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U.S.: Negotiators Meeting in Cairo on Gaza Ceasefire Deal; IDF: Qaid Farhan Alkadi was Rescued in Tunnel; Israel Announces Rescue of 52-year-old Hostage; Israeli Military: Hostage Abducted by Hamas Rescued; Zelenskyy Vows Response to Latest Russian Attacks. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired August 27, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: And we start with breaking news out of Gaza this hour. The Israeli military says a hostage abducted by

Hamas on October 7th has been rescued in southern Gaza in what it calls a quote, complex operation. A statement says Qaid Farhan Alkadi is in stable

medical condition. Let's get you straight to Jeremy Diamond, who is in Tel Aviv. Jeremy what do we know at this point?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Qaid Farhan Alkadi is the hostage in question. He is a 52-year-old father of 11 who is taken

hostage by Hamas on October 7th while he was working as a security guard at a factory in Kibbutz Magen just along the border with Gaza.

He was rescued, according to the Israeli military, in a special operation carried out by Shay at 13. That's the Israeli equivalent of the Navy SEALs,

alongside other Israeli forces, as well as forces from the Israeli Shin Bet the domestic intelligence service. They call this a complex operation that

took place in Southern Gaza.

They say that Qaid Farhan Alkadi is in, quote, stable medical condition, and that he's being transferred for medical checks at a hospital. His

family has been informed that he was rescued in this operation, and obviously this is welcome news for him. He is a Bedouin man with Israeli

citizenship who was taken on October 7th, and of course, over the last ten and a half months, he has endured captivity in Gaza.

His family has endured the uncertainty of not knowing whether or not he was alive or dead, whether he would come back alive, and indeed, today, he has

in what is a relatively rare occurrence of an Israeli military operation that actually retrieves a hostage alive.

I believe he's the eighth hostage to actually be rescued in an Israeli military operation and brought back to Israel alive. Obviously very welcome

news for his family, and very happy news in this country, although we should note that there are still over hundred Israeli hostages still being

held captive in the Gaza Strip. At least thirty of those are believed to be dead. The fate of the others still uncertain Becky.

ANDERSON: And as you've been speaking, Jeremy, we've just seen some comments posted by the Minister of Defense Gallant on his X account. So let

me read very specifically what he has said, because we are short of detail here. The IDF has -- the IDF and ISA have rescued Qaid Farhan Alkadi from

Gaza, where he was held hostage, and brought him to his family in Israel.

This operation, Gallant says, was part of the IDF's daring and courageous activities conducted deep inside the Gaza Strip. This operation joins a

series of actions taken by the IDF that brings us closer to achieving the goals of this war. I would like to reiterate and emphasize he says, Israel

is committed to taking advantage of every opportunity to return the hostages home to Israel. The words of the Israeli Defense Minister, what do

you make of what I've just read?

DIAMOND: Well, there are a lot of congratulations going around. We also have a tweet from the Israeli President, Isaac Herzog, also talking about

how overjoyed. He is by the successful rescue of this hostage. And it does speak to what a rare occurrence it has been to see these Israeli hostages

actually rescued in Israeli military operations.

Most of the hostages who have returned from Israel alive, of course, were released during that week long truce back in November. And I do think that

it's important to stress that, because as overjoyed as people will be in Israel today to see the news of a hostage rescued in an Israeli military

operation, there are no illusions here about the fact that the hostages are more likely to be returned.

The majority of them are more likely to be returned in a negotiated settlement as part of a deal than in Israeli military operations in Gaza.

That doesn't mean that it's impossible, of course, but there is a recognition that this is a relatively rare occurrence a very happy and

positive occurrence.

[09:05:00]

But that ultimately it is those negotiations that are still ongoing at this hour in Cairo between technical teams at this point who are working on the

implementation details. It is those negotiations, if they are successful, that will actually lead to the return of the more than one hundred hostages

who still remain in captivity in Gaza.

ANDERSON: Jeremy, stand by. Let me bring in Colonel Miri Eisen, who joins us now. She is in the IDF's reserves and a Senior Fellow at the

International Institute for Counter Terrorism at Reichman University. Firstly, your reaction to the news that we've just been breaking.

MIRI EISEN, COLONEL IN RESERVES, IDF: So, as you listen to Jeremy, you think that we're all hopping up and down. I think that there's more a sense

of relief than joy. Every single one of the hostages that comes back is part of what Israelis want and need to understand and to feel.

This could be any one of us. This is a man in his 50s, a citizen of Israel, as said, a Bedouin Arab, a citizen of Israel, and he has been in captivity

for ten and a half months, and I'm just happy for him, for his family, and I want that same closure for all of the other over hundred Israelis and

non-Israelis held in captivity.

ANDERSON: What do you make of the defense minister's words? This operation was part of the IDF's he described as daring and courageous activities

conducted deep inside the Gaza Strip. We are short of details on this operation. What more sense do you have of how this rescue was conducted and

where?

EISEN: So, I don't have details. I don't want to start inventing them, but I'm going to try to take apart both what the defense minister tweeted out,

the chief of staff put out a statement. The IDF put out a different statement. And what I see is, first of all, they're stating that it was in

the southern portion of the Gaza Strip that essentially means the Rafah area that you have had large scale troops active in for the last few

months.

In addition, what you can see, at least, what I read in between the lines, Jeremy mentioned some of the troops that have been mentioned. So, they said

that it was special forces, as said. I mean, it's the Navy SEALs, but this is -- I don't think this is something that happened from the sea, but it

could be.

But it's more that in there, I saw engineering capabilities. As soon as I see the engineering core that's there, to me, it connects to either booby

traps or the underground arena. So, I'm going to guess that he was somewhere underground, and that wherever it was, it was booby trapped.

But Becky, that's what we know about all of the different area under underground. Its booby trapped. It is very difficult to be inside, so you

need a combination of stealth to get to these different places, and then you need to be able to get in and take apart the booby traps. You don't

want to kill the hostage. You want to rescue these people and bring them home.

ANDERSON: Can you explain just how sophisticated then an operation this might have been and what might have gone into the planning?

EISEN: I'm always in awe of the capabilities of combining intelligence with operational meaning. You and I can sit down and say, we know where a person

is, but when you -- the first aspect is just to know where, and in the underground maze of hundreds of kilometers of tunnels, if it was

underground, let alone if it was above ground, or you're going to have tens of thousands of structures, you have to pinpoint the exact spot.

That takes very intense intelligence gathering work before it's a combination of aerial capabilities of people on the ground, of trying to go

in, perhaps dress to somebody there. Nothing easy, but that's all the early intelligence. Once you know they're there, you need to send in troops.

And you don't send them in and excuse my terms on a suicide mission, you send them in, so both the troops come out and the hostages come out alive.

And that is a kind of planning where you're looking for booby traps, where you're looking for any kind of capability that along the way to get there

you're not going to be discovered.

But it's both getting there and getting out during the day not being discovered, which usually means that you need to be dressed up as the

locals. Everything I said, as the defense minister said, is very complex, and I wish we could do that for every single one of the hostages.

I think that the bulk of the hostages, most likely, are held in a way that if we would approach, there's no way to do it without being discovered, and

the hostages would be killed. And the idea is to try to bring them home alive.

[09:10:00]

ANDERSON: The Rafah area, and very specifically, the tunnels underneath that area has been a target for the IDF, of course, for months. And the

reason why so many hundreds of thousands have been displaced from that area as they try to root out what the IDF and the Israeli authorities have

described as the last battalions of Hamas.

At this stage, to set some context for where we are at in that area, what is the sort of current understanding of the extent and scope of Hamas

operatives still in that area, and the possibility that they are harboring hostages with them?

EISEN: So, I'm going to start from the end and say that the I -- first you have to go on the assumption that they're 108 people now, 107 that's a lot

of people. You can spread them out into a lot of different areas, both in the Rafah area, but also in other areas, as we know, in the exchanges, some

were held up north, some in the center, some from -- including some of those that the IDF did a different operation from the sea where they

rescued several people.

So, when we're talking about that, that's going to be part of the challenge wherever you go. When you asked about what capabilities are left to the

Hamas terror fighters, both in the Rafah area and in the other ones, the command and control is destroyed.

But that's the thing, is that it's a terror army when you destroy command and control in regular standing armies, usually that means that the unit

kind of dissipates. In a terror army every single one of them comes up from a shaft, fires the RPG, continues to do a local capability, like firing a

rocket at Israel the day before yesterday.

So, I'm sure that they have capabilities, but they don't have the context to be able to execute a full-scale attack, certainly not an October 7th

attack, but even something organized in the area of Rafah. I'll just add that Becky, the big problem with the Rafah area is that you have the border

between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, and that's been an enormous point of contention.

Because at the end of the day, it's hard for me as an Israeli to ignore that in the 17 years that Israel left the Gaza Strip, because we left it in

2005 that border became the main smuggling route into the Gaza Strip. And so those tunnels and that underground subterranean arena also connects of

the possibility to leave the Gaza Strip into Egypt. It's not going into anywhere you're going into Egypt, but it does open additional possibilities

also to smuggle out hostages.

ANDERSON: And it is the Philadelphi Corridor, of course, in that area, that is a point of contention in these current ceasefire talks at present. The

Israelis at present, at least, it's not clear whether Israel is prepared to withdraw its troops from that area. One of the sticking points, as we

understand it, from sources who are familiar with these ceasefire talks, which of course, do continue on a technical level, at least in Cairo at

present.

Before I let you go, I do just want to run past you the last of what I read out from the defense minister, because it takes us a little bit further

into a conversation about ceasefire talks, because the hostages very specifically involved in those.

This operation joins a series of actions, he said, taken by the IDF that brings us closer to achieving the goals of this war. I would like to

reiterate this is Gallant in the wake of the news that this hostage has been rescued. I would like to reiterate and emphasize Israel is committed

to taking advantage of every opportunity to return the hostages home to Israel.

As I say, these talks go on. What do you read into what the minister of defense, very specifically tweeted, posted today in the wake of this

release given, as we know, that there are still 107 hostages. Some may be dead, but 107 still in Gaza.

EISEN: So, Becky, I read it in the way that you kind of read it before, which means, if we can, we Israel will try to rescue our hostages any way

we can, and as much as we can alive. But is saying, Gallant, that's what I'm reading. We need to continue the negotiations. And we Israelis need to

understand, I think that Jeremy said that also before, and it's an understanding which is hard.

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But we need to understand that that opening horrific October, 7th day in it, in that failure of them to be able to get back our citizens, other

citizens of the world, all of those kidnapped and taken in such a brutal way, we are going to have to pay prices that are not just by going in and

getting them out one by one, and that is in an agreement, and that agreement is with Hamas, the terror organization.

I think that Gallant is saying that under the surface, he may not be saying it openly. Inside Israel, that's much clearer. I think in the Hebrew that

when he's saying that it's because the voices in Israel there are clear cut voices in the government that he is part of that say, never a deal, only

through military operation.

And the minister of defense is saying, do the military operations, and we also need the deal to be able to get back all of our hostages. I appreciate

that in Minister Gallant.

ANDERSON: Yep, and its insightful analysis from you as we consider the details of this rescue and try to source more information. I think it's

really important for our viewers to have heard your words there, because effectively, what you're saying is Mr. Gallant in ensuring that ceasefire

talks are still ongoing and taken seriously is not necessarily in alignment with the prime minister correct?

EISEN: I'm saying that. I'm also saying for all of the viewers, it isn't either or. It isn't just the negotiations and the term of ceasefire, Hamas

is still a horrific, genocidal terror organization. It's fighting against Hamas. It's doing those military actions, and it's understanding that when

they took those hostages in that barbaric way, for us to get them back, we may have to pay a price, which is hard, but we're going to have to do so as

well.

ANDERSON: Thank you very much indeed for joining us.

EISEN: Thank you.

ANDERSON: We are still on the breaking news here, and that the Israeli military, in the past hour or so has announced that a hostage abducted by

Hamas has been rescued in what they describe as a complex operation. I've got Paula Hancocks with me here.

And Paula I want to talk about the hostage -- the ceasefire and hostage talks, because, as I was discussing with my last guest, what we've been

talking about now for weeks is about the possibility of a breakthrough in those talks. But before we do that, let's just discuss and remind our

viewers what we've learned in the past hour.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, what we know at this point Becky is that there was a joint operation in the South of Gaza with the military and

the intelligence services, and they have rescued one Israeli hostage. This is a 52-year-old, a father of 11 who was kidnapped on October 7th, along

with dozens of others.

He was working security at a factory at a Kibbutz nearby the border. The details of the exact operation are scant. We've been told by the military

they don't want to jeopardize future operations national security. So understandably, they're not giving us many details.

This individual, though, is stable medical condition. He's with his family now we understand. And it is understandably being celebrated within Israel,

but at the same time, it is also bringing out other voices saying that this is wonderful, but this is not the way to get all the hostages back.

We have the Hostage Forum, for example, responding very quickly, saying that his return home is nothing short of miraculous, but the military

operations alone cannot free the remaining hundred.

ANDERSON: Let me stop you there. Daniel Hagari, the Spokesman for the IDF is speaking now let's get their live.

DANIEL HAGARI, SPOKESPERSON, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: -- fight on the ground, there are details I cannot publish now. It will take time. You need to be

response, to show responsibility and carefulness in the social media and not to spread any detail on the operation. Firstly, for the hostages,

security and also our force's security and the security of the state of Israel. Questions?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was there a battle during the rescue or the terrorists were not even there?

HAGARI: This incident this morning, which I describe is one I mentioned, where we rescued Farhan alive from an underground tunnel. Apart from that,

details on the actual operation, I will not refer other than what I've said. We need to keep this operation in a way that will not hurt further

operations.

[09:20:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we know about the conditions of Qaid on captivity?

HAGARI: We asked him to get first details. First of all, it's important that his medical condition is stable. He reunited with his family. I'm sure

we'll get more from him when it's possible and when it's possible, we will share with everyone, first his family and then the public. We need to be

careful to make sure that it will not hurt other operations.

Will it get us closer to rescue more hostages? As I said, each hostage is a world of its own. We need to act in all efforts in order to bring back

hostages more as for -- you are.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible)

HAGARI: The IDF role is to bring about the conditions, the possible condition, to bring hostages home. This is our role. We need to create

these conditions. Apart from that, in addition, we present all alternatives to the political echelon in order to bring about the decision making by the

political echelon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible)

HAGARI: I have no idea about the connection between the humanitarian aid, the operation and this incident. This is with intelligent forces and forces

on the ground, aim or operation oriented. This is what it was. Was there any intelligence about Qaid or did they arrive at his location otherwise?

The Intelligence Corps and the headquarter of hostages are working day and night in order to bring about information on the hostages, in order to

create operational condition and to update the families. This is what we continue to do. Part of those details allowed this effort.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible)

HAGARI: There were rumors that the hostage rescued himself. Is it true? As I said again, Farhan rescued alive from underground tunnel. I will not

expand further than that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible)

HAGARI: We are 326 days since the beginning of the war. He was kidnapped 326 days, part of the time underground where we met him. Apart from that, I

say again, what brought to this -- to what happened to Farhan, will be described later, first to his family and afterwards, to the public.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible)

HAGARI: The rumors on social media. This is why I speak now, it's important for me for you to know. We take all operations on the ground, and therefore

I ask our hostages security and our forces security, keep them each such effort is that at the end of the day, lives, people's lives, and we need to

keep it carefully and responsibly and not spreading rumors and details.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible)

HAGARI: Information on hostages have been achieved by many ways, different ways. Part of them, are investigating terrorists that were kept, that were

held captive on the ground. As for Philadelphia axis, while I speak now, the IDF forces continue to scan the compound and destroy terror

infrastructure tunnels.

We also expose, dispose them and eliminate those tunnels, as for Philadelphi Axis. The IDF role is to achieve different alternatives for the

political echelon along Philadelphi Axis.

[09:25:00]

This is how we acted, and will continue to act. Those who will make the decisions are the political echelon. We successfully rescued one of our

hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza. During a complex rescue mission. Qaid Farhan Alkadi, from the Bedouin community of Rahat, who was kidnapped

from Israel by Hamas terrorists during their massacre on October 7th, has been rescued.

He is alive. He is back home in Israel. We cannot go into many details of this special operation, but I can share those Israeli commandos rescued

Qaid Farhan Alkadi from an underground tunnel following accurate intelligence. His medical condition is stable, and he will undergo

examination in hospital.

His family had been waiting 326 days to receive the news they did today, but there are still 108 hostages whose families are still waiting to hear

news that their loved ones are home and they should know that we will not rest. We will not rest until we fulfill our mission to bring all our

hostages back home.

We will pursue the return of our hostages through all means possible. I repeat through all means possible. Thank you.

ANDERSON: This was a hostage rescued alive from an underground tunnel in the south of Gaza. Israeli commandos were involved in that rescue.

Following accurate intelligence, the medical condition is stable, according to the Israeli military spokesman there, who we've just been listening to.

He's back with his family.

There are still 108 hostages unaccounted for in Gaza. He said, we will not rest until we fulfill our mission to bring all of our hostages, home

through all means possible. And Paula Hancocks, Hagari there emphasizing through all means possible, which echoes the words of the minister of

defense earlier on today.

When we look and stand back and consider what is going on at the moment as the IDF and the ISA rescue a hostage in Southern Gaza. So, the ceasefire

and hostage talks continue in Cairo and but it seems to me, both Hagari there and the Minister of Defense, Gallant, very specifically pointing out

that it is not just a military operation ultimately that will effort the release of all of those hostages.

HANCOCKS: And this is what we have been hearing consistently, on and off the record from many military officials, is that there is so much that the

military can do, but there has to be a political solution as well. Now we did hear as well from Hagari there, saying that, you know, the IDF role is

to present all alternatives to the political echelon to bring about a political decision.

ANDERSON: Yeah, I thought that was really interesting, and I want to pick you up on that, and we can further discuss that. Let me just bring in some

pictures that have just come into CNN. This is the moment when Qaid Farhan Alkadi met his family for the first time in over 300 days.

He was abducted by Hamas from the place where he worked on October the seventh rescued today by commandos in an operation in Southern Gaza. I'll

just let you consider these images. This is certainly his family running to greet him. Right. And that's -- and as we get more in, of course, we will

bring that to.

When Hagari was asked in the news conference that he just held the Israeli military spokesman? He was asked whether this rescue will get Israel closer

to further rescues?

[09:30:00]

He said each hostage is a world of his own. Each is exceptional. I think, as far as location and conditions are concerned. The IDF role is to create

the conditions to bring hostages home. The decision making about how those conditions are actually acted upon, are made by the political echelon.

HANCOCKS: Exactly! He's saying that their job is to present all the alternatives. They are not saying this is the way it should be done. That

is for the political arena to do. That is for the Prime Minister to make that ultimate decision as to how these hostages will be brought home. And

he was very careful not to give any details about this rescue operation itself, as well as saying every hostage is a world of its own.

He said he doesn't want to jeopardize any potential further operations. So, he's not ruling out further operations. I think, certainly from the

military point of view, if they have the intelligence, then they will put that alternative forward to the political echelon to say this is possible,

but they are not saying that is the only option.

ANDERSON: Clearly, based this rescue on significant intelligence, being described as an operation which was extremely complex, at a time as we've

suggested, that the Cairo talks on a ceasefire and hostage deal, do -- do continue. Now, the fact that they continue is a good thing. What the

sticking points are?

How far these talks have gone? How close we might be to a deal is really very unclear at this point? Timing wise, though, this rescue today, many

will say, will put the squeeze on Yahya Sinwar and the Hamas operatives in Gaza, at a time when there is a huge amount of pressure on both Israel and

Hamas to reach a ceasefire and a hostage deal.

HANCOCKS: Absolutely! I mean, there's no doubt that that the mediators, Qatar and Egypt, for example, are putting pressure on Hamas. Of course,

it's much more difficult to put pressure on a man who was potentially hiding in the tunnels in Gaza. Certainly, it was far easier when it was the

previous mediator, Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran.

So, from that point of view, Hamas' leader is insulated from this pressure. Israel's Prime Minister, is not insulated from that pressure. He came under

huge amount of pressure when just a week ago, there were the bodies of six hostages that were taken out of Gaza itself.

And he has come under huge pressure to agree to this deal that the U.S. President has endorsed, that the U.N. Security Council resolution cleared,

and that Hamas itself is saying it wants to stick to, suggesting it's Israel that's trying to push the boundaries now.

ANDERSON: Good to have you stay with me. Going to take a very short break. More to come on "Connect the World", including the very latest on our

breaking news this hour, the rescue of a hostage from Gaza, more.

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[09:35:00]

ANDERSON: I'm back to the breaking news that we are following this hour, a 52-year-old father of 11 taken captive by Hamas on October the seventh, has

been rescued by the Israeli military. CNN's Jim Sciutto joining us now from Tel Aviv, Israel. This is a new image of Qaid, who has been -- he's been

rescued today, Jim, the Hostages Families Forum calling this nothing short of miraculous. What have you learned?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY ANALYST: I think the latest details, the most significant ones hearing from the IDF spokesman just a short time

ago is that he was rescued from a tunnel based the IDF says on an exact piece of intelligence, we know that among the special forces units involved

in this rescue operation were an elite combat engineering unit that is tasked with handling the tunnels in Gaza.

And this would be the first Israeli hostage rescued from the tunnels, specifically since October 7th. And that's notable, Becky, just because

that is, of course, one of and perhaps the most difficult area to operate in Gaza, in that network of tunnels underground. So that, that detail

significant. I think the other point, and you were discussing this a short time ago, is the position not just of the IDF, but many of the hostage

families.

They are, of course, welcoming this, as you note, the Hostage Family Forum calling this nothing short of miraculous, but they went on to say in their

statement, and I'm quoting here, we must remember that military operations alone cannot free the remaining 108 hostages a negotiated deal is the only

way forward, and that speaks to the continued pressure inside this country to not rely entirely on operations like this one, which are difficult and

rare.

The last one that rescued live hostages was on June -- was in June, a number of weeks ago, but the feeling among the hostage families as they

want a ceasefire and hostage deal to get the remaining or a large number of the remaining hostages, home and home safely.

ANDERSON: And Jim, I'm going to let you go. Thank you. You get the sense that both from the Israeli spokesman, Hagari today, and indeed from the

Minister of Defense, Gallant, echoing that view that even though this is a successful day, obviously, for this man's family, it is a day to celebrate

for the hostage families.

They've said nothing short of miraculous that this hostage was rescued from tunnels down in Southern Gaza in what was a complex operation described by

the IDF. But then, it is not by military action and operations alone that these 108 hostages who remain in Gaza will be released.

CNN's Nada Bashir joining us now from Cairo, Egypt, where the very latest talks on a ceasefire and hostage deal are ongoing, albeit at a sort of

relatively low level, as far as teams are concerned at this point? What's the atmosphere as we understand it in those talks, and how close if at all

do we believe we might be to a deal?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Becky, you're right in framing this as low-level talks. These are working level discussions, which are

continuing here in Cairo, following those talks between senior delegations and mediators over the weekend, the expressed aim of the continued

conversation is, according to U.S. officials, to try and iron out those finer details, to try and work on the nuts and bolts, according to one

senior U.S. official, of the current deal on the table.

[09:40:00]

But of course, there are still significant gaps which remain in the deal, as far as we understand it. But there is also mounting pressure on both

sides to come to an agreement, and this latest breaking news of the rescue of yet another hostage will only increase that pressure, certainly on the

Israeli side, where we have seen within Israel continued rallies, continued protests calling on the Israeli government to come to an agreement with

Hamas that would bring about a ceasefire, but crucially also to secure the release of more hostages.

And we've been hearing, as you heard there from Jim's reporting, from the Hostage Families Forum saying, once again, that they want to see a

negotiated deal, a political solution to this, I will ensure the release of hostages. But one of the key sticking points remains the terms surrounding

how long a ceasefire would essentially last in Gaza.

We know, of course, that in the first phase of what is a three-phase deal, there would be a six week pause in fighting, and members of Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, including the prime minister himself has suggested that they would welcome that initial six week pause in fighting

in order to ensure the safe return and release of yet more hostages as part of the agreement, and it's supposed to be an exchange of cause of hostages

and Palestinian prisoners.

But what the sticking point continues to be here is proposals for there to be a permanent transition, rather to a permanent ceasefire in the second

phase of the agreement. That is something that Hamas wants to see. That is something that mediators have called for.

At this stage, there is no indication that Israeli officials have endorsed this particular part of the agreement, no suggestion that they would at

this stage agree to a permanent ceasefire. In fact, what we've been hearing from members of Prime Minister Netanyahu's coalition.

Particularly on the right-wing side of the coalition, is that they want to see a continuation of the war following that six week pause in order to

ensure the full eradication of Hamas' military capabilities. Of course, important to note that U.S. officials have said that currently, the

assessment is that Hamas' military capabilities have now been downgraded to the point where they cannot pose a threat to carry out attacks such as the

attack we saw on October 7th.

But this continues to be a key point of division between both sides, and yet we continue to hear calls for more work to be done to bring Hamas and

Israel to some sort of agreement. Again, those talks will continue remains to be seen whether we will see yet more rejections from Hamas with regard

to the current state of negotiations, and of course, how this latest rescue will impact Israel's position as well.

ANDERSON: Yeah, and a temporary ceasefire, of course, in this first phase would ensure that more than a million people can be vaccinated in Gaza

against polio. Those vaccines exist. It seems almost impossible that without a temporary ceasefire, at least, they'll be able to get those

vaccines into the population after the first outbreak of course and death of polio for the first time in 25 years.

It's good to have you. Thank you, Nada. Hasan Alhasan is a Senior Fellow for Middle East Policy at the International Institute for Strategic

Studies. He joins me now from Bahrain, important developments today, the rescue of a hostage held by Hamas in Southern Gaza deep in tunnels there,

described as a complex operation by the IDF and the ISA who were involved.

This will, as many analysts want to point out, at this point. Put the squeeze on Yahya Sinwar and Hamas, at a time when there is enormous

pressure on both Hamas and Israel to come to a deal on a ceasefire and the release of those hostages, of course, goes alongside a release of

Palestinian prisons at the same time. Your thoughts on what we are seeing as we consider this breaking news this hour?

HASAN ALHASAN, SENIOR FELLOW FOR MIDDLE EAST POLICY AT IISS: So, I do think that the successful rescue operation could very well end up hardening

Israel's position during these -- within these ceasefire negotiations. The real risk here is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist

right-wing allies will use this as an example as to substantiate the claim that Israel can feasibly both prosecute the war to its fullest extent and

at the same time rescue Israeli hostages.

Now, I think this claim is very much misleading, partly because, on the one hand, Israel has been able to obtain the release of many, many more

hostages through negotiations and the temporary ceasefire agreement that managed to negotiate with Hamas back in November last year. Around 105

Israeli hostages released at the time versus what it has been able to free using special military operations such as this one, which I think is no

more than about eight hostages.

[09:45:00]

The other point to remember is that actually ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza are much more likely to end up killing and harming

Israeli hostages than they are to rescue them. And so, Hamas has claimed that over 50 Israeli hostages have been killed by Israeli airstrikes.

But even beyond Hamas' claims, there have been multiple testimonies and reports and investigations opened by the Israeli military itself about the

potential of Israeli friendly fire having and airstrikes.

ANDERSON: Right.

ALHASAN: Having killed Israeli hostages.

ANDERSON: Do you subscribe to the view that I hear voiced here in the region and in other parts of the world, that Benjamin Netanyahu is not

interested in a ceasefire at this point?

ALHASAN: Well, that would seem to be the recurrent pattern. Let's not forget that Benjamin Netanyahu's government took out Hamas' lead negotiator

Ismail Haniyeh a few weeks ago in -- by assassinating him in Tehran. That's not usually a good indicator of a desire, a genuine desire, to reach a

ceasefire agreement with the party one is negotiating with.

And we've seen, I think, a recurrent pattern of escalation in Israeli military activities, but also -- not only in Gaza, but also broadly in the

region. I think one of the sticking points at the moment in the current negotiations is that Israel seems to have imposed, or seems to have been

negotiating on new conditions, including a semi-permanent, or permanent stationing of Israeli forces along Gaza's border with Egypt and the

Philadelphia corridor.

Apparently wants to maintain an enduring presence in Rafah crossing. This is obviously objectionable to Egypt, which wants Israel to abide by their

long-standing agreement on demilitarizing these areas. But it's also obviously unacceptable to Hamas, which insists on a permanent ceasefire and

a total withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.

Let's remember as an addendum that there are thousands of Palestinians currently being held in detention in Israeli prison facilities. Most of

whom are held without charge or without trial, and many of whom are being held under absolutely appalling conditions, including physical and

psychological torture.

ANDERSON: Right.

ALHASAN: So, I think this is a tragedy that needs to be remembered on both sides.

ANDERSON: And we have regularly reported that fact here on CNN, and it's good to have you, Hasan. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. I'm

going to take a very short break. I'm going to go to break and leave you with these images. This is the helicopter as I understand it, bringing Qaid

Farhan Alkadi, who has been rescued by Israeli commanders from an underground tunnel following accurate intelligence.

His medical condition is stable. He will undergo examination in a hospital. His family have been waiting 326 days to receive the news that he is alive

and safe. This is his family running to welcome him as he returns from Gaza. Of course, there are 108 hostages, we were reminded by the IDF's

military spokesman in the past hour who remain in Gaza. Taking a very short break. Back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:50:00]

ANDERSON: Well, the breaking news that we are following here on CNN, the rescue of this man, Qaid Farhan Alkadi after what the Israeli military

calls a complex operation in Southern Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAGARI: Israeli commandos rescued Qaid Farhan Alkadi from an underground tunnel following accurate intelligence. His medical condition is stable,

and he will undergo examination in hospital. His family had been waiting 326 days to receive the news they did today, but there are still 108

hostages whose families are still waiting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, Alkadi's family running to see him at that hospital after he was held in captivity for more than 10 months. The Hostages Families

Forum calls his return quote, nothing short of miraculous. And we do have this new image of Alkadi in the hospital.

This is with his brother, as I understand it, and we will continue to cover this story on CNN throughout the coming hours, as we learn more details of

how his rescue was completed. Well, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vows Kyiv will undoubtedly respond, and I quote him there, after a second

straight day of massive Russian attacks warning that, quote, crimes against humanity cannot go unpunished.

[09:55:00]

Well, officials say multiple regions of the country have been targeted by a combination of Russian missiles and of drones. They say at least five

people were killed in the most recent bombardment. Search and rescue operations are ongoing, including at the side of a hotel in Central Ukraine

that was partially destroyed.

Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy is touting Ukraine's air defense system despite serious damage to the country's energy system. He says it worked to

repel at least 230 Russian attacks. Well, Monday alone, Kyiv says it shot down 102 Russian missiles and 99 drones. Well, CNN's Salma Abdelaziz

joining us now live from London with more, Salma.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so, a second straight day of attacks on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine. You played those

dramatic images of rescue workers in the middle of the night in Central Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, trying to dig through the rubble of this hotel,

trying to find survivors.

Scenes like that, of course, playing out all across Ukraine. President Zelenskyy, speaking just a short time ago, vowed revenge, but he says, in

order to carry out retaliation, he needs two things from his partners. He wants the green light, first of all, to use those long-range missiles that

have been given to him by NATO to strike at targets inside Russia.

Secondly, he is asking to use those air defense capabilities right up next to Russian airspace. Now, of course, these requests would make any western

leader cringe, Becky, begins to beg the question, could this possibly aggravate Putin further? Could this escalate the war?

But President Zelenskyy says there's simply no option. This is the only way for him to respond, and he's preparing for a meeting with President Biden,

potentially around the U.N. next month to ask for just that.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Salma. Thank you very much indeed. Important stuff. That's it for this hour of "Connect the World". Don't go away. They

will be back after this short break with more breaking news. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END