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Hostage Kaid Farhan Al-Qadi Abducted by Hamas Rescued; Medical Staff Update on Rescued Hostage Al-Qadi; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Vows Response to Latest Russian Attacks; Meta Censored Some Content under Government Pressure; Qatar Counting on Tehran to Play "Constructive Role" in Israel-Hamas Mediation; Iceland Ice Cave Collapse Kills American Tourist. Aired 10-10:45a ET

Aired August 27, 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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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): And welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD's second hour here, I'm Becky Anderson, our breaking news this hour

here on CNN.

And the rescue of a hostage, abducted by Hamas on October 7th. Israel's military says 52-year-old Kaid Farhan Al-Qadi is in stable condition. He

is a Bedouin and father of 11.

The IDF says he was rescued from an underground tunnel in southern Gaza in what it calls a complex operation. These images showing Al-Qadi being

greeted in the hospital by his family and friends. Here's more from the IDF spokesman who talked to reporters last hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAR ADMIRAL DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESPERSON (through translator): Israeli commandos rescued Kaid Farhan Al-Qadi 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Jim Sciutto back with us from Tel Aviv.

And let's just explain the significance if you will, Jim, of what we've learned today.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, first, of course, for the family, that joyous reunion that we saw there

after all these months, nearly 11 months of captivity, 326 days.

But in terms of the operation itself, the fact that this took place in a tunnel, that Al-Qadi was rescued from a tunnel would make this the first

such successful hostage rescue operations since October 7th.

You have had previous successful operations, the most recent one in June when four hostages were rescued. But this would be the first time that a

hostage was rescued from a tunnel.

As you noted, the IDF spokesman saying, based on intelligence that Israeli forces received.

And you had a collection of forces involved in this, including special commando units, including -- and this is notable -- a combat engineering

unit, an elite combat engineering unit that is tasked specifically with operations targeting those tunnels and not just hostage rescue operations,

of course, but operations going after Hamas fighters there.

So that is significant but it also, that, that number that Hagari mentioned, weighs heavily over all of this and that 108 remain left behind.

And the sad fact is that many of those 108 are no longer alive. Israeli officials have acknowledged that.

They haven't said exactly how many but perhaps dozens are already dead. So any hostage deal that is being negotiated now as those talks continue,

involve -- would involve, in the best-case scenario, right, the return of both living hostages but also hostages, the bodies of hostages who have

already died in captivity in Gaza.

ANDERSON: And the Israeli military spokesman going on to say, in the past hour, we will not rest until we fulfill our mission to bring all our

hostages home through all means possible.

And he took the time to say, I underscore that, effectively, through all means possible. I think you can read into that, that there are both

military operations, which they have been successful in rescuing one of the hostages.

And then there are, of course, are these political solutions, the ceasefire talks and the hostage talks, which are ongoing, albeit at a sort of

technical level in Cairo at present.

And just get our viewers bang up-to-date on what we understand to be happening there in Cairo.

SCIUTTO: Let's be clear. To your point there, Hagari, was, it seemed, referencing what is a continuing debate and a fair amount of political

pressure in this country.

And that is for a ceasefire and hostage rescue deal, because the hostage families have been quite explicit, as have other Israelis, that military

operations alone are not sufficient to bring the hostages home, the remaining hostages home alive.

The hostages forum, which represents the families, said, in fact, in reaction to Kaid's return home, calling it nothing short of miraculous.

[10:05:05]

But saying explicitly a negotiated deal is the only way forward. Military operations alone cannot free the remaining hostages. So that pressure

continues and the effort continues to get to that deal.

I was told yesterday by a U.S. official familiar with the talks that negotiators, mediators have made some progress in coming to a deal there

for a ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages, down to the point where they're discussing actual names of Palestinian prisoners that

would be released in exchange for Israeli hostages.

But they're still not there yet, Becky, and you and I know having covered these hostages for weeks and these negotiations rather for weeks and months

now that the devil is in the detail in these agreements. And it doesn't take much to disrupt those negotiations.

ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. It's good to have you, Jim, as ever. Thank you very much. Indeed.

Let me bring in CNN military analyst retired Colonel Cedric Leighton.

We have learned a little about this operation described as complex by the IDF. We know that there were quite a lot of assets involved in this, not

least an engineering unit. We know that this hostage was rescued from underground tunnels on the back of intelligence.

Piece together, if you will, for us, the information that we have.

What sort of -- what sort of story, what sort of rescue are we talking about here?

Is it clear?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, it's not quite clear yet, Becky. But what we do know is that there are several units, as

you and Jim have just mentioned, that were clearly involved in this.

And one of those is the Yahalom special engineering unit. This is a special operations unit that is designed to go into very complex areas like those

tunnels. And Yahalom working in conjunction with the Israeli equivalent of the Navy SEALs. This is an organization known as Shayetet 13.

And that organization is absolutely a very top-notch commando unit. So in conjunction with that, other intelligence units as well as IDF units, they

put together a very complex operation that was designed not only to find the hostage but also to pull him out.

And that takes a lot of daring, a lot of very operational movements. And it was designed really to do this very, very quickly. And it seems like this

was done basically in broad daylight. So that is also a significant factor in this operation.

ANDERSON: Cedric, let me just stop you for a moment because we just got images in to CNN. This is Kaid Farhan Al-Qadi, rescued earlier today by

Israeli commandos from a tunnel in southern Gaza, abducted by Hamas on October 7th. He was working as a security guard when he was kidnapped.

He's lost some weight, it has to be said. We've compared the image that we had on file of this hostage and where you see him now but clearly relieved

with his family at the hospital, where he is receiving medical treatment.

They, the IDF said his condition is certainly stable. And certainly there, a father of 11, I can't tell you whether that was one of his kids that he

was holding there. But you can only imagine how relieved he is after 326 days to get to see his family and his little ones.

Earlier -- Cedric, stay with me.

Earlier I spoke to Colonel Miri Eisin, a member of the IDF reserves, to get her reaction to this release. And while she understands at the celebration

in Israel, she said this rescue gives her more of a sense of relief than joy. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. MIRI EISIN, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES RESERVES: 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, both a citizen of Israel. And he has been in captivity for 10.5 months and

I'm just happy for him, for his family.

And I want that same closure for all of the other over 100 Israelis and non-Israelis held in captivity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: The Rafah area in southern Gaza, Cedric, and very specifically the tunnels underneath the area, have been a target for the IDF for months.

As they try and root out what they describe as the remaining Hamas battalions -- and perhaps we should use that term loosely.

Given what we understand today -- and you just explained what we understand, at least in principle, might have happened in this complex

operation.

[10:10:07]

What else, what more do we know about what the military is doing in southern Gaza at this point and the scope and scale of the Hamas battalions

left there?

LEIGHTON: Yes, so this is something that preoccupies the IDF and the intelligence forces in Israel all the time, because what you see underneath

Rafah, Becky, is a large system of tunnels.

And that really is characteristic of most of Gaza and something Israelis have found as they've gone in after October 7th. They've found that these

complex tunnels are very difficult to eradicate, very difficult to find.

And once you do locate them, it becomes very difficult to go after specific targets, whether it's Hamas entities that they're looking for or weapons

caches or hostages. And that is really what is driving the Israeli efforts.

So when you look at the things that they're looking for, they're looking for not only where the hostages are but also, when you're talking about

Rafah and the southern part of Gaza, what kind of connections are there toward Egypt, for example?

Because the Egyptian border is right there. And that is the kind of thing that is necessary from a military perspective for them to go after. So they

have a very complex task. They're trying to make sure that no resupply efforts can make it to Hamas. And they're also trying to find the hostages.

And in this particular situation, we were obviously lucky in getting to the hostage and making sure that he could be -- could be not only (INAUDIBLE)

but also rescued in the sense that they've been able to transport him back to Israel and to the level of care there.

But the other thing that they're looking at is how do you repeat that, now that this hostage situation has occurred, where they've been able to rescue

this hostage?

We can assume that Hamas has increased its capabilities to at least their vigilance to guard against similar Israeli the efforts. And for a while,

it'll be a bit harder for the Israelis to rescue hostages like this.

That will then wear off because of time and just the general propensity to loosen your guard after (INAUDIBLE) after a certain time. But that is, I

think, one of the complex aspects of what the Israelis are doing in this particular case.

And it's a very, very difficult operation.

ANDERSON: Yes, and it's fascinating that you point that out, on a military basis -- because you could definitely also describe this successful rescue

as putting the squeeze on Yahya Sinwar and the Hamas operatives there in that area.

At a time when there is obviously huge pressure on Hamas and indeed on Israel by the international community, by the mediators, by the U.S. and

others around this region where I am, in the Gulf and elsewhere, to get a ceasefire and hostage deal done.

Good to have you, sir. Thank you.

I'm going to take a very short break. Back after this.

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ANDERSON: Let's get you now to the Soroka hospital in Be'er Sheva in Israel, medical staff giving a briefing on the hostage rescued from a

tunnel in southern Gaza earlier today, let's listen in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): Walking from the helicopter all of -- all of whoever that is in captivity for such a long time, is exposed

to medical conditions and we will do forever checkups.

Of course, I will not give more details. He's entitled to privacy. We are all excited with his family. And I like to ask the people of Israel to give

them a bit of space. It's not simple after such an event to reunite in this circumstance. Let's give them the day or two together with the family.

It's too early to get into more details of 48 (ph) and how he survived. As I said, I will not get into more medical details. He is still under

supervision. Thank you. English now.

(Speaking foreign language).

Good afternoon. My name is Professor Somecordis (ph). I'm here clinic (ph) of (INAUDIBLE). And (INAUDIBLE).

Good evening. My name is Professor Somecordis (ph). I'm here for the medical center, part of the elite group. I am happy to inform you that,

today in the afternoon, we received Mr. Farhan Al-Qadi, a return captive from Hamas.

Tunnels that arrived by helicopter after being released and rescued from captivity. He underwent initial evaluation in our emergency department. He

appears to be in general good condition but will require another day or two of medical tests to make sure he is still OK.

We are ecstatic with his family, watching him unite with his children, his brothers was a heartwarming moment for all of us. And we hope to be able to

experience such moments with many more returned captives here at Soroka Medical Center (ph).

Thank you.

(Speaking foreign language).

ANDERSON: That's the medical director of the hospital where the rescued hostage Kaid Farhan Al-Qadi is undergoing medical tests saw after being

rescued from a tunnel in southern Gaza, by the IDF commandos earlier.

Today, his brother -- and we have an image of him with his brother in the hospital -- says, quite simply, I am very happy. I can't explain these

feelings. He said it's better than being born again. God bless. We say thank you to everyone and we hope Farhan is good and healthy.

We are very happy. We are very happy we are getting this news. His family with him at the hospital. This is a father of 11, taken hostage from his

place of work as a security guard on the border of Gaza and Israel.

And back on October 7th of course, 326 days later. This father of 11, a Bedouin Arab, is reunited with his family after a successful rescue by the

IDF. The operation described as complex.

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ANDERSON: Well, Ukraine's president is vowing to respond after Russian missiles and drones rained down throughout multiple regions of the country

for the second straight day. At least five people were killed overnight and 10 others were wounded.

In the latest strikes, including an attack on a hotel in central Ukraine. Well, this all comes a day after what Kyiv is calling Russia's largest

aerial assault since the war began, 2.5 years ago. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz, covering the story for us, live, joining us now.

And we have heard from the president today.

What's he been saying?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what he's been saying is that the country's air defense systems worked well. He says that the country was

able to take down more than 200 of those projectiles, those missiles and drones that were fired at Ukraine.

[10:20:04]

But still enough got through to create significant damage and terror across the country. You had families running into bomb shelters. We're playing

footage right now of rescue workers in the early hours, digging through the rubble of hotels and homes and neighborhoods.

And President Zelenskyy says, this is part of Russia's strategy, to attack civilian infrastructure and make it difficult to have ordinary life, to

turn on the tap of water in your home or just switch on a light.

And he says there's very little he can do about it at this stage without a green light from allies to use Western weapons in a more conducive way.

What he is asking for, what President Zelenskyy is demanding right now from NATO, from the U.S., is first to use those long-range missiles to strike at

targets inside Russia.

He wants to hit where these missiles and drones are coming from at the source on Russian territory. Secondly, he is asking to use those air

defense capabilities, right up close to Russian airspace.

Now both of these requests, of course, raise fears, raised concerns of potentially aggravating Putin, potentially escalating this war. But

President Zelenskyy fears that time is of the essence. He says this is the only way to combat this strategy from Russia and these attacks will only

get worse as we head into the winter months.

And the reliance on that power grid is ever more important, Becky.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Thank you very much, indeed.

Well, the CEO of the social media giant Meta revealing that his company censored some of its content around the COVID-19 pandemic. Mark Zuckerberg

says his teams didn't want to but they weren't on the serious pressure from the Biden administration.

And he is telling members of Congress that this will not happen again. Sunlen Serfaty is following this from Washington.

This is fascinating. This revelation came in a letter from Mark Zuckerberg, as I understand it, the House Judiciary Committee.

What more do we know about what is in that letter?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, it's a very strongly worded letter sent from Mark Zuckerberg to the House Judiciary

Committee, who has been pushing for more information about the spread of potential disinformation, the spread of information and potential

censorship.

They say on the part of the White House. And Zuckerberg in this letter is very clear. He uses the words pressure. He said he felt pressure from the

Biden White House to censor some of the information about the COVID-19 pandemic.

And he says, he expresses regret. He says he should have been more outspoken at the time. He now believes it is wrong knowing what he now

knows.

And in this letter he says, quote, "In 2021, senior officials from the Biden administration, including the White House repeatedly pressured our

teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with out teams when we didn't

agree."

That was him in this letter to the House Judiciary. House Republicans, Becky, they're already highlighting this information, celebrating this

admission on the part of Zuckerberg.

The White House, defending their position, a statement to CNN today saying that, during that time they believed the administration, they said,

encouraged responsible actions to protect public health safety. And notably Zuckerberg says that he will be ready to push back more forcefully if this

ever happens again in the future, Becky.

ANDERSON: He also in this letter suggested that the FBI warned about potential Russian disinformation around Hunter Biden and the Ukrainian

firm, Burisma, affecting the 2020 election and that information was suppressed in some way as well.

Is that where we are to understand from this?

SERFATY: That's absolutely it. And again, this is something that House Republicans have been pushing to learn more about. He says in this letter

that, in the fall of 2020, his team temporarily demoted a story that was put out by the "New York Post" that alleged Biden family corruption.

They demoted that, he says so, that it could be cleared through their own fact checkers as they were reviewing this story and Zuckerberg in this

letter says that, since then, it's been made clear to him that the reporting was not Russian disinformation.

And he says in retrospect that they should not have demoted the story. So that an important clarification and he says that Meta has changed some

policies to make sure that this doesn't happen again.

But again, this just giving a lot of fuel to the fire of House Republicans pushing for more information, especially with the Biden family and

information that spread over social media. Becky.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed.

[10:25:00]

Let me just bring you bang up to date on our breaking news this hour: 326 days after he was kidnapped by Hamas militants, Kaid Farhan Al-Qadi is now

a free man, freed from captivity.

Israel's military says he was rescued from southern Gaza in what the IDF is describing as a complex operation, rescued by IDF commanders as we

understand it from tunnels in southern Gaza.

These images you are seeing here, this is him. I've also got some images of him in the hospital with his clearly overjoyed brother. And if we can bring

those up, that would be good to see as well.

So this the Israeli hostage rescued today by the IDF commandos in southern Gaza.

Well this, of course, a military operation at the same time that diplomacy and actively at play in Cairo as Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. put enormous

pressure on her Hamas and Israel to find common ground for a ceasefire and a hostage deal in Gaza.

Well, Qatar counting on Iran to play a, quote, "constructive" role as it mediates that ceasefire in Gaza. That is coming from Iranian media and

follows a meeting in Tehran between the Iranian president and the Qatari prime minister.

And this comes after Iran signaled last week that its pledged attack on Israel in response to the assassination of the Hamas political leader in

Tehran recently is not imminent.

Lot of threads here. They all lead in one direction. And I'm absolutely delighted to say I'm joined by Vali Nasr, professor at the School of

Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, to connect the dots for us here. He is live from Washington, D.C.

Let me be very, very, very precise here.

Iranian media, talking about Iran's constructive role here, what would or does that look like?

Is it clear?

DR. VALI NASR, JOHNS HOPKINS SCHOOL OF ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: We don't know the details. I think the most important part of this is that

this is the first time that the Arab governments that are mediating peace talks in Cairo with the United States and Israel have actually brought Iran

into the process.

So I think it's not so important as to what transpires in Tehran as the fact that Iran is actually being introduced into the peace talks as a

guarantor or persuader (ph) of Hamas.

And I think that has to do not only with the success of the talks that Iran, among all other powers, is best placed to persuade Hamas to accept

the deal. But I think it goes also to the fact that Iran has signaled to the United States that, so long as the peace talks are going on, it will

not attack Israel.

It will not undermine the peace talks and, potentially if there's a successful outcome to the peace talks that Iran may use, that as a

diplomatic exit ramp, not to attack Israel at this moment.

ANDERSON: What do you make of the fact that Hezbollah have now reacted over the weekend response to the assassination by Israel of a senior leader

in Beirut and have suggested -- and this is Hezbollah's leader.

That other, what are known as proxy groups, Iranian proxy groups around this region, may also respond in kind to Israeli abuse as they attacks, as

they see it.

But we haven't seen a response from Tehran to the assassination in Tehran of the Hamas political leader.

Are you seeing a misalignment between Iran and its proxies at this point?

NASR: No. I think Iran always said that Hezbollah would avenge the assassination of its high commander on its own and that Hezbollah would

come likely first. And therefore, it is not unexpected that Hezbollah did this.

And the ferocity of what we saw happen in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah was also to be a signal to Israel and the United States that, if

and when Iran gets involved with Israel, it can be even bloodier and it can be even much bigger.

But I think right now there is a response to Israel. So Iran is happy but Iran is not prepared her to escalate to an all out war. So it's happy with

the current circuit.

ANDERSON: And that's the really important point here, isn't it, Vali?

Yes, because, Vali, that's a really important point. Just as Hezbollah said that they would retaliate for the assassination on Lebanese soil of an

Hezbollah operative by Israel.

[10:30:07]

So Tehran and the supreme leader threatened retaliation for the assassination of the Hamas political leader there. So I think the

significance of this cannot be under -- can't be understated at this point.

Question is, how long does this continue?

And what happens next?

Briefly, your thoughts?

NASR: Iran has said that it will retaliate in its own time.

They don't want to play this game on Bibi Netanyahu's schedule. And when he wants to escalate. And also Iran is keen to perhaps engage the United

States on fresh nuclear talks. It has talked about that, the supreme leader today. But he's OK with Iran engaging, the United States in a limited way.

So they don't want to basically get into a conflict with Israel. That would derail all of that. So they're looking to the peace talks as a fig leaf

that allows them to postpone retaliation for a time period.

ANDERSON: And the detente, of course, with Saudi and, indeed, the UAE where I am here, also important as Iran considers where it is and where

it's headed in the months and years ahead.

It's good to have you, Vali, always a pleasure. Thank you very much indeed, for joining us.

You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson, out of Abu Dhabi, where the time is 6:30 in the evening.

Ahead on this show, CONNECT THE WORLD, with me, more on our breaking news. Israel rescues a hostage from one of Gaza's tunnels. More details and

reaction just ahead.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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ANDERSON: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson.

Welcome back. For those who you are just joining us, our breaking news this hour: 326 days after he was kidnapped by militants, Kaid Farhan Al-Qadi is

now free from captivity. Israel's military says he was rescued from southern Gaza in what it calls a complex operation.

And these images you are seeing now show him in the hospital with his clearly overjoyed brother.

[10:35:00]

Here's more on the rescue from the Israeli military spokesman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAGARI (through translator): Israeli commandos, rescued Kaid Farhan Al- Qadi 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, Jeremy Diamond joining us now from Tel Aviv.

Very little further detail on what was described as a complex operation to rescue this hostage. What more do we know at this point?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Admiral Hagari also said that Israeli military command, those rescued him from an underground

tunnel in the Gaza Strip which would be the first time that Israeli forces have actually successfully recovered a hostage alive in an underground

tunnel.

There have been three other successful hostage rescue operations in Gaza. But all -- in all of those cases the hostages who were rescued alive were

being held above ground. And so that is significant in and of itself.

Kaid Farhan Al-Qadi is a 52-year-old father of 11. He endured 326 days of captivity before he was rescued in what the Israeli military has described

as this complex operation involving its elite, Shayetet 13, of forces that is the equivalent of the Navy SEALs.

After he was rescued in Gaza, we saw -- we just received images actually of him with the head of Israel's southern command in what appears to be a home

inside of the Gaza Strip.

After that, he was taken by helicopter to Soroka Medical Center in the southern Israeli city of Be'er Sheva, where he was evaluated to be in

stable medical condition and where his family members rushed in to be able to hug him for the first time.

They emerged from that hospital room saying that he appeared to be in good condition, although he did seem to have lost quite a bit of weight during

his time in captivity. He was quickly asking about his family members, asking about their well-being as well as his mother's well being and was

told that everyone was doing fine.

And he is now recovering from what is, of course, an incredible and hard to imagine or deal of 326 days in captivity. The hostages and missing families

forum calling this rescue operation a miracle but emphasizing what so many here in Israel knows to be true.

And that is that he is only the eighth hostage to actually be rescued alive by the Israeli military in Gaza and that it will be a deal, a ceasefire and

hostage release deal, that will ultimately lead to the release of the majority of the remaining 104 Israeli hostages, who were taken captive on

October 7, at least 30 of whom we know are dead.

The status of the remainder of them unknown but certainly families of the hostages emphasizing that the clock is ticking. The longer there is not a

deal, the lower the chances are that many of these hostages will return alive.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Jeremy.

Thank you very much, indeed. And we will be right back.

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[10:40:00]

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ANDERSON: An American tourist is dead following the collapse of a cave inside a glacier in Iceland. He was part of a group exploring the cave.

The incident raising new fears for the safety of the popular tourist activity. CNN's John Vause, with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): One of Iceland's most popular tourist attractions now the site of a tragedy. An ice cave in the

Breidamerkurjokull Glacier collapsed on Sunday, killing one American, injuring another. The couple was touring the glacier in southern Iceland

when disaster happened.

The collapse prompted a major search for two additional tourists believed trapped under the ice.

SVEINN KRISTJIAN RUNARSSON, CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT, SOUTH ICELAND POLICE (through translator): It's difficult to get equipment to the area. The

rescue missions are therefore mainly done by hand, digging and breaking the ice. So yes, these are very challenging circumstances.

VAUSE (voice-over): But no one was found and police have since confirmed there have been only 23 people on the tour, not 25.

The collapse though is now raising questions about the potential role of human-caused climate change.

Iceland is warming roughly three times faster than the rest of the planet because of burning of fossil fuels and carbon emissions. And the renowned

Breidamerkurjokull Glacier has been melting since 1930, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Tourism brings in billions of to Iceland's economy.

And tourism officials there are now said to be drafting a new report on glacier tours in the wake of the collapse. As questions linger about their

safety, especially with global temperatures on the rise -- John Vause, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, a helium link has forced SpaceX to delay the launch of its Polaris Dawn mission until Wednesday.

SpaceX house it was pushing back the liftoff from Kennedy Space Center on Monday night. It said engineers were checking a leak found in ground

equipment there.

A five-day Polaris Dawn mission will try a first-ever commercial spacewalk. The crew made up of four civilians will go to the highest altitude of any

crewed space mission since NASA's Apollo.

That's it for CONNECT THE WORLD. "WORLD SPORT" with Andy Scholes is up next.

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