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Israeli Government Formally Approves Ceasefire Deal; U.S. and China Try to Balance Complicated Relationship; Santa Ana Winds Threaten Chance for Wildfire Survivors to Return Home. Aired 3-3:30a ET
Aired January 18, 2025 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to all of our viewers watching from around the world. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York, where it is 3 am, 10 am in the Middle East.
The Qatari government says that we are less than 24 hours from the start of the Israeli Hamas cease-fire and hostage deal.
And TikTok threatening to go dark on Sunday in the United States. Unless the Biden administration issues a definitive statement that it will not punish providers for violating a ban.
And thousands of ticket holders to Donald Trump's presidential inauguration will likely be left out in the cold, literally, as frigid temperatures forcing the ceremony to move indoors.
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SANDOVAL: The Israeli government has approved the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement with Hamas. This means that a truce will be in effect starting on Sunday and Israeli troops will move to a buffer zone in Gaza, away from populated areas.
Qatar, one of the key mediators of the deal, says that it will go into effect at 8:30 am on Sunday. Now in the first phase of the agreement, Hamas is to release three female hostages on Sunday and another 30 will be released over the next few weeks.
In exchange, Israel will release 95 Palestinians, including 10 minors, who have been held in Israeli prisons. Now in all, Israel has agreed to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in the first phase.
Meanwhile, in his first statement since the cease-fire was announced on Wednesday, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas saying that his government is ready to assume, quote, "full responsibility in Gaza."
The finalization of the ceasefire has not prevented bloodshed, though. Gaza's civil defense says Israeli strikes have claimed at least 117 lives in Gaza since Wednesday's announcement. CNN's Paula Hancocks is live in Abu Dhabi for us.
Paula, after many attempts, this deal finally cemented by Israel's government.
Is it all but a guarantee that, come Sunday, we will start seeing hostages and prisoners being exchanged?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's certainly the hope, Polo. I don't think anyone will give you a 100 percent guarantee, considering the hurdles we've seen just in the past couple of days, trying to get this across the line.
But what we do know is that all is -- if all is well, then this time tomorrow, Sunday, there will be a ceasefire in Gaza. The guns will have fallen silent and for 2.1 million people in Gaza, they will not be fearful for their lives from Israeli airstrikes for the first time in 15 months.
Of course, there was that one-week ceasefire back in November of 2023. But since that point, there has been a very intense bombardment, Israel trying to destroy Hamas. But as we know, many civilians have been caught up in those airstrikes.
Now what we are expecting is that, at 8:30 am local time, the guns will fall silent in Gaza. That's according to Qatar, one of the key mediators in this deal. We will then, throughout the day -- we don't have an exact time at this point -- potentially see three female Israeli civilian hostages being released from Gaza.
And there will also be some 95 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli prisons, we understand; 70 females, 25 males. Now we know some of those are minors as well under the age of 18.
So at this point, it appears to be that everything is in place. There is still one technicality in Israel and that is the supreme court is hearing petitions from Israelis who have concerns about certain Palestinian prisoners that may be released. But that is not expected to delay this ceasefire any longer.
So if all is well and all goes to plan, this time tomorrow, there will be a ceasefire in Gaza. Now it is something that the families of the hostages have been desperately waiting for, for 15 months.
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It is something that Palestinians in Gaza have been desperately waiting for, for 15 months. It is just the first step in this process, which, over six weeks, should see 33 hostages released; should see a ceasefire, a massive influx of humanitarian aid and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners released -- Polo.
SANDOVAL: Yes, Paula. Depending on where these families are, either respite or reunions, hopefully in the next 24 hours. We know you'll be watching, Paula. So thank you for that breakdown. Really appreciate it. All right. Now that Israel has approved the ceasefire agreement, as
Paula was laying out, with Hamas, some people who need lifesaving medical care, they may finally have a chance to leave Gaza to get that treatment.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh has the story of one little girl in a race against time to treat a rare illness. And a warning: this report does contain graphic images that some viewers may find disturbing.
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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Habiba. She is just 2 years old but Habiba may not have long to live. What you're seeing all over her body, doctors believe, is caused by a rare genetic condition, Protein C deficiency.
It causes excessive blood clotting, which spreads all over her body. What's spreading through her body doubled in size or even more in a matter of minutes.
Her mother, Rana, says, "I saw the blood starting in one arm and spreading to the other."
Habiba is in so much pain she can't eat or sleep.
"Leave me alone, leave me alone," she cries.
Even her mother's gentle touch is too much.
"She says, 'Mama, Wawa.' or 'Ouch,' and I can't do anything for her," Rana says.
Habiba's condition is rare.
But it could be treated, just not in Gaza, where healthcare has been decimated by Israel, where medical workers have been left with little to save lives and parents like Rana left helpless as they watch their children suffer and die a slow death.
She tells me, "Mama helped me stand up.
"Mama, I want to walk. I want to put my shoes on so I can go bye, bye- bye," Rana says.
She wants to play. She can't even do the most basic things like hold her pacifier.
This was Habiba just a few months ago. Her mother says she was a happy child, so full of life. Now she lies motionless on a hospital bed. Surgical gloves turn into balloons to try and cheer her up.
After massive effort by aid groups, the Israeli military approved Habiba for medical evacuation. A U.N. and Red Crescent convoy moved her and her mom out of Gaza City. It's only a first step in what's usually a long and complex process of getting Palestinians out of Gaza for urgent medical treatment. In a comment to CNN, Israeli authorities say they facilitated the
evacuation of more than 1,000 Palestinians abroad for medical treatment in recent months. But more than 12,000 Gazans have been waiting for Israeli approvals for months.
In one of the last hospitals in the south, Rana was reunited with her sister for the first time in 15 months. They're like so many families torn apart by a vicious war. And now this mother was forced to make an impossible choice.
To stay by Habiba's side, she had to leave her 11-year-old son behind. Habiba's condition is deteriorating by the day. They don't know when she'll be allowed out of Gaza. Even with the ceasefire deal, it could still take time, time Habiba doesn't have. Doctors believe it's too late to save her right leg.
Her other limbs and her life are now at risk. And unless they get her out of Gaza soon, it might be too late to save little Habiba -- Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.
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SANDOVAL: Some important analysis now from H.A. Hellyer. He is a senior fellow in geopolitics and security at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense in London and for the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C.
H.A., we are very lucky to have you from Cairo tonight. Thank you.
H.A. HELLYER, SENIOR ASSOCIATE FELLOW, ROYAL UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE: Thank you.
SANDOVAL: So as my colleague just reminded us, receiving advanced medical treatment in Gaza is nearly impossible, with the health care system there absolutely decimated by Israeli forces.
So what should Gazans like little Habiba's parents expect with this first phase of the ceasefire?
How soon could they see some of that urgently needed humanitarian aid, do you think?
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HELLYER: So in phase one, if phase one is implemented according to the agreement, we expect that there will be aid that begins to surge into different parts of Gaza within the next few weeks. They're also supposed to be movement on withdrawal of Israeli forces along the Rafah crossing.
I don't expect that to be complete. And they -- I want your viewers to keep in mind, there is not an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in phase one. That's envisaged in phase two and phase three. It's not envisaged in phase one.
Redeployment within Gaza is envisaged in phase one. And it's unclear as to whether or not we're actually going to get into phase two or, indeed, if phase one itself is going to be completed, once hostages that are scheduled for release in phase one are actually turned over.
And I say that because we've seen multiple reports over the last few days in the Israeli press that indicate that Netanyahu has actually assured his far-right wing coalition partners that there will be a return to fighting unless, quote-unquote, the war -- the war's aim have not been achieved. So we have to watch this very carefully.
SANDOVAL: You mentioned the Israeli prime minister, a lot riding on this for him. Let's also talk about the incoming U.S. president's role.
What kind of pressure must Donald Trump and certainly his Middle East envoy to keep -- what kind of pressure should they keep on Israel's government to make sure that it delivers on its terms and possibly even extend this beyond those six weeks, do you think?
HELLYER: So again, this is a three phase deal. And for phase one, to get into phase two is by no means guaranteed.
And again, the prime minister has made it clear, at least according to Israeli press reports, that he has assured -- that he's assured his far-right wing allies that the war will resume and that it will resume with American backing and support if, quote-unquote, "the war aims have not been achieved.
And the war aims include the complete destruction of Hamas, right. So the idea that we're just going to sort of seamlessly go into phase two, I think, has to be questioned. And in order for phase two to happen, then, yes, there would have to be tremendous pressure brought to bear by the Trump administration.
They have that pressure. They have those -- they have those leverage points. They have the ability to do so. I just don't think that they will.
And I also want to remind your viewers that the national security advisor, the incoming national security advisor, Mike Waltz, has already made it clear in his own interview that they will stand by Israel and that the progression to phase two, at least, for based on everything we've seen for the last few days, is all but certain.
SANDOVAL: If you can very quickly, before we let you go here, if this deal holds, you mentioned if it -- if the -- if the conflict resumes.
But then if the deal holds and potentially even turns into something permanent, can you tell our viewers what this would mean for Hamas?
HELLYER: I have no idea. I have to tell you. I mean, when it comes to Hamas, the idea that it's going to disappear, I think, is fanciful. I think that destroying it or, you know, I think words like exterminating that were used in Israel, I don't think it's going anywhere.
Hamas exists as a result of a political issue. That political issue is the occupation of Palestinian Territories since 1967. It took almost 20 years for Hamas to even come about following the beginning of that occupation. I don't think that it's going anywhere unless that core issue is addressed.
And again, what we've seen from the Israelis over the last, not just year but, you know, last decades, is the complete unwillingness to have a withdrawal from the Occupied Territories, whether it's Gaza, East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Golan Heights.
Indeed, actually, they've deepened and widened their occupation in all of those areas. And let alone the establishment of a Palestinian state, which, of course, is defined as a prerequisite for normalization with the vast majority of the region.
So I think that all of that would have to be addressed.
And then you can see, you know, is Hamas going to sort of fade away?
And I suspect that it would in the same way that many other militant movements in the past in -- not only in the region but worldwide have also done.
SANDOVAL: Right.
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Meanwhile, you have the Palestinian Authority saying it is ready to assume full responsibility. But still, as you mentioned, a mix of hope but also caution. H.A. Hellyer, thank you so much for offering your expertise to this.
HELLYER: Thank you. I appreciate the invitation.
SANDOVAL: Our pleasure.
Well, here in the U.S., the ban on TikTok is fast approaching.
So why is the popular video app saying that it will go dark on Sunday?
We'll explain next.
And also freezing cold temperatures in the nation's capital forcing Donald Trump's inauguration to move indoors, leaving thousands of people, some of them supporters, without a chance of seeing it firsthand. We'll explain.
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SANDOVAL: TikTok is announcing that its popular app will soon go dark in the United States after a ban was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. That's unless the Biden administration ensures that the company won't be punished for violating said ban. Without those assurances, TikTok saying that it will cut off access to more than 170 million users in the United States on Sunday. The exact timing on when that may actually happen, that's still unclear. A White House official did not rule out action before the deadline.
But President Biden has previously left it to his successor, Donald Trump, to decide whether to enforce the ban.
As for Trump, he recently received a message of confidence from TikTok CEO and the president-elect has shown no willingness to pause this shutdown.
Now this ban is intended to prevent China from accessing American users' data and the president-elect said on Friday that he discussed TikTok with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. CNN's Marc Stewart has more on where Beijing stands on all this.
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MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As to what happens next from the Chinese standpoint in this TikTok debate, it's clear from being on the ground here in Beijing, China doesn't want to appear to be taking orders from the United States.
In an interesting turn, the Chinese government late Friday night acknowledged a phone call between president Xi and president-elect Trump. In a government readout, there's no mention of the TikTok issue.
Yet in a social media post, president-elect Trump said it was part of the discussion, saying the call was, quote, "very good for both countries."
In the past, the Chinese government has accused the U.S. of acting like a bully. It also said that the United States should respect the principles of a market economy and fair competition. I've asked Chinese officials several times what is its involvement with ByteDance, TikTok's parent company.
Is it advising the firm as to how it should handle the matter?
But no clear answers. ByteDance has repeatedly said TikTok is not for sale. This is unfolding just days before the inauguration of president-elect Trump. China is sending its vice president as the two nations try to balance a complicated relationship -- Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.
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SANDOVAL: Donald Trump says that he is moving his inauguration indoors on Monday as dangerously cold weather is expected to sweep into the nation's capital. Law enforcement agencies are now scrambling to come up with new security plans. The presidential parade will be held inside the Capital One Arena,
which is the venue in downtown D.C. And Trump will take the oath of office inside the Capitol Rotunda. The last time that this actually happened was with Ronald Reagan 40 years ago, also due to weather.
The inauguration committee says that the vast majority of ticket holders will not be able to attend in person, since space inside is now limited. The Rotunda can only hold about 700 people.
Well, as the world awaits a second Trump presidency, fears of U.S. tariffs, they are looming large. The president-elect has threatened to hit trading partners with a raft of tariffs on imported goods once he's sworn into office. CNN's Anna Stewart with more.
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ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The next President of the United States has made no secret of his love for tariffs.
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TRUMP: To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff. And it's my favorite word.
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A. STEWART: The question is, which countries will the president-elect target and how might they respond?
Already weeks before taking office, Trump announced tariffs on America's top three trading partners -- Mexico, China and Canada; 25 percent for Canada and Mexico and an additional 10 percent for China.
And he's unlikely to stop there. During the campaign trail, Trump said he would implement a 10 percent tariff on all imports from all countries.
Now if we look at those countries, the E.U. would be particularly hit hard. The U.S. is its biggest trading partner by far, accounting for 20 percent of its exports. A 10 percent tariff would have cost it 50 billion euros in 2023.
So what would it do?
Well, there are really two main options. We can look back at Trump's first presidency, when he implemented tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Europe's response, then, was to calculate how much that would cost and try and recoup it with tariffs of their own on American imports of Levi Jeans, bourbon whiskey and Harley-Davidsons.
But this time may be different. The president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, suggested Europe could adopt a checkbook strategy, saying they could offer to buy certain things from the United States. And she went on to say, really, that this may be a better scenario
than a pure retaliation strategy.
It really remains to be seen whether Trump will implement universal tariffs or something more targeted. For those countries impacted, they can choose to retaliate or negotiate. Either option could be costly to consumers forced to pay higher prices.
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SANDOVAL: Nearly 10 days after deadly fires were ignited in Los Angeles, firefighters, they're now trying to make it safe for people, for residents to return to whatever may be left. But Santa Ana winds, they may bring some complications to those efforts. We'll explain.
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SANDOVAL: Welcome back.
The mayor of Los Angeles has announced that real estate developer and former police commission president Steve Soboroff will likely lead the post-wildfire rebuilding effort there.
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Meanwhile, officials are now trying to expedite the safe return of people to their homes. CNN's Marybel Gonzalez reporting from the devastation on the challenging conditions.
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MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As crews work around the clock to get a handle on the deadly Los Angeles County wildfires, there is hope teams will make gains this weekend.
But the reprieve may not last long.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the Santa Ana, winds are going to be very, very dry out there. So there's going to be probably a return of more critical fire weather conditions to the area.
So we have a little respite for the next couple of days through the weekend. But then the Santa Anas do come back beginning of next week.
GONZALES (voice-over): For some, a return home is likely months away. Contaminated water and landslides are still big risks. While some residents understand the delay, others are growing frustrated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they should let people go back and let everything start rolling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Quite honestly, I think it's a bad idea for any of the people that are coming up just for nostalgic purposes. Unfortunately, I hate to say that.
GONZALES (voice-over): City and county leaders are trying to assure the public they're actively working to reopen impacted neighborhoods.
COMMANDER RANDY GODDARD, L.A. POLICE DEPARTMENT: Every foot that we can give back, as soon as we can give back, we are giving back. We're not holding areas until we get a larger area that we can repopulate.
Every day we're having those conversations and every day, anything I can give back as a unified command, we're giving back once it's safe.
I promise you that, as your chief, that the LAFD will stand with you as you continue to clean up and rebuild your communities.
GONZALES (voice-over): In Pacific Palisades, I'm Marybel Gonzalez reporting.
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SANDOVAL: Renowned American author Stephen King says the show cannot go on. He is calling for this year's Oscars to be canceled.
In a post, King wrote that he would not be voting for this year's nominees and that there shouldn't be that typical glitzy spectacle like the Academy Awards tends to be as wildfires lay waste to parts of L.A.
King is not the first prominent figure to suggest Hollywood pot -- this Hollywood pause actually, the award to -- because of the disaster that's ongoing there. But others are arguing that it could possibly provide positivity amid the widespread suffering in Southern California.
Well, a limited edition Barbie of Aaliyah has actually sold out within hours of going on sale. This on what would have been the late R&B singer's 46th birthday.
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SANDOVAL (voice-over): You remember she was killed in a plane crash in 2001. Toy manufacturer Mattel launched the doll as part of its Barbie Music Series, aimed at adult collectors.
It was only available to members of a subscription-paying collectors group. The series, also featuring the likes of Stevie Nicks, Gloria Estefan and, of course, Tina Turner.
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SANDOVAL: Thank you for joining us. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. CNN NEWSROOM continues at the top of the hour. Stay with us.