Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Israel's Ground Offense To Occupy Gaza City Underway; Charlie Kirk Shooting Suspect Makes First Coup Appearance; Donald Trump Makes Unprecedented Second State Visit To U.K.; Study Shows More Than 24,000 Heat-related Deaths Across Europe; Hollywood Legend Robert Redford Dies at 89; Elton John Turns Kneecaps Into Jewelry After Surgery. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired September 17, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:42]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max, I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, Israel launches its ground assault in Gaza City, forcing thousands of Palestinians to flee South, a defiant move in the face of a global outcry.

Donald Trump heads to Windsor Castle in the coming hours for a day of pomp and pageantry, but not everyone's welcoming the U.S. president's visit.

Plus, the suspect in the Charlie Kirk shooting appears for the first time in court as prosecutors vow to seek the death penalty.

And later, a new study reveals that climate change is behind nearly 70 percent of the heat related deaths across Europe this summer.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us, and we begin in Gaza, where Israel's ground assault to occupy Gaza City is underway. The city is home to nearly half of the enclave's population, and Israel's military says it expects the offensive to take several months to complete, the first timeline the IDF has given for its plan.

The Israeli prime minister is facing mounting criticism abroad and at home, but Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting the U.S. president at the White House later this month, his fourth visit since the beginning of Donald Trump's second term.

Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, protesters are calling for an end to the war and the release of all the hostages. The families fear the new incursion will put their loved ones in danger and prevent a deal to bring them home. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has details. A warning, though some of the images

you're about to see are graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The invasion of Gaza City has begun, at least, according to the Israeli military. Israel says its ground forces are moving toward the heart of the city, with some 20,000 troops committed to conquering and occupying it.

But as smoke rises over its skyline, CNN has yet to independently confirm that ground forces have pushed into the city center.

From above, the Israeli military did deliver a terrifying night of bombardment, sending rescue crews into bombed out buildings.

Outside Al-Shifa Hospital, one child after the next is hurried into the emergency room, all are bloodied and covered in soot, through tears and obvious signs of shock, doctors and nurses work to treat and comfort these young victims.

There is no comforting those in the hospital's courtyard where relatives arrive to discover their loved ones are among the 82 killed overnight. My daughter. Check her. My daughter, she's killed. This mother cries out in disbelief. Someone check her.

As the military escalates its assault, it says some 350,000 people have fled Gaza City. Israel wants to displace all of the city's population of about one million people, drawing accusations of ethnic cleansing.

Israel says it is trying to move civilians out of harm's way, as it takes on a Hamas force of just two to 3,000 fighters, according to an Israeli military official.

But not everyone has the means or the ability to leave, including this pregnant woman. I don't want anything. All I want is to go south to escape death, she says. We're all injured and ill. It's difficult for us to move.

For the first time, an independent United Nations Commission concluding in a 72-page report that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, a conclusion Israel categorically rejects.

CHRIS SIDOTI, U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MEMBER: This is no minor matter. The extremity of what is happening is such that we could come to no other reasonable inference than genocidal purpose.

DIAMOND (voice-over): The global outcry blunted by diplomatic cover from the United States, which is now backing Israel's invasion of Gaza City and casting doubt on prospects of a negotiated cease fire.

[02:05:02]

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, as you saw, the Israelis have begun to take operations there. So, we think we have a very short window of time in which a deal could happen.

DIAMOND (voice-over): That rapidly closing window driving hostage families into the streets, fearing their loved ones will be caught in this latest Israeli assault. The government doesn't seem to be listening.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: With me now is CNN Military Analyst and retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you sir for joining us.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It's my pleasure, Rosemary, thank you.

CHURCH: So, Israel's new ground incursion got underway about 24 hours ago, just as an independent U.N. commission accused Israel of committing genocide, an accusation Israel rejects.

But this incursion did not wait for all the civilian population to evacuate, and many have died as a result. What is your assessment of what this incursion can achieve, versus civilian lives lost in the process, and the risk to the lives of the hostages as well?

LEIGHTON: Yes. So, there are some significant risks involved in this, Rosemary. One of the aspects is going to be how the Israelis de conflict between Hamas fighters and other fighters, such as from Palestinian Islamic Jihad, for example, and the real civilian population of Gaza, and that's a very difficult thing for them to do in this very dense urban environment that has seen, obviously, a lot of destruction.

So, the primary challenge is going to be to allow as many civilians, bona fide civilians, as possible to leave the combat zone. And that is a very, very difficult thing, because there are a lot of obstacles for the civilians there. Many of them are being caught in the crossfire, quite literally, and that is causing a lot of the casualties that we're seeing right now.

And those casualties are going to really be a burden for the Israelis, because not only will it overtax the very tenuous military and medical supply systems in Gaza, but it will also serve as a real problem for the Israelis from a public relations standpoint. And wars are not just won at the point of a barrel, but they're also won in the field of public relations and failure to control that in the inadequate way and to do the right thing in terms of the P.R. battle is going to be a real problem for the Israelis.

CHURCH: And Colonel, about 60,000 Israeli reservists were called up for this particular offensive with the objective to enhance the strikes on Hamas until its decisive defeat, and occupy Gaza City. That's according to the head of the IDF, how achievable is that goal, given the war has already lasted nearly two years?

LEIGHTON: Considering the length of time that it's taken the Israelis to conduct these operations and to inflict great harm on Hamas, there's really very little else that the Israelis can do to destroy Hamas, short of killing every single member of Hamas, which is actually an impossibility and let alone that would probably be a war crime as well.

It really boils down to the fact that this is in essence overkill. What the Israelis are doing is they have achieved most of their military objectives already. They have killed leaders like Yahya Sinwar over the past few months, and that these efforts really should be geared toward achieving a type of basically a cease fire, at least if not a peace settlement eventually. And that is not what's happening here.

Instead, what we're seeing is the Israelis trying to, in essence, break the will of Hamas and the Gaza population, and that is going to really create a lot of difficulties for not only the Israelis and the Gaza population, but really for the entire peace process in the Middle East, and that is, I think, going to be a significant shortfall in this. So, it's not really achievable in an operational or in a political sense.

CHURCH: And Colonel, what happens once Israel occupies Gaza? What will this likely mean for the Palestinian population, and where will this leave Israel on the world stage in the end?

LEIGHTON: So, for Israel, I think this is going to be the potential exists for this to be a quagmire for them. They've been in Gaza before they've occupied it over a number of years in during the last few decades.

But the problem that they have now is that they've inflamed a population that has suffered a great deal, not only through this conflict, but through other aspects of this conflict.

You know, the Israelis are looking at this as basically retribution for what happened to them when Hamas attacked Israel earlier.

[02:10:02]

But the problem that you have now is that this is basically spiraled out of control, and the risk that the Israelis have is that they will be embroiled in something that they really can't control.

I think the ranks of Hamas, or similar groups have basically swelled as a result of the Israeli military actions, and it's going to be a long time before there's some kind of a peaceful solution to this. If there can ever be a peaceful solution to this, that's going to, I think, be the most difficult thing in the next few months and next few years.

CHURCH: Colonel Cedric Leighton, we thank you so much for your military analysis. Appreciate it.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Rosemary. Thank you so much.

CHURCH: A Utah prosecutor says he plans to seek the death penalty for the man accused of killing conservative political activist Charlie Kirk. On Tuesday, Tyler Robinson appeared in court for the first time by video link to hear the seven charges against him, which include aggravated murder.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has more details from Orem, Utah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As prosecutors formally filed the criminal charges against 22-year-old Tyler Robinson for the shooting death of Charlie Kirk here in Utah, they also released new details that we have not heard before in the investigation, details uncovered since the shooting took place here on Wednesday of last week, and that includes a series of text messages between Robinson and his roommate, who officials and authorities here in Utah say was involved in a romantic relationship with his -- with his roommate.

JEFF GRAY, UTAH COUNTY ATTORNEY: You weren't the one who did it, right? Robinson: I am. I am. Roommate: Why? Robinson: Why did I do it? Roommate: Yes. Robinson: I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can't be negotiated out.

LAVANDERA: We also learned that it was Tyler Robinson's mother who also noticed him first from the pictures that authorities here were releasing him -- released of him at the -- at the campus and started the conversation with his -- her husband. And it was the parents that convinced, through another family friend, who was a retired sheriff's deputy, convinced the 22-year-old man to turn himself in to authorities.

It really paints a picture of just all of the compelling text message evidence that we have seen officials be able to accumulate in the last several days.

One of those messages also was a note left under the keyboard in their apartment, Robinson texted his roommate to say that he needed to go immediately drop everything and go look under his keyboard. And that was the note that included the words that he had a chance to take out Charlie Kirk and he was going to do this.

So, they have in several different forms, prosecutors have a confession to this crime by Tyler Robinson, although prosecutors say it will be up to the judge whether or not to admit these details and this evidence in a later date. The suspect, Robinson did make a brief court appearance. He was declared indigent. Would get a court appointed attorney to help him through the case here, but prosecutors still maintain that they are going to continue seeking the death penalty in this case.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Orem, Utah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Pageantry, politics and protests all part of Donald Trump's second state visit to the U.K. We will have a preview of the events. Plus, a controversial demonstration. Back with that and more in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:17:58]

CHURCH: The U.S. President and First Lady traveled to London Tuesday for an unprecedented second state visit. Right now, the Trumps are spending the night of the official residence of the U.S. ambassador to the U.K. Their visit, though, was quickly met with protests, including activists who projected images of Donald Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein onto the walls of Windsor Castle, the photos showing a timeline of their relationship. The stunt was shut down fairly quickly by police who arrested four people and removed equipment from a nearby hotel room.

CNN's Max Foster reports from Windsor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Touching down in the U.K., President Donald Trump is back an unprecedented second state visit for the U.K.'s most important ally country.

It comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer hand delivered a personal invitation from King Charles III during his meeting with Trump at the White House earlier this year.

Trump described Charles as a beautiful and wonderful man. Echoing sentiments he expressed for the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince William, who he met in Paris last October.

Eyebrows were raised during his last state visit. Whilst inspecting the guard of honor, he walked in front of the Queen, though the palace says this wasn't a breach of protocol.

And at the state banquet, he placed his hand on the late monarch's back after his toast, another breach of royal etiquette, though the palace insisting not a breach in protocol, but it did make headlines.

Trump has also spoken highly of the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, but a series of scandals in the British government has weakened his position and strengthened key rival Nigel Farage of Reform, who is famously close to Trump.

Not everyone is a fan of Trump here with pageantry comes protests. Security has been ramped up, and police are on high alert as disruptions are planned up and down the country, but particularly in Windsor and London. A reminder of the infamous Trump balloon that soared across Parliament Square as thousands protested against this visit in 2019. But some do see his visit as a cause for excitement.

[02:20:22]

ANNE DALEY, WINDSOR RESIDENT: This is a second state visit, you know? It's spectacular. It's a shame, really, they're not having a carriage ride through Windsor, because everybody loved Mr. Macron in the carriage, you know. So, the security is very, very tight. I've been searched.

FOSTER (voice-over): This state visit will be even bigger than his last. 1,300 members of the military marking out in honor of the president, unprecedented in modern times. This visits fanfare will also be extended to Melania Trump, who is set to join Queen Camilla for a whistle-stop tour around Windsor Castle if Camilla has recovered from her recent illness, followed by a scouting event with Princess Kate on Thursday, cultivating the close ties between the two nations.

As Trump's visit mixes pageantry with politics and protests, it remains to be seen whether this visit will cement the relationship or revive memories of the past.

Max Foster, CNN, Windsor, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: We go now to Oxford, England. Mark Shanahan is an associate professor of politics at the University of Surrey. Appreciate you joining us. Can you hear me, Sir? Oh, wonderful.

MARK SHANAHAN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF SURREY: Yes, I can.

CHURCH: Wonderful. So, the U.S. president and first lady arrived in London to both cheers and jeers for their second state visit, with one particular protest projecting images of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein onto the walls of Windsor Castle. So, what can we expect in the hours ahead, and will the U.S. President have any contact with the British public?

SHANAHAN: No, this is a state visit that is happening within a bubble, rather than 2018 or 2019 when the president came to London, particularly before and was engaged with the public, drove through some of the key areas.

This time, he will fly by helicopter from Winfield House direct to Windsor Castle. He will be behind those big medieval walls and a lot of steel barriers. The carriage ride that he's going to have will be totally removed from the public. He will be traveling through the royal estates.

He's not going to meet any normal British citizens at all. Tomorrow, he will fly in Marine One from Windsor Castle to Checkers, another country house that's older than the United States, and will be ensconced in political Britain for a day far, far removed from any ordinary citizens.

So, this is a very, very carefully staged state visit, one where President Trump will be exposed to the full splendor of royal heritage, but won't actually connect with the British people at all.

CHURCH: Very unique. And of course, President Trump and Prime Minister Starmer get down to business on Thursday with a focus on security and trade. What can we expect to come out of that day, and what do each of the leaders want from that meeting? SHANAHAN: Press from a very clear agenda of America first. Already we've had some tech announcements that are talking about big investments in the United Kingdom, 31 billion pounds, potentially. But that will be in American technology, and will be American led.

Keir Starmer, on the other hand, on trade, wants to bring down tariffs. He particularly wants to get bit of tariffs on steel and aluminum produced in the U.K. but sold to the U.S. And I think he'll be disappointed that that hasn't been commented on by the American side and actually seems to have been kicked into the long grass.

The other side will be security. Again, Starmer will really be wanting to emphasize Ukraine and American commitment to ending the war in Ukraine, particularly in favor of Zelensky. And they'll also be talking about what's happening in Gaza now, I think that will probably dominate the security considerations.

Starmer is keen to be a bridge between the U.K. now through Brexit outside the European Union and with the rest of Europe, the U.K., for a long time, has been America's aircraft carrier off the coast of continental Europe, and has a strong (AUDIO GAP) Starmer were really looking to emphasize that and to build on that.

[02:25:05]

For President Trump, it's probably more about the optics. This is the big day today, the Royal day where he is seen on a massive stage with a thousand years of heritage around him as the most important person in the building.

CHURCH: And London's Mayor Sadiq Khan called out Donald Trump's divisive tactics in an opinion piece published as the U.S. president arrived in the U.K. saying Trump had, "Done the most to fan the flames of divisive far right politics." How has that criticism been received as this state visit gets underway?

SHANAHAN: Well, most Londoners, to be honest, are going to show the greatest British traits in dealing with Trump, which is studied in difference, there will be protest. The heavily right-wing agenda of Trump is not generally supported in this country, but 110,000 people protested on Saturday in support of the far right, that's actually seen as rather dangerous over here, we don't do politics in the same way as the U.S.

The president's comments after the very sad death of Charlie Kirk really fans the flames of division, and that was picked up on by some fairly marginal characters in this country, the likes of Tommy Robinson, which led to this march on Saturday, which got a lot of media coverage, but didn't involve nearly 63 million people in this country.

People talk about Nigel Farage as being a key figure here. He's not going to be involved at all in this state visit, the Prime Minister commands about 400 MPs in Parliament. Nigel Farage has five. He's noisy. He makes a lot of noise. He gets a lot of media coverage. But at the moment, he doesn't have the political support to actually be a true rival, even if he would like to bring Trump his politics to this country.

CHURCH: Mark Shanahan, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

SHANAHAN: Thank you.

CHURCH: Extreme heat in Europe has caused tens of thousands of deaths in recent months according to a new study. Still to come, we will show you how climate change is driving the deadly rise in temperatures, back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:32:02]

CHURCH: Extreme heat across Europe caused more than 24,000 deaths in recent months. That's according to a new study. Experts cite climate change as a major factor causing nearly 70 perfect of those deaths. CNN Meteorologist, Chris Warren walks us through the details.

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The study conducted by Imperial College, London and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine focused on heat deaths across more than 800 European cities, representing about 30 perfect of Europe's population. It estimated about 24,000 heat deaths, and they found that climate change was responsible for an overwhelming majority of those deaths.

Looking at a map of Europe showing climate change's impact, the temperature impact, seeing an increase, a larger increase in temperatures more than two degrees Celsius with some of the darker red, showing where already hot areas getting even hotter because of climate change. And it was a very hot summer. Europe's deadly summer heat -- June, July, August was the fourth warmest on record. Western Europe had its hottest June on record, and Southeast Europe recorded July heat waves and extreme fires.

The Mediterranean region absolutely baked through much of August. Spain recorded its most intense heat wave on record. So it was a very hot summer and a big reason for that was the weather pattern, what we call a heat dome. See, it's a big area of high pressure and with some rising air, it gets capped, essentially it is like a lid on the atmosphere and that air is forced back down and high pressure is sinking air, and that sinking air warms up even more by compression. So just the heat builds on top of itself.

You also have clear skies, which allows more sun in and produces more warming. So it was an extreme summer with warmer than average temperatures. The darker red shows us where it was much warmer than average. And again, these are areas that are hot anyways. So going forward, if things don't change, if things stay the way they are, we can expect to see even more heat related deaths. And cities are highly vulnerable to heat waves because the cities themselves can absorb more heat, retain more heat -- they essentially trap the heat. And in Europe, 70 perfect of people live in cities and that number is expected to go up to 80 perfect by 2050. CHURCH: Fans, friends, and co-stars are mourning Hollywood legend Robert Redford. Remembering the illustrious career of a leading man, award-winning director and environmentalist when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:39:06]

CHURCH: The world of filmmaking is paying tribute to Robert Redford, the award-winning actor and director who has died at 89. Redford was known for starring roles in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "All the President's Men." And he won an Academy Award for directing "Ordinary People," a drama about a family struggling with grief. Co- stars Jane Fonda, Barbra Streisand, Meryl Streep, and many others are mourning his loss.

Redford's legacy also includes creating the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, the showcases for independent filmmakers have been celebrated for decades in Park City, Utah.

And finally, a remarkable story from legendary singer Elton John. In the new documentary, "Elton John - Touched By Gold," he reveals how he used his painful kneecap surgery as an opportunity to make fashionable jewelry.

[02:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELTON JOHN, SINGER: When I had my kneecaps removed, the left one first and then the right, I asked my surgeon if I could keep the kneecaps which he was rather startled about. Then I rang you and said, would you prepare to, if I gave you the left and the right kneecap, to do what you want with them?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: E! News reports that Elton John's jeweler explained that he baked the bones because dry bones are easier to turn into jewelry. There you go.

Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then, I'll be back at the top of the hour with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:40:39]

(WORLD SPORT)