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Large Crowd Intercepts Aid Trucks Arriving In Gaza from Pier; Interview With Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ); CNN Political Commentator, Alice Stewart Dies At 58; Trump Addresses NRA Convention In Dallas; "Diddy" Shown In 2016 Video Assaulting Former Girlfriend; Palestinian Evacuees Deal With Scars Of War. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired May 18, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:01:04]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Jessica Dean in Washington.

We are following breaking news as new humanitarian aid begins to arrive in Gaza. Dramatic new video showing a desperate situation. You see a large crowd of people running after aid trucks, climbing on top of them. That aid just arriving today from a floating pier set up by the US military.

The UN says the food shortage in Gaza is dire because with the Rafah Border closed, critical aid cannot get through. US officials saying that floating pier will help bring in 500 tons every day of life- saving aid to the Palestinian people.

Also breaking tonight, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejecting an ultimatum from a member of his own War Cabinet. Former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz is threatening to quit unless Netanyahu agrees to a war plan by June 8th.

Joining us now, Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey.

Congressman, thanks so much for making time on a Saturday night.

REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-NJ): Thanks for having me.

DEAN: I first want to ask you -- yes, great to see you.

I want to ask you first about that video we just showed of the aid trucks in Gaza. That aid coming in through the US pier that the US helped build, but clearly it is a dire chaotic situation there on the ground as they are trying to intercept that aid.

GOTTHEIMER: Yes, listen, we need to do everything possible as I've said for months to surge humanitarian aid into the region that is why it is critically important that we get all the crossings open down in Rafah,

As you know, the Israelis had opened the crossings. Hamas bombed the Israeli, the IDF soldiers there last weekend killing four IDF soldiers. So we've got do everything we can, including pressuring the Egyptians to make sure they are supportive in the region, literally everything possible to get more humanitarian aid in.

DEAN: And we know that the White House National Security adviser Jake Sullivan, is in Saudi Arabia today, is going to Israel later for more talks over a potential ceasefire and hostage deal. Those talks seem to be pretty stalled out at this moment, but they are ongoing.

It seems like so much about normalizing in relations with Saudi Arabia, that that plays a big role in all of this kind of holistically, what are you hoping to see unfold as they continue these discussions?

GOTTHEIMER: Well, right. We all know the ultimate goals are, right? To of course not only crush Hamas, but most importantly, get the hostages out and continue to get humanitarian aid in, and luck long-term to what happens the day after the war ends, right?

So there are many things going on at the same time here and you're seeing internal disagreements in Israel and that's the domestic politics. There are always going to be -- there are going to be differences, but what we know is the goals are clear, right? To get the hostages out, including -- and especially the American hostages. We have five living hostages that we know of, including one of my constituents, Edan Alexander. Let us not forget the 44 Americans who were killed.

Iran and its proxies can continue to attack, not just Israel, but the United States, and our allies around the world. So it is a very important intense moment. I am glad the National Security adviser will be there and in the region, talking to all the countries with one objective, to make sure we can get the hostages out in this war, crush Hamas, make sure that Hamas is not able to continue doing what they are doing now, which is firing missiles into Israel, and continue to do so, but also all the other Iranian proxies.

We've seen a lot of skirmishes continue in the north in Lebanon from Hezbollah continuing to fire rockets into Israel, and that is a tense situation.

So the Houthis continue to fire at Americans, at our ships, and of course, proxies out of Iraq firing at Americans in our bases and our soldiers.

[18:05:02]

So the whole region right now is tense. The key now is to get out of this phase, and of course, try to find a way toward peace.

DEAN: And you mentioned, what happens once ultimately this war does come to an end, what is the plan for after that? And there is so much internal back-and-forth within Israelis government over that and we heard from the Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who said he did not support the Israeli military rule in Gaza, which is against what Benjamin Netanyahu has said.

What is the US' role in all of this? In trying to help guide or shape what happens when this war is over? GOTTHEIMER: Listen, as you know, Israel is a critical ally of ours in fighting terror in the region, we need to make sure we do everything we can to play a role as, and I think that is you're going to see Sullivan doing this weekend trying to bring the parties together and figure out what is the best path forward that ensures security in the region, right? And economic stability and make sure we do everything we can to move forward here.

But listen, we still have got and we shouldn't lose sight of this more than a hundred hostages. They still continue -- Hamas still continues to fire into Israel, Hezbollah from the north, the terrorists from the north continue to fire into Israel.

So, you know, you still have a very volatile situation and Hamas is continuing, and as you know, continuing to be active in the region. So what does it look like the day after when Hamas is no longer actively trying to run Gaza? And of course, how do we find a way? You know, how do we find a regional way forward there as we saw during the Abraham Accords?

So this is not easy, but the bottom line is we have to keep doing our part as Americans and as the United States to help out in that effort.

DEAN: And I know that there have been some attacks from Republicans over potential aid legislation that Democrats voted against for Israel, that they've said that that's like according Hamas. You obviously have supported those aid packages, but you take issue, I hear with them saying that about your Democratic colleagues.

GOTTHEIMER: Jessica, it is outrageous. The fact that they -- the NRCC has playing political games with the US-Israel relationship and claiming because somebody has a policy disagreement in voting -- listen, I voted for this bill last week, this past week, and others didn't. They have a policy disagreement, but saying that then they are pro-Hamas is completely offensive.

Pat Ryan, a colleague of mine who didn't vote for it, served in our military, and the idea to question his loyalty to our country and say that he supports terrorist is completely offensive and outrageous.

They should retract that. They should apologize and they should stop doing this and playing these political games. It actually undermines the US-Israel relationship and that is exactly the opposite of what we need to do right now.

The US-Israel relationship should be bipartisan. It is critical to our national security, to America's national security to our fight against terror in the region as we are seeing right now with Iran and all of its proxies attacking America, not just Israel.

And remember, as I will say again and again, Iran and its proxies hate America, hate us more than they hate Israel, so we shouldn't lose sight of their perspective.

DEAN: And yet this has also driven a wedge in your own party, where we've seen a lot of intraparty fighting and disagreement over how to move forward.

President Biden having trouble with younger voters over his handling of this war. What can be done to get back on the same page? Is that possible?

GOTTHEIMER: Listen, I think the president has been clear in his months of support that the US-Israel relationship must be ironclad, and continue to be. There is going to be differences and that happens -- by the way, it happens in the Republican side, it happens on the Democratic side. But at the end of the day, we should never lose sight of what the ultimate mission is here right now, it is to get the hostages home, especially the American hostages, the five Americans, to crush Hamas, and to get that humanitarian aid into the region.

We understand what our objectives are. We've just got to do everything we can to get there. There may be disagreements sometimes on how we get there, but I think we all agree on what the ultimate goal must be.

DEAN: And you mentioned, we talked about the hostages briefly at the top of this interview. There are still five American hostages that are inside Gaza. We now know that they have found a fourth body of a hostage in Gaza that is now being brought back to their loved ones.

You sit on the intelligence committee. I think you hear a lot of frustration, obviously from my interview of a father of a hostage in the last hour. They desperately as you would -- as we all would imagine want their family members home. It is what they think about every waking moment.

Is there frustration among the intelligence committee? Among the United States -- the strongest country in the world? We can't get these hostages back, that they are still stuck in Gaza right now.

[18:10:02]

GOTTHEIMER: Yes, it just shows you that Hamas are terrorists, right? Remember, they could right now put down their arms and surrender, right? That's what happened in World War II, right, with the Germans, the Japanese -- they surrendered.

Hamas can surrender. They are choosing not to. They continue to hold Americans and others hostage after killing 44 Americans and 1,200 brutally in what they did. So I can't imagine the pain these hostage families are going through.

I spent a lot of time with the Alexander family here in Northern New Jersey, whose son, Edan Alexandra is 20 years old and as a hostage, they haven't heard from him at all. There is no Red Cross visits on his health, no updates just like these other hostages.

So listen, I can't begin to imagine the pain that these families are going through every single day and they just want to see their loved ones, and so we've got to do everything we can, both as Americans helping our key ally and, of course the Israelis, the same, to do everything to get those hostages out, and that is why we need to find an agreement here for a pause, and that is why everyone has got to go back to the table, stay at the table, and never leave the table, all the negotiators, until we find a way forward here, right?

You can't give up. You've just to keep going given what is at stake.

DEAN: All right, Congressman Josh Gottheimer, thanks so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

GOTTHEIMER: Thanks for having me, Jessica. Appreciate it.

DEAN: We will have more news for you in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:16:02]

DEAN: We have some very sad news to report to you tonight. CNN political commentator and Republican strategist, Alice Stewart has passed away.

She has been a staple on this network for years, participating in many political panels, taking us deep into politics with her incredible insight. She was a former communications director for Senator Ted Cruz. She worked with Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee, just to name a few, and she hosted a podcast with her friend and Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona, called "Hot Mics from Left to Right."

It is a massive loss for all of us here at CNN and for her friends and family, a legion of people out there who loved Alice Stewart, and you can count me among them.

Joining us now on the phone is former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson.

Governor, thanks so much for being here with us. I am so sad to be talking to you about this tonight and I know you knew Alice as well from all of our days in Arkansas and then beyond.

ASA HUTCHINSON (R), FORMER ARKANSAS GOVERNOR (via phone): Well, you're right.

As you described, it is a massive loss for everyone who loves people, but politics and friendships and Alice was such a dear person and I am proud that you recognized her Arkansas connections while she has her heart in Atlanta and her Georgia roots.

She did work in Arkansas in television in her professional life as a commentator, but also as an adviser, working on presidential campaigns. So we are proud of that connection.

And just from a personal standpoint, I look at Alice, she is someone that believes that politics was about making friends and not creating enemies, and that is a special characteristic anymore.

And she encouraged me. I spoke with her immediately after I dropped out of the presidential campaign. She was one of the first ones to call me and encouraged me. And then just last week, I spoke with her and she was giving me advice, and the she has been a dear friend. It is a great loss for us and it is a loss in the body politic, but it is also a loss for everyone who knew and loved there, and I counted her as a friend.

DEAN: I know. I know.

Do you have any good memories you'd like to share? We are all kind of talking. It has been fun to hear everyone kind of talk about happy memories they had with her. What really they remember best about her well.

HUTCHINSON: Well, it is her fun side. It is her athletic ability and the fact she is like --

DEAN: Yes, she is a big runner.

HUTCHINSON: -- to compete running, marathons.

DEAN: Yes.

HUTCHINSON: I mean, every time I talk to her, I felt lazy and she inspired in that way. She had a balance in her life with their Christian faith, with her health care emphasis, and in her professional side, but from a personal standpoint, she believed in influencing young people and social she was engaged on the board of the Institute of Politics at Harvard and was very instrumental in making sure that young people heard from the left and the right as they were going through that institution, and that's one of the things she encouraged me in, to be engaged with that.

So it was all about teaching the next generation, young people and that being involved in politics was important, and to follow your conviction. So it is from a personal standpoint, it is her words of encouragement to me and it is just wonderful to know her both professionally, but more importantly as someone who really cared about people and the direction of our country.

[18:20:02]

And she was so sad, and just a week ago, as I talked to her just about the mess that we see in our politics today and she was trying to change that and we will miss her.

DEAN: We sure will. We sure will.

Governor Asa Hutchinson. Thank you so much for making time. We appreciate it.

HUTCHINSON: All right, great to be with you. Thank you.

DEAN: You, too.

And with us now is CNN senior political commentator, Scott Jennings, who -- there he is. Scott, I am really sorry to see you right now under these circumstances. I know you and Alice shared many sets together and many a conversation together and, you know, we all knew her both for her conviction and smarts and insight, but also for just her shining, bright personality.

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, Alice and I were fellow travelers, have been Republican political operatives over the years and shared a lot of common experiences, which led to a lot of great conversations about who we knew and what we had learned and what that meant for our party and really for the future of the country.

I just talked to Alice on Friday. She was guest-hosting a radio show on Friday morning. We had a great segment and it was fun.

We talked about the debates that are coming up and also talked about what the breaking news of the morning was at the PGA championship, and we just had a delightful conversation because she was the kind of person that could lead a delightful conversation.

One of my best -- one of my best memories of Alice is that I had a chance to recommend her to the Harvard Institute of Politics where she had one of the most successful fellowships. They bring in political operatives and you have a semester and you have these students that come to your seminars and she had just such an accessible semester with students who often don't get a chance to interact with people like Alice.

You know, people from Middle America, Republican political operatives, they are there to learn, and Alice was someone you can learn from and she was so successful, that then they put her on the board of advisers for the Harvard Institute of Politics, and one of the things she was most passionate about and something we shared was this idea that people from Middle America need better representation in elite political corridors, whether that's in the media, whether that is in places like Harvard at the IOP.

She really believed that her people, Middle America people needed to be get better represented in these elite circles to try to bring our country together, you know, so that we wouldn't constantly feel like there was this divide between the coast and the middle of the country.

And I really admired that about her work and she always brought that kind of attitude to the panels on CNN. She was a great panelist.

DEAN: She certainly was, and you know, I think about her too, personally, I was looking back at our text messages and she just last Friday had sent me a picture. She had been behind me in the greenroom and I was eating a thing of raspberries. I had two screens. It was Friday night at like 7:30 and she was like, look, it's the glamorous life of a TV journalist.

She was witty, she was funny, and she didn't take it all. She didn't wear it all so heavily. She had a delightful, as you said, kind of lightness to her that made her fun and made her a fun person to just have a fun conversation with, and we can all get so bogged down, especially in politics these days, but that almost seems impossible, especially if -- you know, when she was on with Maria, if you're on with somebody you disagree with.

But she never let that get to her or really drive her. It was about her heart.

JENNINGS: Yes, she -- you know, for those of us who are CNN contributors, there is a little fraternity and Alice was the person in our group who was most eager to and most able to and always the best at making friends with across the aisle.

You heard Maria before the top of the hour describe their special friendship. There are so many people from the other side of the political spectrum who are saying nice things about Alice because they truly believe it.

I mean, Alice was the person who was constantly reaching her hand out, reaching across and saying, we need to have better conversations because people out in the United States need to know that Republicans and Democrats can talk to each other, debate issues and we can have civil discourse and maintain personal relationships as Americans who care about the future of the country.

And you know, we all get on here sometimes and squabble and fuss in fight, but Alice was always the person who was centering these conversations like, listen, we may have different ideas, but we all care about the same thing, which is a better future for the next generation, a better kind of politics, a more optimistic kind of politics. And so that's one thing I'm just going to miss a lot about her is that she was always someone you could count on to try to bring these conversations back to something that was extremely civil and extremely forward looking and extremely optimistic.

[18:25:12]

And she had her worries and she certainly had her concerns like we all do about our country, but she was just a forever optimist. She always believed in the better future for America and just sort of what was possible when Republicans and Democrats were able to have civil discourse.

So I know her family must be grieving and this is on behalf of the rest of the contributors, I just want to say, we are incredibly saddened and sorry for her family. Our hearts go out to you and we loved Alice and we are better people for having known her, so we are sorry for your loss.

DEAN: That is certainly true. She leaves quite a legacy.

Scott Jennings, thank you for sharing with us. I really appreciate it.

DEAN: We also have Hogan Gidley on the phone with us and they worked together for Rick Santorum.

I also, I guess, all roads do lead back to Arkansas, Hogan, because I also know you from there as well, but you to work together with Rick Santorum. I am so sorry for all of us who loved her, how are you doing?

HOGAN GIDLEY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRINCIPAL DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY (via phone): I am doing fine.

Look, I am heartbroken. I think Alice is such a good friend and you talked about us working together on Rick's campaign, which we did, but I mean, we worked together on Mike Huckabee's campaign, too.

Alice and I were both reporters in Little Rock a long time ago, and I've known her for so long and I've always admired her for so many things. She was just so funny and she was so -- we would always talk about working out and running and doing all of those things.

I was looking back at texts, I heard you mentioned you were doing the same and they were all like at 5:30 in the morning, she said, well, I know you're up and I would say of course, and we'd started texting while were at the gym together and she was somewhere far away from me, but we were texting and I just -- look, we all know I think she was a constant professional. I think she was really outstanding at her job. You know, her insight into politics, I think is second to none, but just as a person, I always just so much enjoyed our time together, our interactions.

I just saw her at the correspondents' dinner weekend. We hugged, we hadn't seen each other in a while and talked and just caught up on so many different things that are happening in our own personal lives and she just so special and I don't want to betray any other conversations that so many people have called me and Mike Huckabee has called me. We've been texting as well and she just had an impact on so many people's lives.

DEAN: Because she worked for him, too, just remind everybody. Yes, she worked for Mike Huckabee as well.

GIDLEY: Yes, absolutely. And with Sarah Huckabee as well, now Governor Sanders, we worked on that 2016 campaign with Mike Huckabee, traveling all over Iowa, Hampshire, South Carolina, as we all do and she was just -- she just is so refreshing in a world of politics where there are so many out there are who are so tough and it is hard to be around a lot of people if I am being honest and she was one of those people that just really could talk to Republican, talk to Democrats, that didn't matter.

She was just such a good person and she's just going to be so greatly missed. My heart breaks for her family and all of the other people out there who knew her like I did. It is just a really tragic day.

DEAN: It is such a loss.

Hogan Gidley, thanks for calling in. We appreciate it.

GIDLEY: Of course. Thank you.

DEAN: We just want to say to her family, we are so, so sorry for your loss and we are sending you lots of love tonight. We know it is a very, very difficult night.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:33:20]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Former President Donald Trump is headlining the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Dallas tonight. The former president railing against President Biden's gun policies and getting personal in his attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A Zoom (ph) convention I hear, because he - they're blaming the pickets, the riots, whatever they might want to blame. The real problem is he doesn't want to get up and speak. He doesn't want to walk - he can't walk from that stair to this podium. He can't put two sentences together. Even his challenge of the debate, it took him seven shots. They have seven different ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN Reporter Steve Contorno is live for us in Dallas.

Steve, how's the reception been for the former president?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Well, the former president just got up on stage and he immediately made a push for gun-owning voters to get behind him this election cycle. He said, look, I stood up for your rights during my four years in office. You have to make sure you show up for me this November. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We've got to get gun owners to vote, because you know what? I don't know what it is. Perhaps it's a form of rebellion because you're rebellious people, aren't you? But gun owners don't vote. What is that all about? I've heard that. I heard it a few weeks ago. If gun owners voted, we would swamp them at levels that nobody's ever seen before. So I think you're a rebellious bunch. But let's be rebellious and vote this time, okay?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:35:01]

CONTORNO: Now, the - Donald Trump also said that the rights of gun owners are, quote, "under siege," and he's bragged that he didn't, quote, "move an inch" on gun restriction issues when he was president. Remember, he was president over several mass shootings, including the shooting at Parkland High School, where he said initially that he might be interested in moving on some gun laws, but ultimately did not, listening to the NRA and choosing to stick with the current laws in the country. Vice President Harris, ahead of the speech, criticized former President Trump for not taking action, saying, quote, "At a time when guns are the number one cause of death for children and teens in America, Donald Trump is catering to the gun lobby and threatening to move the - make the crisis worse if re-elected."

And there's an interesting contrast between Joe Biden and Donald Trump in this election, neither side disagrees where the other person really stands on these issues. And yet they are going to their voters and hoping that they can win over moderates with these stances. Joe Biden saying, I want to get rid of assault weapons. Donald Trump saying, I'm going to protect your gun rights, Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Steve Contorno for us in Dallas, Texas tonight, thanks so much. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:59]

DEAN: New tonight, the L.A. County District Attorney's office says it cannot prosecute music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs after disturbing new surveillance video obtained by CNN shows him assaulting his former girlfriend. The DA's office says that's because the incident happened in 2016. The Los Angeles Police Department adding that it is aware of the video, but that there is not an open investigation involving Mr. Combs.

CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister walks us through her exclusive reporting, but we do want to warn you that what you're about to see is very disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice over): New surveillance footage obtained exclusively by CNN appears to corroborate some of the allegations of abuse against music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs.

The video, captured on multiple cameras, shows Combs wearing only a towel assaulting his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in a hallway at a Los Angeles hotel in March 2016. A lawsuit filed by Ventura in November last year and settled the next day reference actions that seem to match those seen in this video. There is no audio.

According to the complaint, Combs became extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye, which, according to the lawsuit, prompted Ventura to try and leave the hotel room. The surveillance video obtained by CNN begins as she enters the hallway.

The complaint says: "As she exited, Mr. Combs awoke and began screaming at Ms. Ventura. He followed her into the hallway of the hotel while yelling at her." The complaint goes on to say: "He grabbed her and then took glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her." In the surveillance video, Combs can be seen grabbing Ventura and throwing her to the ground. As Ventura lies on the ground, Combs then kicks her twice and attempts to drag her on the floor back to the hotel room.

Ventura is seen picking up a hotel phone. Combs seems to walk back to the hotel room, then returns and appears to shove her in a corner. Moments later, he can be seen throwing an object in her direction. According to Ventura's now-settled lawsuit, the pair began dating several years after they met in 2005. They parted ways in 2019.

Combs' attorney said the decision to settle was in no way an admission of wrongdoing. Ventura declined to comment on the video, but her attorney told CNN: "The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light."

The video hasn't been seen publicly before and comes on the heels of a series of civil lawsuits alleging Combs' involvement in sex trafficking and sexual abuse, allegations Combs has repeatedly denied.

Authorities searched Combs' homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March as part of an ongoing federal investigation carried out by a team that specializes in human trafficking crimes. In a December 2023 statement, Combs responded to the claims in some of the lawsuits, saying, "Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear. I did not do any of the awful things being alleged."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WAGMEISTER (on camera): Clearly very disturbing footage and violent actions that we are seeing coming from Diddy, who up until this point has denied many of these allegations from all of these lawsuits that he is facing. Aside from this lawsuit from Cassie, which he settled back in November 2023, he is facing five separate lawsuits and he has been fighting back through his lawyers.

In fact, just last week, we reported on a motion that he filed to dismiss a lawsuit from a Jane Doe that claimed she was 17 years old, a minor, at the time of her allegations. And just a few days before that, he filed a motion to dismiss a portion of an entirely different claim. It'll be interesting to see now how this may impact all that Diddy is facing, but we have yet to hear directly from him.

[18:45:05]

DEAN: All right. Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you so much for your exclusive reporting.

The Los Angeles District Attorney saying it cannot charge Combs over that 2016 incident because it happened after the window for prosecution had passed.

Still to come tonight, a compound once built for World Cup spectators is now housing injured Palestinian women and children. CNN takes you inside that compound to bring you their stories. You're in CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:08]

DEAN: As the war in Gaza rages on, some Palestinians who have escaped the horrors of the conflict are now trying to find some semblance of normality at a refugee compound in Qatar. The biggest strain has been on the children, who are now dealing with both physical and mental scars.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh has their stories.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Far from a place of death and destruction, Gaza's children try to be children again. But everywhere you look here, you see the real cost of a war Israel says is against Hamas, what the U.N. has called a war on children. So many injured little ones, so many who've lost limbs.

Mahmoud (ph) can no longer ride a bike. The nine-year-old lost both his arms in an Israeli strike. He's one of hundreds of children evacuated by Qatar for medical treatment.

Mahmoud (ph) is finding ways of living a childhood shattered. He shows off how he's learned to use his feet to play video games.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD: (Foreign language).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARADSHEH (voice over): "I want to fulfill my dreams. I want to be a journalist and a pilot," he says.

The once independent child now needs his mother to feed him, dress him and take him to the toilet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARADSHEH (on camera): (Foreign language).

MAHMOUD: (Foreign language).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARADSHEH (on camera): I ask what makes him so resilient. "Because I'm from Gaza, because I'm Palestinian," he says, "Nothing can stop me." Those children here, like Mahmoud (ph), don't want to talk about their injuries. They found sanctuary in this unlikely place. A compound Qatar built for World Cup fans now turned into housing for nearly 2,000 Gaza evacuees, most of them women and children. It's a safe space to deal with the trauma of war and offers us a firsthand glimpse into the suffering which Israel has forced us to cover from afar by preventing international journalists from freely accessing the enclave.

In this room, women gather for a session of Palestinian embroidery. It's therapy, a distraction, but how could anyone forget what they've been through and all they've lost?

Alma (ph) quietly sits watching her grandmother embroidering. Her wounded mother is in the hospital, her injured father still in Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONA AL-ROUBI, GRANDCHILDREN KILLED IN GAZA (through translator): I didn't expect Alma (ph) to survive. She had a fractured skull, an amputated leg, shrapnel in her back and a broken arm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARADSHEH (voice over): Like many children, Alma (ph) has lost more than her leg. The blast that maimed her took her eight-month-old sister, Sham (ph), who died in her arms, and her six-year-old brother, Ahmed (ph).

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALMA: (Foreign language).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARADSHEH (voice over): "I am sad about my brother and sister." Alma, choking back tears, can't say any more.

Everyone in this room is missing loved ones, those gone and those they've had to leave behind. Weighed down by grief and guilt, they tell us they deprive themselves of food and sleep.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOHEIR ISSA, SONS KILLED IN GAZA (through translator): I've been sleeping on a couch. How can I sleep on a bed when my sons are sleeping in a tent and on sand? How can I eat when my children are hungry?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Soheir's three children and husband are in Rafah. Like others, she desperately wants to get them out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISSA: (Foreign language).

(END VIDEO CLIP) KARADSHEH (voice over): She shows us pictures of what used to be home, where she was injured, where she lost her mother, six-year-old niece, and two of her sons, all killed in a strike, she says, while they were sleeping.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISSA: (Foreign language).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARADSHEH (voice over): She gleams with pride talking about her boys. Sixteen-year-old Sharif (ph) was top of his class. Mahmoud (ph) had just gotten a scholarship to study medicine abroad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISSA: (Foreign language).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARADSHEH (voice over): "Israel left no dreams. I now find myself thinking I wish I had let my sons take up arms instead of dying like this."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISSA: (Foreign language).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARADSHEH (voice over): Soheir says she raised her boys to never carry weapons, to serve their people through their education.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISSA: (Foreign language).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARADSHEH (voice over): "I want to tell them you destroyed the people, the mothers, you created more hatred. I used to feel for them, with the hostages. As a mother who's lost her children, if I could avenge my son's death, I would do it myself."

Memories and photos, all she has left of them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISSA: (Foreign language).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARADSHEH (voice over): When I go to sleep at night, I put my arms like this. I imagine I'm hugging Mahmoud (ph) and Sharif (ph). Hugging my mother. Pain in this place is palpable. Those who've made it out may have escaped the war, but there's no escaping the everlasting scars it leaves behind.

[18:55:04]

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Doha.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:59:45]

DEAN: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in Washington.

And tonight, a desperate situation unfolding in Gaza. Dramatic new video showing a large crowd of people running after aid trucks and climbing on top of the trucks.

[19:00:03]

The aid just arriving today from the floating pier set up by the U.S. military.