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Israel's Cabinet Approves New Plan To Occupy Gaza City; Trump Says Would Meet Putin Without Zelenskyy Sit-Down; Russia And India Talk Up Strategic Partnership After Tariff Hike; Trump Tariffs Kick In At Highest Rates Since Great Depression; Israeli Security Cabinet Approves Plan to Occupy Gaza City; Interview with "Ms. Rachel" Rachel Accurso; French PM: Wildfire is "Catastrophe on an Unprecedented Scale"; "South Park's" New Episode Mocks Trump and His Cabinet. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired August 08, 2025 - 01:00 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 ANCHOR: Ahead here on CNN Newsroom.
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UNDIENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Occupying Gaza is a very bad idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: But despite that, Israel's security cabinet approves plans for the military to take control of Gaza City. Stage one of a multiphase plan for total control of all of Gaza.
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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: They would like to meet with me and I'll do whatever I can to stop the killing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: They being Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin says he's all in on meeting the U.S. President in person to talk Ukraine's ceasefire.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've worked with children my whole life for 20 years, so I knew that what I was seeing was wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And the normally bubbly and happy YouTube star, Ms. Rachel speaking out over the hate mail and threats she received for simply showing compassion and support for starving and dying children in Gaza. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John
Vause.
VAUSE: After a 10-hour long meeting, Israel's security cabinet has approved the first phase of a multiphase plan for the full military reoccupation of Gaza. The prime minister's office says Israeli troops will soon take over all of Gaza City once home to more than half a million Palestinians, all part of a broader plan which includes the disarmament of Hamas, the return of all Israeli hostages and a civil administration to take over the territory which is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.
The head of Israel's military notably opposes the reoccupation, fearing Israeli forces could be trapped within Gaza and the remaining hostages would be at greater risk. Hamas says this plan amounts to the sacrifice of the hostages to serve Netanyahu's personal interests.
Many Israelis have taken to the streets in protest of the expanded military operation gathering outside the prime minister's office in Jerusalem as well as his Likud Party headquarters in Tel Aviv.
And we will go live now to Tel Aviv and Mairav Zonszein is a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group. Thank you for getting up early and being with us.
MAIRAV ZONSZEIN, SENIOR ANALYST, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: So here's part of A report from CNN's Jerusalem bureau chief Oren Liebermann on how this reoccupation plan would play out in a number of phases. Here he is.
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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Israeli officials tell us the plan would be a phased approach that would play out over a planned four to five months. The first phase of that would be to force evacuations of Gaza City and other populated areas, a number that totals approximately 1 million Palestinians. Approximately half of Gaza's population would be displaced to the south of Gaza, where Israel and potentially the U.S. would set up compounds to contain and to shelter those Palestinians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So firstly, that does sound like a violation of international law. And is this even feasible right now, given the hunger crisis in Gaza and a potential high casualty rate for Israeli forces?
ZONSZEIN: I think you're absolutely right to put the spotlight on that. We're talking about a million people in Gaza City and the surroundings. I think the IDF chief of staff, in firmly opposing this move, understands that soldiers will be further incriminated for possible war crimes.
And you have basically a campaign of starvation in Gaza for the last few months, possible brink of famine, people who have been displaced over and over again for two years. And now at this stage, when there's already growing consensus in certain parts of the world that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza, you're going to have another massive operation.
And so the humanitarian disaster and the manmade disaster here cannot be. You know, I can't highlight it enough that this is something that the entire world should step in to stop.
VAUSE: There's also what many believe will be a greater risk to the last hostages being held by Hamas. How does this plan address that? Or does it actually just make it more risky for the hostages who are there already?
ZONSZEIN: Yes, I mean, everybody, I think, understands the IDF chief of staff has said it. The whole majority of Israeli public opinion has said it. But also, if you look at the goals of this plan, as your reporter mentioned, disarming Hamas, returning the hostages, these are not things that you can achieve through military force. Israel has not achieved them in two years of military force.
You have more bombs in Gaza than, I think, anywhere since World War II or beyond, and it hasn't achieved it. So why would more military force achieve a different result?
I think it's pretty clear that Netanyahu is trying to kind of buy time once again, and his far-right along with him are looking to make Gaza even more unlivable so that people are forced to either die or leave. I mean, I can't see any other outcome here.
VAUSE: And it's notable that the Israeli military, I think, at the beginning of the year said they are out of.
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They've done everything they can militarily in Gaza. There's nothing really left that they can do. This plan, though, was greeted with disbelief, as you can imagine, by many in Gaza. Listen to this.
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MAHMOUD AL-QURASH, DISPLACED PALESTINIAN (through translator): Netanyahu's decision to occupy Gaza, it's like there's nothing left to occupy in the first place. We're already dying 100,000 deaths every day.
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VAUSE: It's a fair question, what's left to occupy? And Netanyahu says the reoccupation will be brief months, not years. Arab forces would take control. So who are these Arab forces? Where are they from? There is sort of an agreement across the region. Someone needs to take responsibility, but someone else should do it.
ZONSZEIN: I mean, there have been calls since the beginning of the war for some kind of Arab force, but all of the end game plans that the world is talking about, whether Europe or Arab countries, has to do with Palestinian Agency, some kind of Palestinian Authority, reformed Palestinian Authority, these are all off the table for Israel.
So even if Israel, let's say, goes into Gaza City now and manages to move the population and, you know, achieve what it thinks it's going to achieve by getting Hamas to somehow raise the white flag, there still needs to be a day after. And Israel doesn't have any plan for that. And the world is trying to get Israel to cooperate on an end plan that would see Gaza be able to rehabilitate itself.
And so even if Israel achieves some of those goals, you still have no day after that can actually work. So this is, I mean, the military analysts, the specialists, the former security elite have all said even if you get more in Gaza, which is doubtful on the military level, you still need a political endgame. And there is none that Israel is willing to speak of. So that's really the issue here.
VAUSE: And what is noticeable, inevitable is that when this announcement came out that this plan had been approved, Israelis took to the streets in great numbers to protest. That's a point which was not lost on the opposition leader Yair Lapid, here he is.
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YAIR LAPID, ISRAELI OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): Occupying Gaza is a very bad idea. The state of Israel does not go to war unless the majority of the people are behind you and Israeli people are not interested in this war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And that support seems to drop every day the longer the war in Gaza continues. And we're talking now here about extending this military operation by months, you know, six months or so. Will there reach a point where the Israeli government can no longer, you know, ignore the will of the people or the opinion of the people.
ZONSZEIN" The Israeli government for many months now has been ignoring the will of the people and has been ignoring the advice of all the top military experts around the world, but also specifically, as I said, the former security elite in Israel. I don't think anything is going to stop them at this point. We're in a different ballgame. No matter how much Israeli protests at this point, this is a more and more authoritarian government. A government that's attacking its own democratic mechanisms is not interested in the will of the people at this point.
And there really has been a shift in Israel. There was consensus for the war. But at this point, I think most Israelis understand that this government is not interested in returning the hostages. It cannot defeat Hamas militarily. And so you have a real tension here. But I don't see that being a game changer for how the Israeli government is going to approach Gaza.
VAUSE: Mairav Zonszein in Tel Aviv. Thank you so much for getting up early and being with us. Really appreciate it. Thank you.
ZONSZEIN: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, just days before the U.S. And Russian presidents are likely to hold direct talks about a ceasefire in Ukraine. Donald Trump appears to have made a major concession to Moscow, saying the summit will happen without any conditions on Vladimir Putin to sit down for one on one talks with Ukraine's president.
The Kremlin says the meeting is all but set for next week, but some U.S. officials suggest nothing has yet been finalized. Details now from CNN's Fred Pleitgen reporting in from Moscow.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): A grand welcome to the Kremlin for the president of the United Arab Emirates, a place Russian leader Vladimir Putin says could be the site of the summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.
I think we will decide later, Putin says, but this could be one of the suitable venues. But while President Trump says he wants his meeting with Putin to be followed by a trilateral summit also involving Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Putin, who often questions Zelenskyy's legitimacy, not willing to commit.
I've been repeatedly saying that I in general have nothing against it, Putin says, it's possible. But before that, certain conditions should be created. And unfortunately, we're still far from creating such conditions. And the U.S. and Russia are also far from agreeing on how to end the Ukraine conflict.
While President Trump says he wants an immediate 30 day ceasefire, the Russians want a comprehensive peace agreement requiring a long diplomatic process even as the fighting continues. The Putin-Trump summit idea was agreed after presidential envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Moscow on Wednesday, a senior Kremlin aide saying the idea came from the U.S. side.
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There was an offer made by the Americans that we consider quite acceptable, he says, that is it.
On Moscow's streets, folks saying they hope the summit could also be a starting point to mend U.S.-Russia relations. I wish we could travel to the U.S. and Americans could travel to Russia. This man says, I wish we could be friends and that trade would recover.
And she says, I wish for peaceful skies over everyone's head so that everything is good for everyone.
Vladimir Putin always says the right things, this man says. You should listen to him and respect him. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: Live, to the Ukrainian capital now. And Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Thank you for being with us.
OLEKSANDR MEREZHKO, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Thank you for inviting me.
VAUSE: So, on Thursday, it appeared Donald Trump made a pretty big concession to Moscow. Here he is speaking to reporters at the White House.
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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN' CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Putin said this morning he was pretty dismissive of this idea of meeting with President Zelenskyy.
TRUMP: Who wants?
COLLINS: President Putin was.
TRUMP: I don't know. I didn't.
COLLINS: So for you to meet with him, he doesn't have to agree to meet with Zelenskyy, is that what you're saying?
TRUMP: No, he doesn't. No. No.
COLLINS: So when do you think that meeting --
TRUMP: They would like to meet with me, and I'll do whatever I can to stop the killings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So in terms of winners or losers, if there is already a winner from these talks which haven't yet happened, is it likely to be Vladimir Putin who gets the credibility of it on the international stage for a summit with the U.S. President? And he's given up nothing in return?
MEREZHKO: Well, unfortunately, it's definitely a win for Putin because what we have, the history repeats itself. Today is the day when the deadline imposed or offered by President Trump is expiring. So instead of secondary sanctions, which were promised by President Trump, we have the reward for Putin. Instead of punishment, we have reward for Putin. As a summit between President Trump and Putin, I think it's unfair and it creates illusion that Putin is not politically isolated.
VAUSE: So without pressure from the U.S. would Putin ever hold meaningful ceasefire talks face to face with Zelenskyy in any way?
MEREZHKO: The truth is that Putin continues to be obsessed about destroying Ukraine, which remains his ultimate goal. And he's absolutely not interested in fair negotiations. And he's using negotiations only as a political tool, as a tool of his war against Ukraine. And unfortunately, President Trump falls for this trick by Putin.
VAUSE: In recent months, though, the U.S. President's tone has markedly changed when talking publicly about Vladimir Putin. Listen to this.
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TRUMP: I am very disappointed with President Putin. I thought he was somebody that meant what he said and he'll talk so beautifully and then he'll bomb people at night.
With Russia, but we'll discuss that maybe a different day. But we're very unhappy with him and we're going to doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And to your point, a day when the deadline expired, Putin gets his chance of a summit with President Trump. So in terms of realistic outcomes from the Trump-Putin meeting, if it happens, worst case, does it end with Trump supporting a pro-Moscow ceasefire deal which will then be rejected by Ukraine and Europe? Well, at best the war just continues on.
MEREZHKO: Yes, the war will continue because Putin, again, he hasn't abandoned his ultimatum with regard to Ukraine and he is not ready to any concessions or compromise. And unfortunately President Trump, yes, his stance has rhetoric with regard to Putin has changed and it's a good sign. President Trump is becoming more realistic but he doesn't follow through on his promise.
We don't see any actions in the form of military support of Ukraine actions like secondary sanctions against those companies which help Russia to circumvent primary sanctions. We don't see any actions, only words.
VAUSE: Is Zelenskyy sort of backed into a corner here in a way that if there is any kind of, you know, result from this meeting between Putin and Trump, it's likely to be very pro-Moscow cease fire. If Zelenskyy rejects that, then he gets blamed for the conflict continuing.
MEREZHKO: There is a danger about that. But the truth is that and it's obvious fact that Ukraine is a victim of the aggression, it's very easy to stop the aggression just to follow comply with the U.N. Charter principles of international law.
[01:15:04]
And for Putin, it's very easy to stop this war by withdrawing Russian troops from the territories occupied right now by Russia in Ukraine. It's very easy to do it, but the only way to do it is not through negotiations because Putin is not interested in negotiations. The only way to do it is by imposing maximum pressure on Putin. President Trump can do it. He should do it. But unfortunately, he remains hesitant and it shows his weakness as a statesman, as a politician.
VAUSE: 15 minutes past 8 there in the morning in Kyiv. Oleksandr, thanks so much for being with us. We really appreciate it.
MEREZHKO: Thank you.
VAUSE: We'll take a short break. When we come back, CNN goes along for the ride as Jordan's military airdrop supplies into Gaza. By some on the ground say it's dangerous and an ineffective way of helping.
Also, the products getting pricier under President Trump's new tariff regime and how much they'll end up costing families each year.
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VAUSE: Well, just hours after the U.S. imposed secondary sanctions on India for buying Russian oil, officials in New Delhi and Moscow were celebrating their so called strategic partnership and very special relationship. Add to this, India is now expecting a visit from the Russian president later this year.
U.S. President Trump's response was to say he's not talking to India anymore until, quote, we get this resolved. The U.S. accuses India of fueling Russia's war in Ukraine by purchasing Russian energy supplies. But the Indian prime minister has defended his decision to put the country's domestic needs first.
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NAHENDREA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINSITER (through translator): For us, our farmers welfare is supreme. India will never compromise on the well-being of its farmers, dairy sector and fishermen. And I know personally I will have to pay a heavy price for it. But I'm ready for the farmers, fishermen and dairy farmers of my country. India is ready today.
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VAUSE: The new Trump administration's tariffs kicked in on Thursday at the highest rate since the Great Depression. Inflation had already been slowly creeping upwards, and Americans could now see even steeper prices on many goods like electronics and clothing. CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich explains.
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VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, these are the highest tariff levels in almost a century. The last time we saw tariffs even close to this was in the 1930s when the Great Depression then followed. But this is President Trump's big bet on shrinking the U.S. trade deficit, bringing manufacturing back to the United States.
Now, tariff rates start at 10 percent, but then increase all the way up to 50 percent. Just look at Brazil at 50 percent. And other nations with the steepest tariffs are Syria at 41 percent and Laos in Myanmar at about 40 percent. And in Switzerland at 39 percent. You have Iraq, Serbia and South Africa, all above 30 percent.
But it is U.S. retailers, businesses, importers that ultimately will pay those higher tariffs that bring those goods into the United States. They will then have to choose whether to eat the cost or to pass it down to you, the consumer.
So you will likely see higher prices on heavily imported items like clothing, shoes, watches, alcohol and furniture. And we've been hearing from companies since April about how tariffs are affecting their bottom line.
On Thursday, Japanese automaker Toyota said they were expecting a $10 billion impact from tariffs and elf cosmetics, which sources its products from China, said profits fell by 30 percent in the second quarter because of tariffs.
And by one estimate, according to the Yale Budget Lab, these tariffs will cost the average American family about $2,400 more each year. Back to you.
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VAUSE: President Trump has tapped Stephen Miran, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, to replace Adriana Kugler on the Federal Reserve Board if he is confirmed by the Senate. Kugler is resigning before her term ends, but has not explained why. Man has been a critical voice in support of the president's economic agenda, including his calls for lower interest rates.
She's been described as the Mr. Rogers of our era. Now the Internet star known as Ms. Rachel is refusing to stay quiet about the horrors Gaza's children have experienced. She speaks with CNN about the backlash she's facing and why she will not stay quiet.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. You're watching CNN newsroom. I'm John Vause and we are following breaking news this hour. Israel's security cabinet has approved a plan to occupy Gaza City, part of a blueprint to end the nearly two-year long war calling for the disarmament of Hamas, the return of hostages, and a governing body that does not include Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.
CNN Jerusalem Bureau chief Oren Liebermann joins me now on the line from Jerusalem. So Oren, the divide between the Israeli government and Israelis over the war in Gaza was massive before. Now it seems catalyst, cataclysmic in a way. So where does this go from here? How long can the Israeli government ignore the will of the people? How long can they go on with this plan which doesn't seem to have any support among Israelis?
LIEBERMANN: I think you could argue that they've been ignoring the will of the people now for months, if not potentially a year or more. I think polls have repeatedly shown that the majority of the people support a comprehensive end of the war in exchange for the return of the hostages. Those numbers, according to repeated polls, including very recent ones, has been between 70, 60 and 70 percent of the country.
But the government, that is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his far right allies in the government have frankly ignored that and pushed forward with their plans.
[01:30:07]
We knew yesterday that Netanyahu had the votes to do this, to expand the war. And despite not only the opposition of the public, but despite the opposition of the Israeli military chief of staff who issued warnings earlier this week and in the cabinet meeting, Netanyahu was pushing forward with this.
I will point out one way in which this -- in which this differs from the -- from the quote, "full conquest of Gaza", because that's very much what Netanyahu said in an interview yesterday with Fox News that he wanted to pursue.
Here, it's focused only on Gaza City, not some of the surrounding camps. So this isn't a full intrusion and military operation into the last 25 percent of Gaza that Israel doesn't control.
But make no mistake, it is still a massive military operation that will displace hundreds of thousands, up to approximately a million Palestinians in an area that's already facing a humanitarian crisis and cases of starvation. This is very likely to worsen all of that.
But Israel, regardless of the warnings, regardless of the public opposition, is pushing forward.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: So just to be clear, we're talking about Gaza, which is already under 75 percent Israeli occupation by the Israeli military. Then we have the Gaza City and other major population areas within the territory, right.
But how does that differ to the full territory in terms of, you know, what are we -- percentages here? What are we looking at?
LIEBERMANN: So this is only Gaza City. It does not include the other camps, the other population areas. So that's the difference, I don't know, a percentage to give you and say this will be 80, 85 percent right now. We'll see as this plan comes together.
And this is, at least in principle, according to the Israeli officials with whom we have spoken, a phased operation.
So the first phase is the evacuation of Gaza City and pushing that population of Gaza City into essentially compounds to move them away from what will be the new fighting zone, the new area where Israel carries out new phases of the war.
But the idea behind making it phased is that if there is a return to negotiations, then it's possible to stop that or scale it back. However, given this movement, a ceasefire and effort to get back to negotiations seems incredibly remote right now.
VAUSE: Just very quickly, Oren, we heard from the military at the end of last year, beginning of this year, saying that they have achieved all they can from a military point of view in Gaza. So what can they do now?
LIEBERMANN: And the chief of staff reiterated that in a statement -- in a speech he gave yesterday, that the goals of the operation have nearly been achieved.
That's a good question. And he has warned against going into Gaza City, putting troops inside the city itself. But that warning was ignored.
This becomes a much more difficult operation for the military. One that requires operating in a much more intrusive way, in very difficult and challenging areas. But that's the task they've been assigned.
And if it's difficult for the Israeli military, then, of course, it becomes much more difficult on the civilian population that has suffered so much since the beginning of this war.
VAUSE: Yes. Gaza City is the ultimate location for urban combat. It will not be easy for anybody.
CNN's Jerusalem bureau chief Oren Liebermann there on the line. Thanks, Oren. Appreciate it.
LIEBERMANN: Of course.
VAUSE: Well, the U.N. is out with a grim new assessment of the hunger crisis in Gaza. Says nearly 12,000 children under the age of five were malnourished in July, the highest monthly figure ever recorded.
Jordan is among several countries airdropping aid and food into Gaza. CNN's chief global affairs correspondent Matthew Chance went along for the ride.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: In the pristine skies over Gaza, a clear view of the destruction below.
Journalists are still blocked by Israel from freely entering this devastated strip of land. But CNN flew over with the Jordanian military in a cargo plane loaded with aid, an effort to meet acute shortages amid a partial land blockade.
Well, there's been criticism of these international humanitarian aid flights that drop into Gaza. People say they are insufficient. They don't deliver enough aid, that they're dangerous to people on the ground, and that they're purely symbolic and don't meet any practical need.
All of that may be true, but amid an intense starvation crisis in Gaza, the six-and-a-half tons of milk powder, canned food could be dropping out of the back of this Jordanian plane shortly. Maybe the difference for some people between the life and death.
[01:34:57]
CHANCE: But viewed from the ground, these aid drops are also a mixed blessing. Sending desperate Palestinians scrambling, even fighting each other for food.
"It's a humiliation, an injustice," says this man.
"All I got was a ripped bag of lentils and this carton of tomato paste," says another amidst the rubble. "It's just not enough," he adds.
From 2,000 feet those individual hardships are impossible to see. But you do get a sweeping view of what nearly two years of Israeli bombardment has done.
Well, I've spent this flight as much as I can looking out the window at Gaza Strip below, and I can tell you from the air you get a stunning view of the complete devastation in the Gaza Strip.
We've been flying over neighborhoods that I reported from over many years of going in and out of Gaza. And I can tell you those places were bustling areas teeming with life -- people, children, cars, other traffic, bustling street markets.
And you look at the map from above and it's just utter devastation across vast areas of the Gaza Strip. It's shocking.
Shocking desert of ruins where so many are now struggling to survive.
Matthew Chance, CNN -- in the skies over Gaza.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: UNICEF estimates 28 children are being killed every day -- every day in Gaza. Images of starving children or those who've been left disfigured from airstrikes or artillery shelling, have sparked anger and anguish for many around the world.
But one voice in particular has been speaking out on behalf of Gaza's children for some time now.
Rachel Accurso is a children's content creator with 16 million subscribers around the world. She's known as Ms. Rachel. She's been called the Mr. Rogers of our time. But her advocacy for Palestinian children has prompted a backlash from many.
Accurso spoke exclusively with CNN's Christiane Amanpour about why she will not be quiet.
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CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Rachel Accurso, also known as Ms. Rachel to I know millions and millions of children and their parents around the world. Welcome to our program.
RACHEL ACCURSO, "MS. RACHEL": Thank you so much for having me, Christiane.
AMANPOUR: So, we are really interested, not just because you're such a powerhouse in the, you know, children's programming and the connection with children, but because of how you've stepped out and stepped up for some of the world's most, you know, suffering children and most particularly in Gaza recently, although there are others as well.
You probably know this new acronym that came up because of this conflict, WCNSF -- Wounded Child, No Surviving Family. What was it that made you step out and support these children in Gaza?
ACCURSO: How could I not, seeing what was happening on our screens, hearing from Save the Children who had firsthand accounts knowing that so many children were losing their lives. It's up to -- over 18,000 children.
So, as an early childhood educator, I know what children need. They need food, it's being blocked. And they need water, it's being blocked. They need to be in school, their schools have been bombed. They need medical care.
I know what children need to thrive, and I know what holds them back. And it was very clear to me, along with so many others in our country and around the world, that it's so critical to speak up.
AMANPOUR: Even the humanitarian catastrophe has been so terribly politicized. Were you ever worried because even before you spoke up, it was a hornet's nest of controversy, the idea of speaking up for, let's face it, Palestinian children after October 7th.
ACCURSO: Yes, I was worried and I was worried that I'm not an expert in that area, but I knew that I'm an expert in child development. I have two masters in education. I've worked with children my whole life for 20 years.
So, I knew that what I was seeing was wrong and I had to say something.
AMANPOUR: I want to play this piece of video which is a soundbite really, with people talking. It's a video of the brothers, I know you know this well, Maher and Malik, who posted this video. Talking to them from their tent after their homes had been completely, obviously, devastated.
[01:39:51]
AMANPOUR: I can see your smile. I mean, you just communicate and feel without me even having to go into it.
So, here's the -- here's this little piece of their sound.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ACCURSO: Hi Maher. Hi Malik.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, Ms. Rachel. How are you? Send you love from Gaza.
ACCURSO: Thank you for the love. I really appreciate that. I'm sending you love back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell our story?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: OK. Ms. Rachel, this obviously still brings you to tears.
ACCURSO: I see them like I see my son. And the fact that they could have everything they need and it's miles away, it's so frustrating and I just wish we could wrap them all up in love and give them everything they need and we could. That's what's so painful.
AMANPOUR: You know, there has been a backlash to you. And of course, you've spoken out about the Israeli children, the infants and the toddlers who were wounded, who were kidnapped even on October 7th, and that doesn't seem to satisfy the critics.
Tell me about how you've suddenly found yourself and how you're dealing with empathy for all children, but some people don't want to see it for some children.
MS. RACHEL: It's so tough. I was talking to James Elder from UNICEF and he was telling me about having to start at square one with Palestinian children, that they're human. So, the dehumanization is so painful.
And then I have so much empathy for an Israeli mom waiting for her child to come home. And I have so much empathy for the people of Gaza losing their families. And these little ones, this little girl, Maha (ph), who's lost her entire family, another little boy Adam (ph), who lost his entire family.
These aren't numbers, these are little ones who are so sweet. I have videos of both of them. They're just like the sweetest kids.
And I just -- I feel, feel, feel for everyone. And I know who I am and I think the backlash, it's painful, but then you have to be like, I know who I am and I know what's right.
And I will say, Christiane, that there's an - - I think there's a little bit of a narrative that there's the -- there's so much backlash and there was before, but I realized, you know, you think you're on the Internet and you're getting a lot of backlash.
And then you walk out on the street and people come up to you in tears and say, thank you so much for talking about Gaza. It's so heartbreaking.
And even some people coming up and saying, we don't agree on every point, but I know these kids need aid. And so, I think we can disagree on certain points, and we just all know that we have to treat people better. And I always focus on the children, but I mean all the innocent civilians, men, women, and children that are starving.
Yes. So, there's a lot of support.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: And the entire interview with Ms. Rachel can be seen about 2.5 hours from now on "AMANPOUR". That's 9:00 a.m. in London, 12 noon in Abu Dhabi, 4 p.m. in Hong Kong. You'll see it only here on CNN.
And we'll be right back.
[01:43:09]
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VAUSE: First up, a warning many viewers may find the next video disturbing. At least six people were killed, two were injured after a detached locomotive hit multiple cars in central Mexico. Here are the images.
According to initial investigations, the detached train rolled for almost two kilometers before it crossed through two streets, then hit several vehicles.
At least four people are dead after a train collided on Thursday with a bus at a railway crossing in Kenya. A Red Cross worker says several others were injured about 75 kilometers north west of the capital, Nairobi. Witnesses say the bus was carrying employees of a Kenyan pipeline company returning from training.
Officials in France have warned that deadly wildfires in the country's south could continue burning for days. 16,000 hectares have already been left blackened. One person has died in what the prime minister describes as a catastrophe on an unprecedented scale.
Here's CNN's Melissa Bell.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR PARIS CORRESPONDENT: More than 2,000 firefighters in France remain locked in the battle to try and contain the fire that's been described by the French press as the fire of the century.
So quickly did it start and so fast did it progress from Tuesday afternoon. It is some 16,000 hectares that were burnt within just over 24 hours.
And whilst the fire has yet to be contained, there had been some hope by Thursday morning that weather conditions were turning, the wind was dropping, the temperatures seemed to be falling as well. And we had understood from the region's firefighting chief, this is the Aude Region, the south of France, just above the border with Spain, that he hoped that that fire might be contained at some point over the course of Thursday.
In fact, what appears to have happened is several of the fires within that wildfire have picked up, and there are fears that the weather conditions, in fact, are turning the other way with extremely hot temperatures and a new heat wave threatening parts of southern France but also winds now picking up and making the firefighters task much more difficult than it had been.
So far there's only been one death, this was a woman who had refused to leave her home. She'd refused an evacuation order.
[01:49:51]
BELL: But there has been many businesses, 36 houses so far destroyed or damaged by the fire. And there are fears that those attempts to contain it might not yet be paying off.
Melissa Bell, CNN -- Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: And firefighters in Turkey are trying to contain another major outbreak, the second in two weeks. Authorities say two firefighting planes, 12 helicopters are working with fire crews on the ground in the northern province of Karabuk.
An intense summer heat wave across Europe has created conditions for a series of widespread wildfires.
In a moment, one of the harshest critics of the Trump administration is a cartoon. So find out how "South Park's" new episode mocks the president and his White House officials. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Two weeks ago, the cartoon "South Park" made headlines with an episode which skewered the U.S. President. It was watched by many, an indication that maybe the scandal over Jeffrey Epstein had gone nationwide. And now the cartoon is taking aim at other members of the Trump administration.
CNN's Brian Stelter has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Satan, meet the new face of homeland security.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa. Oh my God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want to go. This place is gross.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: "South Park" insulting Mar-a- Lago, Trump's manhood, VP J.D. Vance, and this week, reserving most of its scorn for -- UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to the team, recruits. I'm Kristi Noem,
head of Homeland Security.
STELTER: The show drawing from a real-life scandal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A few years ago, I had to put my puppy down by shooting it in the face because sometimes doing what's important means doing what's hard.
STELTER: Turning dog deaths into a theme of the episode.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Mackey.
STELTER: When Trump budget cuts caused the school counselor to look for a job with ICE --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, recruits. This is it. We're heading to a location that might be filled with illegals. Let's take these bad hombres down.
STELTER: "South Park" emerging this summer as one of the Trump administration's fiercest critics.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Remember, only detain the brown ones.
STELTER: One reviewer saying, "You can feel Matt Stone and Trey Parker's disdain in every frame."
The creators of "South Park" let it rip two weeks ago, leading the White House to claim the show, quote, "hasn't been relevant for over 20 years". But actually --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey buddy, welcome to Mar-a-Lago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, thank you, Mr. President.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is his fantasy, boss?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, will you get out of here?
STELTER: "South Park" ratings are way up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to make you the new face of Homeland Security.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But, Mr. President, I thought Kristi Noem was the face of Homeland Security.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, she was. But her face freaks me out. So, what do you say?
STELTER: And social chatter is through the roof.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm proud to work for the ICE.
PEOPLE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement. If you need a job, it's a job to have.
STELTER: And Trump officials are trying to show they're in on the jokes, not just the butt of them.
Vance posting on X today, "well, I've finally made it."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: so let's get out there and get them, recruits. Together, we can make it happen.
STELTER: All of this creating corporate intrigue, since "South Park" airs on Paramount's "Comedy Central" and Paramount just cut a deal with Trump.
[01:54:45]
STELTER: The $16 million legal settlement was widely seen as a payoff in exchange for the Trump FCC approving Paramount's merger with Skydance, though Paramount denied any connection.
The merger took effect this morning with the FCC's lone Democrat Anna Gomez calling it a company born in shame.
ANNA GOMEZ, COMMISSIONER, FCC: What we saw in this Paramount/Skydance transaction was the company capitulated in a very cowardly manner to the demands of this administration. We need a checked power, not unchecked power, in order to maintain our democratic norms.
STELTER: Brian Stelter, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Spain's civil guard has restored an historic cross on the top of the country's third highest mountain. It was carried by a helicopter on a giant metal cross to Aneto, in the province of Huesca. It's part of the Pyrenees and sits more than 3,400 meters high.
A group of hikers put the cross there in the 1950s. It was removed last year for restoration. Mission accomplished.
And the U.K.'s Royal Mail is releasing a stamp collection next week honoring the comedy troupe that gave us the "Ministry of Silly Walks", the "Lumberjack Song" and the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". It came out 50 years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are indeed brave, Sir Knight. But the fight is mine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh. Had enough, eh?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look here, stupid (EXPLETIVE DELETED), you've got no arms left.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I have. Look, it's just a flesh wound.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The "Monty Python" collection includes ten stamps with a sheet (ph) of them costing 6 pounds and change, about $9. The cult classic TV show "Monty Python's Flying Circus" aired from 1969 to 1974. The Royal Mail says the collection, quote, "honors a body of work that has shaped the comedic landscape for nearly six decades", and yes, it has.
Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with Kim Brunhuber in just a few minutes after a short break.
I might see you back here next week.
[01:56:43]
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