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Deadly Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza Shatter Ceasefire with Hamas; Trump and Putin to Speak by Phone in Coming Hours; White House Ignores Court Order Blocking Deportation Flights; Deadly Israeli Strikes in Gaza Shatter Ceasefire with Hamas; NASA Astronauts Make Final Preparations to Return to Earth. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired March 18, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:39]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, I'm John Vause with breaking news from Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire appears to be over.

Israeli airstrikes pounding the Palestinian territory over the past two hours, killing more than 200 people, wounding hundreds of others, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. One Israeli official says mid-level Hamas commanders, as well as Hamas infrastructure were targeted in, quote, "preemptive strikes" without providing any further details.

With negotiations to extend phase one of the ceasefire stalled, the order for a major military escalation came from the Israeli prime minister and his defense minister. And after weeks of relative calm, hospitals in Gaza once again overwhelmed. Among the dozens of dead and wounded are children and civilians, according to Palestinian officials.

Hamas accused Israel of overturning the ceasefire agreement, risking the lives of the last of the Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza.

Live to Abu Dhabi now with CNN's Paula Hancocks, who's following these developments. She joins us now.

So what's the latest on these Israeli strikes? Are they ongoing? What precisely is being hit? What's the latest report on how many people have been killed and wounded?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, what we're hearing from our stringers on the ground is that these are ongoing, these strikes by the Israeli military. We also hear that they're happening across the Gaza Strip so in multiple locations at this point.

Now, as you said, we know that more than 200 people, 210 at this point, have been killed with many other injuries. So what we're seeing is definitely a resumption of the hostilities, a resumption of the war. What the Israeli prime minister has called increasing military strength that will be used.

We're hearing from the Israeli side that they are targeting Hamas, that they are targeting Hamas infrastructure. The commanders that are still alive within Hamas. But what we're seeing from footage that is coming out of Gaza are the horribly familiar images of civilians being caught up in this war as well.

We have seen a number of children that have been killed and also injured children being rushed to hospitals across the Gaza Strip as well. So it does appear as though the relative calm of the past two months is very much over. And we're also, of course, understanding that many people have gone back to their homes over the past couple of months during this ceasefire. So people are across the whole of the Gaza Strip, including northern Gaza, many of them in tents in the areas where their houses once stood.

And one other thing to bear in mind, for the past two weeks plus there has been no food, no water, no fuel, medical supplies, any humanitarian aid that has been coming into the Gaza Strip. So another factor to consider when you see the number of people being taken to hospitals at this point, but Israel saying that Hamas simply refused to negotiate, refused to agree to the proposals that both the U.S. and Israel were pushing for.

Now, we understand that Israel did inform the White House. Let's listen to the press secretary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The Trump administration and the White House were consulted by the Israelis on their attacks in Gaza tonight. And as President Trump has made it clear, Hamas, the Houthis, Iran, all those who seek to terrorize not just Israel, but also the United States of America will see a price to pay. All hell will break loose.

And all of the terrorists in the Middle East, again, the Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas, Iranian-backed terror proxies, and Iran themselves should take President Trump very seriously when he says he is not afraid to stand for law-abiding people. He is not afraid to stand up for the United States of America and our friend and our ally, Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:05:04]

HANCOCKS: And Hamas has responded by saying that what Israel is doing is putting the hostages still in Gaza at risk -- John.

VAUSE: Yes, there was a deal. They just didn't keep it, I guess.

Paula Hancocks live for us in Abu Dhabi. Thank you.

A possible deal on how to end Russia's war in Ukraine could be decided in the coming hours during a phone call between the U.S. and Russian presidents. The White House says a peace agreement has never been closer. President Donald Trump telling reporters the call will focus on dividing up some assets, which includes Ukrainian territory and energy infrastructure, which could also include the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Well, the Kremlin says it agrees with the broad outlines of President Trump's vision for peace in Ukraine. Russian officials are yet to commit to a 30-day ceasefire, with President Putin continuing to add more conditions for any ceasefire and insisting on further, much detailed discussions. Still, the U.S. president remains hopeful of a possible breakthrough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to have a very important call. You know, we've had calls, but we're getting down to a very critical stage and we want to get the whole Russia-Ukraine thing done. And I think Ukraine wants it. I know they want it. Everybody wants it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: This new round of high level diplomacy between Washington and Moscow is bringing renewed hopes in Russia that the war in Ukraine may soon be coming to an end.

Here's CNN's Fred Pleitgen reporting in from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): The excitement on Russian state TV. The leading talk show previewing President Trump's latest diplomatic advances towards Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

The pace of negotiations between Moscow and Washington has accelerated, the anchor says. Tomorrow there will be a phone conversation between Putin and Trump. The U.S. president announced a new call to the Kremlin.

As the unrelenting battles continue on the ground, the White House claims it's making progress towards a possible ceasefire. With the Ukrainians already on board, President Trump now trying to convince Putin to sign off as well, even as the Russian leader says many issues still need to be sorted out.

TRUMP: We'll be talking about land. We'll be talking about power plants. That's up, you know, that's a big question, but I think we have a lot of it already discussed very much by both sides.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You'll ask him --

TRUMP: Ukraine and Russia.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You'll ask him --

TRUMP: We're already talking about that. Dividing up certain assets. PLEITGEN: Dividing up assets between Ukraine and Russia. While

Moscow's forces are seemingly on the brink of ousting Ukrainian troops from their shrinking foothold in Russia's Kursk region, soldiers collecting war trophies after hard fought battles.

The Russians say they're also pressing on various other front lines, and they don't want to give any of that territory back to Kyiv. Moscow also giving a big nyet to the idea of putting European NATO troops on the ground in Ukraine as peacekeepers. The Kremlin lashing out at the notion.

We are talking about the fact that viable regulation is only possible by taking into account and solving the root causes of the problems associated with Ukraine, and they are going to create additional root causes.

But on Moscow's streets, optimism that an end to the war may be in sight, brokered by the U.S. president.

Do you think that progress is possible in this phone call to end the war in Ukraine?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think progress will be definitely.

PLEITGEN: Definitely. Why do you think so? You're very optimistic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

PLEITGEN: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I love my life. I love my country. And I think all that will be good for our country.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): But the Kremlin has cautioned diplomacy is still in its early stages, and many hurdles will have to be overcome to silence the guns on the battlefield.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Jill Dougherty joins us now from Washington. She's an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, a CNN contributor and CNN's former Moscow bureau chief.

Welcome back. It's good to see you.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you, John. Glad to be here.

VAUSE: So ahead of this phone call between Trump and Putin, there's a lot of optimism from the White House. There's a belief that progress can be made at least towards a ceasefire, and then maybe a diplomatic end to the war. Here's the White House press secretary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LEAVITT: We are on the 10th yard line of peace, and we've never been closer to a peace deal than we are in this moment. And the president, as you know, is determined to get one done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The Kremlin, though, doesn't seem to share that optimism, at least publicly, especially when it comes to the implementation of at least a 30-day ceasefire. So where are the differences here between both Washington and Moscow?

[00:10:01]

DOUGHERTY: Well, I think the biggest thing and actually President Trump talked about this, is territory. You know, Zelenskyy does not want to give up territory and the Russians hold 20 percent of Ukraine. And President Trump said, you know, we're going to be talking about land, a lot of land, he said. And then also power plants. So I presume he means the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Well, you know, when you get into that territory, that's where it really gets sticky because politically and every other way, for Zelenskyy to give it up legally would be a -- you know, a bridge almost too far.

VAUSE: Could that include recognizing Crimea as basically being Russian territory? Because that's something which the West has never recognized. That claim by the Russians to hold Crimea.

DOUGHERTY: Right. And that's another sticking point. There is a report out there but unconfirmed and apparently the White House is not saying anything about it, that the United States would indeed legally recognize Crimea as part of Russia.

Now, if you go back to 2018, President Trump actually said Crimea is pretty much Russian because they speak Russian there. Now, of course, you know, people all over Ukraine speak Russian as well as Ukrainian. But the point is that, again, would be a turning point. And a lot of people, I think, in Europe would have real difficulty with taking that step.

VAUSE: Well, the Ukrainians committed to a 30-day ceasefire last week. And on that, here's President Zelenskyy. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It has been nearly a week since it became absolutely clear to everyone in the world that it is Putin who continues to prolong this war. For a week now, Putin has been unable to muster a simple yes in response to the ceasefire proposal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And to that point, the Europeans say this is the moment for the Russian president to prove that he is committed to ending the war. So what concessions do they want from Putin, and what's the likelihood he will make those concessions?

DOUGHERTY: Well, one thing that the Europeans want is for this not to happen again. And so how do you prevent an invasion from not happening again? You put some peacekeepers in there and you make sure that Russia can't invade again. But there's another problem because Putin says no peacekeepers from NATO countries, even if they're under the flag of their individual countries.

And yet the Europeans are talking about maybe 30, three-zero, countries participating in some type of coalition of the willing, some want to put or willing to put troops on the ground, others are not. But the sticking point here, and every time there's a sticking point, as you can see, the sticking point is they want backup. They want a backstop from the United States, which would be, you know, in case something goes wrong the United States comes in and makes sure that Russia does not invade.

So there are a lot of details here. But I think, you know, President Putin and President Trump want the big deal. And the big deal really is their relationship, the U.S.-Russia relationship.

VAUSE: Well, according to the U.S. president, momentum towards this ceasefire picked up after his confrontation with the Ukrainian president in the Oval Office more than two weeks ago. For more on that, here he is, Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, it's humanity. I'm involved for humanity. A lot of people are being killed over there, and we had to get Ukraine to do the right thing. It was not an easy situation. You got to see a little glimpse at the Oval Office, but I think they're doing the right thing right now, and we're trying to get a peace agreement done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So as far as Donald Trump is concerned, he had to get the Ukrainians to do the right thing. But what pressure is on Putin now to do the right thing? What's the leverage here that the White House can apply? And is the White House prepared to use it?

DOUGHERTY: Well, they talk about sanctions, you know, increasing sanctions. President Trump has talked about tariffs. But again, the United States basically does not trade with Russia. So tariffs really aren't going to do it, particularly, but they're not really the -- I think the American administration isn't really talking about a lot of pressure on Putin.

Now, interestingly, Putin did kind of give a bone to the United States by, just at the last minute, allowing these big U.S. and U.K. investment funds to sell their investment, their frozen securities that were frozen by the Russian government. That would really help them out because a lot of them, you know, said goodbye to those investments. Now they could recoup some money. It might be a way of getting around sanctions. So that's kind of something, you know, a sweetener that President Putin is offering to the United States. But I don't see a whole lot of demands at all from the United States toward Russia.

[00:15:03]

VAUSE: It does seem there's a lot of pressure on Ukraine, not a lot of pressure right now on Moscow. That may change.

Jill, as always, good to have you with us. Thank you.

DOUGHERTY: Thank you.

VAUSE: A sign of the times, perhaps, with Canada's new prime minister, Mark Carney, breaking with tradition and traveling to Europe, not the United States, on his first official foreign trip. Carney was greeted warmly by the French president, Emmanuel Macron. And then in London, Carney met with his British counterpart, Sir Keir Starmer.

The emphasis on Canada and Europe standing together side by side, and Carney did not hold back in his criticism of the U.S. president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: We can stand up for ourselves. As Canada is strong, we can stand up for ourselves. We've called out those comments. They're disrespectful. They're not helpful, and they need to stop before, and they will have to stop before we sit down and have a conversation about our broader partnership with the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: In a moment here on CNN, a scolding for the White House from a federal judge after the Justice Department defied a court order deporting hundreds of alleged gang members. Details in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:20:39]

VAUSE: Welcome back. More on our breaking news this hour. The Palestinian Ministry of Health says Israeli strikes have killed at least 210 people and injured hundreds of others across Gaza. An Israeli official describes the airstrikes as, quote, "preemptive targeting of Hamas leaders."

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims Hamas has repeatedly refused to hand over hostages.

We'll continue to follow this story and bring updates across the hour.

Mexico has arrested an alleged leader of the MS-13 gang, who is on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. Authorities say he was detained in the city of Veracruz and deported to the U.S., where he faces charges of narcoterrorism and racketeering, as well as accusations of involvement in gang activities in the U.S., Mexico and his native El Salvador. The Trump administration has designated MS-13, which originated in Los Angeles, as a terrorist organization. A U.S. federal judge is demanding answers from the Trump

administration after hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members were deported under a wartime U.S. power. The judge characterized the Justice Department's reasoning as we don't care, we'll do what we want.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more now reporting in from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The White House insisting it is not defying a court order all over deportation over the weekend. Some 200 or so migrants sent back on a plane to an El Salvador prison at the cost of $6 million to the United States.

A judge ordered that plane to be turned around mid-air. The administration proceeded with it. Now, this is all front and center in the middle of a legal battle. The White House says the law is on their side.

LEAVITT: In fact, this administration acted within the confines of the law. Again, within the president's constitutional authority and under the authority granted to him under the Alien Enemies Act. We are quite confident in that, and we are wholly confident that we are going to win this case in court.

ZELENY: The White House says the president has the authority under foreign affairs and national security concerns. The broad authority to take care of American citizens. There is no question, though, history here clearly shows that only three times in U.S. history, the war of 1812, and both the first and second World Wars are the only time that this law from 1798 has been imposed.

The president says he believes immigration and border security is an act of war. There is no doubt, though, this legal fight is escalating.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: New developments in the case of deported Brown University assistant professor, Dr. Rasha Alawieh. Sorry. A source says federal agents at Boston Airport found photos of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on her phone when she returned from Lebanon last week. Doctor Alawieh acknowledged she attended his funeral. On Monday, protesters gathered in support of Alawieh, a Lebanese national and a U.S. visa holder. A federal judge has delayed her deportation hearing until later this month after her lawyers withdrew from the case.

Still to come, more on the deadly Israeli strikes in Gaza, including the latest from one hospital treating the wounded.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:28:29]

VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Let's check this hour's top stories.

More than 200 people have been reportedly killed in Gaza following Israeli airstrikes in recent hours, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The move by Israel breaks a fragile ceasefire agreement with Hamas. One Israeli official says they were a preemptive move, but did not provide further details about what they claim was Hamas' readiness to execute terror attacks.

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will speak by phone in the coming hours about a possible deal to end the war in Ukraine. The U.S. president says the call will focus on dividing up assets like Ukrainian territory, energy infrastructure, which could include the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

And Canada's new prime minister, Mark Carney, breaking with tradition on his first official foreign trip, traveling to Europe instead of the United States. There, he met with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, as well as Britain's prime minister Keir Starmer, and King Charles.

Back to the breaking news out of Gaza now. Joining me on the phone is Dr. (INAUDIBLE), a volunteer working at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City.

Doctor, thank you for being with us. Can you describe what the past few hours have been like at the hospital where you are right now?

DR. RAZAN AL-NAHHAS, VOLUNTEERING WITH HUMANITY AUXILIUM IN GAZA (via phone): Hi. Thank you for having me. It's been absolutely horrific. Nothing close to anything I've experienced before. We were asleep at around 2:05, I believe. Multiple explosions within just a span of a few minutes back to back. The building shook. Immediately, I just got dressed and new cases coming in, and since then, we have been receiving patients nonstop.

[00:30:12]

The first two hours, I would say, were the most intense. I think at this point, I mean, it's really hard to tell the numbers right now, because there are just patients everywhere on the floor and the stretchers in the hallways outside with, you know, at least over 50 martyrs.

It's -- you know, you're really just doing damage control, just trying to do what you can, because you have limited resources. We didn't even have access to a CT scanner for the first couple of hours, until the technicians came in to run the machine. There's no radiologist to read the scans. There's minimal surgeons, or there's -- we're really not doing much at this point.

And the scenes are just horrific. Babies, children all over the floor, bleeding from their -- from their heads, bleeding from their abdomens. Extremity injuries.

And, you know, after the first wave, there were a few more explosions, and we got a few more waves of patients. They continued to trickle in. JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes. Take a moment.

AL-NAHHAS (via phone): I was just standing. I'm sorry. Sorry. I know.

VAUSE: No, please.

AL-NAHHAS (via phone): It's -- it's a lot. I was just standing on a -- on a balcony in one of the hospital buildings that has the operating room and the ICU. And from the balcony -- there's no morgue here. From the balcony, you can see all the bodies of the people that have been killed, lined up.

And I tried to count. And there's at least 50 of them. They're just wrapped in blankets. And, you know, just waiting. I guess the families were just waiting to -- to figure out their next steps. And they keep bringing more bodies.

I -- I lost count of how many patients, you know, I pronounced dead myself. But it was at least maybe 15 or 20 with just myself.

VAUSE: And this is one hospital, which is obviously operating --

AL-NAHHAS (via phone): This is one --

VAUSE: -- at a minimum capacity. Right? Because you've been under the state of war for 15 months already. So, this is -- and like you said, this is just one hospital across Gaza.

AL-NAHHAS (via phone): This is just one very small hospital in Gaza City that has very, very limited capacity, even prior to the war. Very minimal resources. No X-ray overnight. The X-ray. You know, I don't think we have access to it after 4 p.m. Only two pseudo-operating rooms.

So, you know, you see patients and normally, you know, I practice in the states, I would get a CT of this patient's brain, a CT of their abdomen, and you really don't have --there's a line. Now that they have the CT scanner working, there's a line for CTs.

But most of these patients will either die waiting for their CT or will get the CT; we'll make the diagnosis; and there's nothing to be done for them.

VAUSE: Do you know --

AL-NAHHAS (via phone): To the patients that need oxygen. Go ahead.

VAUSE: I was going to say, do you know? We're being told that the targets here were Hamas commanders, as well as Hamas infrastructure that was part of some kind of preemptive --preparing for some kind of strike on Israel.

From what you've been able to see, do you know how many civilians, how many kids have been killed or wounded so far?

AL-NAHHAS (via phone): Oh, my goodness. I mean, it's the majority are women and children. The majority are women and children. I mean, I -- just babies, like one-, two-, three-year-olds just lined up, four or five to a stretcher.

And many, many, you know, young women. Entire families wiped out. I'll be -- I'll take care of one patient, and it'll be a family or a neighbor that will tell me it's the only -- they're the only survivor.

I just was taking care of a seven-year-old boy who was gasping and taking his final breaths and begging me to try to save him, because they're telling me that his entire family was killed. Multiple siblings, parents.

But the majority of cases that we've seen tonight are children.

VAUSE: A lot of these people had only just returned to their homes in the Northern part of Gaza, where you are. And would have been what, sleeping in tents in, in sort of open-air structures in many way. And when, when these airstrikes happen, they would they been out in the open without much cover?

AL-NAHHAS (via phone): Even -- even those living in buildings, what's left of them, the buildings themselves were targeted. The tents were targeted. There was nowhere safe, nowhere safe. Whether it's a pseudo cover or a tent or out in the open.

Regardless, you know, there are there are -- the numbers, I think, that are being reported are severely underestimates of the reality. Because entire, you know, buildings have collapsed on 00 on families.

By one of the local nurses that, you know, I've been working with. I just asked her. Her -- her two uncles, both families, the homes collapsed. They haven't heard anything. And they're all under the rubble, presumed dead.

[00:35;16]

So, I think that's close to 30 family members, she said.

VAUSE: The ceasefire had held. There had been relative calm in Gaza since January 19, which is, I think, 57 days.

The last two weeks, aid had not been arriving into Gaza. It had been stopped at the border by the Israelis. But before then, had that been a chance for hospitals in Gaza like yours to at least restock, to resupply, to possibly prepare for this moment?

AL-NAHHAS (via phone): I'm going to say no, there was not adequate aid entering. You know, we have the basic, most minimal supplies, but the most needed things like ventilators, for example, they -- we have not received any of those. And all of the ventilators that were in Gaza were destroyed.

So, in our makeshift E.R. here, which wasn't actually previously an E.R., there's not a single ventilator. So, I can't even -- if I intubate a patient, I have to bag them until I can find them an ICU bed somewhere in Gaza to transfer them to. Just yesterday, you know, a child was standing out the window, and the

-- on the fourth floor in the -- that part of the window and the -- the ground just collapsed, because the buildings are so unsteady.

And mind you, this -- there really hasn't been a ceasefire from my experience. There -- every day we were getting explosive injuries, quadcopter attacks on the regular. Multiple martyrs every single day.

So, there really hasn't been a true ceasefire or true entry of meaningful aid. And now it's officially collapsed.

VAUSE: And it sounds like hell. Doctor Al-Nahhas there in Gaza City. Thank you for taking time to speak with us. We appreciate it. Thank you.

AL-NAHHAS (via phone): Thank you.

VAUSE: We will pause and take a short break. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:41:47]

VAUSE: Final preparations underway for the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule before departure from the International Space Station. That means any moment now, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will begin their long-awaited return to Earth.

A mishap in June turned their weeklong mission into a nine-month stay at the ISS. NASA moved up this return flight timeline to take advantage of favorable weather conditions throughout Tuesday.

And if all goes according to plan, the Dragon capsule expected to splash down off Florida's coast sometime Tuesday evening, 20 hours or so from now.

Joining me now live from Rockford, Illinois, is Sarah Treadwell, a solar system ambassador with NASA. Sarah, welcome.

SARAH TREADWELL, SOLAR SYSTEM AMBASSADOR, NASA: Thank you.

VAUSE: So, what can we expect in the next, I guess, 20 minutes or so when all this gets underway? And how long is this? It's already a rescue mission, but this much delayed flight home. How long is it expected to take?

TREADWELL: Oh, gosh. It will take -- it will take a good -- that's a good question. I'm not actually sure how long it takes to get back.

But to clarify, it -- it is somewhat -- it looks like a rescue mission, but it actually is a mission that has been somewhat planned by NASA for a while. That has been putting Butch and Suni into the regular crew rotation for the ISS.

So, it kind of seems like it's a rescue mission, but it's really more just kind of routine operation that they just kind of got built into. And I'm sure, though, that they're very excited to come home.

VAUSE: I think it takes about 24 hours, 28 hours or something before touchdown in Florida. I think just off the top of my head.

TREADWELL: Yes.

VAUSE: It's a lot longer coming down than it is going up for some reason.

TREADWELL: Yes.

VAUSE: But they've actually made a point of saying that this isn't a rescue mission. It's all about they're just getting them into that regular crew rotation. And they could have really come home anytime they wanted, but they just kind of wanted to make it more of a standard operation. Right?

TREADWELL: Yes. Yes, absolutely. Yes.

So, you have to think about the way that space and space operations work. It's very expensive. It's very costly. And when they were not able to go back with the ship that they went up with, with the Boeing Starliner, NASA made the decision that they were going to, instead, replace a couple of other people, which is really kind of unfortunate. A couple of other people who were supposed to be on the ISS for the six-month duration or nine month, I should say.

And they just replaced a couple of crew members and just served as the astronauts in lieu of the other two, instead of being sent home immediately, because that would be a very costly thing for NASA and all the other space agencies to have to do.

Yes. And it is a lot longer to come back. I -- yes, I'm sorry. I didn't know off the top of my head how long that was going to be, but yes.

VAUSE: Well, I didn't want to play "stump the chump" (ph), so no gotchas there.

But Sarah, thank you for -- thank you for being with us. We appreciate it. We'll talk to you again next hour. Take care.

To Houston, Texas, now. And joining us is Dr. Joseph Dervay, a NASA flight surgeon. Thank you for being with us.

DR. JOSEPH DERVAY, NASA FLIGHT SURGEON: Thank you, sir.

VAUSE: So, this is not the first time on board the International Space Station for Commander Williams and Captain Wilmore. They have a good idea of what to expect physically, at least, once they're safely back on Earth.

[00:45:05]

This is what they told Anderson Cooper. Here they are.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COMMANDER SUNI WILLIAMS, NASA ASTRONAUT: I've been up twice before, for long-duration missions, and it's almost a day for a day that you get that, like, fast-twitch muscle action back again.

CAPTAIN BUTCH WILMORE, NASA ASTRONAUT: But when you get back, gravity starts pulling everything to your lower extremities. The fluid that is shifting. I got a little puffy face. It's always that way when you're -- when I'm in space.

And all that fluid is going to be pulled to my lower extremities, and it's really going to be different. Even to lift a pencil. You don't even feel a pencil when you lift it. When we get back, even to lift a pencil, we will feel the weight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, that's the physical adjustment to gravity. But what are the other effects of spending such an extended period of time in space?

DERVAY: Well, John, that was a really nice little clip to introduce the concept. As stated, Suni and Butch are seasoned veterans. They've both had two space flights. Tremendously professional, and take all of their work tremendously seriously in terms of preparing for space flight. Realizing that when they went up, that the mission could have an extension.

So, they work real hard with their two to 2.5 hours of exercise per day while they're on orbit. They love doing that, because from a cardiovascular and a muscle perspective, it really helps keep them in tip-top shape.

So, as noted, when they come home those last couple of days, we prepare the crew for what to expect. We typically increase their fluid and salt load those last few days to get back a little bit more of what we call the plasma volume, which initially, in early part of spaceflight, they -- they redistribute some fluids as things come up toward the central part of their body.

And then, as they get ready to come home, as noted, coming through the atmosphere. And when they come down, things are exceptionally heavy.

We get them onto the recovery, the SpaceX recovery vessel. In this case, it's a splashdown. We bring them on, typically about 30 minutes after they enter the water, and we get them on the recovery ship. The hatch is opened.

And one of our SpaceX physicians, in addition to our NASA physicians, will see the crew, get the OK that we're all set to go. And we bring them out. And then we will escort them into a medical suite that's on the recovery vessel.

And we'll have an opportunity for them to take off their -- their spacesuits and do our initial medical evaluations.

VAUSE: NASA has also identified five hazards of space flight for -- on the human body. And those hazards are space radiation, isolation and confinement, distance from Earth, as well as gravity and the lack of it, as well as closed or hostile environments.

I was curious about the impact about the distance from Earth that that may have on the human bodies. I guess for, you know, Suni and Butch, they've been in a constant orbit around the Earth. It's been fairly static. But the further we get away from the Earth, what impact does it have?

DERVAY: That's a great question. And you identified, indeed, those -- those five major issues.

Fortunately, for our crews, we're 250 nautical miles or so above the Earth. They have the opportunity to look out various windows and see the Earth right there and have that perspective of moving and traveling around the Earth at 17,500 miles per hour. That's about five miles per second.

But as we move into missions that go into deep space, the vision of the Earth -- the Earth is going to get smaller and smaller in terms of a frame of reference until eventually, depending on the distance away, it will look like a small speck or a small star.

So, those are things we're going to be certainly learning more about from a behavioral, psychological perspective as we travel farther into space.

VAUSE: And by the time Butch and Suni are actually safe back on Earth, they would have spent a total of 286 days in space. That's a lot of time, but it's well short of the longest time in space, which is 438 days, set by a Russian, Valeri Polyakov. That was on the Mir space station back in the mid-'90s.

Is there a direct relationship between the impact or the side effects, and the time in space, or are these sort of fairly consistent across? Or does each person have their own sort of reaction to how they react to time in space?

DERVAY: Yes, very interesting question. And we have had at least four U.S. crew members that have -- have been over 300 days on -- on the space station. And as you mentioned, Doctor Polyakov, who did have that record-breaking 428 days a few decades ago.

And it -- there is a lot of individual variability. So even though they may maintain a certain level of consistent exercise and preparation to come home, we do notice some things that are a little different. There is an individual variability.

But by and large, for example, when Suni and Butch come back, they will be involved with a 45-day program of reconditioning, which involves at least two hours a day where they're working on their exercise, their neurovestibular re-adaptation. And for the most part, they're going to do outstanding.

[00:50:05] We have seen some of our crew members come home from long-duration space flight, and if you didn't know what they were doing the last several months, you'd be a little surprised, because they look really sharp.

But there is individual variability on how they return physically and neurovestibularly.

VAUSE: Well, these guys have been great entertainment over the couple of months they've been up there. They obviously had a great time.

And Dr. Devay, thank you so much for explaining what they'll be going through and the effects this will have. Thank you.

DEVAY: Yes, sir. Thank you very much.

VAUSE: With that, time for another pause. You're watching CNN. We'll be back in a moment.

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[00:55:17]

VAUSE: The sounds of explosions and sonic booms shattering a fragile ceasefire. Our breaking news this hour. Israeli airstrikes on Gaza reportedly killing more than 200 people, wounding hundreds of others. That's according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

One Israeli official describes the strikes as, quote, "preemptive," targeting Hamas leaders, without providing any further details.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, claims Hamas had repeatedly refused to hand over hostages and also refused to enter into further negotiations to extend phase one of a three-phase ceasefire.

We will continue to follow the story in the hours ahead, bringing you the very latest as we get it.

But the latest numbers from Gaza. More than 200 people killed as these airstrikes continue. We've heard from one hospital, which has been overwhelmed, saying the majority of the dead and wounded are being taken to that one hospital in Gaza -- a small hospital in Gaza City -- overwhelmingly, women and children.

Again, we'll continue to follow that story, bring you the very latest next hour. You're watching CNN. I'm John Vause. Another hour of CNN NEWSROOM continues after this.

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