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Israeli Forces Capture Rafah Crossing; Stormy Daniels Testifies in Detail About Alleged Affair; Putin Inaugurated for Fifth Term as Russian President; Israeli Leaders: Rafah Military Incursion will Continue; Gaza Orphan Remembers Family Killed in Conflict; Two Dead, 21 Injured in Hospital Knife Attack; Last Month Hottest April on Record. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired May 08, 2024 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:02]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, I'm John Vause in Studio H in Atlanta. Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Seizing the passage in Rafah today is a very important step.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Israel's slow burn to an all-out military offensive on Rafah, as the hostage and ceasefire deal with Hamas hangs in the balance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Probably so. I would like to. I mean, I think so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Kind of Wooly Willy? Will Donald Trump testify in his own defense at his hush money trial after hours of sexually explicit and explosive testimony from the star witness, Stormy Daniels.

And foiled. High-ranking Ukrainian officials a key part of a Russian plot to kill not only the Ukrainian president, but also the head of the Security Service and the head of the military intelligence.

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

VAUSE: At this hour, Israeli forces control the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing. The beginning of a slow incremental buildup to Israel's long awaited, all-out offensive to destroy what's left of Hamas. At the same time, negotiators from Israel and Hamas are in neighboring Egypt trying to broker a deal for a ceasefire and release of hostages. The White House is optimistic an agreement can be reached but the question is when. Since the Israeli military operation began less than 24 hours ago,

panicked Palestinians have been fleeing Rafah in search of safety, with aide groups criticizing so-called expanded humanitarian zones as being inadequate and unable to cope. Rafah's last functioning hospital pleading for all available medical teams to help treat the wounded. At least 27 people killed so far. Israel says the goal is to eliminate Hamas operatives and infrastructure. An IDF spokesperson says approximately 20 terrorists have been killed so far.

The Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited an artillery battery at the Israeli-Gaza border near Rafah on Tuesday. He outlined the IDF's mission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOAV GALLANT, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): This operation will continue until we eliminate Hamas in the Rafah area and the entire Gaza Strip, or until the first hostage returns. We are willing to make compromises in order to bring back the hostages but if that option is removed, we will go on and deepen the operation. This will happen all over the strip, in the south, in the center, and in the north. We know that Hamas only responds to force.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: With two major crossings into Gaza now close, concerns have been growing over delivering humanitarian supplies here. Kerem Shalom was closed down Sunday after coming under rocket fire from Hamas. The U.S. State Department, though, says Israel has committed to reopening Kerem Shalom border in the coming hours.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond has our report from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Rafah border crossing with Egypt now firmly under Israeli control. For now, that means nothing in or out at this critical crossing point for humanitarian aid, fuel, and medical evacuations.

As plumes of smoke rise over the area, the Israeli prime minister touting the operation as a play to bolster Israeli leverage in ceasefire talks with Hamas, which put a new proposal on the table hours before Israeli tanks rolled into Rafah.

NETANYAHU (through translator): Military pressure on Hamas is a necessary condition for the return of our hostages. The Hamas proposal yesterday was intended to torpedo the entry of our forces into Rafah. It did not happen.

DIAMOND: Israeli air and artillery strikes began pummeling eastern Rafah late Monday night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'm 69 years old and I haven't seen in my life shelling and bombing like this. I have witnessed many wars in my life and I haven't seen a war like this one. DIAMOND: Things could soon get worse. Israeli officials are

threatening to expand military operations deeper into Rafah where more than a million Palestinians currently live.

ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL: A full scale assault on Rafah would be a human catastrophe. Countless more civilian casualties. Countless more families forced to flee.

DIAMOND: Thousands are already fleeing what was once the last refuge in Gaza for this coastal area the Israeli military calls a humanitarian zone, setting up makeshift shelters with tarp sheets and thin planks of wood.

This woman has just arrived with her grandchildren after a sleepless night in Rafah, displaced once again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We saw death with our own eyes. Airstrikes forced us to leave. We've roamed in the streets like nomads.

DIAMOND: Humanitarian aid officials warn this area isn't equipped to handle the basic needs of hundreds of thousands of people who could soon be forced to leave Rafah. After seven months of war, ceasefire negotiations offer the only hope of a way out.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[00:05:04]

VAUSE: Joining me now from Washington, retired U.S. Air Force colonel and CNN military analyst, Cedric Leighton.

Good to see you, sir. Thanks for being with us.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good to be with you, John.

VAUSE: Leading up to the Rafah offensive the White House made it pretty clear it did not support any major all-out offensive on Rafah. And now that opposition is playing out in real time. We're learning that the White House has withheld the supply of about 3,000, more than 3,000 bombs, 2,000 pound bombs, 1700 pound bombs fearing they would be used in Rafah. What sort of impact could this have on the Israeli operation?

LEIGHTON: It could have a significant impact, John. One of the key things about these bombs is that they're designed to hit a variety of different targets, particularly hard targets. So one of the things that the Israelis have been looking at doing is going after the tunnel network that Hamas has. And in the past few months, they've employed 2,000 pound bombs to go after that tunnel network because they have the capacity to destroy those tunnel networks.

And when it comes to these kinds of bombs, the other problem, though, with them is that they can actually destroy larger sections of the city, for example, several blocks worth. And that is what the administration apparently has decided, the U.S. administration that is, has decided to keep those bombs from being sent to Israel at this particular point in time. It doesn't mean that they're not going to get there eventually, but it certainly means that there's a problem in the shipping.

VAUSE: Is this part of an agreement that Israel had to sign that it would abide by international law in the use of any U.S. supplied weapons? I mean, all countries have to sign that they received weapons, but Israel in particular had to sign.

LEIGHTON: Right. So that's a -- the Israelis will always say that they actually are abiding by that agreement. The U.S. has a fairly strict interpretation of what that actually means and in this particular case the U.S. administration, they may not be saying this out loud, but what they really mean is that they want the Israelis not only to abide by the agreement, but not to use the 2,000 pound bombs especially on civilian targets.

And they're worried that they will be used in Rafah in that manner. In addition to, of course, targeting Hamas, the fact is that it would be almost impossible for them to distinguish between civilian targets and Hamas targets.

VAUSE: This operation has now been underway for almost 24 hours or so. And the first objective has been achieved, that's taking control of the Rafah border crossing on the Gaza side. Here's the Israeli prime minister explaining why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU (through translator): Seizing the passage in Rafah today is a very important step, an important step in the way to destroying the remaining military capabilities of Hamas including the elimination of four terrorist battalions in Rafah, and an important step to damage the governmental capabilities of Hamas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So with Israel in control of Rafah, I guess there's one less escape route for Hamas fighters. But just in terms of a military operation, is this typically how a major offensive, like the one Netanyahu has been talking about, would actually begin? If that's the case, what do you expect to happen next?

LEIGHTON: Yes, it is generally consistent with what I would expect the Israelis to do in a situation like this. Basically what they want to do is they want to cut off the escape routes that Hamas might be using in order to get out of any possible danger that they would be facing from the IDF as they're doing this. So the IDF is actually moving to encircle a lot of what Hamas is controlling.

And they basically want to destroy Hamas just like they've said they would. Go after their governmental structures and go after their military structures. So this is precisely what the Israelis are doing, and the other part of this, of course, is that they're cutting off the re-supply routes that these -- that the Hamas forces have used illicitly from Egypt. So that's the kind of operation that the Israelis are mounting, totally consistent with what they said they would do.

But it is also part of a larger operation and that operation would include finding, locating, and destroying the rest of the Hamas forces. And the first thing they would do is cut off the border, then move into other parts of Rafah, which would indicate that they would be moving after places that could potentially house leadership like Yahya Sinwar and others that are part of the Hamas hierarchy at this point.

VAUSE: The Israelis say they're moving slowly, incrementally in Gaza, slowly upping the military pressure on Hamas in order to reach a ceasefire deal. Here's how Hamas is reacting to all of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OSAMA HAMDAN, HAMAS OFFICIAL (through translator): If the aggression continues, there will be no ceasefire because the Israelis are the ones attacking and shooting. It is normal for the resistance to respond to this aggression, to respond in defense and to respond in order to defeat the occupation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That statement is kind of rich on a number of levels. You know, Hamas wanting to be seen as the victim here, but, you know, this is about as far from the truth as possible, but there is a value to this, isn't there, in terms of international perceptions?

[00:10:04]

LEIGHTON: Absolutely, and of course, war is also a battle of perceptions, not just what's going on on the ground, but what people think is going on on the ground and also what people think is just. And in this particular case, Hamas has certain advantages because a lot of the world's population, especially on college campuses in the U.S. and university campuses in other parts of the world, they're looking at this as being -- basically an oppression of Hamas.

There's, of course, a lot more to it than that. But the basic idea is that Hamas is casting themselves as the victim in this case, and they might just be able to get away with it in the world of public opinion.

VAUSE: Cedric Leighton, sir, thank you so much for your time this evening. Really appreciate it.

LEIGHTON: You bet, John. Anytime.

VAUSE: A big win for Donald Trump in one of his four criminal cases. The classified documents trial which was set to begin this month has been postponed indefinitely by a judge appointed by the former U.S. president himself.

Aileen Cannon cited issues around classified evidence, saying they need to be worked out before a jury is chosen. She said the process will take until at least late July which means this trial could then conflict with Trump's two other federal cases, making it much less likely the documents case will go to a trial before November, and Trump could be elected president again and his next attorney general could simply make this case and the charges disappear.

But the adult film star at the center of the hush money trial took the witness stand Tuesday divulging salacious details about her alleged -- alleged affair with Trump. Some of Stormy Daniels' remarks were so explicit the judge cut her off several times and the defense demanded a mistrial.

Details now from CNN's Paula Reid.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: It's a very, very unfair trial.

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump coming face-to-face with Stormy Daniels in court as she took the stand to tell the jury about her alleged sexual encounter with the then businessman. Prosecutors asked Daniels to identify Trump in the courtroom. She pointed towards him saying, in the navy blue jacket, with Trump having no visible reaction.

After walking through how she got into the adult film industry, the prosecution quickly turned to Daniels' first introduction to Trump at a 2006 golf tournament in Lake Tahoe. That meeting turned into a dinner invitation she initially declined, but her publicist got her to reconsider. What could possibly go wrong were his words to me, Daniels recounted, with a giggle. If nothing else, you'd get a great story.

She described Trump's hotel suite in detail, saying that when she arrived, he was wearing satin pajamas. Does Mr. Hefner know you stole his pajamas, she teased him, asking him to change and he obliged. Daniels said Trump asked her about the business aspects of her adult film directing and her possibly appearing on "The Apprentice," and she briefly asked Trump about his wife, Melania, who had recently given birth to their son, Barron, recalling Trump said, we don't sleep in the same room.

The statement causing Trump to shake his head and murmured to his attorneys. When she later returned from a trip to the bathroom, Daniels testified that Trump was waiting for her on the bed wearing only boxers. I felt like the room spun in slow motion, Daniels said. I thought, oh, my god, what did I misread to get here? She testified that the two had sex. Although Trump did not initially ask her to keep the encounter quiet, she said, I told very few people that we actually had sex because I felt ashamed that I didn't stop it.

It was after Trump began running for president.

TRUMP: And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.

REID: And the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape came out that her then publicist said she should sell the story. My motivation wasn't money, it was to get the story out, she testified. But when she found out Trump and Michael Cohen were interested in buying the story for $130,000, she told the court it was the best thing that could have happened because then I'd be safe and the story wouldn't come out.

Then in a searing cross-examination, Trump's attorney, Susan Necheles, pushed Daniels. Am I correct that you hate President Trump? Yes, Daniels replied. You want him to go to jail, Necheles asked. I want him to be held accountable, Daniels said. If he's found guilty, yes. Daniels' casual and relaxed demeanor changed as the defense's questions became more pointed, attacking her credibility and trying to establish Daniels has always just been trying to make a profit.

You've been making money by claiming to have had sex with President Trump for more than a decade, Necheles asked. That story has made you a lot of money, right? Daniels responded it's also cost me a lot of money.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID (on-camera): Court will not be in session on Wednesday, but Daniels will be back on the stand Thursday to continue that cross examination.

[00:15:05]

But the big thing we're watching for the next 72 hours is whether Trump can continue to abide by the gag order that prohibits him from attacking any witnesses in this case. Daniels clearly got under his skin at times but the judge has threatened him with possible jail time if he violates the gag order again.

Paula Reid, CNN, New York.

VAUSE: Joining me now is CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen who also served as House Judiciary special counsel in Trump's first impeachment trial.

Good to have you with us, Norm. Good to see you.

NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: John, always great to be with you.

VAUSE: Thank you. Now one of the big issues on day 13 was the relevance of testimony from Stormy Daniels. Here's part of it.

Daniels, I said someone should spank you with that. That's the only interest I have in that magazine. Otherwise, I'm leaving. Prosecution, what happened? Daniels, I don't think he thought I would do it. So he brought it up and gave me the look that he dared me to do it, so now I kind of had to. So what did you do? Daniels, so I took it from him and said turn around, and I swatted him. Where did you swat him? Daniels, right on the butt.

OK, here's what a former U.S. district judge made of her testimony. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SHIRA SCHEINDLIN, FORMER U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE: It's hard to un-ring the bell or the Genies out of the bottle. The jury heard it at all, and I'm sure it affects them. And of course, the details that she spoke about have nothing to do with the charges in this case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: This is a trial about falsifying business records, not having sex with a porn star. So why did the prosecution go down this road?

EISEN: John, the case has two parts to it. There's an alleged 2016 criminal campaign conspiracy that involves the payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels because another sex scandal coming immediately after the "Access Hollywood" tape would have tanked the Trump campaign, and then there's the cover-up with 34 false, alleged false documents.

The origin of that hush money payment came in the 2006, alleged, Trump denies it, sexual encounter with Stormy Daniels. And because Trump has denied it and because it gives rise to the hush money that is essential to the case, the judge decided that it should come in. But what happened today was, I agreed with the judge, there were too many facts introduced like that spanking that don't belong in this case about the cover-up of an alleged criminal campaign finance conspiracy.

But, John, when the defense complained, the judge said you didn't object enough.

VAUSE: Well, Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche, he moved for a mistrial, saying, this is the kind of testimony that makes it impossible to come back from. Judge Merchan replied to that, as a threshold matter, I agree, Mr. Blanche, that there were some things that probably would have been better left unsaid. Having said that, I don't believe we're at a point where a mistrial is warranted.

So if there is a guilty verdict in this trial, could Daniels' testimony be grounds for an appeal?

EISEN: It can be grounds for an appeal, but the appeal won't be successful. That was not sufficiently outrageous or prejudicial information to constitute an irreversible damage to the juries' perception of the case. The judge was right, some of that information really didn't belong there, but there's ways of dealing with that. You deal with that on cross-examination or the judge gives a limiting instruction which he said he's going to do. The two sides are negotiating it. That's how you deal with it. Not a mistrial.

VAUSE: Well, as you say, Trump denied having a sexual encounter with Miss Daniels. So he was asked Tuesday if he would actually take the stand and testify in his own defense. Very quickly, here's he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Probably so. I would like to. I mean, I think so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That has a very familiar ring to it. He won't testify, will he?

EISEN: Absolutely not. And that's not just because he'll be confronted with his denial of this affair, brief encounter that we heard about today, it's because of the way the case has come in. His lawyers are going to tell him we can challenge. Remember those two parts of the case. They have to show that Donald Trump intentionally participated in that campaign finance conspiracy and intentionally caused those false records to be created. Right now, the critical witness to do that is Michael Cohen.

[00:20:02]

VAUSE: OK. So with that, let's move on to another legal development in another Trump case. This one, the mishandling of classified documents. The judge overseeing the trial, Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, has now delayed the trial start indefinitely, arguing there are too many pretrial issues. You know, Judge Cannon's grasp of the law is questionable on a good day. Your opinion of that decision and can it be challenged by prosecutors?

EISEN: It's an atrocious decision. It's the latest in a series of blunders dating back to her interfering with the investigation of these classified documents' alleged mishandling before the indictment was even brought, and she was severely criticized by extremely conservative judges on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals twice for her behavior there. But unfortunately, there's very little that can be done about it at this stage. It is a miscarriage of justice nevertheless.

VAUSE: Norm, as always, Norm Eisen there, we appreciate your insights as well as your time today. Thank you, sir.

EISEN: Thanks, John.

VAUSE: Coming up here on CNN, they were meant to protect the life of the Ukrainian president. But instead, at least two high-ranking military officers were allegedly part of a foiled assassination attempt by Russia. Also ahead, that assassination was meant to be a gift for Vladimir Putin before his inauguration, the carefully choreographed ceremony for Vladimir Putin as he tightens his grip on power in Russia for another six years.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: China's President Xi Jinping now in Serbia, where they rolled out the red carpet for his arrival in Belgrade. The highest level visit by a foreign leader there to Serbia in years. Xi and his counterpart are set to meet and sign several agreements in the coming hours. Before Belgrade, Xi was in France where he met with President Emmanuel Macron, who urged the Chinese leader to use his relationship with Russia to end the war in Ukraine. Xi will wrap up his trip to Europe with a visit to Hungary.

Now Ukrainian officials say they have stopped an actively developing Russian plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The prosecutor general's office says two officials in Ukraine's Government Protection Unit were arrested and charged with treason. One of the suspects allegedly received drones and ammunition from Russia's State Security Service meant to cause an explosion. Ukraine's Security Service describes the foiled plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARTEM DEKHTYARENKO, SPOKESPERSON, SECURITY SERVICE OF UKRAINE (through translator): One of the most important tasks of the FSB agent network was to find executors among the military close to the president, who could take the head of state hostage and later kill him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, President Zelenskyy has been reported target on many attempts on his life.

Now less than two months after an election which was never really in doubt with a margin of victory the U.S. called farcical, Russian President Vladimir Putin has officially begun his fifth term in office, spending nearly a quarter century of unchecked power from a carefully choreographed inauguration ceremony Tuesday.

[00:25:06]

Here's CNN's Fred Pleitgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Vladimir Putin making his own inauguration looks so common place he takes time to finish a phone call.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

PLEITGEN: Before casually making his way to the grand ceremony inside the Kremlin. Those attending, cheering him on as he ascends to a record fifth term as Russia's leader.

As president of the Russian Federation, I swear to respect and protect the rights and freedoms of people and citizens, to respect and protect the constitution of the Russian Federation, to protect the sovereignty, independence, safety and integrity of the state, to loyally serve people, he swore, while once again blaming the West for deteriorating ties with Moscow.

The choice is theirs, he said, whether they intend to continue to try to restrain Russia's development, to continue a policy of aggression, continuous pressure on our country for years, or to seek a path to cooperation and peace.

Putin urging the West to halt military support for Ukraine as he himself continues to send hundreds of thousands of his own citizens to fight there. The Russian military unleashing a massive aerial bombing campaign on Chasiv Yar, making small gains here on the eastern front. It is due to the active use of aviation, the Ukrainian commander says,

attack aircraft carrying guided bombs. After the upgrade, guided bombs began to hit more accurately than before. Thus it is much harder to influence them with electronic warfare.

More than ever, Vladimir Putin's presidency is defined by war, greeting his troops as part of the inauguration events. His position strengthened, his power nearly unchecked, after a landslide victory in recent presidential elections. Putin has made clear he does not intend to change course or to back down as he continues to steer his country on a confrontation course with the U.S. and its allies.

His friend, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, proclaiming Putin de facto Russia's leader for life. God grant that the end of the century marks the end of your stay in power, he says.

Russia's constitution says Putin could remain in power for another 12 years, but that is just on paper. In today's Russia, Putin makes the rules and steers this country in the direction he wants.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN, while this Palestinian girl is now recovering after being injured in Gaza, she's just one of 17,000 children who've lost their parents. More on that in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

[00:30:43]

Israeli leaders are vowing to continue their ground incursion into Southern Gaza, the city of Rafah, until Hamas is eliminated, or hostages are freed. Hospital officials in Gaza reported at least 27 people killed, including six women and nine children.

Israeli forces took over the Palestinian side or the crucial Rafah border crossing with Egypt. The IDF says it has killed approximately 20 terrorists and located three operational tunnel shafts.

Rafah is currently home to around 1.5 million Palestinians, many displaced by fighting in other parts of Gaza. Thousands are, once again, fleeting to what Israel calls expanded humanitarian zones about 20 kilometers away.

But aid groups say the newly designated areas are ill-equipped to handle so much influx, so many people, so many refugees at once. The U.N. estimates around 600 -- 600,000 children are currently taking shelter in Rafah. More than 13,000 children had been killed since the war began October 7.

Many have lost their parents or entire families, an estimated 17,000.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh meets one orphan child who's coping with the pain of losing her parents.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Darin giggles and shrieks at the same time. The pain from bending her knees is just too much.

"You promised you won't make me cry today," she tells the nurse. Months of these physical therapy sessions after multiple surgeries has gotten her back up on her feet, starting to walk again as she turned 11.

Last time we saw Darin, she was lying, injured, unconscious in a hospital, but in Gaza last October she and her brother, Kenan (ph), had just survived in Israeli airstrike. Kenan (ph) was quiet and confused, barely able to open his eyes. Their great aunt was by their bedside, trying to shield them from the most crushing of news.

DARIN ALBAYYA, PARENTS KILLED IN GAZA: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: For the first time now, I feel that I am an orphan. In the morning when I go to school, Mom and Dad are not there to give them a kiss before I leave.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Darin and Kenan (ph) now know they were the only ones who survived that air strike. Their mom, dad and 8-year-old brother, Walid (ph), are gone. Their grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, 70 loved ones, all perished that October day.

The children made it out to Platza (ph) for medical treatment. They have new friends. They go to school. They play and laugh. But beneath this veneer of normalcy is the pain they share with nearly 20,000 Palestinian children, which the U.N. estimates have lost their parents in this war. F

Five-year-old Kenan (ph) seems oblivious to it all. But sometimes his aunt says he pretends he's on the phone to his parents.

"They laugh, they smile, but they also cry," Ustra (ph) tells us. "Sometimes I can't be strong anymore. I hug Darin, and we cry. Then I pull myself together and tell her we have to be strong and get through this."

Ustra (ph), separated from her own family in Gaza, has not left their sight since October. She's become their everything. They now call her Tata (ph), or Grandma.

Not a day goes by for Darin without thinking of her parents and all those she's lost. She interrupts her interview several times to look through their photos. It's what she does when she misses them.

DARIN: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: I miss Mom's cooking. I miss Mom, my Dad and my brother. Dad made me my own princess themed room. Mum used to spoil me. When I was little and war would come, it would last a few days. But this war is unlike any other war. God chose to take the people we love, the good people.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): On a call to her injured uncle in Gaza, Darin breaks down begging anyone to get him and his family out. She has to protect them, she says.

It's that all-consuming fear of losing those she has left.

DARIN: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: I wish I could go back to Gaza, but what will be left in Gaza? Destruction, people are all in tents. Gaza is no longer Gaza. It is now a city of ghosts.

[00:35:08]

KARADSHEH (voice-over): For now, she's finding her own way of dealing with grief.

DARIN: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: I am not sad that my family was killed, because they are happy in heaven. They are not dead; they are alive. We don't see them, but they see us.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Doha.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: With that, we'll take a short pause. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: A shootout at the Toronto home of rapper Drake has left a security guard and a serious condition in hospital after he was shot early Tuesday morning.

Police say they have video of the shooting, and multiple suspects were seen leaving in a vehicle. Authorities would not speculate if the shooting is related to a feud between Drake and rapper Kendrick Lamar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am aware of what you're talking about, but it is so early in the investigation that we don't have a motive at this time. And so I cannot comment further on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: No word if Drake was home at the time of the shooting, but officials say his team is cooperating with the investigation.

At least two people are dead and 21 injured in a knife attack at a hospital in Southwestern China. Video from the scene on Tuesday shows police arresting one suspect outside the hospital.

CNN's Marc Stewart has our report. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The knife attack is being described as violent and chaotic, with some of the drama being captured on people's phones.

STEWART (voice-over): Video widely shared on social media shows the injured inside the hospital in Southwest China after the attack. It was reported just before midday on Tuesday. A still picture from inside shows a man holding a knife. Another video shows someone being taken by police.

Local officials say they've identified a male suspect from a town in the county where this occurred.

Some important context here. We've seen violence at hospitals before in China. Healthcare workers have been assaulted by patients or families because of concerns about high costs and standard of treatment.

STEWART: For most people in China, gun ownership is illegal, but there have been several mass stabbings in recent years. It was just last year six people were stabbed outside a kindergarten in Southern China.

Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, peak tornado season in full force across the United States. Watches, again, in effect for a number of states in the Midwest and South for the next few hours.

The storm threat for Wednesdays stretches from Texas to Maine, affecting more than 140 million people.

Michigan was hit with several tornadoes late Tuesday, which injured at least 12 people and destroyed a number of homes.

A day earlier, tornadoes struck parts of Missouri, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. At least one person was killed.

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According to the Storm Prediction Center, there's now been at least one tornado report every day in the U.S. for 13 straight days. Roughly 300 were reported last month, the second most on record.

And speaking of records, the warmest April ever, according to the Copernicus, the E.U.'s climate monitoring service. That's now 11 straight months of record heat. And already, it looks like the year -- the yearly heat record will be broken in 2024 for the second straight year, meaning it was hotter than last year. That was a record, as well.

CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has details.

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CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Here's what the globe looked like from the Copernicus climate change service for April of 2024. It was the warmest April ever on record.

And now we have been month, to month, to month records for 11 straight months in a row. Next month will likely be one full year.

But this is disturbing. Still, 1.58 degrees Celsius above pre- industrial levels trying to keep that number below 1.50. And that just hasn't happened. And it hasn't happened since July of last year.

This is the 11th month in a row where the global temperatures have exceeded any other year on record. So way up there.

And same story for the warmest sea surface temperatures on record globally. Not everywhere is warm. There are some cooler spots, but with the El Nino in the Pacific and also the very hot areas here in the Atlantic Ocean, yes. The warmest sea surface temperatures globally that we've ever had.

This red zone right here, and mainly right up in here, the development region for Atlantic hurricanes, the warmest it has ever been for this date.

Not the warmest it's going to be in July or August, but we're already starting out very, very warm. In fact, warm enough to probably equal June or July. Already into hurricane season, although we haven't had any tropical cyclones here in the Atlantic Ocean yet.

But that is likely to come.

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VAUSE: Our thanks to Chad Myers for that.

I'm John Vause, back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. YouTube.

But first of all, WORLD SPORT stars after a short break. See you back here in almost 18 minutes.

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