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Israel Launches Ground Offensive, Retakes Key Area in Gaza; Trump and Zelenskyy Discuss Proposed Ceasefire; Detention of Istanbul Mayor Sparks Protest; Ukrainian POW's Reunite with Families after Long Captivity. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired March 20, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

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JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Israel ramps up its military offensive with ground operations in Gaza. Ahead this hour on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISRAEL KATZ, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): Residents of Gaza, this is the last warning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Remove Hamas from power and return all Israeli hostages or face complete destruction and devastation.

Look who's talking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Over the recent period this is probably the most substantive conversation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Donald Trump calls the Ukrainian president sharing details of a partial ceasefire already violated by Moscow.

And protests are up across Turkey, with the main political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrested ahead of key elections this weekend.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: A day after Israeli airstrikes ended almost two months of relative calm in Gaza, Israeli ground operations have resumed, dividing the territory in half, creating what the IDF calls a security buffer with Israeli forces once again in control of parts of central and southern Gaza.

The Israeli military released these images, describing the offensive as targeted ground activities, part of a preemptive strike against the militant group Hamas, which Israel claims without providing any evidence was regrouping and preparing to strike Israel. Hamas describes the ground incursion as a new and dangerous breach of the ceasefire, which both sides agreed to in January, and says it remains committed to that deal.

At least 70 Palestinians were killed by Israel on Wednesday, according to Hamas officials in Gaza, who also say more than 400 were killed a day earlier by Israeli airstrikes.

The return to war in Gaza has sparked angry protests in Israel. Demonstrators clashing with police in Jerusalem.

For the very latest now here's CNN's Nic Robertson reporting in from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): International U.N. workers rushed to a Gaza hospital.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to get you out of here today, all right? We're going to the hospital to get another treatment, and then we're going to get you out of Gaza. All right? Keep the faith, stay strong, you'll be all right, OK?

ROBERTSON: Five injured and one killed during a strike on their residence, the U.N. says, as Israel ramps up its war against Hamas in Gaza again.

According to a weapons expert consulted by CNN, fragments recovered from the U.N. building are consistent with an Israeli tank round, although Israel denies firing in the area Wednesday.

JORGE MOREIRA DA SILVA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, U.N. OFFICE FOR PROJECT SERVICES: This UNOPS premises was hit at approximately 11 30 a.m. this morning. Today's incident follows strikes yesterday, but also two days ago.

ROBERTSON: Almost as if the war didn't pause, Gazans forced to flee their homes again. Scenes reminiscent of 2023 and 2024, as Israeli aircraft dropped flyers in Northern Gaza, warning residents to evacuate immediately. A massive military operation has started.

This, as Israel ratchets up its new offensive, launching limited, targeted ground activities.

KATZ (through translator): Residents of Gaza, this is the last warning. The airstrike against Hamas terrorists was only the first step. What is coming will be more difficult and you will pay the price.

ROBERTSON: Israeli protesters on the move, too. Motivated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's return to war, marching in the thousands toward Israel's Knesset. Frustrations running high.

Former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, now in opposition, feeling the crowd's high-octane anger. He'd come to lend support, instead himself incensed by the crowd's criticisms.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Gantz was the white hope. We voted for him, we voted for Lapid. They are our candidates in the parliament, and they are just polite, but now they have to show that they are with us and then they have to show that they protest with us and they have to show that they resist what Netanyahu is doing to this country.

ROBERTSON: Polling by an independent Israeli research company shows a steady but growing consensus for an end to the war in Gaza. More than seven out of 10 Israelis want a complete withdrawal and more than half say that Netanyahu should resign immediately.

(Voice-over): Inside the Knesset, however, Netanyahu seems stronger than ever. His far-right ally, National Security Minister Itamar Ben- Gvir, rejoined the government, ending his boycott over the ceasefire.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Yaakov Katz is a senior columnist at the "Jerusalem Post" and fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute.

Welcome back. Good to see you.

YAAKOV KATZ, FELLOW, JEWISH PEOPLE POLICY INSTITUTE: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: So there's no dispute that Israel agreed to a three-stage ceasefire with Hamas. And despite a few incidents, Hamas has for the most part fulfilled its part of the first phase, as Israel has, too, for the most part, except for the fact that Israel refused to enter into negotiations over phase two despite having agreed to do so. So it would seem, at least on the, you know, from the surface, this is on Israel, not Hamas, for ending the ceasefire.

Y. KATZ: Well, John, I think that there were a couple of things at play here. Number one was even though, yes, the 33 hostages in stage one that were supposed to be released were released, most of them alive. There were several bodies there that. There were also release in that first stage. And Israel and Hamas were supposed to move from stage one to negotiate a second stage which was to see the continuation of the release of more of the male hostages who still remain in the Gaza Strip for them to come home and back to their families in Israel.

But what ended up happening was there were a couple of violations by Hamas with the way they were holding rallies, the way they had, obviously, treated the hostages, and Israel also didn't feel that it could reach a stage where it would see, and we saw this at the rallies, Hamas is still there. Thousands or at least hundreds of armed men wearing the masks, wearing those green bands, the way they were parading around the hostages. Hamas has reconstituted itself. It's rebuilding itself. It's replenishing its weapons and its ranks. And this is a huge challenge for Israel. So Israel said we're not

willing and ready to declare an end to the war, but we are willing to continue the ceasefire. And that's where Hamas said no, even though Israel had the support of the Americans, who said we will help extend the ceasefire. Hamas is refusing to do that, and Israel, to put pressure on Hamas, has now re-initiated those airstrikes that we're now seeing against Hamas in Gaza.

VAUSE: OK. There is a lot there. Israel's defense minister said on Tuesday, Hamas must understand the rules of the game have changed. He was referring to the renewed Israeli military offensive, which began Monday. But could that also apply to the ceasefire in some ways, that Israel and the U.S. decided that for whatever reasons that they needed to change the rules and the reason why everything has changed is mostly to do with the political survival of the Israeli prime minister?

Y. KATZ: Well, you're touching upon something here, John, that we can't run away from. And that is that all throughout this war, it has often seemed to be mixed between politics and the national security interests of the country. We saw that just this week when Israel resumed the airstrikes against Gaza. Within hours Itamar Ben-Gvir, probably the most far-right and most right-wing member of Netanyahu's coalition who had bolted the government, resigned in January when the first stage of the hostage deal went into effect, was back inside the government within hours of the resumption of the war.

Why was that? Because the war is back on track and that's what he wanted. So when you look at that and you understand that, yes, on the one hand, it's important to attack and to put pressure on Hamas, you can't ignore that there is also the political interest here that helps in bolstering and increase the prime minister's coalition and get him the votes that he needs for later this month to pass the state budget, which, if it doesn't pass, triggers a new election.

VAUSE: So on the military side of things, again, here's Israel's defense minister speaking Wednesday about the goals of the renewed military offensive. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATZ (through translator): Soon the evacuation of residents from combat zones will begin again. If they don't return, the Israeli hostages and Hamas is not being removed from Gaza, Israel will act with force like you haven't seen before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Israeli media is reporting that Hamas has managed to reconstitute a force of up to 25,000 fighters. You touched on this. They've reconstituted.

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This is despite a 15-month long military offensive by Israel, despite tens of thousands of Palestinians being killed in Gaza, despite almost two million people in Gaza in dire need of food. And the only way any hostages have been returned throughout all of this has been through negotiations. So the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. This doesn't have a military solution, does it? It has a diplomatic solution. And right now we're heading back along that military line.

Y. KATZ: The military solution is not the solution on its own. It's a means to a political resolution. So Israel can use the military to degrade, to weaken, to destroy. But it will need to have something else on the ground, a new force, a new entity, a new government for the people of Gaza that will prevent Hamas from reconstituting and retaking the reins of Gaza and controlling the Gaza Strip, and turning it once again into a place that can continue to serve as a threat to the state of Israel.

We need a political option here. We need a political vision. And unfortunately, we don't have that from our government. And I think that is undermining the war. It is weakening us in what we're able to do. And it is a bad -- it's a sore point unfortunately even 18 months into this.

VAUSE: Yes. It just seems it's a war without end and no outcome here. No off-ramp.

Yaakov, thanks for being with us. And thanks for explaining what's going on here. We appreciate it.

Y. KATZ: Thank you.

VAUSE: Just one word continues to spark confusion over an agreement for a partial ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. Does it cover energy infrastructure or energy and infrastructure?

The deal was brokered by U.S. president Donald Trump. He briefed the Ukrainian president Wednesday, but it's unclear if Russia has agreed to pause attacks on all civilian infrastructure or just energy infrastructure. The White House says details will be worked out Sunday when talks begin in Saudi Arabia.

Regardless, the U.S. president seemed optimistic after that conversation, posting on social media, "Just completed a very good telephone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. We are very much on track."

Here's President Zelenskyy's assessment of the call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY (through translator): I believe it was substantive. Over the recent period this is probably the most substantive conversation. The mood was right sufficiently detailed. We discussed our next steps, the demands for a partial ceasefire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: According to White House officials, Zelenskyy asked for more air defenses, specifically Patriot missiles. President Trump agreed to work with him to find what's available, in his words, particularly from Europe.

While the president is talking up progress in ending the war in Ukraine, there's still no sign Russia is willing to agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, which Ukraine committed to last week.

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: U.S. president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy holding about an hour phone call on Wednesday talking about a limited ceasefire in the ongoing fight with Russia.

Now, one central question of this is exactly what would be at issue in the ceasefire. This comes a day after a conversation with Russian president Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, talking about energy and infrastructure. However, it's unclear if they're talking about energy infrastructure or energy and infrastructure. The statements by both countries were not clear. We pressed the White House on that on Wednesday.

A couple different readouts from the Kremlin and the U.S. on a couple of different points. One was energy and infrastructure. The U.S. statements that energy and infrastructure. The Kremlin said energy infrastructure. What is your understanding of what the actual substance of that disagreement was? And then one other question on that front.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I would defer you to the readout that was provided by the White House. That's our understanding and that's the truth.

ZELENY: But as new images are coming in from attacks in Ukraine from Russia, it's raising the question of energy or infrastructure, if any, of the regardless of the semantics are being ruled out of potential attacks. Now, the bottom line to all of this is that broad ceasefire that President Trump had been talking about certainly has not been agreed to. Unclear if it will be, but a limited ceasefire is still being held out as a potential for hope.

Officials from all three countries will be in Saudi Arabia talking about these exact details of moving toward a limited ceasefire. All this is coming as President Trump floating for the first time American ownership or at least control of Ukrainian power facilities. No word from Putin on that.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still to come on CNN, tens of thousands defy Turkish authorities protesting the detention of Istanbul's mayor days before he's expected to be nominated to challenge Turkey's long-running president.

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VAUSE: In Istanbul, tens of thousands of protesters defied a ban on public demonstrations Wednesday after police detained the city's mayor. Ekrem Imamoglu is seen as the main political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Imamoglu was detained Wednesday as part of corruption and terrorism investigations, along with about 100 others.

Protests also erupted in Ankara, where some clashed with police. Opposition lawmakers demonstrated in parliament, opposition leaders and the wife of Istanbul's detained mayor condemned the arrests as politically motivated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OZGUR OZEL, REPUBLICAN PEOPLE'S PARTY LEADER (through translator): What has been happening since yesterday has a name. Let's give it that name. What has been happening since yesterday is a coup attempt.

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DILEK IMAMOGLU, WIFE OF DETAINED ISTANBUL MAYOR EKREM IMAMOGLU (through translator): If we accept it, democracy dies. The day our government determines its rivals is the day that our democracy dies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The detention of Istanbul's mayor has sent shockwaves through Turkish politics, as the Erdogan government cracks down on the opposition ahead of a key primary vote.

CNN's Paula Hancocks has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A key rival of Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been detained. Just moments before he was taken from his home, Istanbul's mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, posted this video message.

Hundreds of police officers have been sent to the door of my house, he said, the house of the 16 million people of Istanbul. We are up against huge bullying, but I will not back down, he says. I love you all. I entrust myself to the people. I will be standing tall.

His detention comes just days before he was expected to be chosen as Turkey's main opposition party's presidential candidate. Authorities said he was detained as part of corruption and terrorism investigations, along with detention orders issued for around 100 other people connected to the mayor, according to Turkish media.

The day will come, the tables will turn, protesters chanting outside Istanbul's police headquarters as critics denounce the detentions as political. Part of an ongoing government crackdown on the opposition following Erdogan's major defeat in local and mayoral elections last year.

The head of Imamoglu's Republican People's Party called the detention a coup attempt against our next president.

Imamoglu's wife called the accusations against him laughable, blaming false information on social media.

Such a thing is of course impossible, she said. It cannot be. It is a huge slander. Everything will come out in the open.

Turkey's next presidential election is not scheduled until 2028, but some analysts say Erdogan could call for early elections to allow him to bypass term limits.

Imamoglu's detention comes one day after Istanbul University announced it had annulled his degree over irregularities. Without a university degree, he is disqualified from running for president.

We will of course take this illegitimate decision to court, he said, speaking alongside his family on Tuesday.

Demonstrations have been banned across Istanbul until March 23rd to maintain public order and many social media sites restricted, but some supporters still took to the streets to protest the mayor's detention.

Imamoglu has been a vocal critic of President Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey for more than two decades.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: A U.S. judge has extended a deadline for the Justice Department to turn over information about the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador last weekend. The operation appeared to go ahead despite an order by the judge for a temporary delay.

The White House says the crackdown on undocumented immigrants and mass deportations will continue, but did not say if deportations like last weekend's flights will happen again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEAVITT: The judge in this case is essentially trying to say that the president doesn't have the executive authority to deport foreign terrorists from our American soil. That is an egregious abuse of the bench. This judge cannot -- does not have that authority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That judge, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, has pushed back against those claims from the White House. He also said the administration could avoid divulging the information about deportations by invoking privilege, which means that providing the information would jeopardize state secrets.

Greenpeace has been ordered to pay more than $660 million in damages over protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline nearly a decade ago. A jury in North Dakota found the environmental group liable for defamation, trespassing and conspiracy to -- for disrupting the project, rather. The pipeline was built near one of the largest Native American reservations in the U.S., belonging to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which feared a risk to its water supply. Greenpeace argued it had little involvement in the protests, plans to appeal.

Still ahead, one of the largest prisoner exchanges to date between Russia and Ukraine. Nearly 200 Ukrainian POWs finally back home. CNN was there for some emotional reunions.

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

Gaza officials say Israeli attacks killed at least 70 people across the Palestinian territory Wednesday. This as the IDF began a ground offensive, retaking a key piece of land dividing northern and southern Gaza. Israel launched new airstrikes Tuesday that killed more than 400 people, claiming Hamas is unwilling to renegotiate a ceasefire or release hostages. Hamas is denying those claims.

[00:30:04]

Thousands of protestors defied a ban on public demonstrations to show their support for the detained mayor of Istanbul.

Ekrem Imamoglu is a key political rival to Turkey's president. He was detained Wednesday as part of corruption and terrorism investigations.

The main opposition party condemned the detention as a political coup against -- an attempt by the Turkish president to stage a coup against the new president [SIC].

Ukraine's president says he's agreed to pause attacks on Russian energy targets as long as Moscow does the same.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump Wednesday. Negotiators are set to meet this weekend in Saudi Arabia to work out those details.

Ukraine and Russia have carried out what the Ukrainian president calls one of the largest prisoner exchanges since Moscow's invasion, each side swapping 175 troops Wednesday, including some who've been detained since the early days of the war.

CNN's Clarissa Ward was there as Ukrainian soldiers were reunited with loved ones.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're waiting now here with family members of the 175 Ukrainian prisoners of war who have just crossed over the border back into Ukraine, some of them after three years in captivity in Russia.

The images that we've been seeing of that moment, as they sprint through the border crossing, grabbing a Ukrainian flag and now on their way back to be reunited with loved ones.

Who's the cake for?

WARD (voice-over): "I'm waiting for my husband, who has been in captivity for almost three years, and yesterday was his birthday," Alyona (ph) tells us. "It's like splashes of fireworks and emotions. My heart is beating out of my chest."

WARD: If you take a look now, the bus doors just opening and people rushing forward, desperately hoping to get a glimpse of their loved ones.

People calling out the names of loved ones as they try to find their family members amid the 175 Ukrainian prisoners of war who are getting off of these busses.

Some of them seem to have some injuries. Others look like they're in good shape, though clearly dazed.

You can see Alyona (ph) has found her husband, Andriy (ph). She gave him a huge, huge hug and presented him with that birthday cake that she's waited three years to give him.

It's just incredible to see how much emotion there is in this crowd. Everywhere you walk, people are hugging. They're crying, they're laughing. And just the sense of relief. Some of these men held for three years.

This man is talking to, I think, his wife for the first time. You can see just how emotional the incredible toll of what these men have been through.

Can I ask you guys, how does it feel to be back home in Ukraine?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amazing.

WARD: Amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Beautiful. Magnificent. Great. Super.

WARD: How long have you been dreaming about this moment?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three years.

WARD: Can I ask: you look thin. How were the conditions in the prison where you were held?

WARD (voice-over): "Look, if I tell the truth, it'll affect the guys who are still there," Yevhen (ph) tells us. "But I would say, in the 21st Century, people should be treated better than us."

WARD: We don't know exactly how many Ukrainian prisoners of war there are in Russia. The estimates are around 8,000 or even more.

I asked President Zelenskyy a question at a virtual press conference yesterday. I said, what could President Putin say or do that would give you more optimism about this peace process? And he said to return all the prisoners of war.

Clarissa Ward, CNN, Chernihiv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: We'll take a short break here on CNN. Back in a moment.

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VAUSE: A New Zealand teenager has made sports history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sam Ruthe right there. Woohoo! All right. That's a sub four (ph), baby.

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VAUSE: And that was the moment when Sam Ruthe became the youngest person to run a mile in less than four minutes.

Fifteen years old, crossed the line about a second and a half under the four-minute mark in Auckland on Wednesday.

Ruthe's new record came after he became the youngest ever senior national champion at New Zealand's track and field championships earlier this month.

Well done.

Meantime, a Chinese robot is set to run a half marathon in Beijing, competing against real life people.

This humanoid robot is one of several entered into the race next month, which is open to companies all around the world. Teams can either replace their robot's batteries or use robot relays to complete the course.

And there will be prizes for the top three finishers, plus other awards like best endurance, best creative design.

John Vause, back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. But first, please stay with us. More WORLD SPORT after the break.

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