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Trump Picks Matt Gaetz To Serve As His Attorney General; Top General Faces Brewing Storm After Trump's Pentagon Pick; Biden Welcomes Trump Back To The White House In Nearly 2 Hour Meeting; Secretary Blinken's Meet With NATO And EU; Thousands Evacuated As Parts Of Spain Hit With Nearly A Month's Rainfall; Valencia Region on Alert for Flooding in Coming Days; New Report on Displacement of Palestinians; Paris Ramps Up Security Ahead of France-Israel Soccer Match; Preserving the Seychelles; China to Launch Charm Offensive During APEC Summit. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired November 14, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Paula Newton. Ahead here on CNN Newsroom. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump makes more controversial cabinet nominations, including Attorney General and Director of National Intelligence.
Now, Trump had a cordial Oval Office meeting with outgoing President Joe Biden ahead of the upcoming peaceful transfer of power. And an apparent suicide bombing attempt at Brazil's Supreme Court leads the suspected attacker dead and unanswered questions about a motive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Paula Newton.
NEWTON: And we do begin this hour with Donald Trump's most controversial pick yet for his new administration, Matt Gaetz as attorney general. The Florida Republican resigned from Congress late Wednesday, effectively ending a House ethics investigation.
Gaetz has repeatedly denied accusations including sex trafficking, having sex with a minor, illicit drug use and obstruction. The Justice Department ended its investigation last year without filing charges.
But Trump's decision to now choose Gaetz to be the nation's top law enforcement official has sent shockwaves through the halls of Congress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator, your reaction to Matt Gaetz's AG.
UNDIENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I don't know yet. I think about that one.
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): I was shocked that he has been nominated.
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): This is going to be a red alert moment for American democracy.
SEN. ALEX PADILLA (D-CA): Trump is following through on his threat to weaponize the Department of Justice clearly.
SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): What to me is interesting is the good ones are going to come by my colleagues on the other side, the GOP, on how they can justify voting for that jerk off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, the other pick announced Wednesday is former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard to be the Director of National Intelligence. Now a Republican, Gabbard has a history of positions at odds with U.S. foreign policy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think Assad is our enemy?
TULSI GABBARD, FORMER U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: Assad is not the enemy of the United States because the United Syria does not pose a direct threat to the United States.
What we have is unfortunately, Democrats, Republicans, the mainstream media, the Washington elite, essentially in the pocket of the military industrial complex.
Now, here's something you are not going to hear on the mainstream media. What you do hear is warmongers arguing that we must protect Ukraine because it is a quote, unquote democracy. But they're lying. Ukraine isn't actually a democracy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Los Angeles. And Jessica Levinson, she's a professor at Loyola Law School and host of the Passing Judgment podcast. Really good to see you. It is difficult to even take a breath here. It has been quite a 24 hours.
Matt Gaetz now seems to be that tipping point, right, where even Republicans are wondering what President Trump has in store for his new administration. You know, I want to ask you firstly, do you believe he'll actually be confirmed?
JESSICA LEVINSON, PROFESSOR OF LAW, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: I'm really not sure that he will be. And that in and of itself is really saying something because we know Republicans have achieved the trifecta, the Oval Office, the Senate and of course, the House, although the House doesn't weigh in on these types of appointments.
I think some of this, obviously this is speculation what I'm going to say, but some of this may be about the fact that the House committee that was investigating Matt Gaetz for ethics violations, potential ethics violations, was set to release a report on Friday.
Now, he stepped down, he's no longer a member, and arguably that House committee no longer has jurisdiction over him. That might mean that report just never sees the light of day.
At which point you could imagine a situation in which the nomination is pulled back, but it's already a bit of a win for Trump. Who said, OK, I heard you, I'll pull this back. Then we're spending less time talking about somebody like Tulsi Gabbard and Matt Gaetz avoids that ethics report going public.
NEWTON: Yes, going public. But so many issues here just in terms of even the confirmation and if they can strategize on that and how to get it through. Now, look, Gaetz, by Republicans own admission, is not well liked to by members of his own party.
I want you to listen now to former Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Speaker, who says he's not liked for good reason. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN MCCARTHY, FORMER U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: it's because one person, a member of Congress, wanted me to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17 year old. An ethics complaint that started before I ever became speaker. And that's illegal. And I'm not going to get in the middle. Did he do it or not? I don't know. But ethics is looking at it. There's other people in jail because of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Pretty categorical there. Earlier this year, I have to say, I spoke with a former speaker in September and I talked to him about the transition. He has been in close contact with the President. I think he would say he too is surprised by this appointment.
[01:05:09]
The move seems almost mercenary. But what does it tell you more broadly about what Trump is trying to do here?
LEVINSON: Well, the reporting indicates that this came as a surprise to Trump's team as well, that there were people that he was vetting, and they were vetting up until essentially this morning when he came out with this announcement.
And if that's true, it tells us that he makes impulsive decisions. It tells us that he's looking for somebody who will be deeply loyal to him. It tells us that he might be looking for somebody who views the Department of Justice as perhaps more of a law firm for the president, as opposed to a government entity that serves the public.
I think there's no question that if Matt Gaetz is confirmed that he would be deeply loyal to the president and his policy wishes and desires and use the Department of Justice to try and further those things.
NEWTON: Yes. And given the whole blanket of immunity that the Supreme Court has already basically given to all presidents, including President-Elect Trump, it would be interesting indeed. I do want to move on to Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat. You know, when Russia invaded Ukraine, she actually said Russia had
legitimate security concerns. So now she could be, if confirmed, the Director of National Intelligence, distilling and analyzing very sensitive intelligence for Donald Trump each and every day. What do you expect to be the fallout of that?
LEVINSON: Well, I think that she will follow potentially. I mean, what we've heard from her in the past, which is she seemed to sympathize with the Russian government. I believe the vast, vast majority of the Intelligence Committee disagreed with her vehemently and said there was no basis for that invasion.
And this is elevating somebody to a position, obviously of significant power where, as you said, she does have the ability to brief the president, I believe, every day on national intelligence issues. And she has a worldview that seems to be at odds not just with mainstream Democrats, but frankly, I think with the mainstream in terms of security professionals, national security professionals, and that could have significant consequences for all of us.
NEWTON: You know, before I let you go, I have to ask you, many Americans may just gloss over all of this and just say, you know, we'll wait and see. They usually do not see the alarm that perhaps Democrats have agreed on some of these appointments.
Do you think that's valid, to just kind of give this Cabinet, as it's forming, a chance?
LEVINSON: Well, I mean, constitutionally, it's valid in the sense that the president gets the power to appoint. And when it comes to certain positions, the Senate has the ability to provide advice and consent. And if the Senate thinks there's something like a national security risk or risk to the Department of Justice, then they owe it to all of us not to confirm.
You know, in terms of the public saying -- essentially saying not much at all potentially, I think one line of thought is elections have consequences and this is the consequence that a majority of people who voted chose.
But I'll say I think it more has to do with the fact that people are waiting for the Trump administration to deliver on economic promises.
If you look at the election, I think it was largely about the idea that Trump would deliver on bringing inflation down. And that's something people feel in their daily lives. They may not feel a difference in their daily lives, at least not yet on who a national security adviser is or who the attorney general is. I think it feels amorphous.
NEWTON: Now another battle is brewing over Peter Hegseth. He is Donald Trump's pick to be defense secretary. Critics are blasting his lack of government experience and controversial positions on diversity and women in the military. CNN's Oren Liebermann reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The next secretary of defense could reshape the entire military. Pete Hegseth, the 44-year-old Fox News host and army veteran emerged as a last second surprise even to many in President elect Donald Trump's orbit.
In announcing the pick, Trump called him tough, smart and a true believer in America First on major policy issues facing the Pentagon, the Princeton and Harvard graduates view comes across as blunt and short on specifics. Take China.
PETER HEGSETH, FOX NEWS HOST AND U.S. ARMY VETERAN: They have a full spectrum, long term view of not just regional but global domination. And we are -- we have our heads up our ass.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): And on Russia, Hegseth said he doesn't see President Vladimir Putin as a strategic threat to Europe.
HEGSETH: I think he probably knows enough to know that. Probably not going much further than Ukraine.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): During his military career, Hegseth deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, receiving two bronze stars for his service.
[01:10:02]
He also served at Guantanamo Bay and has defended the practice of waterboarding alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. A major in the Army National Guard, Hegseth, if confirmed, would go from mid- grade officer to running the agency he has railed against. Much of his commentary about the military has been an outright attack on its top leadership.
HEGSETH: They'll do any social justice, gender, climate, extremism crap because it gets them check to the next level and get some closer to the political appointees who don't know anything about the military, really.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Hegseth has said a Trump administration should start by firing the chairman of The Joint Chiefs, General C.Q. Brown, a frequent right-wing target and only the second black man to be the head of the Joint Chiefs.
HEGSETH: Well, first of all, you got to fire, you know, you got to fire the chairman of Joint Chiefs and you got to fire this. I mean, obviously got to bring in a new secretary of defense.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Hagseth has also derided, DEI, critical race theory and wokeness. He claimed in June that one-third of the country's most senior officers are complicit in the politicization of the military.
HEGSETH: I would say over a third are actively complicit. And then you have a lot of grumblers who are sort of going along.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Hegseth has even questioned women serving in combat roles. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't like women in combat?
HEGSETH: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not?
HEGSETH: I love women servicemembers who contribute amazingly because everything about men and women serving together makes the situation more complicated and complication in combat means casualties are worse.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): In a 2016 interview, Hegseth also attacked Muslim immigrants who don't assimilate in language echoing the anti- immigrant rhetoric of the far-right. On Secure Freedom Radio, he said, we have to be willing to confront those who won't assimilate to the ideas of our country and show allegiance to them, lest we find ourselves in a place where there's a silent invasion of groups of people who have a very different view of the future that looks nothing like America, nothing like freedom.
In 2019, Hegseth publicly pushed for servicemembers accused of war crimes to be pardoned and praised President Trump when they were. Hegseth's defense of Trump includes denying the 2020 election results and broadcasting those claims on the mall on January 6th before the riot.
LIEBERMANN: Despite Hegseth's controversial positions on a number of different issues, here he has perhaps the most important qualification to get through the confirmation process and become President-elect Donald Trump's Secretary of Defense. And that is loyalty to what would be his commander in chief. Oren Liebermann, CNN at the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now, I spoke earlier with CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger and I asked him what risks come with a pick like Hegseth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So no problem in wanting to shake up the Pentagon. No problem in wanting to rethink their budget from the bottom up. No problem in thinking about new technologies, drones, autonomous weapons and so forth that may have a big effect on the battlefield and are being fielded by American adversaries.
The problems come in actually, at least what you're hearing from both Democrats and Republicans is Mr. Hegseth's own background. He obviously served in the military at a relatively low level. He's never had a management job that we can find that is related to one of the world's largest organizations, the Pentagon. He's never had to deal significantly with strategy.
And we're entering a time when the U.S. is probably at its both most vulnerable and potentially most powerful as it deals with some of the biggest conflicts we have ongoing Ukraine, the Mideast wars, the build up to try to keep the Indo-Pacific from turning into an active conflict with China. And the big complaint you hear is very little experience on almost all of those issues.
NEWTON: Yes. And you and I both know because we attend the briefings, right, that this is a struggle to try and keep up with everything. And thankfully, you and I just have to report on it. We don't actually, as you said, have to really make judgments on strategy.
I do want to talk to you about American foreign policy, though. And when this appointment happened, Jim Sciutto, our chief national security analyst, said, you know, officials started texting him and calling him. And their point to him was that they see that Trump, with this and other senior national security appointments are bringing out a team to put into action, in Jim's words, massive and lasting changes to U.S. policy. What do you think the next four years could look like?
SANGER: Well, the president want a mandate and he has a right to try to alter policy and get that argued out with Congress and the others who need to make decisions.
[01:15:10]
But obviously, the president's got a huge leeway when it comes to foreign policy.
The complaints I'm hearing, and I think I've read what Jim's written on this and I've looked at my own emails and fielded my own phone calls, actually have less to do with following the president's policies than following the president slavishly in a set of steps that they think could be disruptive or destructive to American security.
And what I'm hearing is people are putting together sort of two different categories of appointees. Marco Rubio, who was appointed today for Secretary of State, you may like his policy, you may not.
But he's been around foreign policymaking now as a member of the Intelligence Committee, other steps, other posts in the Senate for 15 years. And while you may not agree with everything he has to go say he is familiar with the structure of American diplomacy and there's a serious choice.
Then you get to the Defense Department, to the Director of National Intelligence, for which we've seen Tulsi Gabbard nominated, and you see attorney general. And I've got a lot of people saying to me, these are not serious players and serious nominees. Will they know how to run the department?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: And our thanks to David Sanger there now. Meantime, Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office Wednesday for the first time since January of 2021 to meet the U.S. President who promised a smooth transition of power. Now, it was a courtesy Trump did not extend to Joe Biden when he took office. CNN's Arlette Saenz picks up the story from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Mr. President-elect and former president. And congratulations.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: Thank you.
ARLETTE SAENZ, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two former competitors face to face setting the course for a presidential transition unlike any other in American history.
TRUMP: A transition that's so smooth, it will be as smooth as it can get.
SAENZ (voice-over): President-Elect Trump returning to Washington and the White House for the first time since his election victory, meeting President Biden for nearly two hours in the Oval Office.
TRUMP: Politics is tough and it's in many cases not a very nice world. But it is a nice world today and I appreciate it very much.
SAENZ (voice-over): The White House describing the sit down, which included their chiefs of staff, as cordial and substantive.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president elect again was gracious, came with a detailed set of questions.
SAENZ (voice-over): Trump telling the New York Post, they, quote, got to know each other again and spoke about Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East. I wanted to know his views on where we are and what he thinks, Trump said, and he gave them to me. The meeting restored a tradition last seen in 2016, when President Obama hosted the newly elected Trump at the White House.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: We now are going to want to do everything we can to help you succeed, because if you succeed, then the country succeeds.
SAENZ (voice-over): Trump shunned the protocol in 2020. Four years ago today, he publicly mused about who would occupy the White House despite Biden winning the race.
TRUMP: Whatever happens in the future, who knows which administration will be, I guess time will tell.
SAENZ (voice-over): Trump ultimately refused to concede, watched as his supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6th and skipped Biden swearing in. Today's meeting, a full circle moment for the two men who fiercely brawled in the 2024 race.
BIDEN: Most importantly, and I mean this from the bottom of heart, Trump is a threat to this nation.
TRUMP: He's a low IQ individual. Take his IQ. I guarantee you it's in the low 50s or 60s. SAENZ (voice-over): With a historic handshake, Biden promising a
peaceful transfer of power to his predecessor and now successor.
BIDEN: Looking forward to having a, like we said, smooth transition. Do everything we can to make sure you're accommodated, what you need. And we're going to get a chance to talk about some of that today. That's good. Welcome.
TRUMP: Thank you.
SAENZ: One person who did not come to the White House today was former first lady Melania Trump. First lady Jill Biden had extended an invitation for her to meet here at the White House the same day that President elect Donald Trump came. But ultimately, the former first lady decided not to come.
Sources had cited previous scheduling issues for the reason why she did not attend. But first lady Jill Biden did present President-Elect Trump with a handwritten note congratulating Melania Trump and saying that her team stands ready to help in the transition in any way.
But this decision not to travel to the White House for this customary meeting, just highlights another example of the unconventional approach that Melania Trump has often taken to this role of first lady. Sources say that she's unlikely to move to the White House full time in her husband's second term in office. Arlette Saenz, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:20:10]
NEWTON: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is reassuring allies that the Biden administration is doing all it can to support Ukraine before Donald Trump enters the White House. Blinken met with NATO secretary general in Brussels. He says the outgoing U.S. administration is working to ensure Ukraine gets the aid it has been promised so it can come to the negotiating table with Russia from a position of strength.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We've obligated just recently and pushed out the door another $8 billion in security assistance for Ukraine. That was in September, another almost half a billion dollars just a few weeks ago. And President Biden is committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and January 20th.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Blinken also met with his Ukrainian counterpart, who is urging allies to act quickly and decisively on aid because, quote, Ukraine's defense cannot be put on hold. Now, those meetings came after a series of blasts rocked Ukraine's capital Wednesday morning as Russia bombed Kyiv with missiles for the first time since August. Ukraine says air defenses intercepted two cruise missiles and two
ballistic missiles along with dozens of attack drones. And one man in the Kyiv region was wounded by falling debris. The city has endured nightly drone assaults that's been going on for weeks. Residents fear a major attack could cripple Ukraine's damaged energy infrastructure even further ahead of winter.
Next up for us here on CNN Newsroom, police in Brazil are investigating two explosions outside the Supreme Court as a suicide attack.
Plus, coastal Spain is once again struggling with torrential rain and severe flooding after getting nearly a month's rainfall in one hour. We'll have more details after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Authorities in Brazil are investigating two explosions outside the Supreme Court as a suicide attack. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones has our details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The first explosion was a car bomb from a car parked not far from the Supreme Court building in Brasilia. The second explosion came from explosives tied to an attacker's body, police say. And we now know he actually tried to enter the Supreme Court building, wasn't able to, and detonated the explosives on the steps right outside the front door.
Authorities are investigating this as a suicide attack, but they're not releasing further information on the suspect quite yet. But we are learning from both Agencia Brazil government run news agency and CNN affiliate in Brazil, CNN Brazil that the supposed attacker came from southern Brazil. And in 2020 he had run for local office under former President Jair Bolsonaro's Parchido Liberal, the Liberal Party.
[01:25:04]
Now that information CNN cannot independently verify. Now, the context of this attack is very important. This is the same location where in January 8, 2023 protesters, supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed both the Supreme Court, the Presidential Palace and Congress violently. Hundreds of people were arrested then and President former President Jair Bolsonaro is still being investigated for his potential role in the attacks. Of course, this is also coming as Brazil readies to welcome world leaders ahead of the G20 in just five days. Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Planet heating pollution is set to hit an all-time high this year. That's according to a new study from the University of Exeter. Now, the experts who wrote it say global emissions from coal, oil and gas are all projected to increase. It comes as many expect 2024 to be the hottest year on record. And experts say the trends show no signs of stopping. It's exactly
what delegates at COP 29 going on in Azerbaijan at this hour are supposed to be finding a way to prevent. US Climate envoy John Podesta made this plea to those in attendance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN PODESTA, U.S. CLIMATE ENVOY: We face an urgent question. Do we secure sustainable prosperity for our countries or do we condemn our most vulnerable to unimaginable climate disasters? 2024 will be the hottest year on record. The consequences of a rapidly warming planet are all around us, from the hundreds of people killed by Hurricane Selene and Milton in the United States to the millions of children at risk of starvation in Southern Africa, from the worst drought in decades to the torrential rain that stranded students in schools and displaced nearly 100,000 people in Colombia.
Colleagues, we have a clear choice between a safer, cleaner, fairer future and a dirtier, more dangerous and more expensive one. We know what to do. Let's get to work. Let's get it done. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Meantime, Argentina is pulling itself out of those climate talks. President Xavier Milei has recalled the country's delegates from the conference. That's according to a government source. And it comes as he prepares to meet with U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump later this week.
Now we're keeping our eyes on what is now Typhoon Usagi in the western Pacific. The Joint Typhoon Warning center says the center of the storm just made landfall across the northern tip of the islands. This would make it the third typhoon to hit the north in just one week.
But it also won't be the last. A fourth storm further east over the Pacific is expected to strengthen to a typhoon in the coming hours and hit the Philippines sometime this weekend.
Nearly a month's worth of rain fell in one hour in southern Spain on Wednesday. Severe thunderstorms and torrential rain battered the Malaga area. Nearly 3,000 people and 1,000 homes were evacuated and more rain is in the forecast. CNN's Pau Mosquera has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAU MOSQUERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been already two weeks since Valencia suffered the worst floods in the history of the region, and it seems like Spain cannot catch a break from the torrential rains. Why is it so?
Well, Spain's meteorological agency has informed of the arrival of a new coal drop to the peninsula and it's bringing some heavy rains. This is why this agency has activated red alerts in some seaside regions such as Malaga in the south of the country.
There, the authorities have decided to preventively evacuate around 3,000 people that live on the banks of the Guadalhorce River, given the risk of overflowing. Also, the authorities have decided to suspend all high speed train connectivity between Malaga and Madrid because of these meteorological conditions.
Even some neighbors are already informing the emergency service of local floods in towns as Corin (ph) or Velez-Malaga, where the water is already flooding some basements and patios, a situation that is also happening in Tarragona in the east of the country.
There, the authorities are informing that it can accumulate up to 180 liters of water per square meter in just 12 hours, potentially leading to also some local floods.
[01:29:43]
This is why the regional government, Generalitat de Catalunya, is informing the population of those affected areas to remain the highest they can inside their homes in the second floors and avoid moving between towns before this meteorological phenomenon finishes by the end of the week.
Also this Thursday, all the eyes will be fixed in Valencia as there are going to be red alerts for the region and whatever it happens, many are hoping that it won't be as devastating as what happened two weeks ago.
Pau Mosquera, CNN -- Madrid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Human Rights Watch has issued a new report focusing on what it says is Israel's mass and forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza. Why it says this amounts to a war crime.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: And welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Newton.
A new report by Human Rights Watch is shining a light on the displacement of the majority of civilians in Gaza, as Israel's war against Hamas shows no sign of ending.
The report says Israel's actions have intentionally led to the forced mass displacement which it describes as a quote "widespread and systemic" campaign that amounts to a war crime, a crime against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
The U.N. estimates 1.9 million people were displaced in Gaza as of last month. That's more than 90 percent of the population.
Now, according to the report, the majority of civilian infrastructure has been destroyed, leaving much of Gaza uninhabitable.
Human Rights Watch says Israel's evacuation system has not just failed to keep Palestinians in Gaza safe, but instead put them in harm's way. The Israeli military is denying accusations in the report, saying its
committed to international law and issues evacuation orders to protect civilians from combat.
But here's how one displaced Palestinian describes the situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IHAB ZAARAB, DISPLACED PALESTINIAN: This is the Mawashi area, which they told us was safe. They told us that from salah al-din street to the west, it is a safe area. And from Salah al-Din street to the east is not safe.
But we discovered that there is no safe area in Gaza.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Joining me now is the author of that report, Nadia Hardman. She is a researcher in the Refugee and Migrant Rights Division at Human Rights Watch. And I want to thank you for joining us.
A lot of what you detail in your report traces the struggle of the vast majority of Gazans. I want to point out at this hour many are -- many of them are still going through this right now.
What specifically did you find in your investigation? Because it seems that there are few safeguards for civilians.
[01:34:47]
NEWTON: And a reminder to everyone, these are safeguards in international law that we've tried to codify and entrench for decades.
NADIA HARDMAN, REFUGEE AND MIGRANT RIGHTS DIVISION, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Exactly. Look, what we did in this report is essentially debunk and unpack Israel's claim that it is evacuating the population safely in Gaza.
It is required to do that under international law. It is an occupying power in Gaza. It can evacuate people, but if it does so, there has to be really strict conditions that it adheres to.
And what we found in this report is that what Israel claims is largely false. It is instead evacuating people and attacking safe routes and evacuation areas at the same time. There is nowhere safe in Gaza.
We analyzed over 184 evacuation orders and found that they were inconsistent, incorrect, didn't leave people enough time to move and as I said, when they did move, they found attacks in those so-called safe zones.
We analyzed the humanitarian situation. Under international law, Israel must provide the population with food, water, shelter. And instead, what we found is that it is using starvation as a weapon of war. And there is such limited humanitarian aid getting in. Right now, we know that there is imminent famine due in north Gaza. And lastly, and probably most importantly, if you evacuate a
population, it has to be temporary. People must be able to return to their homes.
Instead what we've seen, as you said, most of Gaza is uninhabitable, and that is an intentional state policy. And that's why it amounts to a crime against humanity.
NEWTON: And I do want to get to that point that any evacuation is supposed to be temporary, and people are supposed to be allowed to return to their homes.
We've seen for ourselves from the video that we just showed, that's impossible for the vast majority of Gazans. They will not be able to return to their homes for years. They don't have homes right now even after a ceasefire.
But what I want to ask you is again, why has international pressure been so impotent in this regard.
HARDMAN: I mean, I think that's a question for the for the international community especially the governments that have the leverage that continue to provide military assistance and weapons transfers.
And so when you when you hear, you know, strong statements from leaders, it has to be backed up by actions. Otherwise, Israeli authorities will continue with impunity.
And what we've seen is a situation just getting worse and worse. You mentioned the offensive right now in north Gaza and the evacuation orders there. It is terrifying right now in north Gaza.
So really, we are calling on the International Criminal Court to also investigate forced displacement as a -- as a war crime and crime against humanity. But we really call on governments to publicly condemn these violations of the laws of war, to suspend military assistance, to suspend weapons transfers.
We have to see accountability and an end to these horrifying abuses.
NEWTON: You know, the word "indiscriminate" is one that's leveled at the Israeli military strategy. I know that you've said you have gone through those evacuation orders and really seen the details.
What evidence do you have? Like what have you uncovered that proves that in many instances, they are not trying to safeguard innocent lives? Because they're serious accusations.
HARDMAN: They're extremely serious accusations, which is why it's taken us the best part of the year to really understand and analyze this system, you know, which basically sent out incorrect, erroneous orders.
People found out that they had to evacuate their area after that time window they were given had already started and they're short time windows.
We know that on October 13, people were initially given only 24 hours to move, and that's over a million people from north Gaza. That time was later extended, but then people were confused. They didn't know where to go because so-called safe zones then changed and became combat areas.
We stand by the position that nowhere is safe in Gaza. People are crammed into tiny spaces, mostly along the Mediterranean Sea or in Rafah. And we've seen a military offensive in Rafah.
How can they rely on these evacuation orders if they do not protect them? This is a requirement under international law.
And it's such a high threshold. I really want to emphasize that there has to be an imperative military reason. There has to be no alternatives other than evacuating people, which is why there are such strict conditions under international law that Israel is meant to adhere to.
NEWTON: And again, the Israel has told us time and again that they are adhering to international law. In fact, that was their response to this report.
I want to ask you, though your report does not include any substantive discussions really, what Hamas' behavior has been in all of this. Can you explain why not?
HARDMAN: I mean, we do have a section in the report where we try to uncover and unpack claims by the Israeli authorities that Hamas was preventing people from leaving.
I did ask all of the people I interviewed whether that was the case. Not one of them said that that had happened to them.
[01:39:46]
HARDMAN: The point is that even if that were happening, which we did not find during this research, the obligation on Israel as the occupying power would not change. It has a duty to protect civilians. It has a duty to facilitate their return as soon as hostilities end.
(CROSSTALKING)
NEWTON: I guess that the only point I'm asking you, though, and I understand that Hamas is deemed a terrorist organization by many countries around the world.
My point is the responsibility on Hamas as well. If they see themselves as a resistance movement, as combatants, as an army, they are not moving away from civilians' areas either, right. I mean, that was the -- did you see evidence of that? They weren't making any -- they weren't taking any actions to make sure civilians were safe.
HARDMAN: I mean, this documentation -- this, this, this report doesn't go into the detail of what Hamas or other Palestinian armed groups are doing on the ground in terms of where they're sheltering, where or not.
We haven't -- Human Rights Watch so far found evidence of human shielding. However, that is not the conduct and context of this report, but Human Rights Watch we fact-find everywhere. We continue to monitor and document conduct on all sides of this conflict.
But this report is really about the forced and mass displacement, the war crimes, the crimes against humanity, the ethnic cleansing in buffer zones and security corridors that we have also seen, which is -- which is terrifying.
NEWTON: All right. Nadia Hardman, we will leave it there for now. Thank you so much.
HARDMAN: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
NEWTON: Now, the militant group Islamic Jihad has released a video of one of the hostages held in Gaza. It shows Russian-Israeli citizen, Sasha Trufanov, who recently turned 29, marking his second birthday in captivity.
It's unclear when the video was taken and he's likely speaking under duress. Trufanov says hostages are running out of food and other necessities, and he's afraid of being accidentally killed by Israeli troops.
The Israeli group representing hostage families says the footage shows the remaining hostages need to be brought home urgently.
Meanwhile, the families of Israeli-American hostages being held in Gaza met with U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday. Ceasefire and hostage release talks have stalled despite months of efforts by the White House to come up with a deal.
The hostage families are now urging both the current and next administration to bring their loved ones home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN DEKEL-CHEN, SON BEING HELD HOSTAGE BY HAMAS: We impressed upon the president, of course, the urgency of getting the hostages home before another rough winter.
We have asked the president and his senior staff, as well as the incoming administration, to begin work immediately together arm in arm, in order to not delay in any way, rather to multiply their forces in order to work immediately to pressure all sides, all parties in the hostage crisis, to get them home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: There are more than 100 hostages still being held in Gaza. Up to one third of that number are believed to be dead.
Paris is ramping up security in the city ahead of a soccer match between France and Israel on Thursday. And it comes after violent clashes in Amsterdam last week between Israeli fans and pro- Palestinian supporters. It prompted a ban on public protests.
CNN's Melissa Bell has our details from Paris.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A huge police presence will be around the Stade de France here in Paris on Thursday to ensure that the planned match between Israel and France goes ahead as peacefully as possible.
It had already been described as an event that was likely to attract tension, but the events of last week in Amsterdam which saw more than 70 people arrested after a night of violence against Israeli fans in the Dutch capital has led to renewed fears that these kind of sporting fixtures can become lightning rods for pro-Palestinian support and possibly, as we saw in Amsterdam last week, tension and violence.
That's why French authorities are taking no chances. 4,000 policemen and women, but also more than a thousand stewards in the Stade de France. 20,000 tickets have been sold, rather than the 80,000 that can normally be taken inside that stadium. And any pro-Palestine signs have been banned.
The only signs will be allowed are either Israeli or France flags. French authorities say that will be closely monitored. We saw earlier this week a basketball match in Greece attended by a Tel Aviv side where the fans had displayed large "Free Palestine" signs.
That is the kind of expression of support that the French are keen to avoid this time at the match. Also on Thursday will not only be the French president but two former presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande there we understand, to show their opposition to any form of anti-Semitism.
Melissa Bell, CNN -- Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Up next, see how kids on one of the world's most beautiful islands are helping to combat ocean pollution.
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NEWTON: Now right across the globe, schools are helping their students engage with the natural world around them, inspiring a new generation of conservationists.
Today on "Call to Earth", we join one such school in the Seychelles, where the effects of climate change and ocean pollution are visible right from their doorstep. And we see how students are learning to chip in from a very early age.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fishing in the middle of the Indian Ocean, about 2,000 kilometers from the coast of east Africa, lies the Seychelles archipelago. The African nation is famous for their ring- shaped reefs and islands known as atolls.
As breathtaking as they are, these islands are under threat.
SEDNA CHETTI, DIRECTOR, MONTESSORI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, SEYCHELLES: In the last 20 years, a lot has changed. Recently we have a lot of people working towards conservation.
There's a lot of young people coming forward which is why we're interested in working together with the kids.
My name is Sedna Chetti. I am the director of Montessori International School located here in the Seychelles. Montessori International School is a preschool for children between 0 to 6 years old.
The first years of life I think is the most important to everyone. That's when we're really absorbing the most and that's when we're learning the most from our environment.
So for the last few days, we've been going around with the kids to teach them a bit about our atolls and also why we need to protect it.
STEWART: As with many island nations, climate change poses major risks to the Seychelles. But they're also faced with an even more tangible threat. A recent study estimated that more than 500 tons of marine plastic debris have accumulated on Aldabra, the largest of the Seychelles atolls about 1,000 kilometers southwest of Mahe Island.
CORIANNA JULIE, COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, SEYCHELLES ISLANDS FOUNDATIONS: So we have plastic litter collected along the beaches and there's marine debris and they have terrible, terrible effects on the ecosystem.
CHETTI: bringing the kids out in nature it builds a certain love and acceptance to nature. More than it is about conservation, it is also about their growth and development and how in touch they will be as they grow older to animals, to plants.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So today we're planting more of the (INAUDIBLE) species in Aldabra corner.
And we're going to be planting a pillar and a boishakh (ph).
[01:49:51]
STEWART: By translocating species from Aldabra to replant here on Mahe Island, the school aims to expose its students to a wider array of native species.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We bring our little Aldabra corner here.
STEWART: And provide them with hands-on experience in conservation.
CHETTI: We tear the plastic, then we put it in the hole.
JULIE: I think it's very important to protect the Seychelles because it's a biodiversity hotspot and species found here -- we have a few that can't be found anywhere else in the world. And it's very important to protect these last populations because if we don't there will be irreversible damage where we won't find them. They can go extinct.
STEWART: The endemic species include a host of flowering plants, five types of bats, 12 globally threatened birds and the world's second largest species of tortoise.
CHETTI: I think we need to conserve the whole world, not just Seychelles. But because we're Seychelles, so obviously this is the part of the world we get to take care of.
So maybe if everyone does the same wherever they are they are in the world, then we do get to basically live a better life, leave a better world for the future, have better quality air, better quality food, better quality of everything really.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: For more from "Call to Earth", got to CNN.com/CalltoEarth.
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NEWTON: World leaders are gathering in Peru where the annual APEC summit is getting underway, but diplomats say much of the focus will be on one person who is not even there, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who pledged to slap tariffs on both friends and foes.
The current U.S. President and his Chinese counterpart are set to arrive later on Thursday, before holding their final meeting over the weekend.
Experts say Beijing smells opportunity in Trump's election victory and it will try to divide the U.S. and its allies while presenting itself as a more stable alternative to Washington. Now part of that plan is a charm offensive that Beijing plans to launch during the summit.
As Stefano Pozzebon reports, China is backing up that effort with a lot of money and investment.
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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST: Business speaks a new language in South America. Gone are the days of Washington's backyard. China is now the top trading partner for the region.
Few places represent this shift, like this brand-new mega port in Peru with the Chinese state-owned shipping giant Cosco as its controlling shareholder. It's expected to be inaugurated on Thursday in a joint ceremony at the presidential palace, with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The port is part of a multi-billion-dollar Chinese investment in Peru, and CNN got a sneak peek ahead of the opening.
These massive cranes will run 24/7 once the port is operational in 2025, and allow Cosco's mega ships to travel to China directly rather than stopping in Mexico and California, reducing shipping times to Shanghai by 15 days.
"It's going to be a game changer," says Carlos Tejada, a spokesperson for the Chinese conglomerate. "Of course, there is a geopolitical impact because we used to have to send our goods to North America. And that's no longer the case."
[01:54:53]
POZZEBON: Competition between China and the U.S. is in full show this week as Peru hosts the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. Both heads of state are in town, but one is clearly ahead in the game.
PARSIFAL D'SOLA, FOUNDER, ANDRES BELLO FOUNDATION: We're going to have throughout the APEC summit a triumphant Xi Jinping opening the port and the participation by President Biden with, to be honest, I don't know how much of an agenda, especially given the results of the election. It's a huge win for them.
And this is not only happening in Peru.
POZZEBON: 22 countries in Latin America are now part of the Belt-and- Road Initiative, Xi's signature policy on global infrastructure investments according to the Andres Bello Foundation. An entire continent who could find itself in the crosshairs of the looming trade war between Washington and Beijing.
Donald Trump is not in Lima this week, but his plans for Chinese-owned companies in the region are well known.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: They think they're going to make their cars there. And they're going to sell them across our line, and we're going to take them, and we're not going to charge them tax.
We're going to charge them, I'm telling you right now. I'm putting a 200 percent tariff on, which means they're unsellable.
POZZEBON: What a second Trump presidency will mean for South America remains to be seen. Trump wasted no time in demanding Mexico to do more to stop migration at the border in a phone call last week.
What is clear is that any retaliatory action from Washington could tilt this region even further towards Beijing.
Stefano Pozzebon, CNN -- Bogota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: And finally for us, a one-of-a-kind tablet is expected to fetch up to $2 million at auction and no, we're not talking about an iPad here. This is the oldest known tablet inscribed with the Ten Commandments from the Bible's Old Testament.
The stone is about 1,500 years old, dating back to the late Roman Byzantine era. It was unearthed in what is now Israel in 1913, and used a paving stone outside a home before its historic importance was realized.
Sotheby's will auction off the tablet in New York next month. Basically a doormat.
I'm Paula Newton. CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague rosemary Church right after a short break.
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