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Biden-Netanyahu Ties Tested after Stark U.S. Warning; Putin Rails Against the West as Russia Marks Victory Day; Stormy Daniels Wraps Testimony; Survivors in 'Gaza Ward' Struggle to Move Forward. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired May 10, 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: Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.
[00:00:10]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): If we need to stand alone, we will stand alone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Digging in and doubling down. The message Trump Israel's prime minister to the U.S. president: you're not the boss of me. And Israel doesn't need U.S. military assistance anyway.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLEKSIY GONCHARENKO, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: They are trying to cause as many sufferings to Ukrainian people as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Ramping up the pain and suffering, with Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure surging in recent weeks.
And this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "You have a lot of experience making phony stories about sex appear to be real."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Going low. The star witness at Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York, Stormy Daniels, cross-examined for hours as defense tries to destroy her credibility.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.
VAUSE: The feud between the U.S. president and Israeli prime minister is once again playing out in real time and on full public display. If Joe Biden was hoping a threat to withhold some U.S. weapons would
force Israel to rethink plans for a major military offensive on the Southern Gaza city of Rafah, he should think again.
A day after President Biden made that threat during an exclusive interview on CNN, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on the "Dr. Phil" show and strongly implied without those U.S. weapons, Israel would be defenseless. That is not true.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NETANYAHU: Are we going to basically remain defenseless and not destroy the Hamas terrorist army there? Because if we do not destroy them, if we leave them alone, they'll come back. They'll emerge from the tunnels. They'll take over Gaza again. And they'll do what they promised to do. They said, We'll do it. We'll do October 7, this enormous massacre, again and again and again. So we have no choice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Netanyahu also declared, if necessary, Israel will stand alone, and the Rafah offensive will continue as planned.
The Israeli military says it already has the hardware, weapons, ammunition, and other materiel needed to eliminate the last of the Hamas infrastructure and fighters holed up in Southern Gaza.
According to the White House officials, the Israelis have been repeatedly told both privately and publicly about the president's position. Still, many within Netanyahu's far-right coalition were left shocked and outraged.
National security minister and anti-Arab bigot Itamar Ben-Gvir tweeted, "Hamas hearts Biden."
Opposition parties, in turn, accusing him and the Netanyahu government of harming Israel's security.
Republican lawmakers in the U.S. and former President Donald Trump also attacked President Biden, falsely accusing him of abandoning Israel.
And within the president's own party, where his support for Israel has caused months of internal divisions, those divides remain, some loudly questioning or criticizing; others applauding the new tough stand on Israel as a step in the right direction.
The relationship between Benjamin Netanyahu and Joe Biden goes back decades, long before they were leaders of their respective countries. And like most relationships, there have been good times and not so good times, as well.
During his interview with Dr. Phil, the Israeli prime minister said he's hoping both men can move on and, at some point, put the current tensions behind them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NETANYAHU: I've known Joe Biden for many years, 40 years and more. You know, we often had agreements, but we've had our disagreements. We've been able to overcome them. I hope we can overcome them now.
But we will do what we have to do to protect our country. And that means protect our future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN's Oren Liebermann now has a closer look at that relationship between both men.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An airtight embrace between world leaders in the days after October 7 has given way to barely contained anger, a personal and political fight decades in the making.
President Joe Biden has more than 50 years of history with Israel, dating back to 1973.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've worked with every prime minister of Israel from Golda Meir right through to the present prime minister.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): He first met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the '80s. Biden, a young senator on the Foreign Relations Committee --
BIDEN: Were there not an Israel, the United States of America would have to invent an Israel.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Israel's longest-serving leader then working at the embassy in D.C. The relationship has more often than not had some friction.
BIDEN: I signed a picture a long time for Bibi. He's been a friend for over 30 years. I said Bibi, I don't agree with a damn thing you say, but I love you. But we really are good friends.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Biden has long been seen as a pro-Israel Democrat. He surged aid to Israel after October 7, and signed off on Congress's supplemental designating $14 billion for Israel.
Under President Barack Obama, Biden was seen as an asset, able to work with Netanyahu. But the tension between Biden and Netanyahu burst into the open last year when Netanyahu tried to push through a major judicial overhaul.
[00:05:10]
BIDEN: Like many strong supporters of Israel, I'm very concerned. And I'm concerned that they get this straight. They cannot continue down this road. LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Even so, never before has it spilled over like this.
BIDEN: I've made it clear to Bibi and the war cabinet they're not going to get our support if, in fact, they go on these population centers.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): In an exclusive interview with Erin Burnett, Biden said the U.S. would not supply bombs to Israel if it invaded Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge.
BIDEN: We're not walking away from Israel's security. We're walking away from Israel's ability to wage war in those areas.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Biden has grown increasingly frustrated with Netanyahu, telling his advisers that the Israeli leader is ignoring his advice. The relationship may be beyond repair.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It can't get better as long as Mr. Netanyahu was in power.
What may happen is that these differences could be mitigated, alleviated, but that would be only a temporary relief.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Seven months into the war, the U.S. openly opposes an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah, one Netanyahu promises is still coming.
NETANYAHU (through translator): If we need to stand alone, we will stand alone. I have said that, if necessary, we will fight with our fingernails.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): the short statement posted on social media didn't mention Biden, but it didn't need to.
LIEBERMANN: In comments made to American talk show host Dr. Phil, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he has known Joe Biden for more than 40 years. They have their agreements, and they have their disagreements.
And he expressed optimism that they would get through these disagreements, as well.
So it seems when it comes directly to talking about Biden, Netanyahu chooses his words carefully and tries to highlight the length and the history of that relationship.
Oren Liebermann, CNN, in Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Joining us now from Tel Aviv is Israel's former New York consul general, Alon Pinkas.
Mr. Ambassador, thank you for being with us, sir.
ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI NEW YORK CONSUL GENERAL: Thank you, John. Good to be with you. Good morning.
VAUSE: Thank you. Good morning.
The last time we spoke, it was about Netanyahu and his motivation for dragging out the war in Gaza. You'd written an op-ed for the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" with the headline, "King Midas in Reverse." The sub-headline, "Diplomatically, Israel had everything going for it in its war in Gaza against Hamas after October 7. Then Netanyahu's hubris, mismanagement, and disingenuous incompetence took over."
That seems just as relevant now, when talking about the harm done to the relationship between Israel and its most important ally, the United States.
PINKAS: Yes.
VAUSE: So how can it be fixed? And how long will it take?
PINKAS: Well, I'm happy -- I'm happy you mentioned that article, John, because now I can resubmit it, based on your recommendations --
VAUSE: So good.
PINKAS: -- instead of working hard writing a new one.
Listen, I have to add one -- well, from a different article, but that's not the issue. Since November, since in fact, late October, Mr. Netanyahu has been actively and deliberately seeking confrontation with Mr. Biden.
He thinks it's good for his narrative that this is a -- a Palestinian state trying to be superimposed on Israel. But more importantly, he's trying to project ineptness and failure on Biden.
So now he has the almost perfect opportunity to say I was on the precipice. I was on the verge of a major victory topping Hamas, but look what stopped me. Joe Biden.
Now back to your question. How could these be fixed? The short answer, John, is it cannot be fixed. Because in that different segment that you showed from CNN from last night, Oren Liebermann mentioned a constitutional coup. That's where it all started.
I mean, I'm not going 15 years and delving into history here. But in the last year, relations between Netanyahu and Joe Biden and President Joe Biden have become untenable and unfixable.
So yes, you know, it could be mitigated. We could iron out some differences. The arms shipments may resume, provided that there's no large-scale attack in Rafah.
But the basic, the fundamental differences of approach will remain. And Mr. Netanyahu's credibility deficit in Washington is only growing.
VAUSE: Arguments with Washington, though, are nothing new for Netanyahu, especially when the president is a Democrat. But Biden was always a bit different. In a speech, he once described a
photograph he'd given to Netanyahu, saying he wrote on it, "Bibi, I don't agree with a damn thing you say, but I love you."
PINKAS: Right.
VAUSE: You know, days after October 7, Biden flew to Tel Aviv to give Netanyahu a hug. Until a couple of months ago, U.S. support for Israel seemed almost without limit.
So to sour that sort of relationship, it seems Netanyahu must have gone the extra mile. And was this just purely because of politics? Was there anything else at play here?
PINKAS: No, it's only -- it's 100 percent unadulterated, cynical politics. And more to the point, the politics of survival.
[00:10:07]
Mr. Netanyahu was responsible and should be held accountable for the debacle and the catastrophe of October 7. He's trying to save his political career.
There are criminal charges against him in an ongoing trial awaiting after the war ends.
And so not even going into that dimension, just in terms of managing the war, he is prolonging it and trying to keep a tension going on with Washington only for his self-preservation.
Now, don't forget one other thing, John. In the nine months from January 2023 until September 2023, Mr. Netanyahu was not -- not invited to the White House because of the constitutional coup that he instigated.
So, yes, he knows Biden for 40 years, but here's the thing. Biden knows him for 40 years, as well. And that made -- therein lies the problem.
VAUSE: That's a good point. We should note, however, this you know, threat about withholding weapons, it's not a done deal. It is still just a threat, which I guess, in theory, means the door is still open for Netanyahu to walk back from this military offensive in Rafah.
Is he capable of doing that? Is that even possible?
PINKAS: He has to. He has to. Look, here's the thing. I mean, let's cleanse the demagoguery and the pontification that Mr. Netanyahu used in his interview with Dr. Phil last night.
All the U.S. did was condition one shipment of aid on developments in Rafah. And said that it will not send offensive weapons in the event that Israel launches a grant or a large-scale operation. That -- you know, we all tend to look at this as dramatic, which it is, because it's public and the president said it in his own voice to Erin Burnett on your network, on CNN. But practically, this is the same president that two weeks ago
approved over $14 billion in aid to Israel. This is a president who just four days ago signed a special $827 million worth of arms, of munitions shipments to Israel.
So yes, in terms of the rhetoric and the public policy, this is dramatic, but practically, Israel is quite -- is still getting arms from the U.S. and quite capable of defending itself.
So -- so all this pontification and righteous indignation that you see, come on. This is -- this is just a cynical politics. No one should take this serious.
VAUSE: That is a good point to finish.
Ambassador, thank you so much for being with us, sir. We really appreciate your time.
PINKAS: Thank you, John. Good to be with you.
VAUSE: Well, the Eurovision song contest, normally a global kumbaya movement, or moment rather, of harmony and unity -- The official slogan is "United by Music" -- has become the latest focal point for dueling protests about Israel's conduct of its war against Hamas.
Israeli singer Eden Golan performed in the competition semifinal on Thursday and advanced to Saturday's grand final. I guess there's a grand final.
But earlier, thousands of demonstrators in Malmo, Sweden, which is hosting this year's song contest, came out in support of and against Israel's participation.
Some protesters criticized what they suggest is Eurovision's double standards.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATILDA VARATTA, PROTESTOR: What we expect and what we would like to see is that they disqualify Israel, like they did with Russia when Russian invaded Ukraine. It's not true that the Eurovision is not political. It has always been political, and it will always be. So it's just a face excuse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg joined in the pro- Palestinian protests, as well.
According to Western intelligence, Russia has a window of opportunity and well ramp up attacks on Ukraine ahead of arrival of more U.S. military assistance.
Officials tells CNN Russian troops will likely try to make further progress and consolidate recent gains on the front lines. U.S. aid was approved last month after being stalled in Congress by Republicans for months. It'll take time, though, before the aid actually reaches the front lines.
But even with that aid coming, a U.S. military official believes the best Ukraine can do for now is simply hold the line.
Russia has also been stepping up its airstrikes in recent months. One Ukrainian lawmaker explained the reasons why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GONCHARENKO: They are trying to cause as many sufferings to Ukrainian people as possible. Now, in order to take advantage of and to destroy your Ukrainian morale.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Russia has marked the most important day of its political calendar, the anniversary of its victory over Nazi Germany. Thursday's Victory Day parade was scaled down because of the war in Ukraine.
[00:15:06]
But as CNN's Clare Sebastian reports, President Vladimir Putin did not dial down his verbal onslaught against Ukraine's allies.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid unseasonal snow flurries, Russian president Vladimir Putin, using this moment to turn up the heat in this war of words with the West, accusing it of distorting history.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Revenge-ism (ph), mockery of history, and the desire to justify the current followers of the Nazis are part of the general policy of Western elites to foment new regional conflicts.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Putin's third Victory Day since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine another opportunity for his own brand of factual distortion, painting the war in Ukraine as the sequel to Russia's role in defeating Nazi Germany; portraying the West as the aggressor; justifying unimaginable losses under the banner of patriotism.
PUTIN (through translator): Russia is going through a difficult period. The fate of our motherland depends on every one of us.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Soldiers fresh from the front lines in Russia's so-called special military operation also treading the damp cobbles of Red Square.
And yet this year, victory seems more attainable.
Russia now has the advantage on Ukraine's front lines. Gains on the Eastern front in recent months, their biggest in more than a year and a half.
Moscow confident enough to show off a selection of battlefield trophies: European and American tanks and armored vehicles, part of a month-long exhibition at Moscow's Victory Park.
At home, Putin now two days into his fifth term, is more powerful than ever, and he wants the world to know it.
PUTIN (through translator): Russia will do everything to avoid a global confrontation. But at the same time, we will not let anyone threaten us. Our strategic forces are always combat-ready.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): It was a measured nuclear threat. As ballistic missiles rolled across Red Square, Putin casually coordinated plans for upcoming non-strategic nuclear exercises with close ally Belarus. Both leaders emphasizing this is just routine training.
While Western leaders no longer join Russia in marking this shared victory, Putin knows they are watching.
Clare Sebestian, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: To Brisbane, Australia, now and joining us is retired Major General Mick Ryan, former commander of the Australia College -- Defense College.
General Ryan, good to have you with us, sir. Thank you for being with us.
MAJ. GEN. MICK RYAN (RET.), AUSTRALIAN ARMY: Good day, John. It's good to see you.
VAUSE: Thank you. So it seems while U.S. weapons are actually being shipped, and they are arriving in Ukraine, getting those weapons to where they're needed on the front lines seems to be taking much longer than many thought would be the case.
So when we look at this window of opportunity that everyone talks about the Russians now having, is it a matter of weeks? Is it a matter of months? What's the timeline here?
RYAN: Well, John, I think the Russians have had a window of opportunity probably since Christmas last year, ever since the culmination and failure of the Ukrainian counter offensive. The Russians knew they had an opportunity. That was magnified by the ongoing debate in Congress over many months about support to Ukraine.
So they've had and been exploiting an opportunity for several months now. What the Russians have identified is that window of opportunity will now be closing with the influx of more American aid.
VAUSE: So when do you think it will close? What timeline are we talking here?
RYAN: Well, I'd like to think it will close tomorrow, but I think we're weeks away from a large amount of artillery munition and air defense munitions arriving in Ukraine. And whilst artillery munitions are very important. it is the air defense munitions that appear to be the most compelling need for Ukraine at the moment.
VAUSE: CNN is reporting that, "In recent weeks, Russia has thrown vast resources at weak Ukrainian defenses across the Eastern front lines, pushing towards three key points: a vital military hub of Pokrovsk, West of Avdiivka; the strategic heights of Chasiv Yar, which is near Bakhmut; and Kurakov in the Southeast."
So that's in recent weeks. What have the Russians actually been doing for the rest of the time? You know, the months when the Ukrainians were low on ammunition. They did take a few small villages, about 75 square kilometers of territory, but it was nothing, no sort of strategic gains in that period of time.
RYAN: No, I think that's a great point, John, that even when they've had the Ukrainians somewhat on their knees, the Russians still aren't able to make very significant breakthroughs.
They had made gains, as you point out, about 75 square kilometers, but they haven't been able to make those really significant breakthroughs. And unless they really step up their operations in these three areas or on a new access to the Northeast, it's very difficult to see how they might do that in the near future.
[00:20:01]
VAUSE: Well, if the Ukrainians can hold the line, you know, for the short term and then, in the coming months, restore combat effectiveness, as well as form, what, the ten new brigades, which is the plan right now. I know it's a lot of "ifs," but if that all comes together, can they mount an effective counter offensive sometime later this year?
RYAN: I think a counter offensive towards the end of this year would be very difficult to mount. Even if they were able to form those new brigades, they need to train them. As we saw in the lead up to the 2023 counter offensives foaming but guides and having them combat efficient are two very different things.
I think the Ukrainians and NATO have learned that lesson, and it's probably best to defend, prepare these organizations well, and look at offensive operations early in 2025.
VAUSE: While we're on that, we're being told by a Ukrainian defense official that a Russian oil refinery deep inside Russian territory was actually hit by a Ukrainian drone, which flew almost 1,000 miles, 1,500 kilometers, to get there. The furthest any drone has flown so far in this conflict.
What will be the impact on Russia beyond the immediate damage to that refinery?
RYAN: Well, I think Russia will be looking at how it defends these refineries. It's been hit now for several months. It will be looking at drone defenses. And it has shown the ability to adapt and improve its drone defenses.
So at some point, it will probably be able to defend these refineries better, but that will take away from their efforts in Ukraine.
VAUSE: General Ryan, thank you for being with us, sir. We appreciate your insights and appreciate your time, as always. Thank you.
RYAN: Thanks, John. Good to see you.
VAUSE: We'll take a short break. When we come back, tense exchange between adult film star Stormy Daniels and Trump's defense on day 14 of the hush money payment to a porn star trial. Details in a moment.
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VAUSE: Under the terms of Donald Trump's gag order, criticizing the judge overseeing his criminal trial in New York is actually allowed.
And so he did. On day 14 after a defense motion for a mistrial was dismissed. Another defense request to lift Trump's gag order from speaking about witnesses like Stormy Daniel [SIC] also denied.
Earlier, the adult film star finished her testimony after a combative cross-examination.
CNN's Kara Scannell has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Back on the stand, Stormy Daniels, the adult film star at the center of former President Donald Trump's hush money case.
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDI think you'll see some very revealing things today.
SCANNELL (voice-over): Trump's lawyers, Susan Necheles spent over two hours attacking Daniels' credibility during Thursday morning's cross- examination.
Necheles pointed to Daniels' history of making pornographic films, saying, "You have a lot of experience making phony stories about sex appear to be real."
Daniels responded, "Wow, that's not how I would put it. The sex in the films is very much real, just like what happened to me in that room," referring to her alleged sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies.
[00:25:07]
Daniels previously testified that the night of their alleged affair, she felt faint while she saw Trump posing on the bed in his T-shirt and boxers. Necheles question why that scene would be so upsetting, since she appeared in about 150 sex films.
Daniels testified it was because she was not expecting a man twice her age to be naked.
Necheles argued Daniels gained publicity from her story in media appearances, like her interview on "60 Minutes.?
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: And you had sex with him?
STORMY DANIELS, ADULT FILM ACTRESS AND DIRECTOR: Yes.
COOPER: You were 27. He was 60. Were you physically attracted to him?
DANIELS: No.
SCANNELL (voice-over): And she argued Daniels profited off the alleged affair, pointing to a book deal and documentary, Daniels selling her gear on our website, like #TeamStormy t-shirts, and going on a strip club tour called Making America Horny Again, a name which Daniels testified she fought tooth and nail against.
Asked if she celebrated Trump's indictment by selling merchandise like her Saint of Indictments candle, Daniels retorted, "Not unlike Mr. Trump."
Trump's lawyer trying to find inconsistencies in her story, pressed Daniels about her dinner with Trump.
COOPER: Did you two go out for dinner that night?
DANIELS: No.
COOPER: You had dinner in the room?
DANIELS: Yes.
SCANNELL (voice-over): Necheles said Daniels changed her story. On Tuesday, Daniels testified they did not have dinner.
Daniels defended herself saying just because they met for dinner does not mean they ate, saying, "I've maintained that I didn't see any food. It was dinner, but we never got food."
The two also went back and forth about an old tweet Daniels sent that said she is, quote, "the best person to flush the orange turd down." Necheles argued the tweet meant she'd be instrumental in putting Trump in jail.
Daniels disagreed, saying, "I don't see 'instrumental' or 'jail' anywhere in that. You're putting words in my mouth."
Also on the stand, Trump's former White House assistant Madeleine Westerhout, whose desk was right outside the Oval Office. The jury reviewed a contact list of people Trump spoke most to, which was sent to Westerhout, that included Cohen, tabloid executive David Pecker, among others.
Westerhout testified about an email confirming a February 2017 meeting between Trump and Cohen in the Oval Office. Prosecutors alleged Cohen and Trump worked out the reimbursement for the hush money payment at the crux of the case in the Oval Office that month.
She also confirmed that, in her experience, Trump liked to read things before signing them. Westerhout explained that checks were regularly sent about twice a month from the Trump Organization to Washington. She described bringing them in for Trump to sign and would then FedEx them back to the company.
Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still ahead here on CNN, standing alone. Israel's military, armed, equipped and ready for operations in Rafah. U.S. military support not needed, or so they say.
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[00:30:17]
VAUSE: As Israel's military ramps up its offensive on Rafah, the last functional hospital is warning it's not equipped to deal with the rising number of casualties.
The images you are about to see are disturbing.
A child was among three people killed in Eastern Rafah on Thursday. Local journalists said there had been nonstop shelling from Israeli artillery overnight.
The IDF had warned people to evacuate Eastern Rafah earlier this week. But Gaza's health ministry says eight people, including children, were killed in Western Rafah on Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAMADAN AL LAHAM, RELATIVE OF PALESTINIANS KILLED (through translator): They said to evacuate the Eastern part and that the Western part is safe. This is proof that the occupation is a liar.
There is no place, not in Rafah or in any other part of Gaza, because the occupation targets everywhere. They want us to die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The U.N. believes about 80,000 people have fled Rafah this week, but noted the situation remains fluid. The IDF puts the number much higher: 150,000 people.
Israel deployed more tanks and troops to its borders with Gaza on Thursday.
U.S. President Joe Biden has threatened to withhold some weapons if Israel continues on with this major offensive. The IDF says it already has all it needs in terms of weapons and equipment.
REAR ADMIRAL DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESMAN (through translator): The IDF has armaments for the missions it plans. And we also have enough weaponry to complete our mission in Rafah.
I say this here in the context of everything that came up with the United States. And it is important to say it. The United States has helped us in an unprecedented manner since the start of the war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: With the vast majority of Gaza's health -- hospitals, rather, destroyed, some of the wounded are being treated in Qatar. In particular, Hamed Hospital in Doha, where some of the more severely injured have been taken.
Jomana Karadsheh was there to document their stories. And again, a warning: some of the images you're about to see are graphic and disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Behind every door is a story of what war has taken and what it has left: shattered lives, broken bodies, and tortured souls.
This is the Gaza ward at Qatar's Hamad Hospital, where you find just some of this war's countless critically injured. Some would say they're the lucky ones who barely escaped death and the hellhole Gaza and its hospitals have become.
DR. HASAN ABUHEJLEH, CONSULTANT ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON, HAMAD MEDICAL CORPORATION: He (ph) had a very severe injury. From the injury he had and above the knee amputation on one side and the below-knee amputation on the other side.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Most patients spent months with open wounds and arrived here with drug-resistant infections, making their cases even harder to treat.
ABUHEJLEH: I've been working in orthopedics around 20, 21 years, and the kind of injuries, the severity of the injuries, the types of bone loss and infections we -- we faced with the Gaza patients are -- are beyond whatever I've seen before.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): But even those who've lost so much have found solace in having their children safe and by their side.
Raneem sits alone in her hospital bed, no one by her side. The vacant look in the eyes of a woman who's seen death.
It was on October 20, as Khan Younis was under Israeli bombardment. Raneem, then eight months pregnant, was in bed, cradling her one-year- old son Azuz (ph) to sleep.
RANEEM HIJAZI, SON KILLED IN GAZA (through translator): I had a feeling something bad was going to happen, so I held him tighter. Whatever happens to me, happens to him.
You don't feel the strike itself. You just open your eyes, and you're under the rubble.
I woke up screaming. I was feeling around to find my son. Suddenly, my mother-in-law came screaming, "Azuz."
She found him over my belly. She picked him up. His body was in her hands and his head dropped onto my belly.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): When Raneem got to hospital, they thought she was dead. Her baby girl was delivered by C-section.
HIJAZI (through translator): They delivered her, and as she took her first breath, I came back to life.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): With an amputated arm and serious injuries to her legs, Raneem couldn't even hold her baby girl before she was evacuated out of Gaza. Her daughter is now in Egypt. She's watched her grow in photos.
Baby Mariam (ph) now is as old as this war. Raneem says most days, not even her daughter is giving her the will to live anymore.
HIJAZI (through translator): It's over. Life has ended. There's no more joy. I shut my eyes, and all the memories overwhelm me. I saw the baby formula I used for my son, and I felt I was dying. And it was just baby formula. You can only imagine what happens when I see his picture or videos or his toys, or his clothes. The pain will never go away.
[00:35:19]
We give birth only to lose them.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Every woman we spoke to in this ward has lost a child, some more.
Shahed married the love of her life, Ali (ph), a 26-year-old university professor. When the war started, she was seven months pregnant with their first child.
SHAHED ALQUTATI, CRITICALLY WOUNDED IN GAZA: A week before the word we bought everything for the baby. Every clothes, every single T-shirts, binky, bink, bink, bink (ph).
KARADSHEH (voice-over): On October 11th, a blast hit their home. Ali (ph) and Shahed found themselves on the street. Shahed lost her leg, Ali both legs and his arm. They called out each other's names before they were rushed to hospital, but Ali (ph) didn't make it.
Two days later, their baby girl they'd named Sham (ph) arrived into this world, lifeless.
ALQUTATI: It's really hard, very hard because this is like my everything, you know, my everything. This is my everything. Suddenly, disappeared.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Shahed's nightmare didn't end here. She was one of hundreds of patients trapped in Shifa Hospital when it came under Israeli siege. Like other patients forced out, her father had to push her on a wheelchair for hours to get to Rafah.
ALQUTATI: When we did, should -- like my injury was all infections. Like the hospitals is not too clean to go in it. If I want to -- if I want to go to the hospital, it -- I will die.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Despite everything she's gone through, a resilient Shahed somehow still smiles.
ALQUTATI: No one will feel the -- the pain here. Like, I'm with -- with a ball (ph) storing, happy, like laughing. But when I'm alone, I feel something painful here. I cannot be healed from that.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): In every corner of this ward, a story of pain and grief, too many for us to tell. The journey to recovery for the few who make it out begins here. But how does anyone ever heal from this?
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Doha.
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VAUSE: For Paul Whelan, the former U.S. Marine being held in Russia, word of the detention of another American citizen is raising concerns for his own possible release.
Whelan told CNN he's still optimistic about U.S. efforts to win his freedom, but he's concerned the arrest of Army Staff Sergeant Gordon Black might be a complicating factor for not just his release, but also the release of "Wall Street Journal" reporter Evan Gershkovich.
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PAUL WHELAN, HELD IN RUSSIA UNLAWFULLY (via phone): Unfortunately, if this gentleman is declared wrongfully detained, it will sort of start negotiations for Evan and I all over again.
Because then there'll be the three of us. And this is one of the problems that we've had in the past. You know, they were negotiating for me, and then it was Trevor and me. And then it was Brittney and me. And now it's Evan and me. And every time they've -- they've negotiated, it's always been starting fresh when there's another person involved. So yes, it is a bit of a concern.
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VAUSE: Sgt. Black traveled to Russia to visit his girlfriend without permission from the U.S. military. He was then arrested in the city of Vladivostok last week on charges of theft and will remain in pretrial detention until July.
He has not yet been granted U.S. consular access.
Well, amid massive flooding, police in Brazil are now making arrests. At least 47 people have been arrested for crimes which include looting and sexual abuse in shelters.
Thursday, officials reported 107 people have died since the last week due to heavy rains and floods in the Southern part of the country. The storms have impacted nearly a million and a half people, leaving thousands displaced and hundreds of others injured.
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ROBERTO CAMARGO, ELDORADO DO SUL RESIDENT (through translator): In over 40 years, I have never seen such a thing in my life. My house has never flooded, and the water is above the roof. I don't even have to explain it. I have never seen such a thing. When we tell our grandchildren, our children, they will say we are liars. We have lost friends.
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VAUSE: And amid all that despair, there is at least one bright spot.
These images on social media showing Sao Paolo's military rescuing a horse trapped on a roof for four days. You saw him here just 24 hours ago on CNN NEWSROOM.
It's one of more than 2,000 animals reportedly rescued from the rising water.
Clean-up is underway after violent storms tore through the Southern U.S. The country has seen a dangerous two weeks streak, with at least one tornado reported every day since April 25th.
There have been more than 300 tornado reports in that time, as well. Storms have hit Tennessee especially hard.
The National Weather Service says a tornado with 25 -- 225-kilometer per hour winds damaged more than 100 homes in its path on Wednesday. Homes were torn to shreds, trees snapped in half, and roofs collapsed in on themselves.
Northern Alabama also saw a large and destructive tornado. Across the South, at least three people have died and dozens more have been hurt.
On that, thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause, back at the top of the hour with more news. In the meantime, stay with us. WORLD SPORT starts after a short break.
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