexican sovereignty from foreign intervention. So this is something, an act that he's going to take very seriously.
David, I want to ask you, do you feel that this is just a temporary spat between Ecuador and Mexico?
Or do you think this could have long-lasting effects?
SHORTELL: Yes, that is really the key question right now, how long will this episode that we saw unfold have repercussions for?
As I said, Lopez Obrador is someone who does not like foreign countries meddling in his own country's business, an act, such as having your own police entering a sovereign embassy is something he's going to take very seriously and could have very lasting consequences.
But not just bilaterally between these two countries, it could have consequences for the entire region. Ecuador, of course, is going through a very tumultuous period. They had some drug trafficking organizations there that have gotten quite out of control.
Crime there has steeply risen in recent months and that has caused concern in the U.S. and the Biden administration that Ecuador could send a flood of migrants toward the U.S. in the coming months.
Mexico, of course, the key country controlling how migrants are able to access the U.S. southern border. So if Mexico and Ecuador are not getting along and are not speaking in -- after this extraordinary episode, that could have repercussions, not just for these two countries but also for President Biden as he seeks reelection.
With immigration being, of course, the central issue.
COREN: We certainly appreciate you keeping across this fascinating story for us, David Shortell, joining us from Mexico City. Thank you.
Authorities in Taiwan have raised the death toll in Wednesday's earthquake to 13. Three bodies were found on a walking trail in the rugged, mountainous region in the past 24 hours.
Rescue teams in Taiwan are gradually reaching some of the 400 people still stranded in remote areas, cut off by damaged roads and landslides. Bad weather has hampered some of the rescue efforts. Dozens of buildings in Hualien County are damaged and officials say some will need to be demolished in the coming weeks.
[03:20:00] These residents were allowed back into their homes for about 20 minutes on Friday to retrieve their belongings. The community is beginning to pick up the pieces.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I feel it's only after arriving at the scene that one realizes how truly small humans are in the face of nature, especially following a natural disaster.
This building, being nearly 50 years old, has also reached the end of its lifespan.
COREN (voice-over): Officials say the 7.4 magnitude quake was the strongest to hit Taiwan in a quarter of a century.
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COREN: Well, millions across the northeastern United States were left stunned and a little rattled on Friday after a 4.8 magnitude earthquake and at least 18 aftershocks could be felt from Washington, D.C., all the way up to Maine.
It's a rare event for the region, causing accustomed East Coasters, including Lady Liberty, to assume it was initially a passing freight train before realizing it was something more.
Well, Friday's earthquake was the third largest recorded in the area in the last half century and the strongest in New Jersey in more than 240 years. Well, that's according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
We're just two days away from Monday's rare total solar eclipse across North America. See the various ways that people across the U.S. are preparing for Monday's total solar eclipse after the break.
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COREN: The total solar eclipse over North America is just two days away and eclipse mania is well underway. Our Kristin Fisher spoke to people across the U.S. on how they plan to mark the big day.
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DR. HAKEEM OLUSEYI, ASTROPHYSICIST: It's the most amazing terrestrial thing I've ever seen.
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi is one of the diehards, an eclipse hunter and astrophysicist who's hoping to see his sixth total solar eclipse on Monday.
FISHER: What makes an eclipse so special? OLUSEYI: Yes. You don't have to ask that question if you see it, right?
It's -- you know, it's like bringing space and the cosmos to your lap. This is when you know, hey, I live in a solar system that's in a galaxy. It's surreal.
FISHER (voice-over): A total solar eclipse happens when the moon moves in between the sun and the earth, aligning so perfectly that it completely blocks the face of the sun.
OLUSEYI: And now, the corona, which is a billion times dimmer, becomes visible. It just appears.
FISHER: This is the moment of totality?
OLUSEYI: This is the moment of totality. Totality this time is a long totality. It's about twice as long as the 2017 total solar eclipse.
FISHER: Oh, wow.
OLUSEYI: This is a four-minute totality, that is --
FISHER (voice-over): Nearly 32 million people in the United States, from Texas to Maine, live within the path of totality. Millions more will be traveling to get there. And roughly 450 couples will be getting married during totality at two mass wedding events, "Elope at the Eclipse" in Arkansas and Ohio.
JENNY HARRIS, BRIDE-TO-BE: We wanted to -- like, again, we wanted to do something unique but we didn't necessarily need to be up front and center. And it's something that will bond everyone who does it that day together forever.
FISHER: What is it about an eclipse that makes it kind of romantic?
CARLOTTA COX, BRIDE-TO-BE: There's a story about the sun and the moon.
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And like when they fell in love and then when they finally kissed, that's when the solar eclipse happened.
FISHER (voice-over): A cosmic kiss. It's similar to what the Navajo people have believed for centuries.
EVELYN BAHE, DEPARTMENT OF DINE EDUCATION, NAVAJO NATION: That it's a time of, you know, intimate relation between sun and the moon. This is the time when you don't look at them, too, you know, having an intimate relation, so -- but --
FISHER: You want to give them the moon and the sun some privacy?
BAHE: Yes, to give them time for privacy.
FISHER (voice-over): Looking directly at the eclipse, like President Trump famously did back in 2017, is not safe without protective glasses. But the Navajo people won't even look at it with glasses.
BAHE: During the eclipse, we have to get back into our dwelling, close the curtains, make it really quiet.
FISHER (voice-over): It's a sign of respect, a way of honoring a sacred alignment between the sun and the moon. And it's something that's been captivating humans for as long as we've been alive.
OLUSEYI: Not so much what you see, which is amazing but it's also what you feel. The first time -- I'm telling you, you feel it when you see this. It is not a -- it is not any experience you've ever had.
FISHER: And millions of Americans are trying to have that experience if the weather will just cooperate. Here in Washington, the forecast actually looks pretty good. But here you will only see a partial eclipse, not a total eclipse.
And the difference between a partial and a total is quite literally the difference between night and day -- Kristin Fisher, CNN, Washington.
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COREN: Join us on Monday for the total solar eclipse as its path moves from Mexico through the Eastern U.S. and into Canada. Experience the total eclipse from numerous locations along with plenty of science and excitement along the way. Our special coverage starts at 12:00 pm Eastern.
Well, from the heavens above to back here on Earth. Moments ago, a Soyuz capsule returning from the International Space Station landed in Kazakhstan.
On board NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara is wrapping up 204 days in space, a Russian cosmonaut and the first female Belarusian in space, both of whom are completing a short mission that began on March 23.
NASA says, after landing, the three crew members will fly in a helicopter from the landing site to the recovery staging city of Karaganda, Kazakhstan. O'Hara then will depart for Houston.
Thanks so much for your company. I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong. Thanks for spending part of your day with me. "TECH FOR GOOD" is next and I'll be back with more of CNN NEWSROOM in about 30 minutes' time.
