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Nearly 79,000 Have Fled Rafah since Monday; U.S. Will Halt Some Weapons Shipments if Israel Invades Rafah; Stormy Daniels Cross-Examined at Hush Money Trial; Russia Celebrates Victory Day; Former Israeli Consul General Blasts Netanyahu; Hospitals in Rafah under Intense Pressure; Michigan Students and Alums Discuss Biden and the War; Prince Harry Denied Visit with King Charles on London Visit. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired May 09, 2024 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
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ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Welcome to what is the second hour of our show.
I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. Time here is 6:00 in the evening, time on the U.S. East Coast, 10:00 am.
U.S. President Joe Biden, says, he was stop supplying certain weapons to Israel, if its forces invade, Rafah
Israeli airstrikes already taking a rising toll there with aid groups desperate for Israel to reopen key border crossings for fuel and other
supplies.
More testimony from Stormy Daniels as Donald Trump to hush money. Trial resumes.
My colleague, Erica Hill, is outside the Manhattan courthouse.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR AND U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Becky, good to be with you at just at 10:00 am here, as you noted.
Stormy Daniels back on the stand for her cross-examination, which started off with questions about why she wanted to be paid for her story or her
silence. We will have much more on that, of course, as the hour continues. Back to you.
ANDERSON: Thank you. Erica.
As the U.S. president increases the pressure on Israel to hold back from an all-out assault in Rafah, activity in Gaza's border cities are intensifying
nonetheless. These satellite images show the IDF expanding from airstrikes to ground operations.
The use of bulldozers in certain places in the start of what appears to be mustering areas for military vehicles. The images obtained by CNN bear
striking resemblance to how the IDF's initial ground invasion was conducted back in October.
A UNICEF worker told CNN the city is, quote, "hanging on the precipice or the edge of a precipice."
Around 79,000 people have already fled since Monday, according to the U.N. Meantime, Israeli officials are reacting sharply to a CNN exclusive
interview with the U.S. president, speaking to my colleague, Erin Burnett.
Joe Biden said that he will halt the supply of some weapons to Israel if prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of Rafah. The
Israeli war and security cabinets are now set to meet later today to discuss these comments. Let's listen to exactly what President Biden told
Erin Burnett.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: I want to ask you about something happening as we sit here and speak. And that, of course, is, Israel is striking Rafah.
I know that you have paused, Mr. President, shipments of 2,000-pound U.S. bombs to Israel due to concern that they could be used in any offensive on
Rafah. Have those bombs, those powerful 2,000-pound bombs, been used to kill civilians in Gaza?
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go
after population centers.
And I made it clear that, if they go into Rafah -- they haven't gone into Rafah yet. If they go into Rafah, I'm not supplying the weapons that have
been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, to deal with that problem.
We're going to continue to make sure Israel is secure, in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks like came out of the Middle
East recently.
But it's -- it's just wrong. We're not going to supply the weapons and the artillery shells used -- that have been used.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: Artillery shells as well?
BIDEN: Yes, artillery shells.
BURNETT: So just to understand, what they're doing right now in Rafah, is that not going into Rafah, as you define it?
BIDEN: No, they haven't gone into the population centers. What they did is right on the border.
And it's causing problems with -- right now, in terms of with Egypt, which I have worked very hard to make sure we have a relationship and help. But I
have made it clear to Bibi and the war cabinet they're not going to get our support if, in fact, they're going into these population centers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Let's stay on this.
[10:05:00]
CNN's Jeremy Diamond is live from Jerusalem.
What's been the response?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Israeli security and war cabinet is set to convene in just a few hours' time to discuss those
comments by President Biden, those threats and this new U.S. policy effectively, to condition certain U.S. weapons that are provided to Israel
based off of Israel's actions on the ground in Gaza.
The war cabinet, I'm told, is going to specifically review assessments of how many munitions they have left, how to manage those munitions going
forward in light of the fact that the United States may effectively cut Israel off from certain munitions if indeed they proceed with that ground
offensive in Rafah.
But I'm not getting a sense, Becky, whether publicly or privately from Israeli officials, that there is any sense that these remarks from
President Biden, that this new U.S. policy is going to deter Israel from continuing to expand its ground operations in Rafah.
There is no sense that that threat is being met with any sense of a course correction of -- from the Israeli cabinet's part. Although that is going to
be one of the subjects to be discussed during this war and security cabinet, the security cabinet meetings set to happen later this evening.
So we'll wait and stand by for that but in the meantime, we are already getting a range of reactions from top Israeli government officials. Itamar
Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, for example, tweeting, "Hamas loves Biden."
Similar comments from Bezalel Smotrich, another member of the far right, who is in Netanyahu's governing coalition, who basically said that this new
-- these statements from Biden should only harden Israel's resolve to carry out this major ground offensive into Rafah.
Other Israeli politicians, those on the left or in the center of the political spectrum, are blaming Netanyahu and his government for allowing
U.S.-Israel relations to sour to the point where President Biden would make such a public statement about this policy.
But the question now, Becky, of course, is what will happen next on the ground in Gaza. We have already seen, as even this limited ground incursion
by Israeli forces into eastern Rafah is having tremendous impacts on the ground, one of three functioning hospitals in Rafah has now shut down.
Because it fell in that red evacuation zone that the Israeli military ordered evacuations from several days ago, when they began their ground
operations. So we're already seeing multiple ways in which the humanitarian situation in Gaza is being affected by this.
The Rafah border crossing remains closed. Now the question is, when or if the Israeli military will choose to move forward with an all-out ground
offensive into those population centers that President Biden has said would trigger this new red line. Becky,
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. Treats them, as they say, as a red line, as explained once again and reiterated to Erin Burnett, our colleague
yesterday.
Thank you.
Former president Donald Trump has accused President Joe Biden of siding with, quote, "terrorists" after the U.S. withheld weapons from Israel.
In a post to Truth Social, Trump said, quote, "Biden is weak, corrupt and leading the world straight into world war three."
And in another post, Trump blamed Biden for the anti-war protests on U.S. college campuses, claiming with no evidence that he is being funded by,
quote, "far-left pro-terrorist mobs."
Let's get you to Manhattan now and to just outside the criminal court there, with the very latest from the Donald Trump hush money trial. My
colleague, Erica.
HILL: All right, Becky, thank you.
Stormy Daniels is, of course, on the stand for a second day of cross- examination from the defense from Donald Trump's legal team. The defense had said ahead of going into court today that they were actually going to
take a little bit longer than they had initially planned.
That they wanted to work at repairing what they saw as some of the damage that may have done -- been done on Tuesday to their client's reputation,
the former president's reputation by Stormy Daniels' testimony.
Right now what they're going through are a lot of the moments that led us to where we are here, talking about the decisions that Stormy Daniels made
to sign that confidential agreement, to take that hush money payment, what else she had been considering.
There's really a focus today on that non-disclosure agreement and also on a subsequent statement that Stormy Daniels signed. I want to bring in my
colleague, Brynn Gingras, who has been following this very closely.
At this point now, where they're going back and forth a little bit, just looking at my notes, this really stood out to me, that Stormy Daniels was
just asked about this statement that she had put out at one time, saying, look, this isn't true.
There is no truth to the rumors that I had received hush money from Donald Trump, that -- the statement was rumors I had received hush money from
Donald Trump are completely false.
She was approached with that. And she said, well, yes, that's correct because they weren't rumors. It was the truth.
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is actually true. Yes. She seems more composed, right?
HILL: Yes.
[10:10:00]
GINGRAS: This is a different Stormy Daniels, which is something I was really going to look out for, what having that day in between, is she going
to compose herself.
She does seem like she's answering the defense -- defense minister -- the defense's questions very precisely, smartly and not getting too agitated
like -- she was called feisty on Tuesday by people who are monitoring her actions.
So, yes, she definitely seems like she's able to sort of narrow in more on what the prosecution is needing from her, which is really level headed and
try to explain exactly how we got here and what her role is to this --
(CROSSTALK)
HILL: Even being described by some of our colleagues in the courtroom as serious and businesslike --
GINGRAS: Yes.
HILL: -- today, as you point out, in her demeanor. But what they're covering today, really going through the nuts and bolts of how we got here
and trying to poke holes in her credibility of, well, you know, you went back and forth the whole time. You were really just in this to get money.
This is one of the things that they want to hammer home for the jury. She's greedy (ph), just like Trump.
GINGRAS: Yes, the money is a big thing. I mean, they have asked this -- it feels like 40 different ways, that she was going after the money. And
Stormy Daniels in some ways is kind of giving that for the defense and other ways.
Saying no. She brought up this "60 Minutes" interview. She said I didn't do that for the money. But Susan Necheles is continuing to go after her,
saying, but you got a lot of publicity out of it. So at some point you've got some money out of it.
So they are really trying to hammer home that point. One thing I also did just find interesting was that she talked about -- she didn't really have
any communications with Michael Cohen. She was actually -- her lawyer was dealing with Michael Cohen, Keith Davidson, who has been on the stand
already.
And so she's distancing herself from Michael Cohen. If you remember, the defense already asked her, really insinuated that they were, quote,
"buddies," that they've been on a podcast together talking about this trial. So for her to distance herself now, it's interesting. So we'll see
what jurors remember, what they believe.
It's kind of two different Stormys right now.
HILL: Yes. It's really interesting to see and it makes you wonder too, what were the discussions yesterday on the day off, potentially, we're
going to ask one of our guests about that. What that may have -- what that may have been like.
So we're only about not even 40 minutes in, I would say, at this point. The defense had said they expect to go a little bit longer.
But did they offer any more clarity in terms of what they meant by that?
GINGRAS: No. They just wanted to repair the reputation of Donald Trump. Now, I don't expect to see questions that are doing that. So maybe we'll
get to that.
But that was their big thing, right?
That's the reason they asked for a mistrial on Tuesday, because they didn't like the way she answered some of the questions, sort of insinuating that
that relationship was not consensual -- the one, of course, that he has denied.
So I don't see that part of the questioning happening yet. We're still focused on the money, which we saw a lot of on Tuesday. But we'll see if it
takes a turn that way.
HILL: We'll be watching, Brynn, appreciate it. Thank you.
And stay with us. We'll, be back after a quick break, live from here in Lower Manhattan, you're watching CNN.
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ANDERSON: "We will not let anyone threaten us."
That was the message from Russian president Vladimir Putin earlier today. It was part of his Victory Day celebration speech in Red Square.
[10:15:03]
Mr. Putin's address preceded a massive military parade. Victory Day annually marks Russia's role in the defeat of Nazi Germany. Today's events
came just days, of course, after he was inaugurated for a fifth term, CNN's Clare Sebastian has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid unseasonal snow flurries, Russian president Vladimir Putin using this moment to turn up the
heat in this war of words with the West, accusing it of distorting history.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): Revanchism, mockery of history and the desire to justify the current followers of the
Nazis, a part of the general policy of Western elites to form new regional conflicts.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Putin's third Victory Day since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, another opportunity to put his own brand of fact or
distortion, painting the war in Ukraine as the sequel to Russia's role in defeating Nazi Germany, portraying the West as the aggressor, justifying
unimaginable losses under the banner of patriotism.
PUTIN (through translator): Russia is going through a difficult period. The fate of our motherland depends on every one of us.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Soldiers fresh from the front lines in Russia's so-called special military operation also treading the damp cobbles of Red
Square. And yet this year, victory seems more attainable.
Russia now has the advantage on Ukraine's front lines. Gains on the eastern front in recent months, the biggest in more than 1.5 years. Moscow,
confident enough to show off its selection of battlefield trophies, European and American tanks and armored vehicles, part of a month-long
exhibition at Moscow's Victory Park.
At home, Putin now, two days into his fifth term, is more powerful than ever. And he wants the world to know it.
PUTIN (through translator): Russia will do everything to avoid a global confrontation. But at the same time, we will not let anyone threaten us.
Our strategic forces are always combat ready.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): It was a measured nuclear threat. As ballistic missiles rolled across Red Square, Putin casualty coordinated plans for
upcoming non-strategic nuclear exercises with close ally, Belarus. Both leaders emphasizing this is just routine training.
While Western leaders no longer join Russia in marking this shared victory, Putin knows they are watching -- Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, the Israeli defense minister has given an apparent response to Joe Biden's comments to CNN, in which the U.S. president said
he would halt further shipments of arms to Israel -- or some shipments of arms to Israel -- if it launches a major invasion of Rafah.
Israel's Yoav gallant said his country, quote, "cannot be subdued in its goal of defeating Hamas in Gaza."
Other Israeli lawmakers have exchanged jabs over Mr. Biden's remarks, with the Israeli president going so far as to issue a warning over what he
called "irresponsible social media posts."
That was very specifically aimed at a post from Ben-Gvir, which had "Biden hearts Hamas."
Former Israeli consul general in New York, Alon Pinkas, posted on X earlier today, quote, "Maybe one day, Mr. President Biden, you'll understand
Netanyahu, what a dark, manipulative ingrate he is."
And Alon Pinkas joins me now live from Tel Aviv.
Just explain what you meant by that tweet, if you will.
ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL IN NEW YORK: Well, the -- hello, Becky.
The level of ingratitude, level of, you know, of defiance and audacity is astounding here. Here's a president who, two weeks ago, approved over $14
billion -- billion with a B -- for Israel in arms, munitions and other support.
A president, who three days ago, signed an arms deal, an immediate arms deal, munitions deal, for $327 million.
A president who, 6.5 months ago, dispatched aircraft carriers to the region in support of Israel and to deter Iran and Hezbollah.
A president who has asked three times a veto at the U.N. Security Council. And here you have a prime minister, a defense minister around and that dog,
that security minister, Ben-Gvir, doing nothing else but maligning and being --
[10:20:08]
(CROSSTALK)
PINKAS: -- I don't even know how to call it -- historic presidential (ph) (INAUDIBLE).
ANDERSON: Well, I'm sure you've seen or heard CNN's exclusive interview with Joe Biden, where he said he will stop sending specific bombs, these
2,000-pound bombs, and artillery shells to Israel if it launches its major invasion of Rafah, which is a red line to Joe Biden, as far as he's
concerned.
Should that incursion beyond the Palestinian population because, at the moment, the Americans don't seem to have a plan from Israel as to how to
avoid these mass civilian casualties.
Israel's got boots on the ground anyway. I wonder what you made of Biden's remarks and what you think the impact of those remarks will be. We've heard
some of the rhetoric that's come out of Israeli officials. We've got security and war cabinet tonight, so I'm interested from you to find out
what you think is going to happen next.
PINKAS: Well, there are two ways of looking at this.
The first is in terms of Israel's surprise. It's ridiculous. It is ludicrous. Israel has been warned that this may happen. So the frustration
is natural, the anger is understandable. But that's no reason in the world for Israel to express this, oh, my God, look what happened.
You knew this was going to happen. You've been warned. You've been cautioned and you've been told privately repeatedly by secretary of state
Blinken, by Secretary of Defense Austin, by national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
You've been told that this is coming. You've also -- you being Israel -- you've also followed the pressure in Congress or on the Hill that President
Biden is under from Democrats, asking him to condition (INAUDIBLE).
That's one way of looking at it. The second is more substantive. The real issue here is whether this is a one-off, this is a symbolic, specific
warning or that's misrepresented. A change, a major change in policy.
As it seems based on President Biden's interview with CNN, your network, this represents a change of policy. But how it will proceed depends on how
Israel will respond. And that has to do -- I don't know if we have time for this -- that has to do, Becky, with a very different, almost diametrically
opposed view.
That Israel and the U.S. have in terms of this so-called operation (INAUDIBLE).
ANDERSON: There's a war and security cabinet tonight to consider, as we understand, its sources tell CNN, Joe Biden's comments. You're not in the
room, I know that. And you're not in Israel. So -- but you'll be you'll be speaking to people.
How do you expect that or those meetings to go down?
Do you expect to check -- if we were potentially seeing a change in policy by the U.S., should we see or expect to see a change in policy by Israel at
this point?
PINKAS: I'm very much in Israel. I'm right here in Tel Aviv and I do speak to people.
ANDERSON: Apologies.
PINKAS: That's OK. Even though I don't have many friends in this particular war cabinet, look, a lot of this is about venting anger and
venting frustration. And Mr. Netanyahu is going to allow his ministers to go on with this.
Gung ho and bravado, he betrayed us, stopping us from a total victory. And how can we trust this kind of alliance and all that nonsense.
And that's going to be it. Because in terms of policy, Becky, Israel has to seriously take what President Biden said and be cognizant of the fact that,
if it does proceed with a large-scale -- and I emphasize large scale because small scale, so-called intelligence (INAUDIBLE) into Rafah are
acceptable to the U.S.
But a large scale operation is something that Israel just cannot contemplate doing right now. And if it does, it endangers the very
relationship with the U.S. in this respect.
ANDERSON: Nearly half a century ago, senators in Washington, including former Senator Joe Biden, confronted then Israeli president Begin over
Israel's invasion of Lebanon, threatening to cut off aid.
[10:25:09]
I just want to play you and our viewers a clip from our CNN newscast back in the day, covering the story back then, have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FORMER SEN. PAUL TSONGAS (D-MA): I think it's fair to say that, in my eight years in Washington, I've never seen such an angry session with a
foreign head of state.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Several senators expressed concern with Israel's use of American weapons for what they consider other than
defensive purposes. And Senator Larry Pressler took that issue a step further.
SEN. LARRY PRESSLER (R-SD): In my own case, I made the point that American taxpayers have reached a point of weariness at the amount spent on arms on
both sides.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Begin was warned that some of Israel's strongest American supporters are beginning to waver. But the prime
minister downplayed those warnings.
MENACHEM BEGIN, FORMER ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: To the contrary, I believe that the alliance is deeper than it used to be in the past.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: "Don't expect our knees to tremble," he said. And he directed some of his comments very specifically to the then junior senator, Joe
Biden.
Look if Israel-U.S. relationship has had had its tough times.
How bad is it at this point?
Just put this into context for us if you will.
PINKAS: Well, it's very bad. It's probably the worst point in Israel-U.S. relations ever. And I go back to your clip that you showed from the Lebanon
War in 1980.
I did get to go back seven years earlier than 1975, when then president Gerald Ford and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, called or
announced a "reassessment," quote-unquote, of U.S. policy in the Middle East because of Israeli intransigence and Israeli stalling, then in the
context of disengagement agreements between Israel (INAUDIBLE).
Why do I say that?
Because 1975, when the reassessment was considered, and then 1982, the clipping (ph), so we're both in a completely different context both
regional and international.
There was a Cold War, there was the Soviet Union. There was no peace with - - between Israel and the Arab countries, aside from Egypt, at peace that was signed in '79.
Fast forward to 2024. What Mr. Netanyahu has been doing is jeopardizing, from an American point of view, is jeopardizing American interests, being
recalcitrant in how he manages this relationship, being dismissive and derisive of American ideas.
And endangering America's foreign policy (INAUDIBLE). This is how the Americans (INAUDIBLE). In this respect, Mr. Netanyahu has a bad track
record of managing relations with the U.S., with President Bill Clinton, with President Barack Obama and now with President Joe Biden.
So I do think this is a very low point.
But could the relationship survive this?
Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
PINKAS: -- while Netanyahu is in power, no.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, your perspective is important. Out of Tel Aviv this evening, thank you.
Taking a break, back after this.
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[10:30:00]
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HILL: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Erica Hill in New York, we're outside of the Manhattan criminal court as we continue our special coverage here of
Donald Trump's hush money trial.
What's happening right now?
Stormy Daniels, back on the stand for day two of testimony, of cross- examination from Donald Trump's legal team. Defense attorneys really laying in, wanting to nail down a lot of these details about the money and what
Stormy Daniels may or may not have wanted to make in terms of money from sharing her story.
That's where the attorney is pushing right now, reporters in the courtroom sending us these live updates. Of course, you can see them on the left side
of your screen as well. We're going to talk through some of them right now. And specifically, what Stormy Daniels is being asked.
As I noted, a number of really pointed questions here about payments, about the non-disclosure agreement she signed and also about that statement that
she signed in January of 2018.
Why did she sign it?
All of those questions being brought up right now. Jessica Schneider is also following this with us as CNN's justice correspondent.
As we look at this, it was interesting. In the beginning, we were hearing from our teams inside the courtroom that Stormy Daniels -- she's being
described as businesslike, very serious on the stand, asking really pointed questions.
If the defense attorney was saying, "Didn't you say this?"
She would say, "I want you to show me exactly where I said this."
Things are starting to get a little bit more heated in the last few minutes.
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, I'd say this tone is right now extremely tense. I mean, Stormy Daniels is really
punching back against the defense team.
This, with the defense team, it's really been a no-holds-barred cross- examination and now Stormy is really pushing back. She's starting to really interrupt Trump's lawyers, really fight back.
And it's interesting because the defense team kind of set the tone before the questioning even began. They started right out of the gate this
morning, asking the judge if they could bring up the fact that Stormy Daniels had been arrested.
The judge gave an emphatic no, especially because there was no conviction. But it just shows how the defense is willing to take anything out of Stormy
Daniels' past to try to tarnish her credibility.
So right now, it's Trump's lawyer, Susan Necheles. She is doing this cross- examination. She's repeatedly asking Stormy Daniels about her motivation for money when it comes to selling her story.
Stormy Daniels, though, she has really, in this questioning, been emphatic. She's pushing back against every negative inference the defense team has
made. They're asking her many questions about the money she's made, the nearly million-dollar book deal she got in 2018 after the full story about
her affair came out from "The Wall Street Journal."
How she went on a tour of strip clubs across the country to capitalize on this newfound fame while Trump was president. They've also been talking
about how she tried to sell merchandise after Trump was indicted in this case.
So really the defense team dragging out every salacious part of Stormy Daniels' past to try to damage her in front of this jury. Of course, Erica,
this is coming after the jury heard very detailed explanations direct from her own mouth about her night with Donald Trump on Tuesday, when she went
through direct examination.
So now it's the defense team's turn to try to really strike back at Stormy Daniels. And I mean we're not even in the courtroom but we're getting this
sense of just how tense things are, based on what our reporters are sending out from the courtroom.
Stormy Daniels is nitpicking every question they ask. And she's almost acting like a lawyer herself in the way she's fighting back. So it is quite
a tense cross-examination.
[10:35:00]
And as we learned yesterday, this defense team plans to make this a pretty long cross-examination. They want to do as much damage as they can. And
we're seeing it in effect right now, Erica.
HILL: Yes. Well, it seems everybody came ready to play today. We're going to continue to follow those developments. Jessica, appreciate it. Thank you
so much.
And, Becky, as we continue to follow things from here, I know there is a lot more that you have to get to this hour, so I'll hand it back to you in
Abu Dhabi.
ANDERSON: Yes. Salute you tracking our top story out of the Middle East here.
This just in to CNN, a Pentagon spokesperson says the U.S. will begin delivering aid to Gaza through its military pier in the coming days.
And that is important, folks, because the Israeli Defense Forces are ramping up operations in the southern city of Rafah. The only dialysis
center's been forced to close due to bombing and the threat of Israeli occupation, for example, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The World Health Organization, WHO, warns that hospitals in the south could run out of fuel by the end of this week. My next guest spent much of the
past seven months in Gaza and was there as recently as March. Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan works with Doctors without Borders and is the co-founder of a
platform called Gaza Medic Voices.
And she joins us now. And a warning to our viewers, the conversation that we are about to have may be distressing to some of you but it's an
important one.
Tanya, thank you for joining us. You said that you've had messages from colleagues in Rafah, which are increasingly desperate. Just give us a sense
of what you understand to be the situation there.
DR. TANYA HAJ-HASSAN, CO-FOUNDER, GAZA MEDIC VOICES: Yes, absolutely.
Thanks, Becky. And so just to clarify, I wish I spent most of last six months in Gaza. That's not possible. But I have worked in the last six
months in Gaza. I returned the end of March after an organization called Medical Aid for Palestinians.
We haven't spoke with one of my colleagues this morning, a Gazan surgeon, who told me, and I quote, "They move us around like animals. It's like a
video game. This literally feels like a video game.
"Do they think that they're in a video game?"
She described how they're hitting tents, civilian homes, and then said, "They're not fighting, they're playing. Instead of playing counter-strike,
they're authorized to do it on real human beings."
One of our other colleagues, who is a volunteer doctor working at one of the hospitals in Gaza, the European Gaza hospital, sent a message yesterday
evening, saying, "Today has been absolute carnage. We've been receiving many blast victims throughout the day. They've got multiple shrapnel wounds
across their body and also open fractures.
"And I think the most particularly distressing thing has been seeing little toddlers with massive head wounds, the skull fractures, who are absolutely
distraught and distressed with the pain and suffering and who have sheer fear in their eyes from what they are exposed to on a constant basis."
And I want to remind you that these are children who are already -- have been suffering for seven months or almost seven months, who are
malnourished, who, we're starting to see the effects of malnourished -- malnutrition on their bodies.
She -- this same doctor described children the age of 10 and 12, who have the weight of children age of 4 and 5 years old. And to describe the
heartbreak, the heartbreaking picture of what's happening to them.
This is -- this is exactly what I was seeing in March. I -- emergency department, and on a daily basis receiving mass casualties, resuscitating
children, either looking at the child when they first arrive and saying this one's unfortunately dead already, this one's dead already.
Or doing everything we can to resuscitate them. But the images of the types of injuries that I was seeing, Becky, are going to haunt me forever. And
they do. They absolutely do.
Just two days ago I drove by a car accident and I pulled over. And I got out to help. The gentleman had a fractured femur and a fractured pelvis.
And I felt like I was going to vomit because I recalled a young boy with bilateral -- so both legs -- fractured. The bones sticking out and we have
to reduce them without any pain control.
This is a health care worker's worst nightmare, not just in terms of the images of what we're seeing but in terms of not being to provide humane
medical care.
[10:40:00]
This same doctor at the Gaza hospital -- and I've seen -- received the same testimonies from doctors at quickie (ph) hospital, from doctors about -- at
Yousef Al Najjar Hospital before it was forcibly evacuated yesterday.
But we're receiving reports of civilians being targeted in the heads, in the knees, gunshot wounds. And this is all coming after -- and I was
listening to (INAUDIBLE) online. And they were talking about, if Israel proceeds with this operation, what the consequences would be.
I'm afraid to say Israel has already proceeded with the operation. There is a ground operation ongoing in Rafah. One of my colleagues, who I spoke to
this morning, who's in Gaza, said not only is the ground operation going on in Rafah, the war has started all over again.
ANDERSON: Yes.
HAJ-HASSAN: The bombardment in the last hours has intensified.
Not only in Rafah but in the middle and northern areas of Gaza. This colleague described it --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: I just want our viewers -- yes. I -- its -- and I know our viewers will understand why it is that you feel so pained and so passionate
about this as a pediatric intensive care doctor.
These are -- this is a nightmare scenario for you and all of your colleagues. You shared some images with us.
And a warning to some of you who are watching. You may find these -- well, they are graphic and you may be disturbed by them.
But I just want our viewers just to see these images. And I want you to talk through these images and the people and patients in them, Tanya, if
you will.
HAJ-HASSAN: Becky, I don't actually see them on my side of the system that's set up by CNN --
(CROSSTALK)
HAJ-HASSAN: -- you could tell -- OK. And so I sent I sent some images from the last 48 hours that were sent to me by colleagues, of the streets and
the people trying to evacuate. There are over 80,000 people, we've been told, who've tried to flee north. So this is forcible displacement to the
north.
And I just want to be -- explain what the north -- what north of Rafah means right now. The areas they've been told to evacuate to are Khan
Younis. There are no more houses in Khan Yunis for people to return to.
One of my colleagues told me this morning Khan Yunis is rubble. There's nowhere to even pitch a tent. Al-Mawasi is another areas they've been asked
to evacuate. And Al-Mawasi is essentially a beach. It's a coastal area. There is no room. There are tents up until the water line.
There are also not enough tents to pitch in those areas anymore. And as you know, the rest of Gaza's being actively bombarded.
Some of the other images I've sent you were image from the emergency department, of the (INAUDIBLE) when I was there and the absolute chaos
because they're receiving back-to-back mass casualties. And they do not have the space to resuscitate them. They do not have the resources.
They cannot clean up between one set of mass casualties and the other. And just to describe to you a little bit what a mass casualty of that scale
looks like, when it's perpetrated on civilians, you have a emergency department, that often had electricity cut off, that is just filled with
the dust of remains of the weapons and the rubble.
And you're walking through all of this dust and looking around and seeing people all over the floor. And you're trying to figure out which one, which
of those patients needs immediate resuscitation.
You're trying to rip off their clothes. You see things that make you want to just -- to be honest, Becky, make you sick. But you keep pulling. And
I'm describing (INAUDIBLE) The experience of my colleagues, Gazan colleagues, they've been doing this for over six months.
Over six months of witnessing entire families wiped (ph) off the civil registry, entire families means -- Becky, I don't know if your viewers are
familiar with some of these numbers.
But when you round it off, the number of children with one or more limbs --
(CROSSTALK)
HAJ-HASSAN: -- the U.N. yesterday in a report (ph) estimated 65,000 children in the (INAUDIBLE) southernmost area are estimated to have a
disability. I received a document from the ministry of health two days ago with 15,480 children who've lost one or both of their parents since
October, 15,000.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Tanya, it is -- these numbers -- yes. And these -- we must never -- yes. And we must never normalize these numbers. I mean, they are
horrific.
[10:45:00]
And there is no other way to describe them. Thank you for sharing your story and the stories of your colleagues, who are working under such
extreme circumstances. As you will say, just doing their jobs. Thank you.
Taking very short break. Back after this.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Well, you're watching protests in Malmo, the Swedish city, which is hosting this week's Eurovision song contest.
Antiwar demonstrators are gathered there right now, some holding signs against Israel's participation in the competition amid its ongoing
operation in Gaza. It's the largest cultural event to be rocked by the repercussions of the war.
Well, demonstrations have been especially intense in Michigan, a U.S. state that Joe Biden narrowly won in 2020. It's also a state with a large
number of Arab American voters. CNN's John King with this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Protests amid the commencement celebration. A time honored tradition on campus. But this
one is complicated.
Jade Gray and Anushka Jalisatgi are now University of Michigan graduates and now former co-presidents of the College Democrats. Proud their school
is part of a global statement.
GRAY: It was in my application letter that this was a campus of like a history of protests, a rich history of social justice movements.
KING (voice-over): Worried, though, about months of war and death, months of student anger at a president who can't afford to lose Michigan.
KING: How much is it going to hurt the president?
GRAY: However much he decides.
JALISATGI: Yes. That starts with calling for a ceasefire for listening to his student voters across the country.
KING (voice-over): This is from our first visit five months ago. Protests against Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict were just beginning.
KING: Is it fair to say you're glad the election is not tomorrow?
JALISATGI: Yes.
KING (voice-over): The election was nearly a year away then, six months away now.
GRAY: Michigan is up for grabs. And I did not think I'd be saying this right now. And I wish I wasn't saying this right now. But I am -- I am
genuinely concerned about which way Michigan will go.
KING (voice-over): Both hope a summer away from campus protests helps younger voters see a bigger picture.
GRAY: I'm certainly not voting for the guy who is in court right now and who incited an insurrection and put three extremists on the Supreme Court,
who therefore took away rights for the first time in history, who's demonized the LGBTQ community, of which I'm a part of.
KING (voice-over): But right now, things are raw. Some friends talk about staying home or voting third party.
JALISATGI: Hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza and across Palestine have been displaced, have been starved, have been killed. So I think it
really does come down to people's own judgments on the motivations of the president.
MATKIN: Oh, what a cute boy.
KING (voice-over): Summer Matkin is home in suburban Detroit, processing freshman year at Wayne State.
MATKIN: Can you talk about politics for me?
KING (voice-over): Back in November, big reservations about the president's age but zero doubt if the choice was Biden or Trump.
MATKIN: I'd go Biden.
KING (voice-over): Now not so sure.
MATKIN: No matter how many Taylor Swift references you make, you'll never understand us. My thing is, I think he has handled everything with Israel
and Palestine terribly.
KING (voice-over): Still leaning Biden but part of a consequential debate with friends.
[10:50:00]
MATKIN: A lot of our generation is also considering going third party but I kind of fear it's going to split up the votes and end up having it fall
back on Trump, which I wouldn't want to happen.
KING (voice-over): Maya Siegmann began the school year likely Biden; ends it, definitely Biden. Happy with her grades, even more happy it is over.
MAYA SIEGMANN, MICHIGAN VOTER, WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT: It was terrifying. It was terrifying. The escalation of other campuses has made me
fear for my campus.
KING (voice-over): Siegmann offers nuance often missing when politicians discuss the campus protests. No problem with calls to end the killing or to
speed up humanitarian aid. But fear when she sees banners like this. The Intifada was a violent armed uprising targeting Jews.
KING: You're wearing your star, David. You ever think of taking it off?
SIEGMANN: I did. I took it off actually for about a week or two and then I put it on four or five months ago and never took it off.
KING (voice-over): A fierce supporter of Israel but a fierce critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
SIEGMANN: I personally don't agree with how he is operating. I think that he is trying to prolong the war. KING (voice-over): Ibrahim Ghazal also
speaks with nuance. He is no
fan of Hamas and acknowledges Israel's right to respond to terrorism.
GHAZAL: We don't want human rights violations. If you're going to conduct war, conduct it within the rule of law, international law. That's all
people are asking for. Nothing more.
KING (voice-over): Ghazal is in two groups critical to Biden's Michigan math, a younger voter and an Arab American. He just wrapped his first year
at Wayne State Law School.
GHAZAL: It's been stressful just seeing people that look like me and just human beings, seeing human beings on my on my phone screen being killed day
in, day out. And what's worse is as an American, I have to see my government funding. So stressful.
KING (voice-over): A Biden voter in 2020 who says the president is in deep trouble in Detroit, Dearborn and other Michigan communities where Arab and
Muslim Americans number in the tens of thousands.
GHAZAL: With older people, I would definitely say they're not voting for Biden. For younger voters, we're stuck in the sense that, you know, it's
Biden or Trump. The only reason I haven't closed the door is because I think he still has an ability to change course and set a precedent for the
future.
KING (voice-over): Ghazal's summer goals?
Take a break, then study the third party candidates and watch to see if the president truly does change course or if the encampments are still a thing
when classes resume in the fall -- John King, CNN, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON: Prince Harry's latest trip to the United Kingdom is revealing something of the rifts within the British royal family. They haven't
mended. Max Foster reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Arriving at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, Prince Harry here to mark 10 years of the Invictus
Games.
PRINCE HARRY, PRINCE OF SUSSEX: There are varieties of gifts with the same spirit.
FOSTER (voice-over): Notable in their absence from the service, close members of the royal family, Harry's celebrity friends, stepping up
instead. Prince William was never expected to meet his brother on this trip but Harry had reached out to his father.
The king wasn't available due to his busy schedule, according to Harry's office. British media called it a snub.
As Harry was taking to the pulpit at St. Paul's, the King made his own public appearance, just a few miles away at Buckingham Palace's first
garden party of the summer season.
[10:55:04]
Father and son so close, yet still so far apart.
They haven't seen each other since a brief visit in February, after the king announced he was being treated for cancer.
Shortly before Harry arrived in London, an announcement from the palace that underscored the increasingly close working relationship between
William and Charles. The Prince of Wales was officially being handed the Colonel-in-Chief title of Harry's former army unit.
Harry has had a strained relationship with the royal family since he and his wife Meghan stepped back from royal duties in 2020. The duke has since
been highly focused on the Invictus Games, an international sporting competition for wounded veterans established in 2014.
PRINCE HARRY: Ten years is a real thing, it's our birthday at the Invictus Games Foundation and we're all very excited and thrilled.
FOSTER (voice-over): Wednesday's event in London will be followed by a trip to Nigeria, where Harry will be joined by Meghan. Both of these
appearances are unusually choreographed with the media, marking a fresh push to highlight the couple's work -- Max Foster, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. And that is it for us for this evening. CNN continues. "CNN NEWSROOM" is up next.
END
