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CNN International: Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Begins After Months of Fighting; Displaced Lebanese Head Home Despite Being Urged to Delay Return; Jake Sullivan Says There's a Newfound Opportunity for Peace in Gaza, Hamas is Now Isolated; Jamieson Greer Picked as U.S. Trade Representative; Trump's Team Signs Transition Agreement With the White House; U.S. Thanksgiving Travel Expected to Set New Record; Imran Khan's Party Calls Off Protests for the Time Being; Eight Arrested in Laos Over Suspected Methanol Poisoning; in Ukraine, Fighting Grinds on as War Nears Three-year Mark; Blinken Meets Pope Francis as G7 Talks Wrap Up; Study Shows 62 percent of Influencers Don't Fact-check What They Share; George Stubbs Dog Painting Expected to Sell for Up to $2.5 Million; British Airways Unveils New First Class Suites; Artist Defends Shell-shaped Shelter Resembling Poop Emoji. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired November 27, 2024 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Claire Babineaux- Fontenot from Feeding America, I really do mean it. You have a wonderful organization, and it is a type of group that we should all be looking to help however we can. So thank you for the work that you do. A new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Christina MacFarlane. This is "CNN Newsroom." Just ahead, thousands of people inside Lebanon are returning home as the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah takes effect. We'll have the latest details for you. Plus, CNN goes to the frontlines of the war in Ukraine, where the depleted Ukrainian army is relying on drones to hold territory. And home for the holidays, tens of millions of Americans are on the move ahead of Thanksgiving.
It's a rare victory for diplomacy in the Middle East. After more than a year of war, a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah, appears to be holding hours after both sides accepted the deal. Thousands of Lebanese displaced by the war began the journey home despite being urged to delay their return. And this was the scene in central Lebanon as cars snaked their way through packed highways.
People celebrated in Beirut, carrying Hezbollah flags and honking car horns. The Israeli prime minister is issuing a warning to Hezbollah.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The duration of it will depend on what happens in Lebanon. We keep a whole freedom for military freedom, and if Hezbollah will re-arm itself, we will attack. (END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, the U.S. backed proposal calls for a 60-day pause in the fighting to form the basis for a lasting truce. A 2006 U.N. Security Council resolution has been the basis of the deal. U.S. President Joe Biden spoke shortly after Israel's security cabinet approved the agreement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I applaud the courageous decision made by the leaders of Lebanon and Israel to end the violence. It reminds us that peace is possible. Say that again, peace is possible. As long as that is the case, I'll not for a single moment stop working to achieve it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, the truth brings to a halt a war that has killed more than 3,000 in Lebanon and resulted in mass displacement on both sides of the border. Many Lebanese people are simply exhausted. We want to take you back to the streets of Lebanon, where reactions to the ceasefire run the whole spectrum from joy to hope, to caution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're overwhelmed with joy, seeing the joy of people and hearing the car horns. There's been destruction. People have had to leave their houses, and houses have been destroyed. But we're used to it as southern people. Even if our homes have been destroyed, we stay with our heads held high, thanks to the Resistance and Hezbollah.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, thank God. I'm happy, of course, we're going back to our hometown, to our land. We're very happy and proud to return to our hometown.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To this moment, we don't know anything. We are now watching, following if the ceasefire will be implemented, if everyone is going to commit to the ceasefire. The people on the streets, what do they do now with the ceasefire? Those who lost their homes, who lost their relatives, what should they do? There are still people under the rubble.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: CNN reporters are covering this from all angles. Paula Hancocks is in Abu Dhabi with reaction from Lebanon. But let's start with Nic Robertson in Jerusalem. And Nic, we were just hearing reaction there from people in Lebanon, a sort of cautious optimism, I think, around this ceasefire deal. What is the mood there in Israel about this deal? And talk to me a bit about the timing of this, because it was thought that no ceasefire deal would actually be possible during this lame-duck period for President Biden.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, it's clear that both Hezbollah and the Israelis felt that this was the right moment. And the Israeli prime minister said it was the right moment because he wanted to focus on Iran. He wanted to give the troops a chance to arrest and recuperate. He said that supplies, there was some shortages in supplies. He wanted to catch up with that. And he also said that Hezbollah had agreed to dealing its war -- with the war in Gaza. Because if we go back, even yesterday, every strike that Hezbollah had against Israel, they said this is in support of the people of Gaza.
And so, these were the three reasons that the Prime Minister gave. I think what you find on the streets here is a much higher degree of caution than what we're hearing in Lebanon. Yes, there is -- and I was out on the streets talking to some people last night, and I was saying, is this a good thing that there's a ceasefire in place? It was like, yes, it is. We need to calm the region down. We need to calm things down. That's good.
But I think there's this real level of skepticism that, A, that the government's done the right thing, or the government generally is doing the right thing.
[08:05:00]
I think there's that level of skepticism. Then there's a level of the skepticism in the deal itself, which a lot of people are questioning how different is this to 2006, because that deal relied on a strong U.N. and the Lebanese army being in the border region to make sure Hezbollah doesn't get back to the border, doesn't begin targeting Israelis just across the border as they were. So people think, well, what's really changed?
And I think that's why the defense minister is saying, look, the next 60 days are going to tell us everything that we need to know about how this is going to work. But from the people's point of view, and I think this, the skepticism gets even greater the further north you go. Right at the border, I think there's a lot of people there, it's fair to say that they just feel that they've been sold out, that this is like a surrender. It's back to the same deal of 2006. And while they might feel safer now, they don't think -- that they think in a couple of years, that they won't feel safe.
And I think there's a couple of other things here -- the government's really trying to push the point. It's, one, Hezbollah is depleted, defeated, and if Hezbollah tries to re-arm, then we're going to strike them. So this is even above the level of if they break the ceasefire deal, we will strike them. This is if they re-arm, we will strike them. And I think that's political language, but I'm not sure that a lot of Israelis really buy into that, that that's actually going to protect them, it is actually going to happen in a real way.
MACFARLANE: All right, Nic, thank you. Let's turn to Paula for the situation in Lebanon, to Paula. We were just showing images there, thousands of Lebanese residents flocking to return home to southern Lebanon, defying IDF warnings to actually wait in place. I mean, this is a fragile situation now, isn't it? Especially as we've heard reports in the hours since the ceasefire was declared of gunfire from Israeli forces and exchanges of fire.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Christina, I think the overwhelming feeling in Lebanon at this point would be relief that there is a ceasefire, however temporary it may be. Now clearly, it appears as though Hezbollah has been struck a very heavy blow. But the civilians in Lebanon have also suffered greatly. Well over 3,000 have been killed, more than 13,000 injured, and parts of Southern Lebanon, some villages appear to have been flattened, the same in Eastern Lebanon.
So I think what we're seeing here, when you see the sheer number of people on the streets that are trying to drive back to where they've come from is a feeling of wanting to see what is left, of wanting to try and get home and get back to some kind of normality. And yes, there have been warnings from the IDF saying, it is not time for you to come back to Southern Lebanon in particular. Do not come back until we tell you it is safe to do so.
And we've heard from a senior Biden Administration official that the Israeli military is not necessarily expected to withdraw immediately. They want to make sure that there's no vacuum. They want to make sure that there is sufficient Lebanese military there who will be patrolling this area, so that, that vacuum cannot be taken up by anyone else.
Now, we've heard Lebanese officials saying that there will be sufficient military power in that area. The Lebanese army, they say, that they will be doubling to 10,000 soldiers in the southern part. And we've heard from politicians as well, being quite triumphant as well as positive about this ceasefire that the Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri, for example. He was key in this whole process. He's the key interlocutor with Hezbollah, and he had said people should go home.
They should start to celebrate, but also pointed out that this was, as he saw, a victory against Israeli aggression and also a key test for Lebanon and all the different sects to unite, and try and rebuild the country. Christina?
MACFARLANE: All right. Paula Hancocks, thanks to you and thanks to Nic Robertson as well. Well, let's take a closer look at the White House role in the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire. A short time ago, CNN's John Berman asked National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, if a deal in Lebanon could lead to a deal in Gaza. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE SULLIVAN, UNITED STATES NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Since the beginning of this conflict, Hezbollah linked its fight against Israel to the fight that Hamas was having with Israel from Gaza. And it said, we won't stop until the war on Gaza ends. That link has now been broken, which means Hamas is isolated. Hamas is now under pressure, and all eyes, not just from the U.S. and Israel, but the rest of the world are going to turn to Hamas.
And so, there is now newfound opportunity and possibility to drive forward a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. But I'm not going to stand here and make any predictions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[08:10:00]
MACFARLANE: Sunlen Serfaty joins us now from Washington with her story. And Sunlen, we were just hearing Jake Sullivan saying that that there is newfound hope for a possible ceasefire deal with -- in Gaza, especially given the fact that Hamas are now isolated. But the reality is the Biden Administration have a very limited window now to get anything like this done. And what is the chances of any genuine progress in what, just 55 days?
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's such an important point, Christina, and one that Jake Sullivan made as well, saying, noting that President Biden only has 55 days left in office when he will hand over to the incoming President Trump on January 20th. And that deadline certainly is creeping up on them quickly.
But that said, the line coming from the White House yesterday and today, again, really repeating and leaning into this argument that this is a window of opportunity, that the deal in Lebanon portends potentially some good momentum going into potentially getting a deal on hostages, potentially pushing for a war in Gaza -- the war Gaza to end. And that's something we heard from President Biden when he addressed reporters in the Rose Garden yesterday, really reinvigorating and doubling down on his push to get a deal for Gaza.
And we heard him say that quite emphatically, in fact followed up by one of my colleagues, he said I'm hoping we'll get a deal. He believes it's a lot different and that's why we're hearing this language coming out of senior administration officials, Christina, calling this a game-changing moment, really believing that there is some momentum here and really making sure that people know that, that they believe President Biden really does see this as a key part of his legacy and that he is pushing, they say, every day between now and January to get this done. Christina?
MACFARLANE: Well, we'll wait to see what inroads they can make in that time. Sunlen, appreciate it. Thank you. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has announced more picks for posts in his new administration. He has named Jamieson Greer as his Trade Representative. He was Chief of Staff to the Trade Rep in Trump's first term when Trump signed onto the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement and placed high tariffs on Chinese imports.
Steve Contorno is in West Palm Beach, Florida with an update on the Trump transition, which I believe, Steve, the Trump team have signed, albeit two weeks late. So, what does this mean now for how the Trump Administration can move forward on key policy issues?
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, a couple things that it's going to allow for, one is a more seamless transition from the Biden Administration to the Trump Administration, and it will give his administration and these new cabinet nominees access to these departments that they're going to lead, where they can get information and start learning the ins and outs of how these places operate, who are the permanent staff in place, and who is going to be working for them.
It also will provide a period where we will get an insight into what sort of ethical vetting has been done for these individuals. Many of these people that Donald Trump has put in key positions are incredibly wealthy business people. There are hedge fund managers and Wall Street executives who -- some of which are billionaires and we will get our first glimpse into how the Trump transition team has been ensuring that the interest of the American people will take priority over the business holdings of these individuals.
So those are two key areas that ensure a sort of seamless transition. It also allows for individuals who will be serving in national security capacity roles to begin getting briefings day to day on the national security issues around the world. And of course, that is incredibly important given that what these appointees will be walking into with, everything occurring in the Middle East and with Russia and Ukraine at the moment, all the unrest that is facing and uncertainty around the world.
Without those briefings, these individuals would be walking in someone blind on day one. So that is another area where now that this has been signed, we can move forward and the Trump transition team can move forward with the more traditional transfer of power.
MACFARLANE: And Steve, just reflecting on Donald Trump's latest appointment, Jamieson Greer, he is of course a veteran really of Trump's first presidency. Give us an overview of how integral he was to crafting kind of policy around China, also NAFTA, which we mentioned previously. And the fact that this is very familiar ground really now, for him.
CONTORNO: It's familiar ground for him and it's going to be familiar ground for Donald Trump, who is already suggesting he intends to engage in similar trade wars as he did in his first term.
[08:15:00]
Yesterday, we saw him post on social media that he intends to put in place a 25 percent tariff on goods coming out of Mexico and Canada until the border is closed and there are no more migrants and drugs coming into the United States from our northern and southern neighbors. Now, this individual, Jamieson Greer, he was the Chief of Staff to the person who negotiated those deals that you previously mentioned.
So he definitely knows the ropes and more importantly, he is someone who Donald Trump trusts and that has been a through line through all of his picks so far, is the intense loyalty Donald Trump expects from the people he is putting in power, to go and put in place his agenda and not their personal agendas. Christina\?
MACFARLANE: All right. Steve Contorno, appreciate it. Thank you. Now, the holiday rush is in full swing across the U.S. and the government is forecasting the busiest-ever Thanksgiving for travel. Airports and highways are expected to be stuffed, much like the turkeys. More than 78 million people will hit the road and 18 million are expected to fly with today, Sunday, and Monday is the busiest day. CNN's Whitney Wild is at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. I would not want to be boarding a flight anytime soon. How's it looking?
WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It actually looks amazing when you consider how many people are traveling through O'Hare this weekend and how short these security lines are. Christina, let me show you. Look at these numbers, 15 minutes through TSA Pre, five minutes through Premier Access, 15 minutes through Economy. When you think about the fact that there are going to be a-million-and-a-half people at least coming through Chicago area airports over this weekend, those numbers look absolutely perfect.
And when you look across the country at the FlightAware MiseryMap, there's only 19 cancellations across the country. So when you look at the busiest holiday season ever and you see that there's only 19 cancellations, I mean, that is like the holy grail of holiday travel. When the rush actually really hits, they are thinking it is going to be actually Sunday. So here at O'Hare, the airport authority here in Chicago thinks there's going to be about 254,000 people pouring through O'Hare on Sunday alone.
So, hopefully the weather holds, hopefully there are no ripple travel effects, because we've seen in years past where there's that weather system in one spot across the country and that can have a ripple effect all over. But for the most part, right now, it's looking very clear, very smooth today. Tomorrow does have some weather implications, but hopefully, everything continues to go smoothly, Christina.
(LAUGH)
MACFARLANE: Yeah, let's hope for a continued orderly queue behind you there in the days to come at O'Hare. Whitney, appreciate it. Thank you.
All right. Still to come, there's an uneasy calm in Islamabad after protest leaders call off demonstrations a day after violent clashes with police. So who makes the next move? Plus, CNN takes you to the frontlines in eastern Ukraine with a look at how soldiers are adapting to their deadly situation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:20:15]
MACFARLANE: In Pakistan, the streets of Islamabad are now quiet after the former prime minister's party called off protests following a sweeping government crackdown. Thousands of protestors demanding the release of Imran Khan from jail marched to the capital on Monday and yesterday, they broke through security barricades and clashed with security forces. CNN's Mike Valerio has the latest.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, these latest developments are certainly a huge turn of events from the end of Tuesday night when Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, wrote on X that he wanted his supporters to continue to continue fighting until their demands were met and ultimately none, at least at this point, of their demands have been met.
What exactly did they want? Three central things -- protesters, supporters of Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, wanted him out of jail. He's facing more than 150 criminal cases. They also wanted a constitutional amendment for Pakistan's Constitution repealed. And they finally wanted seats that they believe they won fair and square in parliament, in elections in February, to be given to them. And from their point of view, those seats have been denied to their political party.
So one of the main questions going forward is, what will both of these sides do? The side of Imran Khan, his wife, Bushra Bibi, certainly a galvanizing force in Imran Khan's absence, of leading protestors to go on these convoys from the outskirts of town into the center of Islamabad. And conversely, we will be acutely watching what will the government led by Prime Minister Sharif be doing as well.
At the end of Tuesday, we were able to report no substantial measures of progress between Prime Minister Sharif's government and Imran Khan's political party and the protesters. Will there be talks that will be held in the next few days to avoid this situation from playing out? At least in the time being, our team on the ground is reporting that internet service is being restored to different quarters of Islamabad. It has been cut off to varying degrees over the past few days and roads are clearing of protesters.
Mike Valerio, CNN, Seoul.
MACFARLANE: Now, eight hostile staff are under arrest in Laos in the connection with the deaths of six foreign tourists. Two Australian teenagers, a British woman, an American man, and two Danish women, all died from suspected methanol poisoning. Some media reports say tourists fell ill after being offered free alcohol shots at a hostel in Vang Vieng, a popular backpacker destination. Employees of the Nana Backpacker Hostel, all Vietnamese were arrested Monday according to local media.
Now for Ukraine, fighting grinds on as the war approaches the three- year mark. The outlook seems bleak for one unit in Pokrovsk that is so low in infantry, it is resorting to drones instead. Nick Paton Walsh has more and a warning, some of the video in this report is graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're running out of time, space, and people. Night is killing time for drones. They've switched on the anti-drone device because of the threat around (ph) here. This Ukrainian drone unit of just two hunting, but also hunted.
PATON WALSH: I think I hear a drone inside, inside. Is it a Russian drone? Is it one of theirs? They don't know, but they have to carry on. Dogs are not friends. Their heat signals can give their launch spot away to Russia's thermal cameras. They close in on the target, a house. Jamming hits the signal, but they fire anyway. Russia advancing too fast here, south of Pokrovsk in the east, to miss any chances. The skyline speaks of how Pokrovsk is in Russia's crosshairs. Ukraine is short of manpower, but it is so bad here, they say they must rely on drones, not infantry, to slow a brazen Russian daylight assault like this one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The situation is very critical. We lack infantry to fight and hold out for some time while the attack drones do their job. That's why we often see the enemy uncomfortably penetrating vulnerable areas.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): Watch how the first Russian tank here is relentless. A Trump presidency and possible peace talks loom, do they even have time for that here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I cannot say how much time we have, if there is any time at all because, now, they are pushing their troops to the front as much as possible. And then at one point, they will go for an assault. They can go very far in one moment.
[08:25:00]
PATON WALSH (voice-over): Talk here is abnormally negative with weeks of costly and chaotic retreat on film, like these Ukrainians hit when they're mistakenly told this building didn't have any Russians in it. This house has an encircled Ukrainian drone unit without any infantry to help fight advancing Russians, so they send a drone to fly just 30 meters across the street.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have no men. I'm [EXPLETIVE DELETED] alone. I'm [EXPLETIVE DELETED] tired. I love my job, whatever trash is happening but we need other young people to love this job too. Our country is awake, but people in it are [EXPLETIVE DELETED] not. Guys are dying here. This is trash. Freezing this war is a double-edged sword. Do we give up the land my friends died for or to continue taking it back and lose even more friends? If these two old men start measuring [EXPLETIVE DELETED], Ukraine will be the middle of it all.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): Russian troops savage in the assault. This footage shows a local in orange who is showing Russians where Ukrainians were hiding. They are led out and shot while face down. Part of a pattern of surrendering Ukrainians executed, say prosecutors investigating this incident a fortnight ago. Pokrovsk's key sites bombed, but so far spared Russia's trademark devastation. It is possible, some say Moscow is moving so fast it thinks it will spend the winter here.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, outside Pokrovsk, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE) MACFARLANE: All right, still to come. As people displaced from their homes in Lebanon start to head back south, we have reaction to the ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israel. And in Northern Gaza, with only two hospitals still open, a look at how one doctor is determined to keep treating the sick and injured.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: A new day for Lebanon, those are the words from the country's prime minister as the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah appears to be holding. These were the scenes on the streets of Beirut earlier as residents celebrated the news following months of Israeli strikes, many displaced by the war have started to return home to southern Lebanon.
[08:30:00]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wanted a ceasefire in part so his government could focus on the threat from Iran. Iran has responded to news of the deal saying Lebanese Resistance is "More determined than ever." Hamas has also commented saying it is committed to cooperating with any efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.
For more on this, I want to bring in Sanam Vakil, Director for the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House in London. Appreciate your time.
SANAM VAKIL, DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE: Thank you for having me.
MACFARLANE: I just first wanted to get your thoughts on the timing of all this because, as we'd thought previously, there wouldn't have been any move towards the ceasefire before the new Trump Administration took office. But when Netanyahu -- Benjamin Netanyahu outlined his reasons, his three reasons for agreeing to this yesterday, there was of course a big emphasis on refocusing on the threat from Iran.
I wondered how you read those comments and whether or not that means we are likely to see an exchange of fire perhaps between Israel and Iran, as Israel are now free to refocus on that threat?
VAKIL: Well, I think there are a number of moving parts here. First of all, it's important to celebrate the ceasefire and the impact of that ceasefire in Lebanon for Lebanese that have been bombarded for quite some time now, and the displacement has caused huge amount of disruption across the country, thousands have been killed. So this is an important achievement and one that the Biden Administration has been working on.
The fact that it's being delivered now, I think, is attributed to a few reasons. Perhaps Prime Minister Netanyahu is in (ph) speaking to the fact that, of course, over 14 months of war has been exhausting for Israeli society, let alone the military, and a pause in the northern border allows for Israel itself to think strategically about what comes next. The Israeli leadership and Netanyahu has been constantly suggesting that Israel is on a seven-front war. And so closing down one of those fronts could mean that Israel turns its attention hopefully to Gaza and thinks about a ceasefire in that context that is urgently needed. But it is also likely that Israel will try to degrade Iran-backed groups more broadly across the region, perhaps in Syria. And of course, Netanyahu did suggest yesterday that the bigger focus will be on Iran itself.
MACFARLANE: Yeah. Just staying in Iran at the moment, I mean, not all are happy with this ceasefire deal. We've heard some of the mayors of the northern towns coming out saying they want stronger guarantees that Hezbollah will keep away from its borders. I mean, is it really a win for Israel if its residents don't feel confident they can return to the north because that was one of the core reasons to move to -- for this ceasefire deal.
VAKIL: That was certainly part of Israel's justification. I think, what Israel has perhaps achieved is creating this buffer zone between the north and the Litani River, where Hezbollah fighters are meant to stay out and that area will be patrolled. And here, this is where the accountability and the enforcement will be very important to build confidence within Israel, but ultimately, to move beyond a ceasefire into a much more robust meaningful agreement that can be durable for communities and people in Lebanon and also in Israel.
MACFARLANE: What chances do you think there are of a ceasefire deal in Gaza? I mean, obviously as you mentioned, the Lebanon and Gaza have now been delinked which is significant, but would Hamas, do you think, be ready to negotiate? What room for movement do you see there?
VAKIL: I think there's been some suggestion earlier today by Hamas spokesman, indicating that there might be interest. But what we haven't seen really for the past number of months, has been interest from Prime Minister Netanyahu or his coalition. There is of course a suggestion and what would help the Prime Minister would be return to the issue of the hostages that have been tragically neglected and left behind.
So that could move this urgent conversation forward. It's important that Gazans get some peace and some attention, and the delinking might achieve that. But again, there's also a possibility that Netanyahu will continue to focus on Iran and use the perpetual threat of Iran to build a broader Iran strategy with the Trump Administration rather than focus on Israel's domestic security crisis that it is not addressing.
[08:35:00]
And that's, in Gaza and the West Bank, and the broader issue of Palestinian self-determination.
MACFARLANE: Yeah. So many moving parts, as you say there, Sanam Vakil. Thanks for your insights. We appreciate it.
Now in Northern Gaza, only two hospitals remain open amid Israel's military offensive and they're barely functioning. One of the last remaining doctors has been documenting what he calls an utterly catastrophic situation. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh walks us through his eyewitness account and we want to warn our viewers, some of the footage in her reports are graphic and disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the story of a hospital brought to its knees and the man trying to save it.
DR. HUSSAM ABU SAFIYA, PEDIATRICIAN, KAMAL ADWAN HOSPITAL, NORTHERN GAZA (through translator): We are facing a new challenge and a catastrophic situation that will worsen in the coming hours.
This is a distress call that must be heard.
No one has slept since yesterday. The operating room ran all night.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Some of the desperate cries for help from Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. He's one of the last doctors in Northern Gaza. For weeks, he's been documenting the horror inside Kamal Adwan, wants us to share his account with the world. Outside his hospital, a renewed major Israeli offensive that began in early October on what's left of Northern Gaza to destroy a resurgent Hamas, the military says.
It has ordered civilians out for their safety, but Israel has been accused of besieging the civilian population. Human Rights Watch says this could amount to ethnic cleansing, something the military denies.
ABU SAFIYA (through translator): There is a real genocide occurring against the people of northern Gaza. There are injured people on the streets and we cannot reach them.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Inside Dr. Abu Safiya's hospital, they struggled to cope with the constant influx of casualties. A Palestinian journalist captured these scenes of panic in mid-October.
ABU SAFIYA (through translator): A short time ago, they fired at the hospital entrance. They fired artillery shells. It is clear that the healthcare system is being directly targeted.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): And on October 24th, Israeli forces closed in on Kamal Adwan compound. The next few days, this place of healing would itself become a war zone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is no medicine. Where should we go?
ABU SAFIYA (through translator): Instead of receiving aid, we've received tanks.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): It's the third time in a year that Dr. Abu Safiya, the pediatrician, finds himself and his hospital surrounded and under attack. They're running dangerously low on supplies, fuel, and food. The Israeli military says it allows aid in, but the U.N. says it's nowhere near enough. This one of the few convoys that have reached Kamal Adwan.
ABU SAFIYA (through translator): I have 195 injured patients, all of whom are on the ground floor.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): The IDF ordered civilians who've been sheltering here to evacuate. They hold up white flags and whatever they can carry. Dozens were detained, including more than 40 medical personnel, some seen in these photos posted to social media.
Dr. Abu Safiya, here with his hands up in the air, says he was interrogated for hours.
ABU SAFIYA (through translator): A Special Forces unit was here a short time ago. They assaulted me. They had dogs with them. They made me go into some of the wards, with a drone to check if there were any armed individuals, which is nonsense. I don't have a surgeon, they took the surgeons and the orthopedic specialists. I don't know what to do with all these cases, most of them amputations and burns.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Still, Abu Safiya refused to abandon his patients. What followed appeared to be a brief lull. That's when families began to find the bodies of loved ones in and around the hospital compound. Dr. Abu Safiya was attending to the injured and he was called outside.
ABU SAFIYA (through translator): We were accustomed to receiving martyrs and the wounded, but to receive your own son is catastrophic
[08:40:00]
KARADSHEH (voice-over): His 21-year-old son, Ibrahim, was killed in an Israeli strike at the hospital gates. He tries to lead the funeral prayers, but it's just too much. In the hospital's makeshift graveyard, he buried his boy. Ibrahim is still close to him in a place that's testament to this one man's struggle.
ABU SAFIYA (through translator): I still feel his presence in every corner. His voice, his scent, his character remain with us.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): In a statement to CNN, the IDF did not address Ibrahim's death, but said its operations in the area were "based on precise intelligence" and that dozens of terrorists were found hiding inside the hospital, some of them even posing as medical staff. It says this is a medic in custody and that he's admitted that Hamas is operating inside Kamal Adwan. CNN cannot verify these allegations.
The IDF has also released these images of weapons it says it found inside the hospital. Dr. Abu Safiya says they belong to its security guards. Israeli military has long rationalized targeting Gaza's health facilities by accusing Hamas of using them for "terror activities."
ABU SAFIYA (through translator): Bring the children down from upstairs, quickly.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Days after the IDF said its operations at Kamal Adwan concluded, its attacks did not.
ABU SAFIYA (through translator): The hospital was directly hit. The upper floors, the courtyard, the water tanks and the electric grid were struck.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): The every day for these medics now working under fire. It's hard to believe this once was one of Gaza's top healthcare facilities. There's no doubt about the kind of fire power unleashed here. The storage room left charred, the walls of the neonatal ICU pockmarked with bullet holes, ambulances crushed. Kamal Adwan, like most of Gaza's hospitals, now barely functioning.
ABU SAFIYA (through translator): Imagine people are rescuing the injured using horse and donkey carts. It's a horrific scene.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): This is a fight for survival and giving up if not an option for Dr. Abu Safiya. Strikes on the hospital left him and others injured this week, paying the price for staying, abandoned and alone in this nightmare on repeat.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Well, the Israeli military told CNN that it is unaware of the strike that injured the doctor. The IDF also says it adheres to international law, only goes after military targets and that it takes all necessary measures to avoid harming civilians. We'll be right back.
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[08:45:25]
MACFARLANE: U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken met with Pope Francis at the Vatican earlier Wednesday. The State Department said before the meeting, it was a chance for Blinken and the Pope to discuss topics including the Middle East and Russia's aggression against Ukraine. The Pontiff has expressed his solidarity with Ukrainian people and the need for peace. Blinken has been initially for his last G7 ministers meeting, which wrapped up on Tuesday.
Joining me now, CNN Vatican Correspondent, Christopher Lamb. I'm sure there was also much discussion about the incoming Trump Administration as well. The meeting has happened. What do we know about the exchange?
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Pope and Antony Blinken met this morning, as you said. I imagine that they will be discussing war in Ukraine and Gaza. We don't know exactly what the Pope and the Secretary Blinken discussed, but we have had from the State Department, a press release about what Secretary Blinken discussed with senior Vatican officials after his discussions with the Pope, that included the recent ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, the need to build on that.
I'm sure that's something that Francis will have mentioned in his meeting with the Secretary of State. Also, to help Ukraine, Ukrainian civilians, condemning the political repression in Nicaragua and Venezuela. The Secretary of State also commended the Pope's commitment to advancing the basic rights and dignity of LGBTQI persons. Now, Pope Francis, of course, has been the first pope to open the possibility of same sex couples to be blessed. He's also called for the decriminalization of homosexuality, so points of convergence there.
The meeting seemed to be a warm one. Secretary Blinken brought his family. At the end, the Pope said to him, never lose hope. It's obviously at the end of the Biden Administration. Broadly speaking, it's been a good relationship, but now, of course, a more uncertain period with the second Trump term.
MACFARLANE: And what can we expect from a second Trump term based on how the first term went? And we know obviously, there's many points of contention between the Vatican and Trump.
LAMB: Well, I think the Vatican will try and have dialog with President Trump, but there's no denying that there are very significant differences, particularly on migration, climate change, even on China, for them. The Pope has had a policy of (inaudible) with China. Of course, President Trump going in the opposite direction. So, I think it will be a tense one. Certainly, there won't be the same kind of warmth that there was between President Biden and Pope Francis. But obviously, the Vatican will try and work with President Trump as best they can.
MACFARLANE: All right, we will wait to see, not long now. Another, what, 60 days or 55 days I should say. Christopher, thank you.
All right. Still to come. You can trust what you are seeing when you are -- or can you trust what you see when you are following social media influencers. After the break, new evidence that it's wise to approach with caution.
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MACFARLANE: Now, we live in an age of growing misinformation and it appears social media influencers could be fanning the flames.
[08:50:00]
A new U.N. study finds most don't make any attempt to verify the information they share. After speaking to 500 content creators in 45 countries, the researcher said 62 percent do not fact-check their content. This comes in the wake of a U.S. election where social media influencers were enlisted by both the Trump and Harris campaigns to try and sway undecided voters.
CNN Business Writer, Clare Duffy, is joining me from New York with more. And Clare, I can't say this comes as much as a surprise, but it is concerning because most of the time, people don't get their information from anywhere other than social media platforms.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yeah, Christina, it is, as you said, not totally surprising, but really disheartening. Especially as you said, we know just how influential influencers were ahead of this U.S. presidential election. We know that around half of Americans, at least some of the time, get their news from social media and this of course happens around the world.
And it's a good reminder that even though influencers often form what feel like personal relationships with their followers, they build brands around their perceived trustworthiness, you really can't always trust what you see on social media. And according to this report, here's how influencers determine what they feel like is the credibility of information before they share it.
It said 40 percent of influencers relied on measures of popularity, so how many likes or follows a person or a piece of information had before they shared it. 20 percent said they trusted friends and experts, so maybe slightly better. But just 17 percent said they actually looked at documentation and evidence before sharing information to their followers.
And something that really stuck out to me, there was one person who said that they decided what was reliable just based on their own life experience. So whereas you may think that you're getting trustworthy information from these widely followed influencers, it could really be biased or just plainly untrue. And of course, we've seen that before.
Perhaps the most prominent recent example is this viral false claim that there were immigrants in Ohio who were stealing and eating people's pets. That, of course, was amplified by President-elect Donald Trump and ended up being really harmful to the people there. And so, this is a really good reminder to slow down when you're looking at information on social media, think with a critical eye, especially before sharing information on.
MACFARLANE: I mean, is it anybody's job to hold social media influencers to account for putting misinformation out there? I mean, I know social media companies, platforms have taken steps, I think to label misinformation, but it's not a perfect science. I mean, should they be doing more?
DUFFY: Yeah. It really is not a perfect science. And we've seen in the last few years, sort of a pullback for many of the major social media platforms in terms of their efforts to invest in trust and safety and content moderation. Most of the big platforms do say that they label misinformation. On X, they allow users to add what are called community notes to try to add context to information. Other major platforms work with professional fact-checkers and in some cases, they demote content. They don't promote it or they make it impossible to make money from that content.
But still, that content is out there and available for people to see. And I think that's the real issue, is that once something's out there, it's really hard to sort of walk it back and undo.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, just sort of important to remember to pay attention to what you're seeing on social media and obviously crosscheck everything, which is perhaps something we are learning to do in the modern era. Clare Duffy, appreciate your reporting. Thank you. Now, for the first time in more than 50 years, a painting by British artist George Stubbs is up for auction. It's expected to sell for up to $2.5 million. The "Spanish pointer" is considered one of the most famous artworks and the artist's most famous works, and has been in a private collection. The painting is now on display to the public at Sotheby's in London until early December.
British Airways has unveiled a new first class seat design set to debut in 2026 on its Airbus A380s, the world's largest passenger plane. A sliding door makes each space feel like a suite, with extra wide seats that can fold out into a bed. There's also a closet, mini bar, mood lighting, and a 32-inch 4K entertainment screen. While other airlines are cutting back on first class options, British Airways says there's still demand in the luxury travel market, if you can afford it.
(LAUGH)
MACFARLANE: And an art installation on the southern coast of England is drawing attention for its resemblance to an unsavory emoji. Take a look for yourself. The artist says this wicker shelter is meant to be in the shape of a sea snail's shell. However, the design has been widely compared to the iconic 'poop emoji.' To flush away confusion, one of the sculptors defended the creation.
[08:55:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK ANTONY HADEN FORD, ENVIRONMENTAL ARTIST, TWO CIRCLES DESIGN: We, as artists, we don't court controversy at all. This was intended to be a periwinkle from the very start. Now, I love the fact that people can interpret art in very different ways and the fact that some people think it's not a periwinkle and it could be a poop emoji. Well, that's up to you to make your decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: I'm not sure he's really loving people interpreting it in their own ways because, you know, you can't polish a turd, as the saying goes.
(LAUGH)
MACFARLANE: That is it for us here at "CNN Newsroom." I'm Christina MacFarlane. "Connect The World with Becky Anderson" is up next. Stay tuned.
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