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Israeli Military: Bodies Of Six Hostages Recovered In Gaza; Anti-Netanyahu Protests Demanding Hostage Deal Underway In Israel. Bodies of Six Hostages Recovered in Gaza; Anti-Netanyahu Protests Demand Immediate Ceasefire and Hostage Deal; Polio Vaccination Campaign Begins in Gaza; Harris Likely to Face Questions about Hostage Negotiations; Harris and Walz on Their Reproductive Rights Bus Tour. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired September 01, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Hamas is blaming Israel for the death. So Hamas spokesman said the hostages were killed by Israel's bombing of Gaza without giving specifics. A group representing the families of Israeli hostages is calling for Prime Minister Netanyahu to address the nation, and as they say, take responsibility for abandoning the hostages.

Netanyahu released a taped statement this morning blaming Hamas for the murders of the hostages and accused them of not wanting a ceasefire deal.

CNN's Nic Robertson is live in Jerusalem. So, what do we know about where these bodies were found? The reaction from officials, and is there any definition yet? Any clarity around the description of their being found -- being killed a short while before the bodies were discovered?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: We know that they were found in a tunnel in Rafah in the south of Gaza during ongoing combat operations by the IDF. But on that specificity of the amount of time that they were killed before the troops got there, that's not clear, and we don't know how they died, and we don't know what led the troops to that tunnel during that combat operation.

So there's a lot of unanswered things here. And in that vacuum a lot of pain, a lot of suffering, a lot of angry accusations. The vast majority, as you were saying, of the families of the hostages are saying that the Prime Minister should take responsibility and own the fact that it is his own personal style of negotiating -- in terms of negotiating that have led to the deaths of these hostages.

The Prime Minister, in his recorded statement, has pushed back very strongly, putting the blame for all of this on Hamas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): In recent days, as Israel has been holding intensive negotiations with the mediator in a supreme effort to reach a deal, Hamas is continuing to steadfastly refuse all proposals. Even worse, at the exact same time, it murdered six of our hostages.

Whoever murders hostages does not want a deal. For our part, we will not relent. The government of Israel is committed, and I am personally committed, to continue striving towards a deal that will return all of our hostages and ensure our security and our existence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: And I think what makes the pain of all this so much more bitter is now we know from two senior Israeli officials who were talking to our colleague Jeremy Diamond that, in fact, three of the hostages, three of these people, these young people were about to be released had that deal gone ahead. Among them was Hersh Goldberg- Polin, a Israeli-American born in Berkeley, California.

Happy go lucky is how his family described him and he was brutally abused and used in Hamas propaganda videos as well. He's a young man who lost his left arm trying to save others during the brutal attacks on October 7th.

AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: Has to add another layer of pain for this -- for these families knowing that they were slated for release. Just quickly, Nic, could you tell us a little bit about how the country -- how Israelis are reacting especially as you hear from the hostage families forum, you know, calling on Israelis to mobilize in mass protests?

ROBERTSON: Yes. And pretty much you're hearing from all the principal opposition leaders Yair Golan, Yair Lapid, Benny Gantz, all essentially calling on people to come out on the streets and protest. Indeed, we've heard from the mayor of one municipality who has said his municipality is going to go on strike tomorrow. That is something that he's asking other mayors to do. And we may see that catching on.

So not just street protests, but actual some of the functioning of local government being shut down in protest, in essence, to try to bring down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change the negotiations for the hostages.

WALKER: Nic Robertson, thank you.

BLACKWELL: We are hearing from some of the families of those hostages this morning. The family of Hersh Goldberg-Polin said in a statement, "With broken hearts, the Goldberg-Polin family is devastated to announce the death of their beloved son and brother Hersh. The family thanks you all for your love and support and ask for privacy at this time."

WALKER: Elliott Gotkine joining us now with more. Elliott, you're learning about each of the hostages. What are you learning? ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Amara, well, as Nic was saying, perhaps the most -- one of the most visible hostages was Hersh Goldberg-Polin, not just because he was Israeli American, but because his parents were so visible and vocal in their advocacy for getting their son released and all the other hostages released.

[07:05:03]

They met with President Biden. They spoke at the Democratic National Convention some 10 days ago as well and got the whole crowd chanting, "bring them home, bring them home," which is something the hostage families have been chanting ever since their loved ones were kidnapped during the Hamas led terrorist attacks of October the 7th.

And as Nic was also saying, Hersh was also notable because we saw video in the aftermath of those October the 7th attacks of Hersh being herded onto the back of a truck with his left arm kind of blown off at the stump there. And we then later heard from firsthand from a friend of his that he had taken shelter in a small bomb shelter nearby and that the militants had called up to them and were throwing hand grenades into the shelter and that Hersh has been throwing the back out of the shelter and that's how he came to lose half of his left arm.

And that stump was also clearly visible in that propaganda video that Nic mentioned just now as well, which was broadcast -- which was put out by Hamas in April. And on top of Hersh as well, there was Eden Yerushalmi, a 24-year-old woman who was working as a bartender at the Nova Music Festival.

She had her sisters on the phone during her hours long ordeal. Don't forget, it took hours for the IDF, for the authorities to get down there to try to help some of those who were subject to perhaps the site of the most murderous part of Hamas's rampage that day. For hours on end, she was speaking with her sisters on the phone trying to find cover, trying to hide. She was eventually discovered and her last words to her sister were, "Shani, they caught me."

Carmel Gat, 40 years old. The only one of the six whose bodies were discovered on Saturday who was not at the Nova Music Festival. She was visiting nearby Kibbutz Be'eri. She was visiting her parents. Her mother was killed that day, her father survived.

And she was described by some of those hostages released in the one and only hostage ceasefire deal back in November as a guardian angel and was said to have been teaching yoga and meditation to those who were in captivity with her.

Almog Sarusi, 27-year-old man. He was with his girlfriend of five years. She was shot as they were trying to escape. He stayed with her to try to help her and wound up being kidnapped himself.

There was Alexander Lobanov, a Russian-Israeli citizen, 32 years old from Ashkelon, just north of the Gaza Strip. He helped people seek refuge in the nearby Be'eri Forest, but they were discovered. He was kidnapped and during his captivity, his wife gave birth to his second son, who's now five months old and will never meet his father.

And then finally, there's Ori Danino, 25 years old, took a number of festival goers to safety in his car, and then instead of staying in safety himself, turned back around and went back to the site of the Nova Festival to try to rescue more people, only to be kidnapped himself.

And I should say, Victor and Amara, that there are still 101 hostages in the Gaza Strip, two of whom were -- four of whom, excuse me, were kidnapped before October the 7th. Around a third of those are believed to be dead. And, you know, the calls of, you know -- they're running out of time. There's no time left to do a ceasefire hostage deal will ring truer than ever to the families of those whose bodies were discovered on Saturday.

Victor, Amara?

BLACKWELL: Elliott Gotkine joining us from London. Thank you so much.

With me now is former State Department negotiator for the Middle East, Aaron David Miller. Aaron, good morning to you. The IDF says that these six, they were killed shortly before they were discovered in this tunnel. What's the strategy behind keeping them captive and alive for 11 months and then killing them?

I mean, I'm thinking the hostages are Hamas's leverage. Is there some other consideration here? Why kill them?

AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT MIDDLE EAST NEGOTIATOR: It's hard to know, Victor. Thanks for having me. What the calculations of Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the October 7 terror surge, who is clearly ensconced somewhere, and even below Rafah, perhaps in a tunnel structure, which is happy, way through the New York subway system.

What is calculation at this point really is? Clearly, and this was based on intelligence reports, Hamas intended to take hostages, probably surprised by the large number that they were able to take. And they understand, Sinwar served 20 plus years in Israeli prison. He knows the attachment to which the IDF, the Israeli public, the political establishment, attaches to redeeming, not just a living, but the dead as well from the battlefield.

So he understands the psychology. And frankly, so far, this brutal, sadistic strategy appears to be working. These hostages, according to Admiral Hagari, the IDF spokesperson, were killed shortly before the IDF arrived.

[07:10:08]

And there were other defense briefings indicating that Hamas has told the guards that these hostages, that if confronted with the IDF or shortly before that they are to kill them, whether this was intended a willful signal on the partisan war that he's toughening his terms, psychological pressure on the Israelis hard to say.

But the mixture of grief, of anger and outrage could create a new pressure point on a prime minister that's been reluctant to say the least to engage in a -- an early deal for the redemption of many of these hostages.

BLACKWELL: Yes, let's talk about that, this potential pressure point because you and I have had this conversation before in mid-May, when there were several bodies of hostages discovered, there were protests, there were calls for a deal to release. The political strategy of Netanyahu didn't change and the IDF continued the strike.

Same thing happened about five weeks ago in July, the same trajectory. Why would this be considered potentially a different outcome? We just watched this several times over the last several months.

MILLER: You know, it may not -- to govern in Israel, you need 60 plus one and an Israeli can estimate of 120. Benjamin Netanyahu has 64. It's a very coherent, cohesive coalition composed of ultra-religious parties and extreme religious Zionists.

It's conceivable that some members of the Likud, Netanyahu's own party, made press and push to accelerate the deal. You have the Prime Minister's, Minister of Defense, you have Golan, who last week engaged in a shouting match with the Prime Minister over his reluctance to do this deal, and basically said to the Prime Minister, you have a choice.

You could have the hostages back, or you could have the Philadelphia Corridor, which is the corridor which separates Egypt from Gaza, on which the Prime Minister has demanded an Israeli presence there in order to further prevent Hamas from resurging.

So pressure is rising, and remember, last year for 40 plus weeks in a row, hundreds of thousands of Israelis mobilized in the streets in order to turn back the Prime Minister's determination to rearrange the Israeli political system and emasculate the power and independence of the Israeli Supreme Court.

So, it could be a new factor, but you saw the Prime Minister's statement. He's doubling down. And basically said negotiations with an organization that willfully killed hostages, it's not going to happen. We'll see in the hours and days to come whether or not that pressure mounts.

BLACKWELL: Yes. The Prime Minister won that vote on holding the Philadelphia Corridor, 8 to 1, with one abstention. I wonder if there will be any deterioration of that coalition that supported him after that, as you describe it accurately, shouting match last Thursday.

Let me ask you about what the U.S. does now, because as we've talked about all morning, one of those bodies discovered was an Israeli- American Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Does this change the U.S. calculation? And I'm not talking like the broad headline of support for Israel, but in the nuances of diplomacy. Does Blinken push a button, pull the lever that up to this point he has not, or does all of this stay status quo for the U.S.?

MILLER: You know, it's impossible to answer that question. You can only look at the past 11 months, Victor, where despite anger, frustration, and annoyance with some of the Prime Minister's policies with respect to this war, the administration has really been reluctant to impose a single cost or consequence on this particular government, the most extreme and right wing in Israel's history as a consequence.

I suspect the fact that Hamas murdered these hostages brutally, three of them were said to be exchanged in whatever the deal was and when it would occur. I think administration will continue to press on this, but I don't think that the administration is going to press, push and make it clear publicly that the Prime Minister has no choice but to basically give in to Hamas's demands, particularly in the wake of these murders.

And remember, we're 70 plus days from one of the most consequential elections in modern American history, which raises the political stakes of appearing to pressure the Israelis inside with Hamas. Again, I -- it's hard to imagine if there is pressure, Victor, I think it will come and it must come from the Israeli public and the political establishment. That's where I think the prime minister would suffer the most.

[07:15:11]

MILLER: All right. The Israeli public, a majority of them are putting that pressure on. We'll see if the political establishment joins in.

Aaron David Miller, thanks so much.

WALKER: Our coverage of breaking news in Gaza continues here on CNN This Morning weekend. After the break, what we know about the six Hamas hostages, including an Israeli-American who were all found dead in a tunnel in Rafah.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:15]

WALKER: The news this morning about the deaths of six hostages held by Hamas in Gaza has sparked anger toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government for failing to secure a deal to bring the hostages home. The hostages family forum says five of the individuals were taken from the Nova music festival on October 7th, while the sixth person, Carmel Gat, you see there, was captured from a nearby farming community or a kibbutz.

Israeli officials told CNN that three of the six including Israeli- American Hersh Goldberg-Polin were expected to be released during the first phase of a planned ceasefire agreement. A former Israeli hostage has accused Netanyahu of murdering the hostages by refusing to accept that deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ILANA GRITZEWSKY, FORMER ISRAELI HOSTAGE (through translator): Netanyahu says that those who murder hostages do not want a deal, but he repeatedly puts a spoke in the wheel and refuses a deal. He murders the hostages. Every day that passes is a death sentence for our hostages. I know this because I was there and survived this hell.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Hersh Goldberg-Polin was a California native who became a symbol of the international hostage crisis. His parents have become some of the most outspoken among the families urging Netanyahu to strike a deal for their loved ones release. Their efforts have taken them to meetings with world leaders and last month they addressed a crowd at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL GOLDBERG, MOTHER OF HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN: At this moment, 109 treasured human beings are being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. They are Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists. They are from 23 different countries. The youngest hostage is a one-year-old red headed baby boy and the oldest is an 86-year-old mustachioed grandpa.

Among the hostages are eight American citizens. One of those Americans is our only son. His name is Hersh.

JON POLIN, FATHER OF HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN: This is a political convention. But needing our only son and all of the cherished hostages home is not a political issue.

(APPLAUSE)

POLIN: It is -- it is a humanitarian issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The killing of these hostages has raised new questions about where potential hostage and ceasefire deal stands. President Biden is weighed in on that. You'll hear from him next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:27:40]

BLACKWELL: Israel's military says that it has recovered the bodies of six hostages in Hamas controlled tunnels in Gaza. The IDF says that Hamas killed the hostages right before they could be rescued. Demonstrators have already taken to the streets in Israel. They demand an immediate ceasefire deal.

WALKER: President Biden weighed in last night shortly after learning about the bodies of the hostages being found. Here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's time to support ending it. We should end this war. I think we're on the verge of having an agreement. It's just time to end it. It's time to finish it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WALKER: CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson has been following all the developments since the news broke. He's joining us now from Jerusalem with the very latest. Nic, there's been so much reaction. A lot of heart-wrenching reaction from the families of these hostages who were found dead. What more are you hearing?

ROBERTSON: Yes, a lot of the reaction is really coalescing around the fact that -- and this represents what, 62 percent of the population of Israel feel is that the prime minister is handling this wrong, that he could have had these hostages freed by now, if only he would make a deal with Hamas.

That's the feeling of most people, and that's really a very strong and painful sense of that we get from the hostage families from their main forum that are saying that the prime minister has prioritized himself and his political future over that of the hostages. They want a deal done to bring the rest of the hostages home, that this can be done.

The defense minister here has talked -- has asked the prime minister to call another cabinet session to revisit his decision to keep troops on the border between Gaza and Egypt, the so-called Philadelphia corridor, which seems to be one of the big issues blocking the hostage deal. The defense minister essentially telling the prime minister that he is undermining the negotiation process.

And on the back of all of that, you have the main opposition leaders here, all telling their supporters to come out on the streets and protest. And there will be protests around Israel tonight, this evening, protests in Tel Aviv, protests in other cities.

And one of the latest developments we've heard from the mayor of a municipality just outside of Tel Aviv, saying that his municipality will go on strike on Monday. He's calling for other mayors to do the same. It is a strong public expression of disapproval with the prime minister, of disappointment over the way he's handling it, and absolute despair for the families who were so desperate and have lost any chance of seeing at least these six hostages alive again.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Nic, the Hostages Families Forum headquarters released the statement said, the country will tremble. We call on the public to prepare. We will stop the country. They've also asked for the prime minister to speak live to the nation. Is there any plan to do that? We know that there was a full cabinet meeting scheduled for today that has been canceled. When do we expect we'll hear more or again from Netanyahu?

ROBERTSON: I think the prime minister is being very careful with his messaging, and that's why this was a taped message that he gave when the prime minister is confident, he will put himself in a position. And we've seen it before where he'll be prepared to take questions, where he'll put himself on the spot to be asked those tough questions. He's not doing that today.

The emotions are really high. The prime minister has shown his talent for political survival by letting the emotions and the grief and the anger against him sort of overrun, outrun, flow away, and then he will step back into the stream again. And that's one of the ways that he manages his -- to continue politically.

But at the moment, his coalition remains politically strong, but the way that he is handling it, at the moment, is to let others speak and not put himself in a place where he could be asked those tough questions, emotional questions that the majority of the country want answered and a sympathetic towards all the hostage families.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Nic Robertson, appreciate your reporting. Thank you. Also, the first round of polio vaccinations for children are being given in Gaza. What we know about this temporary pause in the Israel-Hamas fighting to prevent a polio outbreak in the war- ravaged region.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:35:00]

BLACKWELL: The U.N. has now begun its campaign to vaccinate thousands of children in Gaza against polio. The first group of babies has already received their first vaccines. The U.N. says they have to vaccinate more than 600,000 children across Gaza.

A 10-month-old recently tested positive for polio. And remember, Gaza had reached near universal polio vaccination coverage before the war. It's since dropped below 90 percent. Israel has agreed to daily temporary pauses in fighting to allow the children to be vaccinated.

Joining me right now is the director of communications for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, Juliette Touma.

Juliette, good morning to you. More than 600,000 children under 10. You've got in this first period three three-day periods between now and the 12th. How do you get it done?

JULIETTE TOUMA, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, UNRWA: Thanks for having me, Victor. And good morning to you and everyone. Look, it's a huge, huge undertaking, but we have just started this morning. The first few hours were actually a very good sign in the sense that lots and lots of moms and dads came over to the UNRWA clinics to vaccinate their children.

And so, really, the key is for parties to the conflict to respect this area pauses, what we call, so that we can reach as many children as possible and reach the target of 600,000 kids.

BLACKWELL: You know, that's interesting that you said there were lots of moms and dads who have come over. And I want to talk more about logistics, but there has to be also this relationship of trust because tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed over the last 11 months. They faced food insecurity and homelessness and losing their loved ones. Is there a risk or are you concerned about a significant number of parents not trusting coming to get their children vaccinated?

TOUMA: Only time will tell, but you're absolutely right. No place has been spared in Gaza. No place is safe and no one is safe in Gaza. Now, what these pauses should guarantee is exactly that, is the safety. And it's a reminder also to all those fighting in Gaza, that United Nations facilities and other civilian infrastructure like hospitals and schools and other basic facilities should be protected at all times, which they haven't been.

BLACKWELL: Are you confident that you will actually have these three three-day pauses? And as I understand it, from the secretary general, the head of the WHO, that there's a four-week wait for the second shot in this vaccination that you'll get what you need in the future?

TOUMA: That's correct, Victor. We need to vaccinate the children in Gaza twice. So, this is the first phase where we're going to put two drops in the mouth of every boy and girl under the age of 10. And it is really up to the parties to the conflict to allow us to do this.

[07:40:00]

When it comes to preparedness, we are absolutely ready. We have our teams. You should have seen the footage. It was really moving, of all these mothers and fathers and all our medical teams, the nurses, the doctors, the cold boxes, we're doing this in partnership with the World Health Organization and with UNICEF. And really, we hope that it works. Because polio is a very vicious virus that doesn't know borders, doesn't need visas to cross.

And it is a matter of time, if we don't do the vaccines, that more children sadly will be paralyzed. And this is the last thing that anyone wants.

BLACKWELL: Yes, I mentioned at the top, there is that 10-month-old who was confirmed a case of polio, but there were these six positive tests, the sewage tests back in June, which is a lagging indicator. So, is it your expectation that we'll see more positive tests for polio?

TOUMA: We do hope not. This is exactly why it's absolutely critical for this campaign to succeed and that we reach every child. Look, I've been to Gaza during the war. The conditions, they are absolutely appalling. You have sewage overflowing, you have dirty water, people don't have the basics that we all take for granted like soap and clean water.

So, while it's very alarming that we have this one case confirmed, it should not be a surprise. I think really what is shocking is how quickly polio has come back into Gaza after 25 years of eradication. I worked in other conflict settings, and in Syria, as an example, the first case of polio popped back 25 years later. But it took three and a half years of war. Here it took us just over 10 months. It says a lot.

BLACKWELL: Juliette Touma, thank you for the work you're doing, and thank you for spending a few minutes with me this morning.

WALKER: Well, we are just 65 days out from the presidential election. Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz kick off their nationwide fighting for Reproductive Freedoms Bus Tour this week right in the Former President Donald Trump's own backyard. We'll have the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:45:00]

WALKER: Right now, protesters in Israel are slamming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding that a deal be done to bring home the remaining hostages. Some are even planning a strike, a rally tomorrow.

Six Israeli hostages were found dead in Gaza Saturday. According to Israeli officials, three of them, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin were set to be the next hostages to be released as part of the current negotiations.

BLACKWELL: Now, President Biden told reporters last night the negotiations are on the verge of an agreement and Vice President Kamala Harris weighed in as well this morning. She said she and the president are staying committed to bringing hostages home.

With us now, CNN's Arit John. Of course, the vice president will face some questions on the campaign trail about this. She has balanced or tried to balance support for Israel, support of Palestinians. What are we expecting from her as she talks about this on the campaign trail?

ARIT JOHN, CNN REPORTER: I think that's exactly right. Up until this point, we've seen the president and the vice president try to strike this balance between saying Israel has a right to defend itself and America supports that right and saying that that defense must be articulated in a way that preserves human life -- preserves innocent human life in Gaza.

But, you know, we're in a different situation now with this terrible news, and I think the administration is going to face a lot of pressure of how are you going to get -- what are you doing to get this deal done as quickly as possible? And we're going to see Harris talking about that on the trail. We're going to -- we've already seen in the statement that she put out today that there is more of a focus on we're going to bring home the hostages and also more of a condemnation of Hamas.

WALKER: Harris and Walz, they'll be on the trail again. It'll kick off Tuesday, which is their 50-stop bus tour. The Reproductive Rights Bus Tour, and they'll kick it off right, in Trump's backyard. What is their strategy?

JOHN: Reproductive rights, that's like -- would be the top issue that Harris wants to talk about in this campaign. Democrats know that, especially young women voters, this is an issue where they are very motivated, and it's really symbolic that they're starting this in Florida. Florida is a state that obviously has drifted away from Democrats in recent cycles, but it's also a state where Governor Ron DeSantis signed a six-week abortion ban. And there is a ballot initiative on the ballot in November that would enshrine abortion rights in the constitution.

It's going to take 60 percent of the vote to get that passed, but we're seeing Democrats sort of say, this is something that could rally support, that could get voters energized not just in Florida, but across the country. And I think that's why we're seeing them launch this bus tour, bring out these abortion rights storytellers as -- like they had at the DNC to really rally and energize supporters across these battleground districts -- or battleground states on an issue that Democrats really have a strong advantage on.

WALKER: All right. Arit John, good to see you. Thank you. Joining us now is Lynn Sweet, Washington bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times. Let's start with the breaking news that we've been following all morning. Six hostages found dead in a tunnel under Rafah, one of them being an Israeli-American, a very familiar face, Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

[07:50:00]

We know his parents have been very vocal and public about pushing for some kind of deal to bring the hostages home. Sadly, he has now among those who've been found dead. How does this apply more pressure to the Biden administration and to Kamala Harris' campaign? Do you see anything changing in the way that the U.S. is involved in mediating these talks?

LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Well, the parents John and Rachel, we've been following closely at the Sun Times because they grew up in Chicago. And Hersh, a blessed memory now, has family in Chicago. So, we're so very familiar with them. And I was at the Democratic National Convention when his parents spoke at the Harris Convention. So, that tells you one thing, that the campaign did care about making a point of paying attention to the hostages.

Now, Vice President Harris said in her message, and I think tried to weigh the -- to also include in her message the interests of Palestinians, where she said that, you know, after her condolences from herself and her husband, that the Palestinian people have suffered under Hamas rule for nearly two decades. I think that tells you the mess -- not the -- the policy of the United States to eradicate Hamas as a threat to both the Palestinians and the Israeli people.

I think that's a message that may sound simple when I'm saying it to you, but has been enormously complex in trying to explain to the world, to Palestinian -- to Palestinians in Gaza and around the world, so many of which live actually in the Chicago area, that there are multiple complex concerns here.

Now, the question of is exactly what she will do different, time being, nothing except negotiate for ceasefire and to get the hostages out.

WALKER: Does this complicate the messaging for Kamala Harris as she is embarking on this bus tour through battleground states on Tuesday?

SWEET: Actually, basically, no. Her campaign manager, Jen O'Malley Dillon, just put out a state of the race memo this morning on the 65 days left. And on the top issues that she listed crime, democracy, abortion, healthcare, and gun violence. So, this is an issue that is enormously important, especially in the battleground State of Michigan, but is not listed on the issues that may motivate, mobilize voters in what will be a razor thin, says the campaign analysis election.

WALKER: Before Harrison and Walz embark on this Reproductive Freedoms Bus Tour, Harris and Biden will be appearing together for a joint campaign appearance on this Labor Day Monday in Pittsburgh. It's been -- it feels like it's been quite rare to see Joe Biden -- President Joe Biden, you know, out and about and having public events. How do you expect the Harris campaign to deploy Biden for her campaign?

SWEET: Strategically and targeted. Pennsylvania is a state that he has campaigned in and has appeared in countless times as president, has roots there in Scranton. We have all heard so many times about his Scranton upbringing. So, this is -- President Biden is an enormous asset used in a sense where he could do the most good. That is true of other surrogates. I don't want to say that the president is just another surrogate. He obviously has had him shoulders above others, but in any campaign, the most important thing is to use the time of the people who could help you. And most wisely, and I would think it would be -- Pennsylvania is a good place to start.

WALKER: I do want to ask you about some post-convention polls and the latest one that we've seen post-DNC, obviously, from The Wall Street Journal shows that the race is still, there's no clear leader. This survey found, you know, Harris with 48 percent to Trump's 47 percent in a head-to-head matchup, and it's also similar when you include independent and third-party candidates, 47 percent for Harris, 45 percent for Trump.

But if you look at this survey, it also shows the enthusiasm level for the Democrats, it's at 90 percent and 82 percent for the Republicans. Should we be focusing more on that? And why didn't we see -- did we see much of a -- I mean, a boost, a bump from the DNC?

[07:55:00]

SWEET: Well, we did. More money, more sign ups. But again, looking at the memo just out this morning, the campaign manager, Jen O'Malley Dillon, is saying, we're the underdogs. We are just trying to eke out a win. Now, some of that is -- you know, I don't blame them for not wanting to be overconfident, but the reality is they may not have much to be overconfident about, and that's the state of the race at this point.

WALKER: Lynn Sweet, thank you so much for your time this morning, and thank you for being with us.

SWEET: Thank you.

WALKER: It's been a busy morning for us here on CNN This Weekend.

BLACKWELL: Stay with us throughout the day for the latest developments out of Israel. Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju starts after a break. Plus, be sure to tune in Monday for a two-hour special of The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper for a live -- for a look at five key issues, I should say, from both presidential candidates ahead of the November election. Watch Fight for the White House on Monday night, starting 8:00 p.m. with Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper.

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