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Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire Talks Resume; J.D. Vance Defends Attacks on Tim Walz's Military Record; Ukrainian Forces Advancing in Southern Russia. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired August 15, 2024 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: And, frankly, it's taken even longer at a time to get feedback from them, so no immediate results expected quickly there.

But what we're hearing from John Kirby is that the United States is working tirelessly to try to try to get this deal moving and through. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, NSC COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: What we're trying to do here at the White House is work feverishly to get this cease-fire deal in place so we can get at the very least six weeks of calm and a chance to get the most at-risk hostages out now, not that they're not all at risk.

They are, but I'm talking about the women and the elderly, the sick and the injured. Get them home to their families, where they belong. And that's why we're in Doha right now, and that's why we're working so hard on this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: So, after this -- this evening, we're expecting a security cabinet meeting here in Israel. It seems early for the delegation to have gotten back already, but we may begin to get a few leaks of -- to give an idea of how it progressed, at least at the beginning.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Yes, it would be so good for everyone, for the Israelis, the Palestinians, everyone, if there is a cease-fire now, stop the deaths that are going on, allow food to start coming in.

And the Israelis are willing to release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for all of this as well if the hostages could come home.

All right, Nic, stand by.

Jomana Karadsheh is covering all of this for us.

Jomana, the United Nations commissioner for human rights announced today the death toll in Gaza has now passed 40,000 people. The majority, he says, are civilians, including, of course, women and children. Do these talks right now that are about to take place where you are in Doha, Qatar, spark any hope within Gaza? What's the reaction?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, as you have been hearing for Nic -- from Nic there, there isn't much hope right now that there's any sort of breakthrough that is going to come out of these talks.

But, of course, the stakes couldn't be higher, whether it is for the civilians in Gaza as we're continuing to see the death toll rise by the day, or the Israeli hostages who have been ripped away from their families for more than 300 days now in captivity, and, of course, this entire region that is on edge with fears of regional escalation.

And the only path out of all of this is this agreement. And at this point, expectations are low, but as these talks have gotten under way, we have gotten this announcement coming from the Ministry of Health in Gaza, what is being described by the U.N. as the horrific and grim milestone, more than 40,000 people have been killed over the past 10 months of war.

And while we can't verify these numbers, we have all seen that constant stream of images coming out of Gaza day in and day out over the past 10 months that show you that it is the civilians there who continue to bear the brunt of this war.

Israel says that this is a war against Hamas, it is doing what it can to avoid civilian casualties, and it is Hamas that embeds itself within the civilian population.

But the question that everyone keeps asking, where do these civilians go when they are trapped in there and they have nowhere safe to go to? Even designated safe zones have not been spared the bombings in Gaza. And you look at those figures, Wolf, the majority of those killed in this war have been women and children, nearly 17,000 children.

And when I speak to people inside Gaza and you ask them if they have hope when it comes to these talks, people tell you they no longer dare to hope, because they have been here before, and every time they have seen these hopes crushed.

The level of hopelessness and desperation that you hear in people's voices there, I -- it's very hard to even begin to describe the number of people, Wolf, who have told me they wish they would die so they don't have to live through this anymore.

BLITZER: Jomana, I want you to stand by. Nic, I want you to stand by as well.

I did an interview with Gali Edan yesterday, who I first met back in November. On October 7, her daughter Maayan was murdered by Hamas. The family was then held at gunpoint on the floor of their kitchen for hours. Hamas livestreamed it on Facebook and then kidnapped Gali's husband, Tsahi.

Nearly a year later, this is what she told me about today's cease-fire negotiations. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Do you have any hope that these negotiations, which are taking place and are about to resume, will result in a, A, cease-fire, and B, the release of the hostages, including your husband?

GALI EDAN, WIFE OF HAMAS HOSTAGE: Most definitely, yes. Yes. The only way that Tsahi and 114 other hostages can come back, some alive, some dead, for a proper burial, the only way is in a deal. The only way is in a deal.

[11:35:04]

We cannot make army -- a mission to save them all. We cannot do that.

BLITZER: Do you have confidence that Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli government are doing everything possible to win the freedom, the release of your husband and the other hostages?

EDAN: I think that, until now, I'm a believer in acts, not talks. So, by acts, nothing has been done to release all of the hostages until now.

Now there's a deal on the table. It's a Netanyahu-Biden deal. They know the terms. They need to do it now. If I believe they will do it, I really hope they will. I don't see anything else that can get...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Nic, I spent some quality time with the Gali Edan.

She's really an amazing woman. And she emphasizes now this is a critical moment right now. She wants to wake up one morning soon and hear her husband's voice. And so many of these hostage families and many of them are demonstrating in the streets of Tel Aviv, where we are right now. They want their loved ones home.

ROBERTSON: Yes, they're calling this a last chance march, because they just feel that this endurance, this horrible endurance that they're going through in the tunnels in Gaza, 314 days -- I would just say I had a few seconds in one of those tunnels where the lights went out.

I cannot imagine 340 days, utterly oppressive, how their loved ones can survive through that mental, physical torture of the bombing, the lack of food, the intimidation, everything else that goes with being held hostage. This is why they're calling it a last chance.

And they're desperate, because this is -- every time there's a chance of a deal, that's something that can be grasped. And when it isn't grasped, it's just pulled away from them, and it's heartbreaking each time.

BLITZER: Yes, her 18-year-old daughter, Maayan, was killed on October 7, and she is desperately anxious for her husband to eventually come home. And let's hope that happens.

Nic Robertson, thank you. Jomana, thanks to you as well.

And you can see my full interview with Gali Edan later tonight in "THE SITUATION ROOM" during the 6:00 p.m. Eastern hour.

And we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:41:45]

BLITZER: Moments ago, Republican vice presidential nominee, J.D. Vance, defended his recent attacks against Governor Tim Walz's military service. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is not about disparaging anybody's services, including Tim Walz. This is about disparaging the dishonesty and asking Kamala Harris, why are you showing such poor judgment by standing by a guy who insulted our veterans and lied about his service?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: We should note, Walz retired after serving for 24 years in order to run for Congress.

Let's discuss what's going on with CNN political commentators Karen Finney and Ana Navarro and former RNC communications director Doug Heye.

Ana, what do you make of what we just heard from J.D. Vance?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Honestly, Wolf, this, to me, strikes me as one of the craziest attacks I have ever heard, particularly because it's coming from the Trump/Vance campaign.

Let's keep in mind that J.D. Vance is hitting at Tim Walz, but is serving at the behest and is serving as the vice presidential nominee to Donald Trump, who made up a bone spur story to avoid the Vietnam draft, a man who has said in interviews after that that his personal Vietnam was avoiding sexually transmitted diseases while he was being a playboy in New York and others were risking their lives.

So I don't understand how you can open the door to that when you are on the ticket with Donald Trump. I mean, it's just insane. And you're talking about Tim Walz, who enlisted when he was 17 years old and served, as you said, for 24 years.

This is an attack that just won't stick. It won't stick.

BLITZER: Yes, Doug, I'm going to have you react.

But we also just learned that Trump's 2016 campaign manager is now joining the current campaign, but it's not clear at this time what exactly his role will be. But what does that tell you?

DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first here, with Tim Walz, there have been some inconsistencies. And Vance's role is to be an attack dog and throw some sand in the eyes. And that's what he's doing. That's normal politicking.

And Trump does have those vulnerabilities. But this race is ultimately about Donald Trump versus Kamala Harris. And, clearly, with what we have seen in the past few days, Trump is not comfortable with the people who are telling him to focus and be disciplined and all those things that candidates or normal candidates should do.

So we're going to have a little bit of a fight in the Trump camp. And that's the let's be smart and focused and disciplined camp against the let Donald be Donald camp. Who wins out, ultimately, I think we will have to see.

But that's the race. It's Donald versus Kamala. That's it.

BLITZER: We will see. And we will see what happens.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Karen...

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

BLITZER: ... I'm anxious to get your thoughts.

We're learning that -- we're learning that Vance has agreed to debate Tim Walz on CNN in September and again on CBS in October. Walz has agreed to the CBS debate. Should he agree to another debate?

FINNEY: You know, we may not need more than one debate, but sure.

Tim Walz has -- is a very fine debater, from what I understand. And, look, that will give him the opportunity to ask directly: I served honorably for 24 years. How about you?

[11:45:10]

And, secondly, to say, so you're questioning Kamala Harris' judgment. But how about the judgment of Donald Trump, who not only has defrauded -- has been found guilty of 34 counts, but also of sexually assaulting a woman? And now he's brought back a man who sexually harassed young girls.

And I will tell you, Wolf, I was at the Harvard IOP when they brought him in to speak, and there were concerns about leaving him alone with any young woman. This is not a man who should be trusted with any young campaign staffers around.

But that's Trump's judgment, is to bring back the guy who will tell him, sure, have another scoop of ice cream.

HEYE: Well, if I can say real quickly, Wolf, with what Karen just said, I think there's some accuracy there.

But that also makes Bill Clinton giving a very prominent speaking role at the Democratic Convention somewhat problematic. He has obviously very big vulnerabilities there.

FINNEY: Well, actually, Bill Clinton has apologized and talked very candidly about the mistakes that he's made.

HEYE: Sometimes.

FINNEY: I have not heard Corey Lewandowski do the same, nor have we heard Donald Trump do the same.

BLITZER: All right, guys, stand by. We're going to have much more of this coming up.

Karen Finney, Ana Navarro, Doug Heye, appreciate it very much.

Still ahead: stunning new video just coming in, Ukrainian troops capturing Russian soldiers on the front lines. How far Ukraine's forces have advanced into Russia, we have new information. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:50]

BLITZER: In Russia, we're seeing images right now that would have been hard to believe just a few weeks ago, scores of Russian soldiers, prisoners of war on their own soil.

Kyiv claims this video shows its largest capture of Russian soldiers at one time. And it follows news that the Kremlin is pulling troops from the battlefield in Ukraine to try to help stop Ukraine's advances inside Russia following last week's surprise cross-border assault by Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces now claim to control nearly 400 square miles of Russian territory. It's the first time foreign troops have entered the country since World War II.

Joining us now, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander retired General Wesley Clark.

General Clark. Thanks so much for joining us.

How damaging do you think these images like the ones we're showing are to the overall Russian war effort, especially damaging inside Russia? It's so embarrassing, I'm sure, to Putin.

WESLEY CLARK, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I'm sure they are embarrassing, Wolf.

But one of our real problems throughout the last two-and-a-half years has been we really can't crack open the Russian information space. The Russian people just don't get the truth on the war, and they're insulated against it. And people keep saying, if you just show this, they will turn against the war, but it hasn't worked.

So I think this is more a problem for Putin and his leadership elite because it shows his leadership is not effective. So the people around him are not only his support, but they're also his threat. And this is damaging to Putin. There's no doubt about it.

BLITZER: No doubt about it.

What do you make, General, of President Zelenskyy's request for more long-range missiles from the U.S. and the other Western allies, missiles that potentially could be fired from inside Ukraine against targets inside Russia?

(CROSSTALK)

CLARK: Well, I hope we will accede to these requests, Wolf, because I think we have a real opportunity with this Ukrainian incursion to crank up the pressure militarily on Russia, in hopes that this will persuade President Putin that he can hang on as long as he wants, but he's never going to succeed in this war.

And that's the only way we're going to bring it to a conclusion. So I think the incursion shows that Russia is not as strong, not as fearsome as some in the West have seen it, and it's time to crank up the military pressure. Using these long-range systems would do that.

Go after the airfields, go after the production facilities for these glide bombs, and take the heat off Ukraine, put it on Putin, and that's the shortest, best path to resolving this conflict successfully.

BLITZER: And Ukraine, as you know, is now creating what they're calling a buffer zone along the border with Russia. What's the goal here?

CLARK: I think a buffer zone is a smart thing if you can create it, because it lets you move forward your defenses. It keeps the Russians further away.

One of the things that's really amazing here is how effectively the Ukrainians have used their drones in what we would call battlefield air interdiction. So they don't have the A-10s and the F-16s forward. They have drones, and they're using the drones for reconnaissance and to engage enemy forces.

And in so doing that, they are pushing the Russians away and keeping them from using their shorter-range artillery systems against Ukraine on Ukrainian soil.

BLITZER: What do you think Russia's answer to all of this is going to look like?

(LAUGHTER)

CLARK: I think the conventional answer will be, first, dig a series of trench lines and try to extend the defensive front so the Ukrainians can't take any more territory.

Bring forces in, starting with the -- some diversion of forces from Ukraine, maybe some of Putin's Russian guard that he's formed up in Moscow that helped last summer to defend Moscow. And, eventually, this might solidify.

[11:55:06]

It's up to the Ukrainians whether they want to continue to throw more resources into this penetration and continue to widen it. From a military standpoint, if they could get to Kursk, where the factory is that's producing these glide bombs, that would be fantastic, and take out a bunch of these airfields, probably beyond their capabilities right now militarily.

But even what they have done is geopolitically significant. And I hope, Wolf, that China is watching this, because this is a key moment where China has to evaluate the West and the West's determination to push back.

BLITZER: All right. I suspect the whole world is watching right now.

General Wesley Clark, as usual, thank you very, very much for your analysis.

And, to our viewers, thanks very much for joining me. I'm Wolf Blitzer. I will be back later tonight 5:00 p.m. Eastern for a special two-hour edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM."

Stay with us. "INSIDE POLITICS WITH DANA BASH" starts right after a very short break.