Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Four Israeli Hostages Rescued In Gaza Military Operation; Palestinians Call Central Gaza "Hell On Earth" Amid Israeli Raid; Benjamin Netanyahu Asks Benny Gantz Not To Leave Israel's Emergency Government; Doctor Who Met With Rescued Hostages Talks To CNN; Pro- Palestinian Protesters Rally Outside The White House; 3 Hurt In Two Separate Shark Attacks On Florida Panhandle. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 08, 2024 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Popular than ever. But how did they become such a target for the political right? CNN's Randi Kaye investigates on a new episode of "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER." That's tomorrow night at 8:00 right here on CNN.

[16:00:13]

All right. Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, the CNN NEWSROOM continues with Jessica Dean right now.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I am Jessica Dean in New York, and we begin with breaking news out of the Middle East as Israel welcomes home four hostages rescued this morning from Gaza during a special military operation, all four kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova Music Festival during the October 7th attacks, eight months ago.

And they include 22-year-old Almog Meir Jan, 25-year-old Noa Argamani, 27-year-old Andrey Kozlov and 41-year-old Shlomi Ziv. Andrey and Shlomi were working as security guards at the Music Festival.

And you may remember Noa Argamani from this horrific video from the October 7th attacks. We all saw her screaming as Hamas fighters drove away with her on a motorbike. We know her boyfriend was also kidnapped and is still being held captive.

Israel says this morning's rescue mission took place at two separate locations in central Gaza, near a refugee camp. Palestinians there described the raid as hell on Earth, as heavy shelling and artillery fire bombarded that area.

Officials in Gaza say at least 210 people have been killed, more than 400 injured, including women and children. But CNN cannot independently verify those numbers.

We are covering these breaking developments from all angles. Ben Wedeman has more on the casualties inside Gaza, but first we start with Paula Hancocks in Tel Aviv, who has more details on the surprise rescue mission that brought these four hostages home. Paula, how are these hostages doing? PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, what we've been told from the doctor at the medical center they were all taken to, once they were rescued, is that they are all stable. They are in good medical condition.

And just outside that hospital, we have seen all day, friends and family coming to welcome home their loved ones that have been in captivity for the past eight months.

Now, many of them have thanked the military for the mission. They have thanked those that were part of this rescue operation, but they have also said that there are 120 more hostages that need to be rescued.

Now, we did hear from the mother of one of the hostages, Almog Meir Jan and let's listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ORIT MEIR, MOTHER OF RESCUED HOSTAGE, ALMOG MEIR JAN: Thank you for bringing my son to me, to us. I'm so excited I could hug him today. I couldn't stop hugging him. I couldn't stop and tomorrow is my birthday. So, I got my present.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Now, she also said that they want a ceasefire deal to make sure the rest of the hostages can be released.

It's something we've heard here tonight in Tel Aviv where the weekly protest has been held. We heard from the -- one of the women speaking, her cousin is one of those who has died in captivity, the body still being held by Hamas, saying not everything will have a Hollywood ending.

So, there's a real push at the same time as celebrating the rescue of these four hostages, a push for a ceasefire and hostage deal, Jessica.

DEAN: And Paula, what more are you learning about the rescue mission itself? This was high stake stuff. How did it come together?

HANCOCKS: So, what we're hearing from the IDF's side is that the military, the security agency, the police had a joint operation. They had been planning this for weeks. They say it was based on intelligence.

And it was just on Thursday night that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave the green light to go ahead with this mission.

They said they effectively built two apartment blocks. They knew that these civilians -- excuse me, hostages, were being held in civilian multi-story buildings, and they built blocks so that they could train in how to try and extract them from that area.

Now, they have pointed out, it wasn't a civilian area, and that many of the other hostages would not be held in a similar situation. So they don't believe that this could be necessarily replicated after this, Jessica.

[16:05:03]

DEAN: All right, Paula Hancocks for us live in Tel Aviv. Thank you very much.

Let's turn now to the impact in Gaza, where Palestinian are describing that special operation as hell on Earth, and I do want to warn you, some of the video we're about to show you is graphic.

Locals telling CNN this about the aftermath of the attack. "There are children torn apart and scattered in the streets."

We turn now to Ben Wedeman for more on the impact inside Gaza. And Ben, Hamas officials say there are more than 200 people dead, hundreds more injured. We were just looking at some of that video. What more do we know?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is without a doubt, one of the bloodiest Israeli assaults in this war so far.

Now, doctors at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah say that the death toll at the moment stands at least at 410 with more than 400 injured.

Now, CNN has a cameraman who got into that hospital and the scenes are utter pandemonium. Women, children, wounded, dead all over this hospital. The morgue is full. The dead are on the ground outside. There are many relatives there trying to get treatment for their wounded loved ones, others are weeping and praying over the dead.

Now, this assault took place midmorning, just before noon, actually. And at a time when many people are out and about, there's a market in the Nuseirat Camp where this happened. Lots of people were in the street, and what we've seen video coming out of that place is that the Israelis used a lot of heavy firepower in that area where there were many civilians walking around.

So, certainly this is a success for the Israelis, but for the Palestinians, it comes at a very high price.

And it's worth mentioning that the Israelis in military operations going back to October have managed at this point to free seven hostages.

However, 105 hostages were released during a cease fire back in late November, in which 81 Israeli hostages were freed, as well as 24 foreign nationals.

So, it's clear that after eight months of war and a death toll of over 36,000 in Gaza, that the best way to get people out and the hostages free is not through dramatic military action, but it's through a ceasefire, Jessica.

DEAN: And then, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to the Middle East to push for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. What is the word at this point on how this potential -- how this rescue mission may potentially impact those discussions?

WEDEMAN: Well, we've seen a statement from spokesman for Hamas indicating that this might make things more difficult. But there are already it seems that even though President Biden came out on the 31st of May coming with a three point proposal to try to end this war, both sides have been ambiguous.

The Israelis have indicated sort of a willingness to go along with it, but Prime Minister Netanyahu has made it clear that his ultimate goal is the destruction of Hamas. Hamas wants Israel to agree to a complete and permanent ceasefire, so they still seem to be well apart. The gap is wide between the two sides.

Now, we know that William Burns, the head of the CIA was in Qatar, and Brett McGurk, the Mideast coordinator for the White House was in Cairo. So, the efforts are being made, but they don't seem to be bearing fruit until now, Jessica.

DEAN: Ben Wedeman for us in Beirut. Thank you so much for that reporting.

And joining us now is the spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces, Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner.

Colonel, thanks so much for being here with us this afternoon. I want to ask you first about some of our reporting that indicates weeks of planning went into today's missions. What did the preparations looked like? How did this come together?

Lt. COL. PETER LERNER, SPOKESPERSON, ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES: Thanks, Jessica. Indeed, throughout the last several weeks, we've been gathering intelligence through various sources and means in order to create the opportunity to conduct a special forces operation to bring home Noa, Almog, Andrey and Shlomi.

The operation, of course, was even it could have been canceled even at the last minute, just before 11:00 a.m. this morning here in Israel, precisely because of the challenges that operating in such a densely populated area poses, but also because of the threat and challenge and possibility that one or the other because they were held in different locations could have been if we would have been revealed on the approach, then the Hamas guards that were watching over the hostages could have executed them.

[16:10:13]

So, it needs to be conducted in a way which enabled us a swift approach, a swift and rapid interception and engaging the enemy as we breached the entrances to the -- to the two places, to the two locations simultaneously, under a 360 degree threat.

So, the operation was indeed conducted under the understanding and guidance and instructions of the IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, and the head of the Israeli Security Agency, Ronen Bar, in order to bring the hostages home.

I think this -- the whole effort, this whole war effort, is designed and crafted to bring home the hostages. Today, we were victorious in that.

DEAN: And how were you able to pinpoint where these hostages were? I know that has been a real challenge is figuring out where these hostages are actually being held.

And in this case, as you mentioned, three of the hostages, the male hostages were together, and one -- the one woman was in the other -- in another area, how were you able to tell where they were? Is that all intelligence?

LERNER: It's all intelligence. Putting together a map of intelligence is a very timely effort. It's a challenge, but it's -- but it's also a possibility, and there are lots of question marks that are always remain open.

So, even when we are going into the plan and building the models that you reported on the mock buildings to train and prepare ourselves, even when conducting that, we may not have it at a hundred percent.

The result, unfortunately, one officer was killed in the initial breach, wounded and killed on and passed away in hospital after we evacuated him. But it just goes to show that there is no perfect breach in a scenario like this, and you have to plan for all eventualities.

Indeed, when we breached the premises, we evacuated and extracted the hostages to -- out to vehicles. One of the vehicles got stuck on the way. It malfunctioned on the way out. It needed to be rescued by other forces, and they needed to be extracted even further.

And indeed, the -- in the efforts to bring them home, they got separated to two different vehicles, and we did two helicopter trips to the hospitals, from the -- from the coastal area to the Al-Shifa (ph) Hospital, which you've seen earlier in the show.

So, there is a lot of planning that goes into operations like this. A lot of question marks.

And I would say, you know, I've been in -- basically up until this morning, when we received the announcement that it was actually a success, the anxiety that we were looking at just being prepared and knowing what we're planning and understanding the threats and the challenges and the risks that the brave men that went on this operation took on themselves is a very, very heavy burden for anyone to carry.

So, we're happy that today that they came home. We're happy that they're brought home, and I think we will continue to create operational conditions to create operations like this again in the future.

But as Ben Wedeman pointed out, there are two ways to bring hostages home, either through negotiations or through operations on the ground.

Hamas can choose to release all of the hostages today, and the war could be over. But unfortunately, we know that they have no plans or intentions on doing that.

DEAN: And Colonel, U.S. officials have told CNN there's an American cell in Israel supported the efforts, mostly with intelligence. There were no boots on the ground is what we've been told.

Can you tell us anything additional about that? About that American cell that was supporting these efforts?

LERNER: Israel and the Americans and the American military have a close, intimate working relationship, as do the various intelligence services. Of course, I will not elaborate on the nature of those relations in the media.

DEAN: And I also want to ask you, you're describing just how difficult and complicated this mission is to rescue these hostages and bring them home.

You've -- you all have now undergone three high risk missions to rescue a total of seven hostages and bring them back home.

Those missions put Israeli forces at risk. They put Palestinian civilians at risk. This happened today in an -- in civilian apartments. Is there any other option at this point for you all to get these hostages back without a deal? Is this your only option to go in in these sorts of missions without a deal?

LERNER: So, as I said, there are two ways to bring hostages home, either through negotiations, which we've done before and brought over a hundred hostages home to Israel, or through special forces operations conducted like we did today.

[16:15:08]

You know, there is a -- we have to create the conditions to bring the hostages home, whether through the negotiations or through the operations on the ground.

I would say that, as you rightly pointed out, Hamas intentionally puts the hostages in houses of civilians with the house owners in the same houses at the same time, they have armed guards there with the family members.

And this is just goes along Hamas' modus operandi throughout the course of all of this war. A reality where they have intentionally put civilians at risk, Palestinian civilians and Israeli civilians.

And I would say this relates to our second war goal. We have to get rid of Hamas. Hamas have to -- they have to go. We have to make sure that they never have the power of government ever again. They cannot be trusted to control the Gaza Strip, because when they have that power for the last 17 years, they built a military force, they invaded Israel, and they abducted people like Noa Argamani, whose only sin was that she wanted to enjoy herself at a music festival.

DEAN: And Colonel, just as you've been speaking and we've been talking, we've got some breaking news that Hamas is now claiming that some hostages were killed during this rescue mission. They're providing no proof of that at this point.

But I do want to ask you, if you know anything about this, have you -- do you know of any hostages that were killed?

LERNER: I would advise you to be very, very cautious at anything Hamas says. It is all part of their propaganda machine. It is all part of their ability and their attempts to try and manipulate both public opinion, world opinion, and to create, I would say, increased pain on Israeli society. So, I don't trust Hamas. I'm not aware of any of that situation. I would say it's a blatant lie, and therefore it's not even worth the time we're spending on it.

DEAN: All right. Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, thank you very much for joining us. We appreciate it.

LERNER: Good day.

DEAN: Ahead on this hour of CNN NEWSROOM, much more on the special operation that led to the rescue of four Israeli hostages. We're going to talk with an Israeli doctor who treated them after their release.

And will Hunter Biden testify the latest on his federal gun trial after the jury was sent home early?

Plus, shark attacks shut down some Florida beaches. Two people now in critical condition, a third in stable condition. Everything we're learning about the back-to-back attacks along the Gulf Coast.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:22:27]

DEAN: We are following breaking news out of Israel where four hostages have been rescued after an Israeli operation in central Gaza, more than 200 Palestinians were killed and hundreds more wounded in that operation according to the Gaza government media office. CNN cannot independently, though, confirm those numbers.

Joining us now, CNN Global Affairs Analyst Mark Esper, he was the former defense secretary under President Trump.

Secretary Esper, thanks so much for being with us this afternoon. With no cease fire deal, do you expect Israel to continue with these special operations to rescue hostages?

MARK ESPER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes, good afternoon, Jessica. Yes, they should, absolutely.

Any time they have the chance to do so, first of all, because it's the right thing to do. But secondly, I don't believe Hamas is going to sign onto a ceasefire that allows the release of hostages. It's just not in their interests.

They're going to use these hostages as a -- as leverage as long as they can to get a complete ceasefire and the removal of all Israeli forces from Gaza. And that's not something this Israeli government is willing to do for good cause too, by the way.

DEAN: And we're also learning that the U.S. did aid Israel in the rescue today through information gathering on the hostages we're told. Our reporting indicates it's the cell that has been helping them with intelligence, with information, not boots on the ground.

What is your reaction to this? And what kind of role might they be playing in a situation like this, the Americans?

ESPER: Yes, I smiled because this administration seems to always want to proclaim that there are no U.S. boots on the ground. I don't understand why they want to do that.

We should have American service members and others helping the Israelis, not just because they are our allies, but because Hamas is holding Americans. So, I think that's important.

But secondly, I think it's critical that we can bring to bear a lot of assets, a lot of experience, a lot of intelligence work and analysis. And I'm glad to see that we are helping them recover Israelis, and hopefully they'll recover Americans being held hostage as well.

DEAN: And we also know that the Israeli war cabinet member and Netanyahu rival, Benny Gantz, has postponed a news conference this afternoon after the four Israeli hostages were rescued. This was his self-imposed deadline today to resign from the government if Netanyahu did not present a new plan for the war.

Looking ahead, Netanyahu is trying to keep this government together. If Benny Gantz were to leave, it wouldn't -- it wouldn't end his government, but it certainly would have some ripple effects, I would imagine, but he would still be able to hang on to power.

What do you think all of this means right now for both the domestic politics inside Israel and then more broadly, what that means for this conflict?

[16:25:09]

ESPER: Well, first of all, today is a big day for the Israelis. You know, it's the first victory they had so to speak when it comes to hostages in a long time.

And so, the nation is in a celebratory mood for what the IDF did and for getting these four hostages back. So, I think Benny Gantz, who I've known for a long time, did the right thing by not throwing a, you know, wet blanket on the moment.

But you're right. You know, last month, he made this demand that Netanyahu assess and announce his plans for post conflict governance of Gaza, and what that means. And it's the right thing to ask. It's the first question to ask.

And usually, before you go into a conflict like this, you outline what your end state is going to be.

So, he's asking the right questions, as is the White House about what does the conflict look like after this?

This issue still needs to be resolved. Even though operations are ongoing in Gaza, we need to know who is going to maintain security in Gaza when major operations are done, who's going to do the policing, who's going to provide public services, who's going to take care of the population.

And then, ultimately, what does you know, a two-state solution, or whatever solution look like, and with whom in charge? Those are the key questions that have yet to be answered, and they're absolutely critical.

DEAN: OK, so to that point, that leads us to my next question, which is that there's this new CIA assessment that's been seen by CNN that's concluding the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likely thinks he can get away without defining one of these post war plans, a what happens after the war is over plan in Gaza, even as the Biden administration has basically demanded one.

What do you think the administration's next move should be here with that information in mind?

ESPER: Well, first of all, I think Netanyahu is just playing the clock. He knows -- you know, it would be nice to define that right now, but I think he knows that these ongoing operations will take months, not weeks, but months, to culminate. And there have been other reports coming out of Tel Aviv that they don't think this conflict will end, at least, until the end of the year at the earliest.

So, in his mind, he probably thinks he has some time and that events will change on the ground and allow him to maybe navigate this a little bit more cleverly.

That said, I think the Washington, the White House, rightly so needs to continue to press him for an end state to request that this be defined.

At the same time, keep working behind the scenes on the outlines of an ultimate deal that may again is -- involves this agreement with Saudi Arabia getting some type of defense arrangement with the United States, access to civilian nuclear power, a few other things in exchange for Israel agreeing to a two-state solution and some type of Pan-Arab force, maybe with European and other western countries governing Gaza until a point in time where we have a real Palestinian Authority that could actually control the state.

DEAN: All right. Secretary Mark Esper, always great to have you on. Thanks so much. ESPER: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Up next, we're going to talk with an Israeli doctor who treated the hostages after their surprise rescue today. That interview is right after this break.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:32:37]

DEAN: Back now to our breaking news, the successful rescue for Israeli hostages in a special operation in Gaza. Their release coming more than eight months after they were kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival.

Let's talk with the doctor now who met with them, Dr. Haigi Levine. He's the head of the health team for the Hostages Families Forum and professor at Hadassah Medical Center at Hebrew University.

Dr. Levine, thanks so much for being here with us.

I think everyone wants to know how these hostages are doing now that they're back home.

DR. HAGAI LEVINE: MET WITH ISRAEL HOSTAGES AFTER RELEASE: Well, it's wonderful that they are back home. And clearly, it was a very emotional day for them, for the families, for many people in Israel and all around the world.

I spoke with the four of them and with the families. They're much better than our latest concerns.

But I must tell, from my experience, with the other hostages that sometimes, after the first day, we see the marks of the long period in captivity in terms of mental health and need for rehabilitation.

DEAN: Because our reporting is that that, outwardly, that there's no -- they didn't have to -- appear to have the outward signs of any medical distress. Was there any sign of physical mistreatment or anything like that?

I hear you on the mental health and I do want to talk more about that, too.

LEVINE: Sure. We have to remember that the hostages are kept in different conditions as they were kept above the ground. And at least the -- the three men were kept together. So, you know, they could support each other.

And again, relative to our greatest concerns in better condition, but I cannot disclose their personal medical information. And also, I'm saying that it does not mean that they do not have any medical problems.

DEAN: Sure. Of course. Of course.

I want to get back to what you said originally, that maybe in your experience in talking with some of these hostages, that it's a day or two after when things really start to sink in and the mental health really becomes something you have to focus on.

Walk us through what that might look like, what people who have been in captivity for eight months might have to deal with as this all sinks in.

[16:35:05]

LEVINE: It's really something we cannot understand because, especially for such a long period, there -- we're already aware of the Stockholm Syndrome where they empathize with the peoples that took them. But also, you know, the trust in human beings.

You know, I just met this week. Ima Braam, who was released from captivity several months ago. And although she's really able to rehabilitate, she still has many medical issues and, you know, difficulties in concentrating, difficulty in trusting people.

I'm not speaking specifically about lma. But that's things we see among the hostages, difficulty sleeping at night. So I'm just saying it's not only the mental, but this mental situation also related to the ability to walk again, to socialize again, et cetera.

And I can tell you ,with specifically with the released hostages. So one of them, Shlomi, is living in the -- near the border and then also in Israel. And I don't think you can now return to his home because this is a war zone area. And others have other issues.

And as long as not all the hostages are back and in Israel, their families and they are still occupied, not with their own rehabilitation, but the -- but with the efforts to release all the hostages.

So that's another issue to prevent from full rehabilitation.

DEAN: There are so many layers here. When you start recovery, when -- when someone who's undergone something like this, which is so unimaginable for so many of us, how does that work? What does that process -- do you let them kind of come to it on their own? Are they talking with doctors?

I would imagine you don't want to push them too much. I know you've talked about bringing pets to the hospital. What might that look like, that sort of treatment --

LEVINE: Well --

DEAN: -- to begin -- to begin on -- anew?

LEVINE: To tell you the truth, Jessica, when I see the footage that you are putting with Prime Minister Netanyahu visiting them, that's a great worry because that's not the first thing they need to see when they are now here in Israel. They don't need politicians' visits for P.R. purposes.

They need some quiet. They need to be able to recover, to think, to regroup, to get more into some kind of routine. It's personal. It's dependent on the people.

And, you know, I just was in the hospital when Imo visited -- his friends visited him and it was important for him to thank his friends for the last eight months, working to listen.

But still, they need comfort. They need what we call a tender love and care. And examine all the medical conditions.

But try to get them back to life, trying to get them more independent because they didn't have any control of themselves.

And you know, the first time they take a shower or choose what to eat, that's great things for them. It's very exciting.

I must say that, together with that, they get a lot of bad news. They now here about the close family members or close friends who got killed over the last eight months on October 7th or later.

That's also very difficult for them. And things may appear on the surface as OK. But even behind it, are the things that we will have professionally and tailor made for each and every one of them, find the proper solutions.

Of course, also with the other families, I must say, its great excitement, but also great worry that this heroic population will confuse the government from understanding that the only way to bring on back all the one of the 20 hostages is by a deal with the Hamas.

And we need, after President Biden's speech -- we need all the world leaders to put the pressure on Hamas and its allies to accept the Israeli suggestion on the table for a deal for a ceasefire and release of the hostages.

DEAN: And were they able -- are they able to elaborate about the conditions in which they're kept or any sort of details. Again, I would imagine, based on what you're saying, and it makes a lot of sense, that first you want them to heal or begin at least to start that process.

I would also imagine that officials want to get information from them, if possible.

[16:40:01]

LEVINE: Yes. I mean, just imagine for them what it's like to -- you know, there are different considerations. You want the intelligence to get some information from them. The media is very interested. And they want to be able to tell their story to the world. They have faced above all the medical needs.

You know, when I bought Naga money (ph) glasses today, you know, it was remarkable. I can say also for me because these glasses waited in the door in the clinic for more than seven months. And when I pull it to bring it to air, but I saw the other glasses of others of some were killed and some are still there.

So it's really difficult to understand what exactly the priority right now for them because of all these different obligations. I don't know how much sleep they will get it tonight.

And for one of them, there is a funeral, tomorrow, of his father, believe it or not, who just died.

So I'm just saying this is so confusing. The situation is unbelievable. It's unbelievable for all of us. It's unbelievable for them.

I think that these coming days they will be able to relax more and, you know, start getting back to life. That's what they will need.

DEAN: Yes, there are so many emotions, as you're describing, and so much to process.

Dr. Hagai Levine, thank you very much for being here with us. We appreciate it.

LEVINE: Thank you very much.

And they said they would continue the fight to release all the hostages until all of them are released. They personally committed and they said that they saw on the news that the demonstrations in favor of them, had helped them a lot for their courage during captivity. So your work is important in the news.

Thank you.

DEAN: Thank you, Dr. Levine. We appreciate it.

Hundreds of protesters gathering outside the White House today calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. How they're using this red banner more than two miles to illustrate their demands.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:46:50]

DEAN: We are following pro-Palestinian protests outside the White House. Demonstrators there, at one point, unfurling a two-mile-long red banner.

CNN's Brian Todd has been outside the White House all afternoon.

Brian, why this two-mile-long red banner? What does it signify?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, it signifies a red line that the protesters and the protest leaders feel that President Biden didn't do enough to adhere to when he talked about a red line for the Israelis regarding their incursion into Rafah.

That incursion occurred about a month ago. And the protesters and the protests leaders here feel like the president did not do enough to stick to that red line as far as withholding Israeli weapons and aid and other things.

So what they did, you just described it, they constructed this enormous red banner, two miles long in 100-foot sections, and they unfurled it and had protesters hold it all around the circumference of the White House.

And my team and I walked that circumference to make sure that they had enough banner to go around the entire White House grounds. And in fact, they did with just a couple of breaks in it. But it was a fairly impressive visual there.

And a lot of messages and symbols were written on the banner. But that wasn't all they did. They marched around the White House grounds as well.

And now what they're doing is they're holding what they call a symbolic court of justice. Where I'm standing -- I'm standing now on the Ellipse on the south side of the White House. This is what they call a people's court of justice.

Now they had humanitarian lawyers actually draw up an indictment of U.S. officials and others who they accuse of committing war crimes. They're having this mock trial right now. There are judges sitting there behind the dais, behind the speakers.

And here's the red banner that was unfurled earlier. They've lain it in neat rows here along the Ellipse. And you can see just how enormous this banner was. And the people sitting in a large semicircle watching this mock trial.

So a day of heavy symbolism and heavy emotion here.

What we did witness earlier was a bit of a dustup between Park Police and protesters when we were told by Park Police that protesters tried to climb a statue.

And there was some police activity to try to get that person off. And some of the protesters got upset at that. That dissipated quickly.

But what we did observe later was that the statues of Lafayette and Roshanbow (ph) in Lafayette Square, word to face. There was graffiti written all over them. So that did occur earlier today.

So, Jessica, here you have it, a very emotional day here. What they hope will come out of this, as I just kind of walk along the protest lines here on the mock trial.

What they hope will come out of this is that for this movement to grow. They really want the pro-Palestinian movement in the U.S. to grow from this moment. And they want to press to an end to U.S. aid to Israel, or at least a diminishing of it. That's the central goal here. And again, they've been out here for hours in the heat kind of showing their emotion over this issue -- Jessica?

DEAN: All right, Brian Todd for us, live in Washington, D.C., this afternoon. Thanks so much for that report.

Still ahead here, three people have been hospitalized, two of them critically, after back-to-back shark attacks on some of Florida's most popular beaches. Everything were learning about those attacks.

[16:49:48]

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: Three people are injured, two of them seriously, after back-to- back shark attacks in Florida. Those two attacks happening at two of the state's most popular beaches, just 90 minutes and a few miles apart.

CNN national correspondent, Rafael Romo, joining us now.

Rafael, what else can you tell us about these attacks and officials -- do officials know if this was the same shark?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they're still trying to find out if it was the same shark, Jessica.

And what I can tell you is that it happened in an area that is very popular with tourists, especially in the summer. Watersound Beach and Seacrest Beach are located in an area between Destin and Panama City Beach, Florida.

[16:55:06]

In the last hour, we got new video of the moment beach goers realized someone had been attacked by a shark.

Officials are trying to determine the cause of the two separate shark attacks Friday afternoon that happened in the span of less than two hours and only about four miles apart.

According to authorities, a 45-year-old woman who was attacked just after 1:15 p.m. suffered significant trauma to her midsection and pelvic area, as well as the amputation of her left lower arm.

And then at 2:56 p.m. two girls between the ages of 15 and 17 were also attacked. The first victim suffered what officials described as significant injuries to one upper and one lower extremity, both requiring the application of tourniquets. The second victim has minor wounds to her right foot.

And we just heard from authorities that the 45-year-old woman and a teenage girl who suffered the more serious injuries are in stable condition at the hospital while the other teenage girl has been released.

Walton County official said, what happened is both tragic and terrifying. But historically, shark attacks are exceedingly rare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN CRAWFORD, CHIEF, SOUTH WALTON FIRE DEPARTMENT: They're highly unusual. And it's extremely unusual for two to happen in the same afternoon within four miles of one another.

As the sheriff mentioned, we're reaching out to -- to speak to subject matter experts as to what may -- you know, what may be causing that, you know, the golf temperatures, the steering current, whatever that is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: The Walton County Sheriff's Office Marine Unit has been monitoring the shoreline today. Deputies spotted a 14-foot hammerhead in Santa Rosa Beach this morning from their boats. But they say this is not uncommon.

Officials also said that, before those two attacks, Jessica, on Friday in Walton County, the last one in the area occurred in 2021 when a 14- year-old boy was swimming near the fishing line, 40 yards from the shore, and he survived.

And then you would have to go back to 2005 when a 14-year-old girl was attacked on a boogie board 250 yards from the shore and died after being pulled under by the shark.

And while the risk of being bitten by a shark is extremely low, Florida tops global charts for the number of shark bites, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History's Annual Shark Attack Report.

Jessica, back to you.

DEAN: All right, Rafael Romo, with the latest on that story, thanks so much.

Still to come, we have new details about the special operation that rescued for Israeli hostages from Gaza.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)