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Isa Soares Tonight
Trump's Disarmament Plan for Gaza Rejected by PM Netanyahu; Hamas Urges U.S. to Pressure Israel to Accept Gaza Plan; Iran Reshuffles Military Leadership as Diplomacy Stalls. Aired 2:00-3p ET
Aired August 11, 2026 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, rescuers race to find survivors after
Monday's deadly earthquake in Colombia. We're live on the ground as a critical window for finding people alive, of course, starts to close.
Then Ukraine says a Russian missile strike hit near a children's hospital in Kyiv. Our reporters in Ukrainian capital for you this hour. Plus, we are
learning new details about an elaborate plan to fly President Trump on a secret plane after an apparent security threat from Iran. We have that and
much more ahead for you this hour.
Well, we begin this hour in Colombia because rescue crews at this hour are racing to try to reach trapped survivors in Colombia in the aftermath, of
course, of Monday's powerful earthquake. One of those survivors tells CNN today, "We don't have a home", a sentiment really no doubt being echoed
right now by thousands of other families.
This video you're looking at shows a bright spot during a very dark time, as rescuers are able to get to some people trapped inside a crumbling
building in Cali. More than 200 people have been killed and hundreds of others injured in the 7.4-magnitude quake. Here's how one survivor
described the moment it hit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK ERICSON, RESIDENT OF CALI, COLOMBIA: It was chaos. It felt like it was like he -- like you're in one of those disaster movies, you know? It
just -- it felt unreal. It really did. So, we finally -- when the shaking finally subsided, we got out of the house, went into the street.
It was chaos. Everybody was out. And it was just everybody kind of looking around. Are you OK? Are you OK? We -- fortunately for us, our house was
sturdy. It's a two-story house. It felt like any minute we could have been buried underneath rubble, but thank God it didn't happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Absolutely terrifying. Well, David Culver is on the ground in Pereira as rescue crews try to reach survivors trapped beneath mounds of
rubble in one of the hardest-hit areas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): You've got dozens of rescuers, but also just folks who are living in this
community on top of this one, what was an apartment building. And according to a couple that I was just talking to, they were hearing yelling through
the night.
And so, that's now had them urgently trying to figure out how to get to the individuals that they believe are still trapped inside this apartment
building. And you have a lot of onlookers, too. This is their community, and they're just taking this in really distraught, but also a bit in shock.
I mean, there's almost a daze when you look at folks who are walking around Pereira, where we are. One of the -- if not the hardest-hit communities
after this earthquake. And we arrived late in the evening around 10:00 p.m.
And at that point, all flights getting to this area were canceled. And so, we were in the capital, Bogota, drove eight hours through the night, and
it's through mountainous, winding roads, and passing us at high speeds were emergency services, were added resources coming from the capital trying to
get here as quickly as possible to assist in this.
And you can even see they've got cranes running here. They've got a Red Cross truck behind it, but they've been bringing fuel tanker trucks to keep
it going so that they don't have to move, and they don't have to slow down the operation.
I've also just noticed that just went past over there, but they've now just brought in search dogs to assist in this. This is probably the third or
fourth location we've been to in just the past 45 minutes or so.
And the reason is, every time we go to a location, some of the locals will come up to us and they say, if you think this devastation is bad, you need
to go here. If you think this is bad, you need to go here. So, they're just pointing us to all different parts of the city where they have realized a
lot of it is just inoperable.
And destruction is everywhere. I mean, it's rubble that lines the streets. This is actually an entire street right here that is now just under layers
and layers of concrete and steel. And so, right now, it does look like they've paused, and we've seen this kind of on-and-off in the past a little
bit where they've held off and moved away from a certain spot and then tried to direct resources to that location.
[14:05:00]
And you can see some of the folks will move off as though they don't want to get in the way. OK, they're still directing people to a certain location
there. I mean, this is now constant for the folks here in Pereira, and as of now, it just seems increasingly frustrating for them to try to figure
out what's going to come next.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Our thanks to David Culver, and we are keeping an eye, of course, on those live images as well from Pereira. Let me -- join now by Camila
Gomes; who's the deputy Director of Programs for Colombia and Venezuela and the International Rescue Committee. She was in Bogota when the earthquake
struck.
Camila, welcome to the show. I was listening there to our correspondent in Pereira earlier, he was in Cali -- I believe we have live shots, we have
images coming to us from Pereira. Just give us a sense of what your teams on the ground, what they have been seeing firsthand.
CAMILA GOMEZ, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS FOR COLOMBIA & VENEZUELA AND THE INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE: Well, thank you, Isa, for having me here
and for having IRC be part of this conversation. We have teams in Cali and in Buenaventura.
The first thing, of course, was making sure that they were safe. They are safe, thankfully, them and their families, their homes, however, have had
some impacts. And so, our first approach was making sure that our team was safe.
And what we're seeing now is starting to get the information from both Cali, Buenaventura, but also information from other places where we have
had work before, where we have partners who are on the ground, especially in Choco, that are sharing with us the information of the extent of the
devastation that they are seeing.
SOARES: Camila, give us more on Choco. I know we -- as you're talking, Camila, we're looking at live pictures, we want to just inform our viewers,
coming to us from Pereira, from Colombia, where our David Culver was. We're seeing, of course, a rescue operation taking place right now.
But we know Choco was also -- the Department of Choco was one of the hardest-hit areas, right? It's also very remote rural part of the country.
As you're talking to your teams on the ground, I mean, how difficult has it been to reach communities most affected in Choco to try and provide that
much-needed aid?
GOMEZ: It has been difficult, Isa, especially because communications are down still. They come on-and-off intermittently, but it has been very
difficult to receive communication and to share information coming from Choco.
So, the capital city, Quito, has been sharing some information in terms of its devastation. And there are numbers that the Governor's Office of Choco
has been compiling in terms of the impacts that the department as a whole has received.
So far, the numbers for Choco from the Governor's Office is that 14 people have been deceased. But we expect, as we expect in these situations
throughout, that the numbers will continue to rise to the extent that there is more and more access to those communities that were impacted by the
earthquake.
SOARES: Yes, exactly. Access has been a problem. Comms -- communications has also been a problem in this part as we've seen in the last 24 hours.
Camila, in this situation, and we saw very desperate scenes in Venezuela, I was there on the ground where we saw those back-to-back earthquakes.
In this situation, what are the most urgent needs for the -- for IRC, for your organization? What do you need to do fast?
GOMEZ: Well, what we need to do fast is see what the actual needs are and tailor our response to that. As I mentioned earlier, we have some presence
on the ground, and we were carrying out activities that are impacted and are related to the response that we're going to be providing eventually.
And when I do that for example, which is the -- a port on the western part of Colombia, we were working with schools to provide protection services
for children who are at risk of violence and conflict. Those schools, several of those, have been impacted severely by the earthquake.
Some of them have been completely destroyed. So, our effort is to try to see how we can get access to education for those -- for that school
community. We were working not just, of course, with the children, but also with the families, with the school administrators.
So, we're partnering with them to see how we can best support the community to receive that very much-needed education and that safe space that
children have when they go to school. So, that is one aspect of what we're looking at.
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Health services, of course, are always critical in these types of situations. And so, we're assessing how we can partner and provide health
services, mobile health services and mental health services as well. Another thing that we're looking at is protection.
Protection for those communities who are at risk and who have had an additional level of vulnerability added on to them, because as we know, the
Pacific Coast of Colombia, where the earthquake took place, is a region that has been severely affected by conflict in Colombia.
There were already, in Choco and Valle del Cauca, 1.2 million people who were in need of humanitarian assistance prior to the earthquakes. We can
assume that number will, of course, increase as we learn more about the devastation.
SOARES: Yes, that is such an important point, Camila, putting that there central to our viewers, of course, the importance of this region and how
much and what they've been through crucially over the last decades. Camila Gomez, really appreciate coming on the show. Thank you, Camila.
GOMEZ: Thank you so much.
SOARES: We're going to keep an eye, of course -- you're very welcome -- keep an eye on those images out of Colombia, out of Pereira, any
developments, of course, we'll bring it to your attention. I do want to turn to the United States because a prominent U.S. senator is calling for
an investigation into an elaborate ruse involving Donald Trump last month, describing the incident as unprecedented, surreal and downright scary. His
words.
A U.S. official says after the NATO Summit, the President was flown out of Turkey on a secret plane because of a security threat from Iran. He was
seen boarding Air Force One, but according to a story first reported by "The Washington Post", Mr. Trump and several aides then snuck into a
catering truck, which moved them to a different plane.
And you can see there, circled on the footage, you're looking at, where reporters, as well as some White House staffers, remained on that Air Force
One flight, raising ethical questions about whether they were intentionally used as decoys and placed in harm's way to cover up the President's real
whereabouts.
Let's go to the White House, and our Alayna Treene has more on this story. So, Alayna, I mean, what more are you learning about this extraordinary
really, security measure?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I mean, it is really, Isa, a remarkable piece of reporting from -- and I have to shout out the great
reporters at "The Washington Post" who first broke this story. CNN has now confirmed these details. But an extraordinary story of subterfuge, really,
on behalf of the White House and the Trump administration, to, one, keep all of this secret.
And I think it really speaks and is reflective of the lengths that the White House went because of what they argued was a very serious threat, or
what we are learning now, just how serious this threat from Iran was, in order to do something like this, this ruse to switch planes unbeknownst to
reporters who were on board that older plane.
And also, as you mentioned, Isa, many White House staffers who were on that plane as well, unbeknownst to them that the President had switched planes.
Look, what we're getting into think -- I think, you know, as we look back on this, it is clear that there were some signs that this entire situation
was not typical for flights with the President.
I have flown on Air Force One before, our team here at the White House has flown on countless times on Air Force One, and what happened here is really
unprecedented. One was, though, that once reporters were on the plane, they were asked to lower their window shades, something that is not typical as I
mentioned, when flying here.
Now, if you look at some of the reports from that day and talking with reporters who were on that plane, they argued that when they asked, "why do
we have to keep these closed?" They say that was because Secret Service had recommended that they do so.
Also looking back, you know, there was a lot of questions around what type of threat there could be to potentially have the President switch planes in
the first place. I'd remind you what the story from the White House and the President had been, at least, their public story at the time of this trip.
They were in Turkey, of course, for the NATO Summit, ongoing was the war between the U.S. and Iran. They had argued that he was switching the planes
because they wanted people, service members who were in the U.K., to be able to go on board the new jet.
I'd remind you the new Air Force One, which was gifted from Qatar, that they wanted to go and tour it. Later reports came out, including from CNN,
that actually the reason that they were taking the old plane was because of a threat from Iran.
But never did the White House say that the President was secretly on a third plane, the C-32. So, just again, extraordinary to see the lengths at
which this White House went to try and keep the President safe.
[14:15:00]
I will note that the White House did not confirm this reporting, but they also did not deny it. And I will argue as well that it's not totally rare
for Presidents to use planes as decoys. But what is rare is just how secret this White House kept all of this.
We had not learned about this until that first story from "The Washington Post". I do want to give an example, though, that, you know, back in 2000,
there was an instance when the former president, the president at the time, Bill Clinton, was flying in Pakistan, and he had gotten on an unmarked
plane as well.
But that came to light almost immediately. They had announced that almost immediately. This did not come to light until this story broke yesterday.
So, a lot of questions still remain about what exactly that type of threat from Iran was that we're working on, you know, getting more reporting on.
But again, something had to be incredibly serious in order for them to go to the lengths at which they did, Isa.
SOARES: Indeed. And I think that's the question many are asking and what kind of level the threat was this, or how credible was this threat? I know
we continue to push on that front. Alayna, thank you very much indeed.
Let's turn to Ukraine because officials say a Russian missile strike hit near a children's hospital in Kyiv today as Moscow launched a fresh
overnight assault. The strike left two craters in the ground of the hospital, shattering windows and rupturing a gas pipe.
In Zaporizhzhia, that is to the southeast, Russian strikes killed at least seven people and wounded 24 others. Moscow's onslaught comes as Ukraine
steps up drone attacks on warehouses of Wildberries as we've been showing you.
Wildberries is Russia's largest online retailer. This video shows a huge fire engulfing a Wildberries warehouse in Voronezh region. That's about 180
kilometers from the Ukrainian border. This just over 100 miles.
Our Nick Paton Walsh is in Kyiv for us this evening -- this evening. Nick, what more can you tell us, first of all, about these attacks in Kyiv and on
Zaporizhzhia? Because I did see President Zelenskyy on X regarding the city of Zaporizhzhia, claiming that it was hit with North Korean ballistic
missiles, he said Zircons and glided bombs.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Yes, I mean, this is clearly a sign of how ballistic missiles have now taken the forefront of
Russia's nightly assaults against Ukraine. I'm standing in a place that was a large warehouse wholesale retailer just six days ago, now one of many
places across the capital that, because Ukraine does not have missile interceptors, is now vulnerable to attack.
The Patriots that Donald Trump suggested Ukraine would get license to make interceptors for themselves, that's still not really happening. They're not
around now. They're not accessible every night to defend Ukraine's skies.
And so, we've seen a real change since we got here of now people in the street who used to nonchalantly basically walk-through air-raid sirens and
acting like as it was, Kyiv was essentially a bubble of safety, now running to the subway, running to shelter, knowing that the ballistic missiles
could get through.
We've seen in May 60 or so in total for the whole month, but now some nights, dozens are being launched. Last night, the children's hospital hit,
the patients were in the shelter, so no injuries amongst them.
But Zaporizhzhia, a different story. Those seven dead you talked about were from the same business. They were running to shelter when the missile hit
and killed them all. The use of North Korean missiles here is important because it shows that maybe Russia's inventory isn't limitless, even though
they appear to be building an incredibly large number of ballistic missiles right now.
Hypersonic, glided bombs as well, but it also shows the assistance from Pyongyang, who are also said to be putting forward 30,000 North Korean
troops. Some are said to be in Voronezh, in Russia, where that strike was against the Wildberries warehouse, already potentially working their way
towards the front line.
Look, this is the nature of the war here that we're seeing, that it changes so fast. We were here three months ago to basically see how Ukraine had the
upper hand to some degree, because of the use of technology, drones, long- range strikes deep into Russia, bringing the war to Russia's oil refineries and now the Wildberries warehouse that Ukraine says is part of its military
logistics network.
But now, the tendency for the dynamic to shift back has happened. And Russia is acutely aware of the massive shortage, if not the absence, of
Patriot interceptor missiles here in Ukraine because they've been used up in the Gulf through President Trump's war against Iran there and are in
shortage generally across Europe.
Russia knows this, and is therefore upping its use of ballistic missiles to rain terror and, frankly, nightly horror down here on the capital and
indeed across Ukraine. That has many Ukrainians deeply worried that they're not going to be able to fix the interceptor problem any time soon.
They're not going to get the ability to make their own alternative or their own something that can compare to the effectiveness of the Patriots. And
they have a long Winter potentially ahead, with infrastructure here already horrifically damaged.
So, I'm standing in one of many places around the capital, a place where you would struggle often to see damage. They're increasingly a sign of the
devastation Russia can bring with these ballistic missiles, and how frequent these nightly waves are impossible to stop frankly.
[14:20:00]
SOARES: Nick, really appreciate you being on the ground. So important. Nick Paton Walsh there for us in Kyiv, Ukraine. Thank you, Nick. And still
to come tonight, the mystery candidate: voters in one U.S. state head to the polls in a primary race where the frontrunner hasn't said much of
anything about her positions on the issues.
And then later here in the show, hopes of a breakthrough between the U.S. and Iran appear increasingly distant as both sides make new demands. Both
of those stories after this very short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Well, it's a busy primary day in the U.S., with six states holding votes to find the candidates who will represent Democrats and Republicans
in the Fall. Once again, one of the big stories is the surge of progressive candidates within the Democratic Party.
Perhaps, the most watched race of the day will be the Democratic Party for Wisconsin's Governor, Francesca Hong, is the front-runner in the polls.
She's a member of the Democratic Socialists and has staked out a number of positions that are seen as far left.
One of the other big races is the Republican primary for South Carolina's Senate seat. Senator Lindsey Graham, if you remember, died suddenly last
month, throwing the race into turmoil. Now, his sister is seen as the front-runner and has the backing of President Donald Trump, even though
very little is known about her politics.
Our Dianne Gallagher is in South Carolina for us today. So, Dianne, just really for our international audience here, the story of this South
Carolina race has to be, I think, as we were saying, Lindsey Graham's sister, right?
She's currently finishing out his term, but no one seems to know very much about where she stands on some of the biggest issues. Are voters there
about that -- are they asking those questions? What are you hearing?
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, they are asking those questions. And I think that we heard from Senator Darline Graham this
morning after she cast her ballot for herself. She talked about this emotional experience of remembering her brother and also her 17-year-old
daughter voting for the very first time and getting to cast a ballot for her mother.
But she attempted to sort of assure voters that she does have these conservative bona fides. And the truth is, she hasn't been on the campaign
trail here on the ground in South Carolina much. Senator Graham says that's because she's been in Washington learning and voting and supporting the
agenda of the President.
[14:25:00]
And that is a sort of what she has said to each of these things. She has aligned herself very closely with President Trump, saying during the only
debate she appeared in that, she is 100 percent behind the President, and she did earn his endorsement.
But look, there are 10 people running in the race to replace Lindsey Graham on the ballot. South Carolina has a runoff rule, which means that one
candidate must get at least 50% of the vote in order to be declared the winner.
If they don't, the top two candidates go to a runoff race two weeks later, and inevitably, that's probably what's going to happen here. There are
about five front-runners, including Senator Graham; also, two members of Congress, Russell Fry and Ralph Norman, former Governor Mark Sanford, whose
name might be familiar to some of your viewers, and businessman Mark Lynch, who actually lost to Lindsey Graham in the primary back in June.
Now, each of these candidates has tried to also align themselves with the President's agenda, even though they didn't get the endorsement of the
President, and in talking to voters, Trump's endorsement seems less important to them than their own research and what they actually know about
the candidates themselves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She has a layperson attitude that's not totally political, but yet she represents a political family who she has had some
strong influence from.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just didn't feel like enough weight was given to those issues and her answers in answering immediate interviews and those
types of things. So, I had some remaining questions about her as a candidate that I didn't feel I had with other candidates like Russell Fry
or even Ralph Norman.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think somebody in that position has to have a mind of their own, and not every other word was, "I support President Trump in
everything."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: Now, President Trump doesn't have the best track record here in South Carolina recently when it comes to Republican endorsements. In June,
his endorsed candidate in the governor's race here went on to a runoff.
And then it became so apparent that, that candidate was going to lose that the President issued a double endorsement, both candidates in a two-person
race, to sort of hedge his bets and save face there. Also, Republicans in South Carolina declined to take up a mid-cycle redistricting that the
President was pushing for.
And again, in talking to voters, they don't seem interested in the fact that Trump has endorsed Darline Graham. Those that we've spoken to who do
support her speak more about her late brother, or the fact that she simply not a politician.
They don't seem bothered by the fact they don't have any real concrete knowledge on what she would do politically in office for the next six
years.
SOARES: Such good insight into how people are feeling politically. While I have you here, I wanted to ask about the race in Wisconsin. I've been told
that this is the race to keep an eye on. What does it mean for the Democrats here? Talk us through that.
GALLAGHER: So, we're sort of seeing a bit of an echo to what we saw in Michigan last week, where Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong is leading in
the polls against who is considered the more mainstream candidate, David Crowley, a -- excuse me, a Madison Democratic official who has the support
of the former Governor Tony Evers as well as general sort of mainstream Democratic support.
Now, there has been controversy around past social-media comments from Hong and some voters concerned that perhaps she's not ready for prime time,
especially because the eventual Democratic nominee for governor will face off against Tom Tiffany, who has already raised more money with the support
of President Donald Trump than both of these Democratic candidates combined.
But again, if you look back at Michigan just a week ago with Abdul El-Sayed in that Senate race, many voters have said that they're willing to overlook
past comments or concerns from mainstream Democrats about how they can perform in a general election to get a candidate that they feel better
aligns with their views.
Of course, we will wait to see what voters eventually decide, because there's been a big push from those mainstream Democrats for Crowley in
these days leading up to today's primary.
SOARES: Dianne, thank you very much for walking us through all these races here. Thank you. Good to see you. And still to come tonight, the future of
the U.S. disarmament plan for Gaza is in doubt after Israel publicly rejected it. We'll be joined by a spokesperson from Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu. That is ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:00]
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Welcome back, everyone. The U.S.- backed Board of Peace is scrambling behind the scenes to try to salvage President Donald Trump's disarmament plan for Gaza after Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly rejected. In a televised statement, Mr. Netanyahu told Israelis twice that his government won't accept the plan
for Hamas to disarm in lockstep with an Israeli troop pullback from Gaza.
And here's just a reminder, for those who have missed it, of what Prime Minister Netanyahu said over the weekend. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Israel rejects the 15-point plan. I heard that there were those who said, you
didn't say it, but we did say it. And here I am saying it again. Israel rejects the 15-point plan. The IDF will not carry out any withdrawal until
the dismantling of Hamas and its weapons. And when I say dismantling Hamas and its weapons, that means heavy weaponry, less heavy weaponry, and
smaller arms. All weaponry. We're talking about a true dismantling, not a fictitious dismantling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, just a short time ago, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations addressed the Security Council, warning that the very future
of the region is at stake. Riyad Mansour said all of Israel's policies can be traced back to one objective, and I'm quoting, seizing maximum
Palestinian land with minimum Palestinians. He said the world has an obligation to act. Let's have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIYAD MANSOUR, PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR TO UNITED NATIONS: I appeal to you, the Security Council, show our people that there is a peaceful path that
leads to freedom, dignity, and security. And demonstrate to the Israeli people that this path of colonizing Palestinian land and controlling and
destroying Palestinian lives is not the path that leads to security, peace, and acceptance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: All right. I want to get some Israeli perspective now. Doron Spielman is a spokesperson for the office of Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, and you can see that he's joining us now from Jerusalem. Mr. Spielman, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to us here on
the show.
[14:35:00]
Look, we played a little clip there, but we have heard -- we played some yesterday and yesterday's show, as well. We have heard a very public and
explicit message from Prime Minister Netanyahu that he will not back this peace plan. Why is the prime minister rejecting a plan proposed by Israel's
closest ally, particularly one that calls for Hamas to disarm and which Trump says they, Hamas, have backed?
DORON SPIELMAN, SPOKESPERSON FOR OFFICE OF ISRAELI PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: The prime minister accepted the peace plan. We have to understand what
we're talking about here. The peace plan that is for the resuscitation of Gaza, that calls for the disarmament and absolute demilitarization of
Hamas, is called President Trump's 20-point plan. That is what the State of Israel accepted. We accepted the terms of that plan. The prime minister
agreed to that plan in October, which is what brought about the ceasefire. And that is the actual plan that we are a party to and that we agreed to.
So, in fact, Israel has been consistent the entire time in agreement with the plan.
The 15-point plan is an additional addendum that actually Israel's not even a party to, but it was being portrayed in the media as if we're a party to
this, and the prime minister was very clear. Because the 15-point plan leaves out the most important thing of the actual 20-point plan, which is
that Hamas has to disarm before Israel will withdraw. And to that, the prime minister correctly said that Israel does not accept that plan because
we're not going to allow the Hamas terror organization to move forward next to Israeli communities like they were before the October 7th massacre.
SOARES: Right. But we do understand that Hamas said they would disarm, right? And that is in an agreement. So, correct me if I'm wrong here. It
sounds to me like perhaps you think the Trump administration doesn't understand Hamas because you've been in negotiations in talks for some
time.
So, I heard Prime Minister Netanyahu say they have ideas, some of which are acceptable to us, and some are not, and we know how to stand up to those
things. So, where -- is there a lack of understanding from the U.S. government about Hamas and the challenges they pose, in your view?
SPIELMAN: First of all, regarding Hamas says that they will disarm. If a serial killer tells the public, I'm not going to kill again, we're not
going to believe him. Hamas is the largest terrorist serial killer in world history. They crossed over into Israeli territory and within 24 hours,
literally slaughtered, cut open, cut apart, killed parents in front of their children.
This is the organization that say they're going to disarm. We don't need to listen to their words, Isa, because they promised to disarm in October
2025. Now, we are in August 2026 and not a single weapon, not even one weapon has been turned in. Meaning if they were looking towards a future of
Gaza, all they have to do, and it could take place within 10 hours, 24 hours, is turn in all those weapons. And therefore, Israel is saying
something very simple.
Before we withdraw and, God forbid, give Hamas the ability to move closer to our people, we don't want to see an armed Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Again, we don't have to be experts in criminology to understand a mass murder needs to be behind bars. We don't have to be a terrorism expert to
understand Hamas needs to be a very far distance and unarmed, disarmed completely from Israel.
SOARES: Right. I hear you, Mr. Spielman, but my question was relating to, is there a lack of understanding from the U.S. side, given the years that
I'm guessing Israel has been in communication with the U.S. administration about Hamas? Is there a lack of understanding about Hamas, be it issue,
being what they're promising, failing at their word? Do you think the Trump administration doesn't have a grip of Hamas?
SPIELMAN: I think that President Trump is very, very smart. He has incredible street smarts. He's dealing with Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas. And
he said about all of them that they're vicious terror organizations and they cannot be trusted. The United States is not naive. Israel is not
naive.
The United States put forth the 15-point plan. We saw it. The prime minister saw it. I was with him. And the prime minister very clearly said,
this is unacceptable to us. And therefore, he relayed those comments to the U.S. side. These are the United States administration, our closest allies
ever. And they understand those comments and they're going to take them into consideration.
And we'll see how we move forward from this because both we and the U.S. want to move forward with the de-radicalization of Gaza. Again, the United
States wants to do it and it's 5,000 miles away from them. We want to do it because it's five miles away from us. The question is making sure that
there's verification and ratification that Hamas is actually disarming.
And that these are the details, Isa, that we need to move forward because Hamas wants to carry out another October 7th. We can't let that happen. We
need to remove them from the scenes so that Gaza can flourish.
[14:40:00]
SOARES: On that point, Mr. Spielman, in terms of moving forward, you're mentioning because listening to what you're saying, of course, and what
we've been listening to in terms of the peace plan, it seems that we almost have a chicken and egg problem because if Israel says, we will not withdraw
until Hamas disarms while Hamas says it will only surrender its weapons as part of a negotiated process involving an Israeli withdrawal, doesn't that
make this peace plan almost impossible to implement? How do you move forward?
SPIELMAN: Not if it's adhered to, because the way that the peace plan that was agreed upon by Israel, Hamas, with the United States brokering, is that
in fact Hamas will disarm before Israel withdraws. I mean, that is in point number one. It says there will be -- point number one is that Hamas -- is
that Gaza will be fully de-radicalized and will not pose a threat. And point number 13 says that Hamas will completely and fully disarms.
In fact, the agreement that both sides agreed on was that first, and it makes sense, the terrorists should lay down their arms before Israel
withdraws. I mean, imagine if there's a standoff between police and terrorists. The police wouldn't lower their weapons until the terrorists
lowered the weapons. And that's in the plan. That's what we agreed to. That's what the prime minister agreed to.
And in fact, we've been incredibly consistent. Hamas has been inconsistent, but you don't bring another plan to help the terrorist side that's not
being inconsistent. And that's where the prime minister drew the line and said, listen, we both agreed. All three of us agreed.
Hamas is going to have to uphold their word. We know that they're a lying, cheating, murderous organization. But if there's a hope that we're going to
withdraw, they have got to lay down their arms for the Israeli people to be safe.
SOARES: Right. And so, if Hamas never agrees to completely disarm before Israel withdraws, where does that leave Israel? And does that mean that
Israel remains in Gaza indefinitely?
SPIELMAN: Israel's not going to allow an armed Hamas to last for very long, meaning we've made it very, very clear. And the clock is ticking. We
can do this the easy way, which was what we prefer, which is the 20-point plan, which is a negotiation, lay down your arms, de-radicalize, let's go
about this. We don't want more war. We never asked for this. We were drawn into the worst massacre in Israeli history. That's the easy way. The hard
way is if they don't disarm, Israel's not going to allow them to exist indefinitely within five miles of our civilian populations with arms.
By the way, Isa, they are -- and I saw the intelligence this morning without going to specific detail, this morning I saw that there were
violations. I could see them moving their arms. I saw their arms, armed Hamas next to food trucks. They're recruiting additional soldiers. You can
see them acting out drills, which look like they're acting out drills of another mass casualty scene. So, they're not stagnant, they're growing.
And so, therefore at some point it's going to have to stop. We've had it to here with Hamas and Israel's going to draw the line at some point.
SOARES: And, Mr. Spielman, I appreciate you sharing that information with us. It is very important. I do want to go -- to focus on Gaza, if I may,
because when the ceasefire was signed in 2025, Israeli forces withdrew to a demarcation line.
I'm going to ask my producer to bring up the map because I think that's important. That demarcation map is known as the yellow line and that left
them, Gaza roughly in 53 percent of Gaza. Now, Israeli forces hold 60 percent of Gaza and we know the Prime Minister Netanyahu said publicly that
he ordered 70 percent and maybe more. What does controlling 60 percent then 70 percent or more achieve that controlling 53 percent did not?
SPIELMAN: So, this is a very important question. It's tactical. Again, we were hoping Hamas would disarm. They've had eight months. They've done
absolutely nothing. And therefore, we've been watching them grow, grow, grow. We've seen snipers. They've killed Israeli soldiers. They've
infiltrated our territory. They're constantly taking intelligence.
So, therefore, we've moved forward to tactical positions with the understanding these guys are not disarming. These guys are not looking
towards a better Gaza. These guys are rearming, recruiting and planning another attack. And therefore, Israel's moved into tactical positions to
keep Israeli people safe. We're not going to allow Hamas to pose a threat to our children again.
No one in Israel, the entire political spectrum, by the way, which is fascinating from Prime Minister Netanyahu, including all the other
political spectrum, are completely united. I don't know if any other country has ever been so united that we are not going to allow Hamas to get
any closer. And so, therefore we've taken a tactical position. Again, we're waiting on their side.
The first step is that they disarm right now. They're in absolute violation of Trump's plan, President Trump's plan. And we're asking the entire world
community, instead of, you know, assuming that Israel's violating a plan, which we're not, let's demand that Hamas keep their word. We've all had it.
They need to stop playing games. Israel's not playing games.
[14:45:00]
The world is sick of this. Hamas, turn in your arms, set Gaza free, and set the Israeli people free. And it's really the next step is in their hands.
SOARES: And while I have you here, and on this, Mr. Spielman, because we're running out of time, I wonder if you can help me clear up one thing
that I saw. Nikolay Mladenov, who is President Trump's Board of Peace and Voyages, just in case our viewers may not know, he said when he spoke to
Channel 12, I think it was on Sunday, that Israel does not have troops beyond the yellow line.
But Prime Minister Netanyahu has boasted that the Israel forces are in control of 60 percent. He said, I'm going to quote, "We are now in 60
percent of Gaza." He said that in May, which would then make well beyond the yellow line. So, who is right here? Is Prime Minister Netanyahu right
or is President Trump's Board of Peace envoy right?
SPIELMAN: The Board of Peace and Israel are working side by side again. There's a level of semantics here because Israel at times moves forward
into positions if they see a threat. At times they move back. The extension is a zone that we can operate in tactically, where within that area we
operate tactically if we see an imminent threat. And that's really the agreement here.
We've seen imminent threats unfortunately, we see them still every single day. And when we do, we move forward into position to take care of that
threat. By the way, in many cases, the terrorists are hiding behind civilians and therefore we don't even deal with that threat. I don't know
if any other country in the world would take an approach where you see a threat and there's a civilian, they bring out their family to guard them
and we hold back and we wait for an opportune time to try to deal with it later.
SOARES: Right. But are they -- so, just to double check with Mladenov, are they passed the yellow line what Mladenov was saying for --
SPIELMAN: Again, I'm happy to explain it again. There is a line, the yellow line, which Israel set.
SOARES: No, no, no, explain it. I'm just trying to understand who was right.
SPIELMAN: Again, I'm not party to the actual conversation, but I'm telling you what is taking place on the ground and how it's being interpreted. And
I don't think there's any fissure between Israel and the Board of Peace. Israel and the Board of Peace sit together constantly. They're coordinated
fully together.
So, again, it could be that there's an issue of semantics here, but the two, the Board of Peace and Israel and the United States are all dedicated
to the same goal. That is what is important here. It's not if we're dealing with a few meters here or there. The idea is, is that Hamas has to disarm.
And if Hamas is not disarming, everyone agrees that Israel has to be able to defend itself like any country would be able to defend itself.
And so, let's put the focus here where it needs to be so that you and I can be talking in a week of how Gaza is redeveloping and Hamas is no longer the
picture because that is truly what everyone but Hamas wants. And we need to put pressure on Hamas to make sure that gets done.
SOARES: Yes. I appreciate you coming on the show, Mr. Spielman. Thank you very much. Of course, a few meters here and there matters to Palestinians
who are being ever so squeezed. Appreciate you coming on the show. Thank you very much, sir. We're going to take a short break. We'll see you after
this.
SPIELMAN: Thank you for your time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:00]
SOARES: Iran's supreme leader is reshuffling the country's military leadership with hardliners taking up key positions as diplomatic efforts to
reopen the key Strait of Hormuz stall. Both Iran and U.S. President Donald Trump are demanding compensation from the other. Now, Iran's Supreme
National Security Council says the Strait will remain closed until the U.S. accepts Iran's condition to end the war.
Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been sentenced to death in absentia. A Syrian court made its ruling today on the ousted leader and his
younger brother, Maher. Maher was a general in the Syrian military. Both were sentenced for crimes against humanity and war crimes during the
country's nearly 14-year civil war. The conflict killed nearly half a million people and sparked a refugee crisis. The two siblings fled to
Russia as rebel forces launched a surprise offensive in late 2024. But their cousin, Atef Najib, didn't get away. He sat behind bars, dressed in
prison stripes as his death sentence was read out. He led a crackdown in 2011 that triggered the war.
And still to come for you tonight, parts of Europe are anticipating a total solo eclipse, but for some, it will just be a partial eclipse of the heart.
Find out what I might be meaning after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, will stay on amid cries for him to resign from his leadership role. President Donald Trump has publicly
backed his football friend on his Truth Social. He posted a message saying this. As you can see, FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if they even
consider replacing Infantino. Criticism of the FIFA president stems from how he pushed the NASCAR proposal to sell off portions of FIFA's commercial
and operational rights to private investors, including the brother of Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner -- Kushner, pardon me.
[14:55:00]
While Jackie the Eagle landed in the hearts and minds of viewers more than a decade ago, she rose to online fame after a live stream of her nest took
off. You remember that. But yesterday, the Ojai Raptor Center shared that the 14-year-old bird has died. This comes after they thought to treat her
underlying illness and injuries from an attack by two other eagles. Jackie's story has been a moving account of the resurgence of once-
indigenous bald eagles in California, which is beautiful.
And finally, for you tonight, tomorrow, Europe will experience a total solar eclipse, something that hasn't happened in nearly 30 years. It will
be completely -- it will completely block out the sun across Spain, Portugal, parts of Greenland, Iceland and northern Russia. Other places in
the northern hemisphere will also see a partial eclipse. In Madrid, the FIFA's building as residents and visitors scramble to get their hands on
proper glasses to view the rare event, the last time a solo -- a total solar eclipse happened on the Iberian Peninsula was in 1912.
And our extensive coverage of the total solar eclipse gets underway Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 p.m. in London. I will be in Cornwall
for that special coverage. Do stay with us for that.
And that does it for this hour. Do stay right here. "What We Know" is up next. I'll be with you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
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