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Humanitarian Crisis Worsens as Israel Operations Ramp Up; Dozens Killed When Tourist Boat Capsized in Vietnam; Mexican Protestors Rail Against Tourists, Cost of Living Increases; Judge to Hear Arguments in Case Over Harvard Funding Freeze; Oldest Antarctic Ice Sample Used to Study Climate Trends. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired July 21, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

BEN HUNTE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello. Wherever you are in the world, you are now in the CNN NEWSROOM with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta. And it is so good to have you with me.

[00:00:38]

Coming up on the show: the death toll is growing in Gaza as more civilians looking for aid come under fire.

Crews are searching for people missing after a tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam. We'll tell you about the incredible way one boy survived that tragedy.

And Japan's prime minister vows to stay in the job, despite his party's disappointing losses.

Welcome. We're beginning in Gaza, where the explosions continue amid a growing hunger crisis.

At least 73 people were killed and around 150 others injured by Israeli gunfire while seeking aid across the enclave on Sunday. That is according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The director of the Al-Shifa Hospital says they are inundated with dead, wounded, and, quote, "starving" civilians. And even medical staff are suffering severe malnutrition.

People in Gaza say it's becoming impossible to find basic food supplies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABIR BANNAT, DISPLACED FROM NORTHERN GAZA (through translator): We are dying of hunger. We cannot find any food or anything to drink, not even water. We drink from the sea, and we can't find any food at all.

We came here at 3 p.m. to just fill a small dish, which doesn't even fill this pot. One small dish inside this pot, and we still have 5 or 6 people to feed.

UM MAHMOUD ABU TARBOOSH, GAZA RESIDENT (through translator): Certainly, it feels like weakness and sadness, because I can't even provide my son with just bread. We don't want meat, chicken or poultry, just flour and bread to eat and hopefully stave off hunger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Meanwhile, there were several explosions in Northern Gaza near the border with Israel, even as ceasefire talks are underway in Qatar.

The Israeli army says it is continuing military actions in the Northern part of the enclave and expanding operations in Gaza City with ground troops and aerial strikes.

CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau has more on the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. And a warning: some of the images you're about to see are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Starvation in the Gaza Strip is becoming almost as deadly as the war itself.

NADEAU (voice-over): In June, This woman said her four-year-old daughter, Razan, was weak from hunger.

TAHRIR ABU DAHER, RAZAN'S MOTHER (through translator): My daughter suffers from malnutrition. And malnutrition has also caused her to suffer from a mobility disability. Her health was very good before the war, but after the war her condition began to deteriorate due to malnutrition.

There is nothing to strengthen her. And there is no milk available in the hospitals or pharmacies. And there are no vitamins in the hospital.

NADEAU (voice-over): On Sunday, Razan died, her mother said.

Searching for food has also become a dangerous quest. Over the weekend, over 100 people seeking aid were killed by Israeli gunfire, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Nearly 80 were killed Sunday, and more than 30 were killed early Saturday, including children, near a U.S.-Israeli-run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution point, the Health Ministry said.

Regarding Saturday's incident, the Israeli military said they had fired warning shots at people who had approached them, not far from where the food aid site was located.

It also said it was aware of reports regarding casualties, and the incident is under review.

But for those fighting hunger, especially those whose children are dying from it, the fight for survival is often a calculated risk.

NADEAU: Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: It's been one year since the birth of the little boy who became known as Gaza's miracle baby.

Malek Yassin was born shortly after his mother was killed in an Israeli strike. Doctors say they didn't realize right away that she was pregnant after she was brought to the hospital. But they soon discovered the baby's heartbeat and quickly performed a postmortem C- section.

Malek was then taken for resuscitation, and he was just fine.

We're joined now by one of the doctors who was on the medical team that saved little Malek. Travis Melin is an anesthesiologist who works at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza.

Thank you so much for joining me.

You were on duty the day that Malek Yassin, described as a miracle baby, was delivered from his mother's body after that deadly airstrike. Can you just take us back to that moment? And what do you remember most clearly about it?

DR. TRAVIS MELIN, ANESTHESIOLOGIST, CADUS: That moment was during a mass casualty. Where we were at, that was kind of a daily occurrence. You know, sometimes five, sometimes 20 at a time, sometimes 40 at a time. So, this is a very frequent daily occurrence.

[00:05:13]

So, this was during one of these mass casualties that this occurred.

And, you know, essentially someone, you know, showed up very clearly not alive, multiple things that were not compatible with life. And we were surprised, after looking at this person, to -- to see that there was potentially a baby bump.

And after that was seen, we were able to do an ultrasound. We were fortunate in that there was a surgeon that happened to be walking by in that very moment, was able to perform a cesarean section and successfully get baby Malek out.

HUNTE: Can you just tell me how that entire process made you feel in that moment?

MELIN: It was horrific. Really, really horrific. The condition that the, you know, survivors show up in is appalling. And, you know, something that no one should have to see or experience in their life.

You know, the kind of only -- only good thing there was that we had a very rare survivor of a -- of a postmortem cesarean section.

People will probably -- you know, physicians will probably never experience postmortem cesarean section in trauma in their lives. But here, it's -- it's not that uncommon to see, but it is very uncommon to have a survivor.

HUNTE: And a year later, the baby has just celebrated his first birthday. You told my team you shed a few tears when you saw a photo of him alive and healthy. What does it mean to you personally to know that he did survive?

MELIN: It's like one little glimmer of hope. You know, everything here is incredibly tragic. So, it's -- it's nice to have, you know, one little bit of success there.

HUNTE: You are working in Nasser Hospital, where resources are running out quickly. How would you describe the conditions on the ground for your patients and for the medical staff like yourself?

MELIN: Also, very appalling for the patients. You know, if they're in the hospital, they have to rely on family to bring food. A lot of them have had their entire families killed, so they don't have easy access or perhaps any access to food.

They have injuries that should otherwise, you know, have them in the hospital for a week. And they may end up staying months because of repeated wound infections, because of skin breakdown, just, you know, as a result of their -- their malnourishment.

There's no way to survive if you don't have -- even a simple injury sometimes, if you don't have any food to heal yourself.

As far as the other healthcare workers here, it's, you know, similarly disastrous. Most of them are only getting a meal of rice in the afternoons provided by the hospital. And it's not large. So, there's just rice in it. And that's all they have for the -- for the day to eat.

And, you know, while they're, you know, starving, while they're only eating this one small rice meal a day, we are frequently seeing their family members show up to the operating room, their family members show up to the E.R.s. And we've absolutely had a few of them killed in the past two weeks, as well.

HUNTE: It sounds awful. I'm so grateful for you being with us today.

You've been in Gaza through some of the war's darkest moments. What do you want people watching this who might feel quite far removed from everything going on there: to understand about what you're seeing every single day that you are there?

MELIN: Yes, you know, what I hear from the people is that, you know, this is not living. We're being treated like animals. You know, some people are, you know, say things like, we would rather be dead than what we're experiencing now.

I just want the people back home to -- to realize, like, this is absolutely atrocious what's happening; that people are truly starving here; that this really, really must come to an end. You know, the people must have aid. The doctors should be fed. You know, this isn't right. HUNTE: Well, like I said, we appreciate your time, Dr. Travis Melin.

Thank you for your time. Thank you for your work. And we'll speak to you again soon. Thank you.

MELIN: Thanks.

HUNTE: The Syrian government says the ceasefire in the Southern city of Suwayda appears to be holding. This comes after a week of deadly sectarian violence between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes.

Hundreds of people have been killed in the fighting, but there were no new reports of gunfire or clashes on Sunday.

[00:10:04]

Video shows dozens of armed Bedouin fighters driving toward a village on the outskirts of Suwayda. Syrian troops were deployed on Saturday, and the country's interior minister says they have succeeded in calming the situation.

Crews in Vietnam are searching for four missing people after a tourist boat capsized on Saturday with 49 people on board.

Vietnamese officials say at least 35 people died, and ten were rescued. The boat was carrying tourists in Ha Long Bay when a sudden storm caused it to capsize.

There are amazing reports from the survivors, including from a ten- year-old boy who was able to survive by finding an air pocket in a submerged part of the ship.

CNN's Mike Valerio joins us live from Seoul, South Korea. Mike, what more can you tell us about this?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Benny, I'm struck by our latest reporting here in this idyllic corner of the world that so many of us love and have been to.

So, there are 49 people on this boat. And according to the latest that we have from the scene, more than 20, Ben, are children who were on board.

So, to think of the terror that they must have endured. All the people must have endured -- endured. It's horrifying to think about.

So, to give you an idea of what people are experiencing, since this is a beloved corner of Southeast Asia, we did hear from a mother of a 21- year-old victim. Her son did not make it. She did want to talk to our affiliate cameras. And this is -- let's hear from her for 18 seconds.

On the other side, we're going to talk about what's next. Let's listen to her first.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I feel so bad. All I want is to die. My son has lost his life, and I wish I could change places with him. I don't want anything in this world anymore. I'm so tired.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: So, the remaining questions, Benny, now are how did this happen, considering stormy weather is nothing new for Ha Long Bay?

And what are the chances of rescuers -- God bless them -- who are going to be able to hopefully find the four people who are still missing at this hour?

We're approaching, now, the two-day mark since this happened at 1:30 p.m. local time on Saturday. Essentially, from witness accounts, people said that there was a squall that rolled in. There was rain for about 15 minutes, and the direct quote is, "All of a sudden, the boat began to shake vigorously, and then it overturned."

So, we have heard of those miraculous survivor stories of a boy who managed to find his way into an air pocket, stayed there for hours, and then members of the military, who were part of this rescue team, were able to get him out of there.

Also, I'm struck by a 36-year-old who was on this boat with college friends. It was a group of 11 total. Only three of them survived. And this survivor was able to have the presence of mind to take off his life jacket when the boat was turned over and find a window to swim through.

So again, moving forward, we're going to be waiting to see if there's any hope for these four people remaining to be found. And also, learning what happened there -- Benny.

HUNTE: Let's see what happens next. Mike Valerio in Seoul, thank you for now. Appreciate it.

VALERIO: Yes.

HUNTE: Speak to you soon.

VALERIO: No problem.

HUNTE: Five people were killed after an Indonesian passenger ferry caught fire at sea on Sunday. Over 280 people were rescued from the ferry, which was heading to the island of Sulawesi.

Local fishermen helped in the rescue effort by saving passengers as they floated in the choppy seas.

Indonesia's ferry network is a vital link between the country's many islands, but accidents are a regular occurrence. Earlier this month, at least 19 people were killed when a ferry sank near Bali.

At least 14 people are dead and 12 are missing in South Korea, after days of heavy rain, flooding, and landslides. A nationwide effort is now underway to clear the mud and debris as the search and rescue operations continue.

One man was reportedly killed when floodwaters swept over a bridge.

Japan's prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, is vowing to stay on the job despite his party's poor performance at Sunday's election.

The Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner Komeito needed 50 seats to keep a majority in Japan's upper house, but they only secured 47.

It comes after the prime minister lost control of the most powerful lower house in October.

He says he's focused on extremely critical tariff negotiations as Japan faces a deadline next week to strike a trade deal with the U.S.

OK. Still to come, protesters marched through Mexico City, demanding the government take action against wealthy tourists as the cost of living there skyrockets.

Plus, a performer displays a Palestinian flag during a performance at London's Royal Opera House. How the theater is responding to the impromptu protest, after the break.

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[00:19:27]

HUNTE: A performance turned political at the Royal Opera House in London on Saturday.

Despite an attempt to stop him, a cast member unfurled a Palestinian flag on stage during Verdi's opera "Il Trovatore."

Afterward, the Royal Ballet and Opera were quick to distance themselves. One spokesperson described the protest as a, quote, "wholly inappropriate act" and said it was not approved by the theater.

Video of the demonstration has drawn praise and condemnation on social media.

Crowds gathered in Mexico City on Sunday for another day of protests against gentrification and inequality. Protesters say they're being priced out of their own neighborhoods by tourists with deep pockets, some of whom are even trying to gain residency in Mexico.

CNN's Valeria Leon spoke with demonstrators as they marched.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the second anti- gentrification march in Mexico City. The second one in less than a month.

Protesters have taken to the streets to demand fair prices and a halt to the displacement of local residents. The march is concentrated in the South of the capital city, rather

than in centrally located neighborhoods, largely occupied by foreigners.

Demonstrators have claimed that they've been priced out of their homes. That's the case of Eddie (ph), a young Mexican resident.

EDDIE (ph), MEXICAN RESIDENT: The price of rentals has gone really, really high in the last couple of years since the pandemic started. We've seen like, for example, what used to be really affordable is now the price of three weeks of work.

So, it's -- it's -- I've seen a couple of my friends having to move to other places, because the rents are too expensive.

LEON: This week, Mexico City officials announced a plan to address the capital's housing and gentrification problem. The plan includes a legal framework to reduce rental prices to prevent people from being displaced.

Mexico is experiencing a high, record number of foreigners applying for a resident visa. In 2023, over 60,000 people applied for this resident visa and to stay in the country legally. The main nationality was the United States.

And beyond the increasingly high cost of living, some centrally located neighborhoods are seeing a transformation, with menus written in English and very few people speaking Spanish in those areas, which many Mexicans are seeing as a sort of colonialism.

Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Harvard University will make its case against the Trump administration in federal court on Monday. It's trying to restore billions of dollars in frozen funds.

Why the university says the president's actions are so dangerous, just ahead.

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[00:27:02]

HUNTE: Welcome back. I'm Ben Hunte. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least 73 people were killed and around 150 others injured by Israeli gunfire while seeking aid across the enclave on Sunday.

The U.N. said earlier this month that nearly 800 Gazans had been killed trying to access aid between late May and July 7. Russia says it's ready to reach a peace deal with Ukraine, but that

its main goal is to achieve its objectives. The comments come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for talks with Russia this week.

Moscow has demanded that Ukraine give up land as part of its preconditions for a ceasefire, something Ukraine has so far refused to consider.

Search and rescue efforts are underway for four people missing after a tourist boat capsized in Vietnam on Saturday. At least 35 people died. Ten others were rescued.

Officials say the boat capsized after a storm swept through the area.

In a few hours, a U.S. federal judge will hear arguments in Harvard University's lawsuit against the Trump administration. Harvard is trying to regain access to more than $2 billion in federal funding, which the White House has frozen.

Gloria Pazmino has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the next major step in the Trump administration's fight against Harvard University.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think we're going to probably settle with Harvard.

They want to settle very badly.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Oral arguments are expected Monday. Federal district court Judge Allison Burroughs will hear from Harvard's legal team and lawyers for the Department of Justice. The beginning of a critical battle to restore more than $2 billion in federal funding after the White House froze the funds last spring.

TRUMP: We spend more money on higher education than any other country, and yet they're turning our students into communists and terrorists.

We can't let this happen.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Monday's hearing could mark a turning point in the administration's ongoing attacks on higher education institutions.

ANURIMA BHARGAVA, CRIMSON COURAGE, COORDINATOR OF HARVARD ALUMNI AMICUS BRIEF: What we're seeing here is -- is basically an attack on Harvard.

The goal is to narrow our ability to think, to teach, to voice, to learn in a way that is open, that promotes free inquiry and discussion.

TRUMP: Pause or funding freeze. PAZMINO (voice-over): Days after taking office, President Donald Trump

signed an executive order increasing enforcement efforts against antisemitism on school campuses.

The administration also targeted dozens of colleges and universities. It threatened to cut Harvard's critical research and funding grants unless it met a strict list of demands, including ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs; hiring new faculty; and making sweeping changes to international student programs.

Harvard responded with force, suing to restore its funding and accusing the administration of using unlawful tactics, saying the cuts and demands, quote, "cut at the core of Harvard's constitutionally- protected academic freedom."

[00:30:04]

Funding cuts are already being felt.

BHARGAVA: We're seeing those research prod [SIC] -- projects about Alzheimer's disease, about what is it that we -- how do we do surgeries in a way that are actually going to save people's lives?

Those research projects, those efforts that have been going on for years, if not decades, are being stopped in their tracks.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Harvard faculty says the future of scientific research is on the line.

RYAN ENOS, PROFESSOR, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: The big-picture question is whether we will be rewarding research to where, based on scientific merit, or whether a university follows the political ideology of the president and his administration.

PAZMINO (voice-over): In a statement, the White House said the administration's goal is to prevent antisemitism and DEI on Harvard's campus, adding, quote, "We are confident that Harvard will eventually come around and support the president's vision, and through good-faith conversations and negotiations, a good deal is more than possible."

As the fight between the administration and Harvard continues, some faculty members and experts see the administration's focus on antisemitism as an excuse.

BHARGAVA: This is a battle about power. I think that this is really about this administration trying to take down cathedrals of power around the country that are not their own.

PAZMINO: Now, Harvard has asked the judge in this case to make an expedited decision, specifically by early September. That is when Harvard says it will have to submit much of its paperwork to close out grant funding.

Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HUNTE: British scientists are studying an ancient ice core sample recovered from Antarctica. Coming up, what they believe it could reveal about the Earth's atmosphere, over 1 million years later. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:36:33]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS MARTIN, COLDPLAY LEAD VOCALIST: Because we're going to use our cameras and put some of you on the big screen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh! (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

MARTIN: So please, if you haven't done your makeup, do your makeup now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: A fair warning there from Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. This video was taken at their concert in Madison, Wisconsin, on Saturday.

It comes just days after this couple tried to hide from the kiss cam at another Coldplay concert. We probably don't have to tell you that that video went super viral, and the gentleman, Andy Byron, has resigned from his job as CEO of tech company Astronomer.

Researchers in Antarctica have recovered an ice core sample that is over 1.5 million years old. It's some of the oldest ice on record and is now being examined by climate analysts in the U.K.

They believe it could hold crucial details about a previously uncharted period in the history of the Earth's atmosphere.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. LIZ THOMAS, BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY: We are standing in our cold laboratory in the British Antarctic survey. We keep this laboratory at -25 degrees.

And that's because we've got very, very precious ice in here. And we have the ice here to analyze it, to unlock some of those secrets about the climate in the past.

So, in Antarctica, when the snow falls, it doesn't melt, so it accumulates, and it forms layer upon layer over millions of years.

So, what we can do is go and drill down through that ice sheet. So, much in the same way as an apple corer, you just core down and retrieve the sections of ice from in between.

So, what we end up with is cylinders of ice that go all the way down through the ice sheet, and in this case, 2.8 kilometers. So, the current oldest icicle that we have goes back 800,000 years.

And that's a fantastic record. But actually, we're interested in that period prior to a million years ago, because during that time, there's evidence to suggest that the ice sheets were actually smaller; sea levels were potentially higher; and CO2 similar to today.

So, it's a really interesting potential analog for our future climate.

So, this is a really exciting project to work on, because we really are exploring a completely unknown time in our history, and what we're hoping is we're going to unlock all these amazing secrets.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Pope Leo celebrated the anniversary of the first moon landing on Sunday.

He visited the Vatican observatory at Castel Gandolfo. It's one of the world's oldest active observatories. The pope took a tour and even looked through two different telescopes.

He marked the historic day of July 20, 1969, when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to set foot on the moon, during NASA's Apollo 11 mission.

The pope said he spoke with Buzz Aldrin on Sunday and, quote, "reflected on the mystery and greatness of creation."

A Romanian zoo is drawing attention for the birth of a rare animal, one that you won't find in the wild. Meet Goliath. Look at Goliath. A two-month-old liger, born to a lion father and a tiger mother.

The two species live on different continents, so hybrids like this only occur in captivity. Fewer than 100 are believed to exist worldwide.

[00:40:03]

Ligers are known for their massive size, some growing more than three meters long and weighing more than 400 kilograms, much larder [SIC] -- larger than even parent.

And Goliath is no exception. His owner says he's growing fast, already living up to his name.

He's so cute.

That's all I've got for you. Thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. WORLD SPORT is next. And I'll be back in about 15 minutes with more CNN NEWSROOM. See you in a moment.

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