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CNN International: Commemorating Historic Allied Invasion; Veterans Return To Normandy To Mark WWII's Allied Invasion; Biden Ties D-Day To Russian Invasion Of Ukraine. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired June 06, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

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RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": A special day for Europe and the world, as we mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day. I am Rahel Solomon live in New York, where we will take you to the international memorial ceremony at Omaha Beach that has just begun. More than 20 heads of state are expected to attend.

MAX FOSTER, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": I am Max Foster outside Buckingham Palace in London, as the world marks 80 years since the allies stormed the beaches of Normandy. It changed the course of World War II, building a framework for NATO allies, as we see them today, many of them gathered, that setting. We will follow all the events as they happen over the next two hours.

SOLOMON: And their task on the morning of June 6, 1944, was nothing short of monumental, defeat Nazi Germany and save democracy, and 80 years later, a recognition of their tremendous sacrifice. U.S. President Joe Biden has arrived for the international memorial ceremony at Omaha Beach, as we said, which is expected to start in just minutes. Now, right now, you're looking at live pictures, as we see more world leaders take their places. Let's take a listen.

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Earlier, the somber ceremonies included a fly over honoring those who fought so bravely during the Allied invasion of France.

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As we see here, U.S. President Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron among the world leaders who are gathered in Normandy. Mr. Macron gave thanks to 11 U.S. Veterans of World War II by awarding them with the Legion of Honor. President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden earlier paid their respects at Normandy's American Cemetery. Now, Mr. Biden's speech marking the anniversary, not only honored the heroes of D-Day, but also spotlighted just how similar the threats posed by Nazi Germany in 1944 are to those facing the world today. With wars raging in Ukraine and Gaza, he said that the fight for democracy is the responsibility of every generation. The U.S. President says that the men who landed on those beaches 80 years ago understood that the fate of free people across the globe was in their hands.

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VOICE OF JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The men who fought here became heroes, not because they're the strongest or toughest or more fiercest, although they were, but because they were given an audacious mission, knowing -- every one of them knew the probability of dying was real. But, they did it anyway. They knew beyond any doubt there are things that are worth fighting and dying for.

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SOLOMON: CNN's Melissa Bell joins us now from Normandy with a very unique vantage point. Melissa, give us a sense of just some of the things you've seen today and also the stories you've heard.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Rahel, these are some of the scenes that have been playing out all along the Normandy coast. Well, this is one of the amphibious vehicles with ducts that played such a key role. But, as you can see along this, Arromanches Gold Beach, which was one of the main beaches where the British landed in huge numbers that day. We have also the jeeps that were used at the time. People have come out, dressed as they would have been at the time. Lot of serving army personnel as well from a variety of different European countries who've come out here today.

And again, these vehicles are of the time lovingly maintained by their owners each year with the parts necessary to their functioning found in order that they can be brought out back here to these events year in, year out, and 80 years on, still in working order.

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You can see they've come from all over Europe. There are American flags and flags from all over the European continent as well. And people who are interested in the mechanics of these vehicles, but all of them are really here to pay tribute to what was achieved by the Veterans 80 years ago. There are, of course, this time, only 200 World War II Veterans that have been able to make the trip. And of course, that's what makes this particular occasion as pleased as it is, and as well attended as it is, Rahel, because it's the last time that anyone who actually witnessed the events is likely to come in the numbers that we're seeing this year.

But, these other people who come here with their vehicles year in, year out, say they're going to carry on. And (inaudible) who has been the owner -- is the owner of this remarkable duct that played such a role for the Americans 80 years ago says he has owned it for 30 years. Why does he come here? Why does he go through huge expense to himself? Because he says, what matters to him is coming here every year, getting the kids on board and seeing the interest in their eyes ignited and what happened to all those years ago. So, there is a great deal of passion out here for the idea of paying tribute to the men who carried out this extraordinary operation 80 years ago, but also of the importance of passing that knowledge and that passion down to younger generations, Rahel.

SOLOMON: Reminding the young people of those sacrifices that were made, that bravery, of course, that was exhibited there on those beaches. Melissa, can you talk to us a little bit about just sort of some of the feel of the events. I imagine even just watching, you see the sea of these troops, these Veterans. It must just be a real mixing pot of emotions.

BELL: I think it is. And I think certainly what we've noticed here all along the Normandy coast where we spent the last few days is the extraordinary goodwill. People are waving to each other. They've come out really with extraordinary feelings about what went on. There is, of course, all the solemnity of the occasion what we heard from the heads of state remembering the huge sacrifices that were made. But, there is also out here on the coast, as you can see, much more of the pleasure that people have in coming out here and remembering in their own way, paying tribute as they can.

And I think what these vehicles that are so lovingly cared for remind us of, Rahel, were these extraordinary -- this extraordinary logistical feat that underpinned all this, these amphibious vehicles that allowed the allies to come on in those first few crucial hours and days after the first man managed to get their feet onto these beaches to bring those critical supplies in. The other logistical feature or part of it is, of course, something else that was in the heart of the tributes that were made by President Macron earlier in the week, further inland.

The extraordinary, again, coordinated efforts with these Allied armies to take out German communication centers to German resupply positions that would, once the initial D-Day had begun, have allowed the Germans to respond in a far more aggressive and adequate defense of their positions, and in fact, they were able to do. At the heart of that, the German inefficiency was also, of course, Rahel, the ability of this extraordinary Operation Overlord to trick the enemy into thinking that this wouldn't in fact be the main event, that this would be where minor operations took place, that the main landings would happen far further north and close to the coast.

So, a year of preparation and a remarkable amount of coordination between the armies of so many different countries, and I think that's really at the heart of what we've heard today, the homage we paid to the bravery of the few men still standing up here that day. But, underneath it all, underpinning it all, that extraordinary ambition and desire to fight for freedom and the coordination that allowed one of the most successful military campaigns in the history of Europe.

SOLOMON: It's just truly fascinating. You think about the strategy that that went on to pull this off. Melissa Bell live for us there in Normandy. Melissa, thank you.

Let me now bring in General Wesley Clark, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander who joins us now with his perspective on this historic day. General, always good to have you. I want to pick up where Melissa left off. Can you explain for us just the sheer magnitude of this huge operation in terms of what was required logistically, strategically in terms of the troop build-up?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Well, it started actually two years before, because the allies in the summer of 1942 thought they could just rush ashore the village up deep and they sent a Canadian brigade in there and took 50 percent casualties and lasted about six hours. They lost 100 aircraft, the destroyer and so forth.

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They discovered that France is a pretty tough nut to crack when it's occupied by Germany. So, for two years, they built the forces up and they planned this operation. They planned it finally with four beaches and two divisions and an airborne assault. So, the idea was to come across on a relatively broad front. A deception plan was developed and executed. But, well, George S. Patton was a fake army that we wanted Hitler and his German generals to believe the main invasion was coming on the most obvious place, which was the closest to the British Isles, which was about 100 to 150 miles east along the French coast, a place called Pas-de-Calais. Instead, this was picked as the invasion site.

Detailed reconnaissance was done. Rehearsals of the troops. They brought the troops. Put them on ships. Sent them ashore in Wales to practice this. Everybody was geared up for and then on the big day, thousands of ships, hundreds of aircraft over the beaches, and --

SOLOMON: Yeah.

CLARK: -- ultimately, a couple of 100,000 soldiers.

SOLOMON: General, as I hear you sort of lay out some of the strategy there, the detailed advanced reconnaissance, the organized special tactical equipment, it reminds me of something you wrote about in an OpEd, I believe, for The Wall Street Journal a little earlier this year about what Ukraine could potentially learn from D-Day. Would you lay that out for us? And how would you, just take to that one step further, how would you juxtapose this moment to sort of the world that we're living in currently with a war being fought on European soil?

CLARK: Well, it's very much in parallel, Rahel. So, D-Day is an operation that was planned over a period of years and finally was executed. What happened last summer with the counteroffensive in Ukraine, was exactly what happened in 1942 when the allies rushed ashore at Kyiv (ph). They went with a small force. They didn't do adequate reconnaissance. They didn't have combined operations. They didn't seal off the area behind the obstacles. They didn't have air superiority, in Ukraine I'm talking about. And of course, they got the same result that the allies got in 1942.

And so, for Ukraine to eject, kick the Russians out of Ukraine, Ukrainians have to prepare an operation on this scale. And they can't do it without Allied help. So, they're going to need the equipment, the communications, the aircraft, the air superiority, the air defense, the deception planning. It's going to be eventually an operation just like this one, if they're to succeed in regaining their territory and convincing Mr. Putin that aggression doesn't pay. And I would suspect, if we give them those resources and Putin sees it

forming, he may have a different view of aggression, and he may then be willing to come to the table and pull out before he loses everything.

SOLOMON: General, can I ask, on a personal note, watching the pictures, looking at the Veterans, having listened to their stories in preparation for this day, listening to the bagpipes, it all feels so emotional. It all feels so moving. How are you processing these images? How are you processing this day?

CLARK: Yeah. It is very emotional. And I was here at the 75th five years ago in this very location and talking to these Veterans. And when men go into combat like this, they have many different emotions, and then it's over, and you think back and those emotions end sort of well off. You forget in a moment that you're afraid, or when you think about it, even 80 years later, you've got to remember the anxiety, the fear, the uncertainty that accompanied you, when you made that parachute drop, or when the ramp dropped on the boat, and you charge the shore, or when you were driving the boat and coming into fire from the enemy, a lot of uncertainties, a lot of fear, and a lot of relief on these men's faces, as they remember again that they made it. They did it and they lived through it.

SOLOMON: And we all think them, of course, for their sacrifices and the bravery that they showed on that day, all of those who were there and all of those who have perished.

General Wesley Clark, we thank you for your time today. Thank you.

CLARK: Thank you, Rahel. Thank you.

SOLOMON: All right. Still to come, Christiane Amanpour's conversation with actor Tom Hanks. He will talk about the Academy Award-winning film "Saving Private Ryan" which memorialized the Normandy invasion on the silver screen.

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We'll be right back.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. 80 years ago today, a battle of rage for control of Europe from the sea and from the sky. Allied troops were landing in mass to retake the beaches of Normandy. Along with Soviet advances in the East, it would mark the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. And eight decades on, the actions of those troops at Normandy continue to be commemorated by world leaders. I want to take you back to these live images of Normandy where more than 20 heads of state and government are attending today's ceremonies, all of them there to honor the nearly 160,000 Allied troops who took part in the first wave of Operation Overlord. Around 150 American Veterans made the journey to Normandy today and about two dozen of whom fought on D-Day. And in an exclusive interview at the Normandy American Cemetery,

General Charles Q. Brown, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs, spoke with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, and this was his message for democracy in 2024. Listen.

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GEN. CHARLES Q. BROWN, CHAIRMAN, U.S. JOINT CHIEF OF STAFF: Our freedom is not free, and democracy can stand on its own. But, we got to make sure we're prepared. And one of the things I focus on is ensuring that we have the war-fighting skill to deter a future conflict.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And it's been said that Americans of this generation have not yet internalized what apparently a lot of military, certainly NATO military believed that it's not inconceivable that there could be a great power war again and that you have to prepare for it. Do you think people at home, even in Europe, understand how difficult the situation we're living through right now?

BROWN: Well, I'll tell you, I have a sense it's coming along. And having worked in the Indo-Pacific before, here in Europe and in the Middle East, I've watched over the years, and particularly over the past few years how the (inaudible) not only for those of us in uniform but with our elected leadership and the American public. And we got to continue to remind folks that when you look at this situation that we're seeing that we just can't watch, we got to be -- we got to leave.

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SOLOMON: Fascinating. Joining us now is CNN's Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour, who is live there at the Normandy American Cemetery. Christiane, good to have you. I was talking in the last block to General Wesley Clark, who said, look, it's really moving to watch the pictures. It is really an emotional day. Can you share with us just a little bit of your conversations with some of those Veterans there and the feeling there on the ground?

AMANPOUR: Yes. It certainly is emotional and certainly for them, particularly Jake Larson, who I spoke to, and I just met him here.

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Wesley Clark said he was here as well back in 2019, which was the 75th anniversary, and Jake, 101-years-old, back again. And I remember I asked him, do you remember exactly what it was you're fighting for? He said, yes, to kick Hitler out of Europe and we did it. And then, he spoke about all the fallen comrades and his thoughts then and now.

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AMANPOUR: Today, it is 80 years since what you all did so heroically.

JAKE LARSON, D-DAY VETERAN: I don't think I was a hero. I was just like everybody else. We were all in this together. I'm never a hero. I am a -- people keep calling me hero. I changed that word. I took the "o" off my hero. I added "t" over there and that people will say, well, what you're here to. I says, I'm here to tell you that heroes are up there. They gave their life. They gave their life so that I could make it. My God. I had -- I got a wife. I got children. I have two boys and a girl. I got nine grandchildren. I got 11 great- grandchildren. I've got a grandson that's a grandfather. And I'm still going. Crazy.

AMANPOUR: Will you come back again?

LARSON: Oh, God. Yes. I'd come back again just to honor all those who gave their life so that I could be here.

AMANPOUR: Jake Larson, thank you.

LARSON: Well, thank you, Christiana (SIC).

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AMANPOUR: Such an amazing person and to see him so sharp and so in the moment still, and his granddaughter, I think it's a granddaughter, he said, not a great-granddaughter. Anyway, it has got him on to TikTok, and he has got nearly a million followers and it's because he is telling his stories, these authentic stories of what somebody at the age of 17 80 years ago did to really to defend and to secure freedom and democracy for all of us, and knowing that if democracy is to survive, it really does have to be fought and defended. Rahel.

SOLOMON: I hear Mr. Jake Lawson there -- or Larson telling his story, here to tell his story to hundreds of thousands, as you point out, Christiane. Christiane, you also spoke to Tom Hanks, of course. You think of Tom Hanks, one of his most famous movies is "Saving Private Ryan" who memorialize this very event. What did he tell you?

AMANPOUR: Yeah. That was 26 years ago. And I talked to him about it. I said, look, you're an actor but you're also somebody who has put so much of your artistic and creative work towards really gathering a body of work and anthology about World War II, whether it was "Saving Private Ryan", or then he went on to do "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific" and now "Master of the Air", and alongside Steven Spielberg, who is the director, of course, of "Saving Private Ryan". And this isn't just accidental. The two of them really have worked so hard to create this memory and to create this body of work, lest anybody forget.

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TOM HANKS, ACTOR, "SAVING PRIVATE RYAN", & EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "BAND OF BROTHERS": I remember when we were shooting, and by the way, this is one of the reasons Steven Spielberg wanted to make the movie. He said, finally, I'll be able to do with film technology. I'll actually be able to capture what happened on Omaha Beach. And here is how I'm going to do it. First, it's going to take three weeks. So, it's going to be every single day. And third, we're going to have all kinds of stuff going off. And fourth, in between there, we'll make some sort of movie at the same time we're trying to load it up with as much authentic and I wanted to use the word again "verisimilitude" as we can. OK. That's our job as filmmakers.

It's also our job as lay historians, because for good or for bad, that movie is a document that has to accurately reflect the tenor of that day. And I'd like to think that we did it. And hearing it from a number of people who said, as confusing as that is, well, multiply that by we did not have the smell of cordite or burning flesh or blood on the sand. But, we did have some version of that -- the -- how -- whatever you can get out of a motion picture. I think we captured it. And to Steven's credit, and I will also go along with the audience's credit as well, they were willing to suspend whatever disbelief of it and say, I've always -- if you've ever wondered what it was like, that's as close as somebody in Davenport, Iowa or Oakland, California, or Minneapolis, Minnesota, was going to get to that.

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AMANPOUR: It's really interesting to hear it put in that perspective. And certainly, these stories are massively important, as we know that the survivors are not all going to be around for very much longer. That's why this 80th anniversary is so poignant and important as well. There was some two dozen D-Day landings -- survivors who came here amongst about 150 World War II U.S. vets, 40 from Britain, about 11 or so from Canada. So, the number of survivors, the people who could actually testify with their own memories are dwindling. And so, this kind of storytelling becomes more important than ever, Rahel.

SOLOMON: Absolutely. That window is diminishing, but it sort of speaks to the importance of events like this, not only to memorialize and pay our respects to those who are still with us, but to also sort of provide a reminder to all of those who are young and watching.

Christiane Amanpour, good to have you today. She is CNN's Chief International Anchor.

AMANPOUR: Thank you.

SOLOMON: And let's now go back to Buckingham Palace where Max Foster is. Max.

FOSTER: Hi, Rahel. Yeah. The struggle between the dictatorship and freedom is unending. Those are the words coming from President Joe Biden today. He is drawing direct parallels between Nazi Germany and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia President Vladimir Putin noticeably absent from today's ceremonies. They've been there before. Mr. Putin attended D-Day anniversaries on other occasions, but the French government said he was not invited this year due to the war against Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, is taking part in commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day and has been given a pretty high-profile role. Hasn't he, Nic? But, as General Clarke was describing to me earlier on, many of the Soviet operations were happening in Ukraine. So, Ukraine was a big part of this war too.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It was, and that was where there were many losses. The Soviet forces had losses in the tens of millions. And that's one of the reasons why Putin perceives that Europe treats him unfairly and unjustly because their effort and their part in getting rid of Nazism and Adolf Hitler was exceptionally costly for the Soviet Union. And it's interesting if you sort of think about the genesis of D-Day, the D-Day landing, Operation Overlord. This was actually conceived and agreed between Prime Minister Churchill, President Roosevelt and Stalin in Tehran of all places late in 1943. So, that just gives you an idea of how much times have changed.

But, yes, absolutely, it is Putin that has seemed to be the aggressor now in Europe, and for that reason, that ally of the alliance that came out of World War II, those 12 nations that fought together on the beaches there in Normandy that have now become the 32 nations of NATO, and Ukraine wants to be a member of that. This is an important part of that legacy and it's that legacy now that you find President Zelenskyy wants to be part of.

FOSTER: What do you think President Putin thinks of all this?

ROBERTSON: Perhaps right now, his calculations are more about how he can secure the victory that he wants in Ukraine. Well, no doubt he has something of what he thinks about the D-Day commemorations when he speaks at the St. Petersburg forum. That's expected tomorrow. He is expected to speak at length. So, we expect comments to come there. But, for him, he is looking at this and he sees the alliance that he thinks wants to encroach on him. He thinks and has said quite clearly that if these nations continue to support Ukraine, particularly allowing Ukraine to use the weapons they give them to strike inside Russia, there will be consequences. He said that would be the case for the United States.

So, I think for President Putin, days like today, these commemorations, do send a clear message, but it's not one that I think we should expect him to be about face and change track and pull out of Ukraine. It's more likely to make him double down.

FOSTER: Absolutely. Nic Robertson, thank you for joining us, as the commemorations for this 80th anniversary of D-Day take place.

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Readings taking place with some high-profile figures from France in front of a group of 20 world leaders and the very many heroes that managed to survive that day. Back in a moment.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. You're watching CNN's special coverage of the 80th anniversary of D-Day. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.

FOSTER: And I am Max Foster outside Buckingham Palace in London. World leaders then gathering in France for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. This hour, they're attending the international memorial ceremony. It's on Omaha Beach, where the largest group of more than 150,000 Allied troops stormed ashore to fight Germany's Nazi army. That day marked a turning point in World War II.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is amongst the leaders watching the ceremony. In earlier remarks, U.S. President Joe Biden warned that the events of 80 years ago are relevant in the present day, with Ukraine now fighting for its freedom against Russia in an unprovoked war, as he called it.

I want to bring in Melissa Bell, who has been experiencing D-Day in an extraordinary way on the beaches of Normandy in the craft that those soldiers used.

BELL: That's right, Max. These are some of the ducts that allowed Operation Overlord to be the military success that it was. And of course, remember, if you cast your mind back 80 years ago, the odds that we're facing, the many armies that landed on these shores are the entrenched positions that determines what (inaudible) had occupied, not just in the shores, but all the fronts in (ph), didn't bode in terms of what the allies had looked to achieve. And yet, after a year of planning that involved millions of servicemen and women across these 12 Allied nations, they landed here in the early hours 80 years ago on that fateful day into making their way culturally at first up these shores towards ultimately the liberation across Europe.

These vehicles and we're going to head into the water with this jump now on one of the American amphibious vehicles that was used (inaudible). And it was not just that coordination between the allies, the historic coordination (inaudible), also what happened behind me. (Inaudible) the attributed being paid by the French President.

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It's not just the civilians who lost their lives but to the campaign (inaudible) behind enemy lines that allowed the allies to take out the German communication centers in towns like (inaudible), the German resupplied lines that would have enabled them after D-Day that happened, to come and see off the Allied soldiers. So, all of that in the heart of this ceremony has we see these vehicles recreating some of the events at the (inaudible), Max.

FOSTER: Pretty noisy out there as well. Melissa Bell, thank you so much for showing us extraordinary work those conservatives have done with those vehicles and giving us an insight into what the soldiers went through to. Rahel, you're in the safety of the studio.

SOLOMON: Thanks, Max. Yeah. I'll pick it up for you and we'll head to the Middle East.

All right. Let's get to some other news we're following this hour. The UN Agency for Palestinian refugees calls it another horrific day in Gaza. It says that one of its schools sheltering 6,000 displaced civilians was attacked by Israel with no prior warning. Gaza health officials now say that 40 people were killed, including women and children. Israel calls it a precise strike, saying that it targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters inside the compound. UNRWA says that it cannot verify the presence of armed militants, calling that claim shocking. CNN has analyzed video from the scene, finding that U.S.- made munitions were used in the attack.

Meantime, fears are growing of a wider conflict as cross-border attacks escalate between Israel and Lebanon. The IDF releasing this video of retaliatory strikes after an attack on northern Israel Wednesday, killed one soldier and wounded at least nine other people. And we are also now learning about a deadly infiltration attempt into Israel by Hamas militants in Gaza.

Let's bring in Jeremy Diamond, who is following all these developments from Jerusalem. Jeremy, let's start with this infiltration attempt. What more can you share with us? Where exactly did this happen? And how did this go down?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. That's right. The Israeli military says that this happened near Rafah, that an Israeli soldier was killed in what they are describing as an attempted infiltration attempt by Hamas trying to make it into Israel. 34-year-old Zeed Mazarib from the Israeli military's border defense forces was killed as he tried to thwart this attempt, according to the Israeli military. They also said that they killed three Hamas militants who approached the border fence between Israel and Gaza and began firing at Israeli soldiers. The militants were about 300 metres away from that border fence.

This is a pretty unique event in the course of this war. We have not seen many infiltration attempts like this certainly since October 7 when Hamas mounted its largest infiltration of Israel in its history. That deadly day killing about 1,200 Israelis, most of those civilians. Hamas' armed wing, al-Qassam brigade said that it had launched a quote "landing operation behind enemy lines", saying that they were able to penetrate the fence and attack of a military base. The Israeli military, for its, part says that it thwarted this attempt.

SOLOMON: What more can you share with us about this strike on the school? As we said, the IDF says that it was a precise strike. UNRWA says that it was a school housing civilians. What more can you share here?

DIAMOND: Well, there is no question that there were thousands of displaced Palestinian civilians who were living at this UNRWA school- turned-shelter, one of so many UNRWA schools in Gaza that have been converted into makeshift shelters for displaced Palestinians, and certainly not the first one to have been targeted by an Israeli military airstrike. The Israeli military confirming that it carried out this strike, saying that it was targeting 20 to 30 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants who they say were sheltering inside the school, actively planning attacks on Israeli troops. They did not provide any verifiable evidence to back up that claim.

What is clear, though, is that on the ground, despite the Israeli military saying that it is unaware of any civilian casualties from this strike, we know from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where the bodies from the strike arrived, that of the 40 people who were killed, the majority of those were women and children, 14 children, the youngest as young as four-years-old, and nine women were killed in this attack. Eyewitnesses on the scene said that people were sleeping overnight when this Israeli strike hit.

We're also learning based off of footage captured by one of our journalists working with us in central Gaza that this was once again a U.S.-made munition that was used in this strike.

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At least GBU-39 small diameter bombs, according to munitions experts who reviewed our footage, were used in this strike. That was the same type of munition that was used in that deadly strike in western Rafah on another camp for displaced Palestinians that killed 45 people in the explosion and the ensuing blaze.

SOLOMON: OK. Jeremy Diamond live for us in Jerusalem. Jeremy, thank you for the reporting.

And still to come right here for us, a black World War II medic finally getting the recognition for his heroism and bravery he displayed 80 years ago today. We'll tell you his story when we come back.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDWARD BERTHOLD, PILOT WHO CARRIED OUT THREE MISSIONS OVER FRANCE IN MAY 1944: Wednesday night, June 7, 1944, Dear Mom, just a few lines to tell you we are all OK. We flew mission number 10 on D-Day. It certainly was a terrific show, what we could see. This is what everyone has been waiting for. Now, we can see the results of the bombing Eighth Air Force has been doing the past months. I have been writing very long letters to each of you as there isn't much to say these days. I don't hear from you. You all, as Matt would say, happy to hear Virginia found a place, I suppose, she is getting ready to move. I had a letter from Helen today. It was swelled to hear from her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: All right. We've just been looking at and listening to live pictures of the ceremony being held right now in Normandy, France. It's a day of remembrance and it's a day of reflection, as the world marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day. More than 20 heads of state and government are in attendance. All of them there honoring the nearly 160,000 Allied troops who force landed in northern France 80 years ago today.

And no doubt there are countless stories of heroism that took place on D-Day, and now 80 years later, one black medic is finally getting his recognition. Take a look. His name was Cpl. Waverly Woodson, and he is posthumously being awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. This is the second highest honor that can be bestowed on a member of the U.S. Army. Cpl. Woodson was a member of the only black combat unit to land on the beaches of Normandy that D-Day. And for 30 hours under heavy combat, he treated countless wounded soldiers on Omaha Beach. Woodson, just 21 at the time, was also seriously wounded while he saved an estimated 200 lives. Woodson survived the war and he would work for decades in public health before his death in 2005.

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Joining me now is Senator Chris Van Hollen, who has worked closely with Woodson's family to finally give him this recognition he deserves. Senator, welcome. Great to have you on this D-Day. Let me ask, I know you've been working closely with his family, what was the reaction to this news from his family and from his widow, Joann, I believe it is, when he was finally awarded this honor?

SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): Well, it's good to be with you on this 80th anniversary of D-Day. And the family has been working for years to make sure that Cpl. Waverly Woodson receives the recognition he so deserves for his valor on D-Day. You just described his heroism. And so, yes, the family is absolutely thrilled that this day has finally come that we are correcting this injustice. I should say, we're going to continue our efforts to award him with the Medal of Honor. But, as you said, this medal, it's the highest metal that the army can award on its own authority, and the second highest medal overall.

So, this has been a long time coming. This has been an injustice, the fact that he, like many other black Americans who participated in D- Day and were heroes of D-Day, many did not get that recognition for years and decades later. And now, some semblance of justice is now being provided to Waverly Woodson for his courage and heroism.

SOLOMON: And Senator, for those who are not familiar with his story, can you explain? I mean, was it just the racism? Because it appears that even after more recently it became an issue of documentation or record keeping. I mean, why has it taken this long? How would you explain that to people?

VAN HOLLEN: Well, it's a combination of the two. It's a fact that none of the sort of black heroes of World War II were given the recognition that they deserved until the 1990s when President Clinton was in the White House and awarded a number of black soldiers from World War II with the Medal of Honor. Waverly Woodson was considered at that time for one of these higher honors, but because of lost paperwork, documentation issues, did not receive recognition at that time. So, since then -- and I want to really applaud the historians who have gone to work and found really clear accounts of the kind of heroism you just described.

So, it's been a long time coming. But, I am glad we're finally at this day. Mrs. Woodson is 95-years-old. And so, I'm really thrilled that we were able to do this by this 80th anniversary --

SOLOMON: Yeah.

VAN HOLLEN: -- of D-Day, and the medal that he will receive, the Distinguished Service Cross. Parts of the First Army unit are actually going to be going. They went earlier today to the Normandy Beach site, where Cpl. Waverly Woodson landed on the beach. They're going to be planting a cross there and they're going to be putting the medal on that cross before they then bring it back here to the United States --

SOLOMON: Wow.

VAN HOLLEN: -- where it will be presented to his widow, Mrs. Woodson --

SOLOMON: Wow.

VAN HOLLEN: -- later this year.

SOLOMON: What a beautiful gesture. What an incredible gesture. Senator, before I let you go, I know you mentioned there that you are still working to try to get Mr. Woodson the Medal of Honor, as is his family. Are you optimistic that that will happen? What needs to happen between now and then, do you think?

VAN HOLLEN: Well, this is not a question of the extent of his bravery and valor. That's very clear. This goes to some of the documentation that's required for the Medal of Honor. And so, we're continuing to work with the army. We're continuing to work with historians to complete that effort. But, this is a major milestone, the Distinguished Service Cross. And so, I'm glad that we're at this day for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, but we will not give up on our efforts with respect to the Medal of Honor.

SOLOMON: All right. Well, please keep us posted, as your efforts continue. And Senator, we appreciate your time today on this 80th anniversary of D-Day. That's Senator Chris Van Hollen. Thank you.

VAN HOLLEN: Good to be with you.

SOLOMON: All right. Still ahead for us, Britain's King Charles among the world leaders in France for D-Day. His message of thanks for the Veterans and those who died.

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FOSTER: Well, today, the world remembers the 80th anniversary of D- Day. It's the day tens of thousands of Allied troops stormed the beaches of France to liberate the country from Nazi troops and punch a hole in Hitler's Atlantic Wall. These are live pictures from France. More than 20 heads of state are attending ceremonies to remember the thousands of young men who died that day.

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So, he is just giving the Legion of Honor there to some of the Veterans, which is the highest honor that France can bestow. And now, we're about to hear from the President of France, who has s hosted this momentous event. But, we're going to bring you the highlights as we get them through the course of the day. King Charles also attending today's commemoration in France on behalf of the United Kingdom. He and the Queen met with D-Day Veterans and their families. The king also spoke about the pivotal battle 80 years ago. He thanked those who fought for their courage and their ability to stand in solidarity against tyranny.

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KING CHARLES, UNITED KINGDOM: 80 years ago, on D-Day, the sixth of June 1944, our nation and those which stood alongside us faced what my grandfather King George VI described as the supreme test. How fortunate we were and the entire free world that a generation of men and women in the United Kingdom and other Allied nations did not flinch when the moment came to face that test.

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FOSTER: Those names behind the king there, many of them in their early 20s. And the Veterans that you see here, now before you were listening from the -- listened to the French president, they were just in their teens. So, it's an extraordinary moment to see them still able to get there. But, the numbers get smaller and smaller every year, and one of them, who Christiane was speaking to earlier, said this would certainly be his last visit to Normandy in France. So, it's a bookend (ph) in many ways, the 80th anniversary for many of them, King Charles as well. His mother, of course, serving in the war. So, so many people there still have direct connections with World War II, and with D-Day.

But, as time moves on, this is more about remembering the stories and passing them on to young people. But, we heard from General Wesley Clark earlier on that he worries that these messages aren't resonated with young people, and they don't really realize the threat that we might be under going forward if such an occasion ever happens again. We will bring you the highlights of President Macron's speech a little later on. But, that's it from London.

SOLOMON: And that wraps this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.

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And stick with CNN. One World is coming up next with more of our 80th anniversary of D-Day coverage.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

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