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Israel's Security Cabinet Approves Plan to Take Over Gaza City; Trump's Deadline Arrives for Putin to Make Ceasefire Deal With Ukraine; Trump Increases Federal Law Enforcement Presence in D.C. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired August 08, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, Israel's security cabinet green-lighting Netanyahu's new plan to take over Gaza City, forcibly evacuate a million Palestinians, a plan that goes against what the Israeli military recommended, a plan the families of the remaining hostages calls a colossal catastrophe.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are standing by here from Russia. Today is the deadline that President Trump put in place for Russia to move toward peace. But will the President put new sanctions in place now. And with new strikes on Ukraine overnight, where does that leave the planned one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin?

New inflation concerns from tariffs, why a check that the president may want to send you could be a problem.

Sara is out. I'm John Berman. It's summer Friday with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: And the breaking news, massive protests are being seen across Israel right now, after Israel's security cabinet approved a plan from the prime minister to expand its military operation in Gaza and take full control of Gaza City. Benjamin Netanyahu explained the objective of this escalation this way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: In order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza, and to pass it to civilian governance that is not Hamas and not anyone advocating the destruction to Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: An Israeli source tells CNN that the goal is for the first phase of the plan to be complete by October 7th, the two-year anniversary of the Hamas terror attacks that started this war, a deadline chosen intentionally for its symbolism. That plan will include the forced evacuation of about 1 million Palestinians from Northern Gaza to the southern part of the enclave. The move is drawing criticism from around the globe as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens by the hour. The families of the Israeli hostages released a statement calling the plant a colossal catastrophe, adding, the only way to bring the hostages home is through a comprehensive deal, no more futile war.

CNN's Matthew Chance is in Jerusalem with much more on all of this. Matthew, what are you learning?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, Kate, it took more than ten hours overnight here in Israel for the security cabinet to debate and finally agree on this idea, this strategy of conquering the whole of Gaza and establishing Israeli military control over vast areas where there are, you know, large numbers of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. And the fact that it took so long to get to that point is a reflection of just how much division there is in the Israeli government, and by extension, how much division there is in the Israeli public about whether this is the right way forward or not.

Certainly, it's something that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has been pushing hard for. But there are reservations, not least amongst the Army and the military herein in Israel, who have been enduring, you know, nearly two years of conflict now on various fronts. And it's a reserve-based Army and there's a sense of exhaustion and overstretch that the Israeli military has frequently complained about.

The Palestinians, of course, tens of thousands of them who have already been killed, a humanitarian catastrophe, a hunger crisis unfolding in the Gaza Strip, more military action on the part of Israel is likely to compound that suffering. And so that's one of the reasons why there's been such international condemnation as well.

But also the hostage families, there are still I think 50 people who are being held inside the Gaza Strip who were taken hostage on October the 7th, 2023. 20 of them are still believed to be alive and the hostage families as well as the vast majority of Israelis, according to the most recent opinion polls, very much want an end to the war and enter the fighting, a return to normality, and, of course, the return of those people back home.

[07:05:03]

But there is one group of people inside Israel that what the military campaign to expand, they want it to be doubled down on, and that's the sort of far right elements of Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition who have said they want to basically conquer Gaza. They said they want to establish Jewish settlements in Gaza as a way of, you know, destroying Hamas and retrieving the hostages that way.

I mean, they're not the majority in the country, but they do hold significant cards in Benjamin Netanyahu's fragile coalition. If they withdrew their support, that coalition would fall.

And so the fact that Netanyahu now is pushing for an extension of the conflict is again raising all these allegations inside Israel, that this is a politically motivated move, that is extending the war for his own political benefit to preserve his political coalition. And so it's into that sort of fractured environment that this decision to conquer the whole of Gaza has been taken. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Yes. Matthew, thank you so much for that report. We have much more coming from there today. John?

BERMAN: All right. It is deadline day for Vladimir Putin. President Trump has given the Russian leader until today to make concrete peace overtures to Ukraine or face severe new U.S. sanctions. The question is, now that this day has arrived, will President Trump actually follow through?

It comes as a possible meeting between Trump and Putin is up in the air. Both the White House and Kremlin have said it could happen as early as next week.

Let's get right to CNN's Fred Pleitgen, who is in Moscow for us. Good morning, Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Yes, and you're absolutely right, it is obviously deadline day here for the Russians, but it certainly seems as though the Kremlin is less than concerned about these possible new sanctions coming from the Trump administration.

There really seem to be two sides to all of this. First of all, the Russians don't know whether or not any new sanctions are going to be put in place. So far, obviously, still very early hours here in Russia, that has not yet been the case.

But there's two different sets of things and sets of actions that they can expect from the Trump administration. One of them is sanctions directly aimed at Russia. The Russians less concerned about that. They keep saying, look, there's already so many sanctions levied on the Russian Federation, and they've learned to get around them. Their economy is still very much afloat and actually doing quite well, the Russians say. So, that's not something where they really feel a lot of concern.

What there's more concern and where the Russians clearly are more sensitive, John, is those possible secondary tariffs on countries that buy oil and gas and other commodities from other Russians levied by the United States. That's something where over the past couple of weeks that we've been following all of this, the Russians certainly have put forward some statements saying that they consider that illegal. It's clearly something that gets to them more than direct sanctions against the Russian economy.

And, of course, they have also seen over the past couple of days President Trump followed through on some of that and put those tariffs, for instance, on India, specifically saying that that was because they keep buying Russian oil, and it's obviously very important to the Indian economy. The president, of course, also accusing the Indians of selling that oil on international markets. But at the same time, the Russians also say, look, there's a diplomatic process that's going on now. The president of the United States himself has said that there was headway made at that meeting where Steve Witkoff, the presidential envoy, was here at the Kremlin, which is, of course, right behind me on Wednesday to speak to Vladimir Putin for about three hours, and that this summit is now in the works as well. And you're absolutely right.

So, so far it's unclear what day that summit is going to be on. The Russians are saying they're aiming for next week. The Russians are claiming that a venue has been agreed upon but has not been made public yet. But certainly they are working towards that summit and trying to sort some of those issues out.

And I think one thing that's really important to keep in mind, John, in all of this, while the U.S. president says, for him, the most important thing is an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, for the Russians, that's only one of the issues on the table. To them, a complete reset of U.S.-Russian relations and sanctions relief is clearly the big thing that they're gunning for right now. John?

BERMAN: Yes and just getting President Trump in a room alone with Vladimir Putin has been a singular goal for the Russians for some time. So, that in and of itself would be an achievement for them.

Fred Pleitgen in Moscow this morning, great to see you, Fred, thank you. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Also breaking overnight, President Trump is sending federal law enforcement to the streets of Washington. D.C. Why he's upping the ante now and again in this pressure campaign.

And it is deadline day in Texas. The state's attorney general threatening Democratic lawmakers who fled the state that if they don't return, they're going to maybe lose their seats. And now the governor's leveling his own threat. If you don't come back, we'll move to carve out even more Congressional seats.

And now approaching mega fire status, the California wildfires just exploding and forcing new evacuations just as the punishing heat wave out west means dangerous fire conditions remain.

[07:10:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fire moved so fast. So, yes, I jumped in a bulldozer, tried to do whatever I could, and then it just got too gnarly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: People in D.C. waking up today to see a whole new level of law enforcement on their streets. It's all part of President Trump's pressure campaign against the city and continued threat against the city to take it over. We're talking U.S. Capitol Police, FBI, DEA, ATF, for all taking part in a week-long effort led by the U.S. Park Police.

[07:15:03]

The president says he may even deploy the National Guard.

He keeps citing a jump in crime in D.C. as the reason why he is stepping in though crime is actually down in the nation's capital.

CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House. There is a lot more at play it appears, Alayna. What are you hearing?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right. And this increased presence of law enforcement, federal law enforcement, I should say, Kate, began last night around midnight, and it comes after a former well-known DOGE staffer was assaulted in D.C. a couple days ago.

Now, I want to read for you what we're hearing exactly from the White House. This is a statement from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. She said, quote, starting tonight, this was yesterday, there will be no safe harbor for violent criminals in D.C. President Trump is committed to making our nation's capital safer for its residents, lawmakers, and visitors from around the world.

Now, we did hear, Kate, from a White House official who told us, as you mentioned, that the mobilization would include federal officers in, quote, marked units and highly visible. As you said, it includes -- this is all being led by the U.S. Park Police, but includes participation from the U.S. Capitol Police, the FBI, U.S. Marshal Service, D.C. Police, DEA, and other agencies as well.

This is going to be a seven-day effort, but the White House official we've been speaking with about this said that they could choose to extend it beyond that.

And, of course, this does come as we've been hearing now from the president that, in one way, is he saying he wants to take over D.C., he wants the federal government to do that. He's talked about bringing in the National Guard. He said that on Wednesday, it was not immediately clear from what we've been seeing on the ground overnight, if the National Guard is actually present in some of these efforts. But, of course, they could be added later on.

Now, another part of this as well is that, as you mentioned, you know, we keep hearing the president trying to cite that there's been higher crime in D.C. He recently cited as well the killing of two Israeli embassy staffers in May. But according to preliminary year-to-date data, this crime comparison from D.C. Police that they provided to us, 2025 crime numbers are actually lower than last years. As of Thursday, violent crime is down 26 percent, according to D.C. Police.

All to say, you know, we are seeing this situation escalate. We've already are seeing on the ground, we're getting pictures of seeing some of these federal law enforcement in the streets of D.C. It's unclear again how long this will actually be for. For now, they're saying at least seven days, but, again, it could be longer than that, Kate?

BOLDUAN: All right. Alayna, thank you so much for the reporting.

Coming up for us, a new Pentagon policy that could move weapons built for Ukraine back into U.S. stockpiles. There's a new reporting coming just the same day as President Trump's deadline for Russia to end its war in Ukraine now has come.

And ChatGPT is getting smarter, the new update that's making the artificial intelligence even more capable.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: All right. Overnight, some actual NFL games, preseason, also some actual NFL injuries.

Let's get right to Andy Scholes for the details. Good morning, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, good morning, John. You know, in preseason, you never know what you're going to get. Are we going to actually get to see stars? Well, we did for Cincinnati. Joe Burrow and the Bengals, you know, they're known for getting off to slow starts to this season. They've lost their first two games in each of the last three seasons. So, head coach Zach Taylor, he said, first team offense, you're going to go out there, get some reps in the preseason to try to not have that happen again.

And Burrow Bunch looked sharp against the Eagles. Opening drive, they go ten plays, 71 yards. Burrow to Tanner Hudson for the touchdown. Now, the Eagles meanwhile not playing the first team offense, no Jalen Hurts, no Saquon Barkley. But we still did get a tush-push, Tanner McKee with the first for a touchdown in the preseason.

Now, Bengals' Ja'marr Chase, he's considered the top pick for fantasy football this year. He certainly looked like it. He makes this catch, turns on the Jets, 36 yards for the touchdown. Burrow finished 9-10. 123 yards, 2 touchdowns, Chase had 77 yards receiving. They did all that in the first quarter. Eagles would end up winning though 34-27.

Elsewhere, the Ravens hosting the Colts. Indianapolis Quarterback Anthony Richardson, he's battled injuries in his two seasons thus far. And this play here certainly will not help David. OJabo going to come in unblocked, just destroy Richardson. The Colts quarterback suffering a dislocated pinky on his throwing hand on the play. The team's medical staff, they didn't pop it back in, but Richardson was ruled out the rest of the game. He said afterwards he'll be fine.

Now Raven's rookie, LaJohntay Wester, with the play of the game. He fielded this punt, made some fancy moves before taking off 87 yards for the touchdown. The Ravens would win that one 24-16. And finally the nightcap had new Raiders quarterback Gino Smith and new head coach Pete Carroll returning to Seattle to play the Seahawks, Gino only playing one series. And this game was tied in the final seconds. The Raiders tried to line up for a game winning field goal, but Daniel Carlson's kick block. The game ends in a tie 23-23 because you got no overtime in the preseason.

Now, at this game, working the sidelines as a photographer was former Seahawks and Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch. And check him out on this play protecting his camera, doesn't flinch a bit. He just throws the forearm push there, John.

I've been -- you know, I've been on the sidelines as a photographer. Usually, you know, you scatter when the play is coming your way. Marshawn Lynch, no hesitation, just went back to his roots through that forearm, not --

BERMAN: Well, Marshawn Lynch was beast mode, right? He went into -- he was a beast mode with the camera right there. Andy, my question to you is, where do you stand on starters playing in the preseason? Because the pendulum may be swinging back to seeing them a little bit more because of the slow starts to the season, you like it or not?

SCHOLES: Yes, I do like it. And, you know, it went from, you know, it was, the starters always played at least one series, and then by the third preseason game, you were playing three quarters. Then it went to the sometimes they weren't playing at all. But I do like it when they get back out there, you know, get some reps in.

[07:25:01]

And there's actually some data that if you play more in the preseason, you're less likely to get injured early on in the season. So, it seems like it's moving back that direction, which is good. We like to see what we're doing. Fantasy football-wise, we like to see those starters, right, John?

BERMAN: That's what's important. Thank you for keeping it all in perspective. Andy Scholes, thank you very much.

All right, what do you think this person is talking about?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like blood sports. It's like watching a cockpit effectively.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, what if I told you the cock fight being talked about is a new effort to win young voters, metaphorical, I think?

And tariff rebate checks for Americans. It might sound good in theory, but why some economists warrant it could cost you.

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