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Trump Reached Agreement to Disarm Hamas; FIFA Reiterates Commercial Plan Despite UEFA's Backlash. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired July 31, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

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BEN HUNTE, CNN 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.

Coming up on the show, U.S. President Trump says an agreement has been reached for Hamas to disarm. We will go live to the Gulf with details on that, plus the war with Iran.

A world-renowned climber is among those missing after an avalanche in Pakistan. We'll have a live report with the latest on search efforts.

Plus, FIFA responds to the intense pushback it's getting to its controversial World Cup plan.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Ben Hunte.

HUNTE: Welcome. President Trump is hailing what he calls a historic agreement with Hamas, he says a deal has been reached to fully disarm Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza. The President says the agreement will be carried out in carefully structured phases. And once Hamas is disarmed, Israeli forces will withdraw from Gaza.

Disarming Hamas is essential to carrying out President Trump's plan to end that war. But Hamas has not yet confirmed the deal. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, that's another militant group in Gaza, said the reports of the agreement were, quote, "inaccurate."

We are getting reports of new Iranian strikes after Tehran vowed retaliation for the latest wave of U.S. attacks. Iranian state media says Iran targeted military infrastructure at an airbase in Kuwait. It released video apparently showing Iranian forces launching those strikes.

Meanwhile, Egypt is being pulled into the war for the first time. Egyptian officials say a drone hit one of the country's ports, setting two ships on fire, no one has claimed responsibility. Iran's foreign minister urged vigilance against what he called, quote, "false flag operations designed to undermine regional peace." Well, for more on all of this, let's go to CNN's Eleni Giokos, live

for us from Dubai. Good to see you. President Trump says there is a deal with Hamas, but Hamas hasn't yet confirmed that. How realistic does all of this look right now, though, what do you think?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, it was a long Truth Social post basically saying this is a historic breakthrough. And you're right to sort of question how this is going to work, because implementing a disarmament of Hamas, as well as withdrawal of Israeli troops, has been one of the biggest sticking points, frankly, in implementation of this 20-point peace plan.

And in President Trump's Truth Social post, he says this is a lasting step towards peace and security. He also thanked the mediators, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey as well, for their important efforts.

Hamas has not formally and publicly commented on this agreement. But what is very notable is the other armed group in Gaza, the Islamic Jihad movement has said there are inaccuracies with this announcement.

If I take a look at what the Board of Peace has also announced, and they posted on X a short time ago as well, they say that for the first time, Hamas and armed groups have agreed to a roadmap of disarmament. And this paves the way for the entrance of the International Stabilization Force into Gaza.

Now, once Hamas and the other armed groups disarm, that is when Israel will withdraw from Gaza. That has been an issue. Does it happen at the same time? Is it only once Hamas and armed groups actually hand over these weapons?

Now, the International Board of Peace official also said this, that armed factions would ultimately hand over weapons to the committee with police weapons transferred first and then personal weapons last. What is also important to note here is that earlier this month, Hamas announced that its plans to dissolve its government, again, leading the way for the creation of a Palestinian-led government.

But there is a lot of questions around timelines and implementation, bringing in the International Stabilization Force and, of course, the question on Israel withdrawing from Gaza. So while we wait for Hamas's official response, it is interesting to note the Board of Peace, as well as President Trump, saying there has been something that is etched, clearly agreed upon. Now, the contours of this is going to be the big question.

HUNTE: And at the same time, let's turn to the war with Iran, because we are getting reports that Iran has targeted a U.S. airbase in Kuwait. What are you hearing there, and how significant could that be, if confirmed?

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GIOKOS: So what is interesting is that CENTCOM hadn't announced any strikes against Iran overnight. This is after extensive strikes from Wednesday leading into Thursday. Iran clearly showing that it still has military capabilities, Iranian

state media releasing the footage we're seeing now targeting Kuwaiti airbase and importantly, yesterday, Iran also targeted Kuwait, which was a deadly attack resulting in the death of one person, and also extensive infrastructure damage on a Chinese-owned company.

And five missiles, Ben, were also intercepted that were headed towards Jordan facilities and military sites as well yesterday. So Iran here clearly showing that it's still very much, you know, willing to strike back against Gulf states. The question is, how is President Trump and the U.S. going to be responding to this latest attack on Kuwait?

You also mentioned Egypt a little earlier. For the first time, Egypt has been drawn into the conflict.

Egyptian authorities confirming that a fire at Damietta port that resulted in fires on two vessels was due to a drone, no group has claimed responsibility. But also very notable, the Iranian foreign minister mentioning that people should be wary of false flag operations.

In the meantime, in Iran, the situation on the economic front is dire. Hyperinflation is being reported there. But interestingly, I want you to take a listen to an Iranian civilian's thoughts on what happens next and how we're climbing this escalation ladder, what this ultimately is going to mean for Iran.

Take a listen.

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MILAD KESHAVARZ, IRANIAN CITIZEN (through translator): A major war will not happen. In my opinion, this is a war of attrition. I think Trump also has a decision and a view that he wants to prolong the war to the point that it becomes normal for the world and ordinary people like the war in Gaza and Israel, which has become a war of attrition, a war of attrition.

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GIOKOS: I mean, that's basically the feeling coming through from Iran. And as we see escalation tit-for-tat, you know, an eye for an eye doctrine coming through remains to be seen what happens in the next few days. But mediators have been working very hard to try and get both sides back to the negotiating table.

HUNTE: Okay, Eleni Giokos, thank you so much for that. I appreciate it.

A live picture from Washington, where the U.S. Senate has rejected another effort to rebuke President Trump over the war with Iran. This is the 13th time a war powers measure has failed since the beginning of the year.

Three Republicans voted in favor of that measure. Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Rand Paul. Democrat John Fetterman voted against the resolution.

President Trump is having second thoughts about allowing Ukraine to produce a key air defense weapon. He told the "Financial Times" on Thursday he's not sure he'll give Kyiv a license to make Patriot missile interceptors. He promised he would do that at a NATO summit earlier this month.

Ukraine is facing a shortage of Patriots. That's the only weapon that can stop Russia's most advanced ballistic missiles.

Well, Mr. Trump spoke hours after a massive attack on Ukraine, which killed at least nine people and wounded more than 50 others. Poland says what appears to be a Russian missile crashed and exploded deep inside its territory during those strikes.

Poland is a NATO member, but a military official told CNN there were no plans to discuss a joint response by the alliance. European leaders have condemned the attack, but Ukraine's President says condemnations can only go so far.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): European countries have made numerous statements, particularly regarding the Russian missile that flew into Polish territory and exploded somewhere in a field near Lublin.

Most importantly, however, it's not just about condolences or condemnation. It's about providing air defense missiles, precisely the kind of pressure on Russia that can stop this senseless Russian war, all their attacks and their terror.

This war could have ended long ago, but Putin doesn't want that.

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HUNTE: Ukraine has struck yet another logistics hub belonging to the Russian retailer Wildberries in the city of Volgograd. Drones have hit more than a dozen sites in the past few weeks in a bid to disrupt the company's operations.

Some call Wildberries the Russian Amazon. It's a linchpin of the country's consumer economy. Kyiv claims the Warburys facilities are legitimate military targets because they supply Russia's frontline troops in Ukraine, Moscow denies that.

Ukrainian drones hit one facility just south of Moscow on Wednesday, forcing staff evacuations and a halt in deliveries. The company says about 10 percent of its storage capacity has now been destroyed with tens of thousands of dollars in losses.

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HUNTE: I spoke earlier with reporter and journalist Alexey Kovalev, and I asked him what is Ukraine's thinking in focusing on this one company so consistently? (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXEY KOVALEV, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER/INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST: If you take a very closely look at the company's catalogue, it's very obvious that it sells a lot of military, not just military coated like, you know, coffee mugs, military themed and other merchandise, but actual combat tested armor plates, drones, and drone components, including those that don't have any plausible civilian use at all, like specialized drop rigs for drones for dropping specific kinds of Russian grenades.

And it's pretty much out there in the open. So you can flip through thousands and thousands of items like that that has been specifically promoted as supplies for our troops in the field. And you have in the reviews, you can clearly see that the purpose people are buying this all this merchandise for, like armor vests and helmets and goggles and FPV drone components that people are buying it with one purpose in mind only.

And they're quite explicit that this is the product that is sorely needed in the front line in what Russia calls a special military operation. So the purpose of thousands and maybe tens of thousands of these items sold in the wild is pretty clear.

And it's not one-off purchases. It's obvious that this has been going for a while and there are specialized vendors selling only military equipment, despite the fact that all of this goes against the company's own terms of services.

They adopted one about a couple of weeks before the first attacks, and they simultaneously prohibited the vendors on the platform from selling any merchandise of military purpose and also prohibiting sales of that. So the company is still selling all of those items as we speak, despite the fact that they violate their own terms of services.

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HUNTE: Dramatic scenes in the Spanish territory of Ceuta, as thousands of migrants from Morocco broke through a border fence there, officials say at least nine people died as the crowd rushed in on Thursday, with border guards simply unable to stop them. There were similar scenes in another Spanish enclave, Melilla, where the border with Morocco is now reportedly closed. Spain is sending the military to Ceuta to maintain security there.

Well, both enclaves are located on the Moroccan coast across from Spain. They have often been targets for African migrants who see them as entryways to Europe.

It is still unclear what caused that sudden rush across the border. Local authorities have linked it to recent Spanish Supreme Court rulings, which makes it harder to return migrants who arrive by sea. But Moroccan activists doubt that, and they say most local people are not even aware of that ruling. On the heels of the most lucrative World Cup of all time that raked in

some $15 billion, world football's governing body, that's FIFA, is now locked in a standoff with European football's top authority. And FIFA appears to be calling UEFA's bluff.

After the Europeans threatened to boycott all future World Cups, they are angry over a new FIFA proposal to sell a significant stake in its biggest competitions.

The message from UEFA, "Some things are simply too important to sell. The FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale."

But FIFA fired back with this.

"Nobody is selling football. This is not something that FIFA would ever entertain."

But FIFA added that it is moving forward with its controversial plan to launch a subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise, in which private investors would get about a 20 percent stake.

And we will have much more on this ahead in "World Sport."

Search teams have recovered four bodies after an avalanche in Pakistan's highest mountains. At least six others are still missing, and that includes a British military veteran who set records for mountaineering. Just ahead, we go live to China for the latest.

Plus, Spain's largest wildfire in recent history, the massive flames and the race to contain the blazes amid another heat wave. That story is still to come. See you in a moment.

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HUNTE: Welcome back.

We are following a developing story out of Pakistan where the bodies of four missing mountain climbers have been recovered after an avalanche. At least six other climbers are still missing. Rescue teams in helicopters and on the ground are searching Broad Peak in the Karakoram mountain range.

No identities of the bodies have yet been released. Communication with a group of 10 climbers was lost after the avalanche on Thursday. Among them is a world renowned Nepalese climber, Nirmal Purja, he made history in 2019 by climbing 14 of the world's tallest peaks in just over six months.

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Joining us now for more on all of this is Mike Valerio in Beijing. Mr. Valerio, it's good to see you again, thanks for being with me. What is the latest on the rescue or recovery now? MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONENT: So, Benny, we're hearing that luckily

for those who are running the rescue and recovery efforts, there's clear conditions on this very remote mountain face from now through the weekend. So that is certainly good news to bring closure to the storyline as we're all holding our breaths. Three cities that are working on the story, at least in Hong Kong, Beijing and Islamabad, our team following the latest developments.

So certainly that is encouraging news in terms of the risk to rescuers and finding out more as quickly as possible as to whether or not anybody can be saved. So in terms of where this happened, Broad Peak, think about the far western fringes, you see it on the map right there, of China, the far eastern fringes of Pakistan. It's on the border between the two countries, the 12th highest mountain in the world.

And if you're thinking about it in terms of recognizable landmarks, stack like 18 Empire State Buildings in New York City on top of one another, 10 Burj Khalifas in Dubai on top of one another. Then you get the height of Broad Peak of this mountain.

So the roster of missing that we have, in addition to Nimz Porjah, the very acclaimed mountaineer who, of course, was the star of the Netflix documentary "14 Peaks," that record-smashing climb of the 14 highest mountains in the world in 2019, we have five Nepalese climbers, a person from Pakistan, somebody from Oman, an American citizen, one person from China, and then one other international climber is the latest reporting that we have from the Associated Press, as well as the Alpine Association of Pakistan, the mountaineering club that is certainly involved in this effort and the rescue.

So, you know, I think it's certainly interesting to look at the gravity with which Nimz Porjah approached this summit he posted on X, Benny, before attempting this climb, let's quote from it, "Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down. I take zero mountains for granted, not one. The moment my foot leaves base camp, it's 100 percent always has been, always will be."

And what he was trying to do with this climb, he realized before going on this adventure that it would be just one more Himalayan peak, Benny, for him to scale these 14 highest peaks twice, which would be a new record doing it without any supplemental oxygen.

So he was on his way to this new record, but no word yet if he is one of the bodies who has been found or what has happened to the rest of this team, Benny.

HUNTE: Okay, well, thank you for the latest, we appreciate that. Keep bringing it to us as you get it, Mike Valerio. Thank you.

In France, tinder dry conditions are fueling massive wildfires. Firefighters are waging pitched battles as they try to keep people safe. Temperatures are soaring throughout the region. On Wednesday, Paris saw temperatures above 102 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius.

Wow.

Temperatures are for Friday are expected to be a bit cooler, though, at 29 degrees Celsius or 84 Fahrenheit. The heat is contributing to fires all across Europe. But France has been extremely hard hit by the blazes.

One French resident says he is relieved just to go home after having to evacuate.

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TOM PELLENC, EVACUATED FRENCH RESIDENT (through translator): How do I feel? I'm happy to be able to go home and get back to a somewhat more normal life. We've been camping out for a few days.

Camping is nice when it's a choice, but when it's forced on you, it's not as fun. But anyway, yes, I think the overriding feeling is relief, of course.

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HUNTE: After wildfires swept through central Spain, the country is now turning its attention to assessing the damage. Residents are starting the difficult task of rebuilding their homes, building their lives. Pau Mosquera reports.

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PAU MOSQUERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With the worst of the wildfires in Western Madrid now over, residents are beginning to come face to face with the aftermath of the blaze.

UNKNOWN (through translator):This is a house my parents bought 35 years ago. All their hard work, all their effort is here, and now it's all burned from the entrance all the way through the entire ground floor.

Everything, the whole area has been burned. We had a small plastic woodshed here to store the firewood and keep it dry.

ANTONIO, FIRE VICTIM (through translator): We'll have to replant everything around the outside of the house so it can look nice again and become green once more. And the house itself, I'll have to restore part of the facade because it was burned.

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Material things can be replaced sooner or later. We'll recover everything over time. But emotionally, it's affected me quite deeply.

MOSQUERA: Another devastating consequence of the wildfires is the impact on wildlife, with many animals being trapped by the advancing flames.

ISAAC NAVARRO, WILDLIFE CENTER DIRECTOR, KUNA IBERICA (through translator): Considering that the fire has devastated the entire habitat, the whole ecosystem, we've found burned animals and animals that have been blinded. We also have some injured animals here at our facilities that we've managed to rescue.

Right now, our main priority is to help meet the animals' basic needs for food and water. We're setting up feeding stations and placing fruit throughout the area around the municipality of Navas del Rey. As for the wildlife, we'll have to see how they respond over the next couple of months because many birds of prey had chicks in their nests.

The Iberian imperial eagle, which is an endangered species, the Benelli's eagle, and others have all lost their habitat. We'll have to see whether they move elsewhere or manage to find new places to nest.

MOSQUERA: As Spain is experiencing its fourth heatwave of the summer, the risk of wildfires is extremely high. This is why the authorities are urging the public to exercise extreme caution.

Pau Mosquera, CNN, Pelayos de la Presa, Spain.

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HUNTE: All right, new developments related to the Epstein files. Unredacted documents have been handed over to a federal judge who will decide if they were unlawfully kept from the public. See you in a moment.

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

President Trump says a deal has been reached to fully disarm Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza. He says it would pave the way for what he calls a new Palestinian government that will work alongside the Board of Peace. The deal has not been confirmed by Hamas.

Spain's Prime Minister is headed to the enclave of Ceuta in the coming hours after thousands of migrants rushed across the border with Morocco. Officials say at least nine people are now dead as the crowd broke through the fence along the border on Thursday. Spain is now sending troops there to maintain security.

Ten mountain climbers are feared dead after an avalanche on Broad Peak in Pakistan. So far, four bodies have been recovered. Among the missing is world-renowned Nepalese climber Nirmal Purja. He made history in 2019 by climbing 14 of the world's tallest peaks in just over six months.

A federal judge is taking a closer look at the Justice Department's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

This after a journalist challenged the government's withholding of information, prompting the DOJ to hand over unredacted documents to the court for private review. CNN's Katelyn Polantz walks us through what's happening.

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KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A federal judge in Washington, he wants to scrutinize how the Justice Department handled the Epstein files and the release of them.

So what is happening this week is the ten documents that were released under the Epstein Transparency Act, so those are the documents that have been in the hands of the Justice Department from the years of files around Jeffrey Epstein, ten of those documents were given to a judge privately in Washington, D.C. on Thursday afternoon.

That judge, Emmett Sullivan, he wants to look and make sure that names that had been redacted in those ten documents were indeed what the Justice Department says they were, which is victims. The victims are to be protected here, but there are many people's names in the Epstein files that under law should not be protected.

So the judge, he's double-checking the work of this Justice Department, but this is not just a minor thing, it is a big deal that the Justice Department is being forced to give over these unredacted versions of the Epstein files, at least for ten documents there, and to double-check the Justice Department's work.

It's a moment where Todd Blanche, still potentially awaiting the Attorney General confirmation, where he has tried to get out from under this political mess of his handling of the redactions and the release of the Epstein files, and this judge, Emmett Sullivan, he is not one who rolls over when the Justice Department says they did everything they needed to do. He is a judge that in decades of time sitting on the D.C. District Court, he's spent a lot of time questioning prosecutors and not taking their word at face value.

There are, however, victims in the Epstein case who are out there saying they want to remain victims and that they want their names, if they are in these documents, to remain protected, but it is going to be up to the judge, ultimately, all of this because of a lawsuit from a reporter, Katie Phang. Back to you.

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HUNTE: We'll be right back.

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HUNTE: Welcome back. Here are your business headlines.

The Anthropic Company says some of its Claude A.I. assistant models hacked into three different organizations. Anthropic says the models escaped the testing environment and gained unauthorized access to the Internet due to what it called a misunderstanding that let it access real systems on the Internet. The company says the breach was not deliberate.

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President Trump is stepping up the pressure on lawmakers to pass a controversial cryptocurrency bill. The Clarity Act seeks to establish a regulatory framework for digital commodities and ensure the sharing of information about illicit activity with law enforcement. Critics say it could be exploited by narco traffickers, terrorists and other criminal groups, too.

Cuba has announced new details of its plans to open up key parts of its economy. Cuban lawmakers on Thursday finished a two day session where they discussed a series of changes, including easing restrictions on land use, allowing businesses to import fuel and medicine and approving private tourist companies.

Two tech titans and A.I. trailblazers have shared their quarterly earnings. CNN's Clare Duffy has all the details.

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CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS TECH REPORTER: That's right. Another big tech earnings night with both Apple and Amazon reporting and heading into this earnings report, along with many of the big tech earnings reports that we've seen over the past few months. There were some antsy investors who want to see how these companies are benefiting from their investments in A.I.

For Apple, this is the final earnings print under CEO Tim Cook before he hands over the reins to incoming CEO John Ternus. And the results were kind of lukewarm. You had sales up 16 percent year on year, just barely beating Wall Street's expectations, profits up 27 percent year on year.

The company reporting strong iPhone sales growth. But there are some big questions facing Apple, not least the fact that the company had to raise prices on some of its products because of tariffs this quarter. I think questions about whether the company's investments in A.I., they've rolled out their new A.I. Siri this quarter, whether that is going to lead to a significant enough iPhone upgrade cycle when the company releases its newest iPhone in September.

And then longer term questions like how is Apple going to fare in the post-iPhone, post-smartphone world as we see many big tech companies rolling out new A.I. devices. So Apple shares down slightly after the earnings report.

As for Amazon, it is a different story. The company posting 20 percent year on year sales growth, beating analysts' expectations. Net income also up strongly, and very importantly, the key AWS cloud division posting 37 percent year on year growth ahead of Wall Street's expectations. That is what they were watching closely, because that is a signal that

Amazon is seeing a real return on its investments in A.I. infrastructure. As one analyst put it in a note following the report, they said Amazon is earning the right to keep spending where other big tech companies are asking investors to trust them that the payoff will come. With Amazon, you are already seeing that. And as a result, Amazon shares in the green following the report.

Back to you.

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HUNTE: That's all I've got for you. Thanks for joining me on the team, I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. "World Sport" is next, see you tomorrow.

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