Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Dozens Killed, Missing in Gaza; CNN Exclusive, Paul Whelan Marks 2,000 Days Held by Russia; DRC Children Learn to De-Stress With Chess. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired June 23, 2024 - 03:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.

Dozens killed or missing after Israel launches more strikes in Central Gaza. Israel's military says it's going after Hamas' military infrastructure.

CNN speaks exclusively to detained U.S. citizen Paul Whelan as he marks 2,000 days in Russian custody.

And getting young minds off constant conflict, how a chess champ in the Democratic Republic of Congo is offering children an escape from war.

52 people were killed or are missing after Israeli strikes near Gaza City on Saturday. Now, those numbers come from the Hamas controlled Gaza government media office. Have a look. This is the aftermath of a strike on a residential block in the Al Shati refugee camp. The Israeli military says its jet struck Hamas military infrastructure in the area. A rescue worker told CNN the airstrike felt like an earthquake. One man whose family members were injured in the strike described what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HASAN ZAYARA, HOUSE DESTROYED, FAMILY MEMBERS INJURED: When the incident occurred, I was 300 meters away from my house. When I heard the bombing, I felt it was near my house. So, I found out that my neighbor's houses were hit by a strike. I found my wife, son, granddaughter, and daughter in hospital. Half of my house was destroyed. The wall was destroyed. Some rooms were destroyed. The car was destroyed. Thank God for everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, Israeli protesters gathered in many more than half a dozen cities on Saturday.

CNN's Elliott Gotkine joins us now from London with more. So, Elliott, let's start with those demonstrations. What more can you tell us? ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Kim, these demonstrations we've been seeing taking place on a weekly basis, sometimes more frequently. The main demand, of course, has always been the same, which is for the Israeli government to do everything humanly possible to get those hostages back home. There are still 116 hostages being held captive in Gaza after being kidnapped during the Hamas-led terrorist attacks of October the 7th. Around a third of those are believed to be dead. And these protests taking place in Tel Aviv, as you say, and other cities across Israel. But, increasingly, they've also been demanding fresh elections and for the current government to step down.

Now, on Saturday night, these protests took on added poignancy, as Saturday was the 20th birthday of Naama Levy. Now, you may recall in one of those many viral videos of the Hamas led attacks of October, Naama was the young woman who was seen being dragged by her hair at gunpoint with sweatpants soaked in blood before being bundled into a jeep and driven off. It was her 20th birthday on Saturday, and in Tel Aviv, her parents addressed the crowd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YONI LEVY, FATHER OF ISRAELI HOSTAGE NAAMA LEVY: Hamas celebrated 20 years old anniversary today. And this is not the time, 20 years old, that you need to be in this place, in Gaza. She needs to be here, with the family, with the friend, with her friends. She's 20 years old. She's a sweet girl. And 20 years old, it's just starting the new life. It's coming out (ph). I think that everybody needs to do more and bring all the hostages back home at the soonest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOTKINE: And Yoni, of course, later on, addressing the crowd along with his mother with his wife addressing the crowd and sending birthday wishes, hoping that their, their daughter would be able to hear it. And I suppose the other main point they were making is that those other hostages that remain in captivity are unlikely to be rescued. We've only seen a couple of such operations taking place and that the only way to get them back is for a deal to be done. Indeed, some of the placards that were seen at these protests saying things such as alive, alive and not in body bags. They are worried that time is running out. And if those hostages, the living ones, are not brought home soon alive, then they will not be brought home alive at all.

[03:05:03]

Kim?

BRUNHUBER: Time running out. And then, Elliott, Israel's defense minister has the Washington in the context of not just the war against Hamas, but also with the conflict with Hezbollah heating up.

GOTKINE: Very much so, Kim. He's got a very jam-packed agenda. He'll be meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Minister Lloyd Austin, and also Special Envoy Amos Hochstein, who's actually been in the region this week trying to ease or trying to calm tensions or reach some kind of understanding between Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and Israel as well, of course, since the day after the Hamas-led terrorist attacks of October the 7th, Hezbollah started firing on Israeli positions. Israel's been firing back. They've been daily tit-for-tat firings of drones, of missiles, of tank shells and the like.

And as a result, you've got tens of thousands of people of Israelis in the north who are displaced from their homes, tens of thousands of Lebanese in the south of the country there displaced from their homes as well and concerns that this could escalate into all out war. So, that is one of the topics of discussion between Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defense minister and senior U.S. officials. They'll also be discussing trying to unfreeze shipment of weapons that the U.S. paused out of concern for the way they might be used in any operation in Rafah and also, of course, discussing the ceasefire deal that is still on the table. Kim?

BRUNHUBER: All right. Elliott Gotkine in London, thanks so much. As the death toll mounts from the scorching heat at this year's Hajj pilgrimage, witnesses are describing what they saw was poor infrastructure and organization at this year's event. They tell CNN there wasn't enough water, shade or medical support to protect them as temperatures climbed past 51 degrees Celsius.

CNN's Scott McLean has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A ritual journey of faith that many Muslims will only make once in a lifetime. But this year under a blazing hot Saudi sun, roughly a thousand people are feared dead during the Hajj pilgrimage. Countries are still trying to account for the dead and why so many people lost their lives.

The heat is an indisputable factor. Temperatures reached 51 degrees Celsius on some days, or about 125 degrees Fahrenheit. One pilgrim, Zirrar Ali, who just returned from the hajj, says he saw several people passed out from the heat during the journey.

ZIRRAR ALI, JUST RETURNED FROM HAJJ: And then when you're surrounded by tens and thousands of people, even physically being close to somebody by a few meters, you feel the heat from the crowd.

You know, five minutes in the sun is enough to completely, completely make you confused and dazed. And to not find shade, it's a very painful experience.

MCLEAN: Ali also says he saw medical teams on the scene, though he says there weren't enough of them. He claimed some did not respond to critical situations.

ALI: And so the ambulance and the medics were not stepping into any of the places. I didn't see them once go into a place and try and help somebody. And so to me, it felt like there are too many people, there's not enough medics. And so they're just waiting for the worst of the worst to happen.

MCLEAN: Other witnesses say water stations were sometimes overrun with thirsty people. And the systems in place to cool people down, like misting stations and cooling areas, weren't enough. There were also reports of a high number of unregistered visitors this year, who often don't have access to proper food, water or shelter.

CNN has reached out to Saudi authorities regarding the reportedly inadequate response to this year's heat, but have yet to hear back. Saida Wurie says going to the Hajj was a lifelong dream for her parents who paid more than $20,000 to what they thought was a legitimate agency to organize the trip. But it was a disaster from the start.

SAIDA WURIE, PARENTS DIED AT HAJJ: They talked about not having the proper transportations. They talked about days where the company did not provide food for them. They decided that they were going to make the journey and try to do the walk. And that's what they did. So, the entire experience was a nightmare.

MCLEAN: But that would be one of the last communications from her parents. Saida says she was told they were missing. And later, the U.S. consulate confirmed they had died, most likely from heat stroke. She says she's now focused on returning their bodies, which have already been buried in Saudi Arabia, a loss filled with so many questions and a grief shared by people around the world whose loved ones won't be returning from the Hajj.

Scott McLean, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Extreme heat and dry, windy conditions are said to be factors in a deadly wildfire in Southeastern Turkey.

[03:10:00]

12 people were killed, 78 were injured. The fire near the borders of Syria and Iraq broke out late on Thursday and spread through several villages. The governor's office said straw being burned by farmers after the harvest was blown by strong winds. Many animals were reported trapped by the fire and hundreds of animals perished.

The world's largest tropical wetland is being ravaged by record breaking fires. Brazil's Pantanal wetland, a unique ecosystem home to thousands of endangered and unusual species, has endured more than 1,700 fires this month alone, and experts warn an impending heat wave poses additional dangers.

Our Julia Vargas Jones reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The world's largest freshwater wetland scorched. Aerial footage captures the true scope of the blaze. What should be green now turned to ash. This month alone, authorities detected 1,729 fire sources in Brazil's massive Pantanal wetlands, and nearly 1.3 million acres have already burned this year, along with them some of its precious fauna, like the approximately 10 million crocodiles they call this place home.

Over the crackling of the fire, you can hear the animals trying to escape, this woman says. Last week, children had to be evacuated from a school in Mato Grosso do Sul State when the fire got too close and residents tried to continue to make a living as if life is normal under a blanket of ash, smoke hovering over the rivers, and a glowing orange sky.

But experts warn that the worst may be yet to come as the region is bracing for an impending heat wave. Isabelle Bueno (ph) is part of a conservation group trying to protect the Pantanal. She says too much heat, not enough rain, lots of wind and extremely low water levels on the main river of the biome have created the perfect storm and only six months after the last fire season.

One firefighter telling CNN the scenes look apocalyptic. They've been battling the fire for ten days, going into remote, hard to reach areas day and night. But the area is vast and resources scarce. This fire chief of a non-profit brigade thanks a local farmer for giving his crew a ride to the fire line. Otherwise, he says, it would be a two days walk. What Pantanal urgently needs, experts say, is airplanes to drop water on the burning patches.

We do the impossible with very little, and we need help, she says.

Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Los Angeles.

BRUNHUBER: American Paul Whelan speaks out after spending 2,000 days and counting in a Russian prison. His message, it's time to up the ante to get him and other U.S. citizens released. That's ahead.

And an initiative in the Democratic Republic of Congo is taking what might seem an unusual approach to help children cope with war, by playing chess.

That and more when we come back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:15:00]

BRUNHUBER: Lawyers for a rapper sentenced to death in Iran are hailing what they call a victory for human rights. Toomaj Salehi uses his music and platform to criticize the Iranian regime. He was jailed for supporting protests that erupted after Mahsa Amini's death in police custody in 2022. Iranian media report he was released but then re-arrested for, quote, making false claims and spreading lies. Salehi was sentenced to death last month, but Iran's top court says that decision went too far. The rapper's case will now go back to a lower court for re sentencing.

A Russian weapon that appeared on the frontlines in Ukraine in recent months is proving its deadly effectiveness yet again. Ukraine says Moscow used guided bombs to hit the city of Kharkiv on Saturday, killing three people and leaving 52 wounded. The bombs tore through this five-storey apartment building, leaving much of it in shambles. Guided bombs are Soviet-era dumb weapons that Russia is now converting into precision missiles weighing up to one and a half tons. Ukraine's president says they've been raining down on his country. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Just since the beginning of this June, Russians have used more than 2,400 guided aerial bombs on Ukraine, including about 700 on the Kharkiv region, on our positions, on our cities and communities in the Kharkiv region. Russian strikes also carried out in the Donetsk region and our other frontline and border regions daily.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Russian President Vladimir Putin is marking the anniversary of the Nazi invasion on the former Soviet Union. In Moscow Saturday, he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier just outside the Kremlin. Germany launched its Operation Barbarossa on June 22, 1941, unleashing the most powerful invasion force ever seen. The Soviet Union lost around 27 million people in World War II, more than any other country. Putin uses that war to justify his invasion of Ukraine, portraying it as a continuation of Russia's existential struggle.

Meanwhile, a U.S. citizen is marking 2,000 days in Russian prison this week. Paul Whelan is serving a 16-year sentence for alleged espionage, which he calls a crime that never happened. In an exclusive interview, Whelan spoke by phone with CNN's Jennifer Hansler from a remote prison camp southeast of Moscow. Here it is.

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTER: Paul Whelan seemed incredibly disheartened and in disbelief at the fact that he has spent five and a half years now in Russian detention. He called it an incredible amount of time, noting that for high school, for example, for college, you're there for four years. So five and a half years far surpasses the time you would spend for those major life events.

And he is calling on the U.S. government to take decisive action to bring home both himself and detained Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has also been deemed wrongfully detained. He says he thinks the U.S. government is taking his case seriously, but he wants them to take it more seriously.

And he told me some steps that he thinks could show that they are taking decisive action on his case. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL WHELAN: The U.S. needs to go out and do something, you know, fill up Guantanamo Bay with Russian officials, arrest Russian spies, do something that makes the Kremlin sit up and take notice and say, okay, yes, right now, it's time that we're going to get Evan and Paul back and then we want back what you've got of ours and we'll call it a day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANSLER: Now, Whelan said that until the U.S. government takes these steps, he believes Russia will continue to detain other Americans. We have seen a number of Americans arrested in Russia in recent months now, the U.S. government on their part has put forward what they describe as a substantial and serious proposal to secure both Evan and Paul's release from Russia. To this point, the Russians have not accepted that proposal, and we don't even know if they are actually seriously considering it.

Now, as this is going on, Paul remains in this remote labor colony out in Mordovia, Russia. That's about a day's drive from Moscow. And he describes the situation there as grim. He told me that conditions are very poor. This is how he described them to me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHELAN: Everything is, is dusty and dirty and nasty. And, you know, you do everything you can just to stay cool and just to stay clean. The food we're served is horrible. You know, we really do rely on personal purchases to stay healthy. You know, medical care is nil. There is no dental care at all.

It's the worst environment you can imagine. I mean, it's unbelievable that anyone could even consider this human rights.

[03:20:01]

It's nothing that you can get used to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANSLER: So, he is calling on the U.S. government to do whatever they can to bring him home and bring his ordeal to an end.

Jennifer Hansler, CNN, Washington.

BRUNHUBER: Well, we're four days away from the first U.S. presidential debate of 2024, and it happens right here on CNN. While U.S. President Joe Biden continues to prep with advisers, his challenger, Donald Trump, hit the campaign trail on Saturday with back-to-back events. The Republican addressed Thursday's showdown at his campaign stop in Philadelphia before teasing his V.P. pick. He said he'll announce the name at the Republican National Convention next month. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have a lot of people coming. There's a lot of interest, tremendous interest in the debate. And, you know, when you say prep, I think this is prepping. These people know better than anybody what they want, right?

In my mind, yes. Nobody knows.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Now, early in the day, Trump addressed Christian conservatives in Washington. He urged voters to guard their votes. He also made arguably dehumanizing remarks about migrants and fighting in a martial arts style. Listen to this.

TRUMP: And I said, Dane, I have an idea. Why don't you set up a migrant league of fighters and have your regular league of fighters and then you have the champion of your league. These are the greatest fighters in the world. Fight the champion of the migrants. I think the migrant guy might win. That's how tough they are. He didn't like that idea too much, but actually it's not the worst idea I've ever had.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Well, the Biden campaign wasted no time denouncing those comments. A spokesperson said, quote, fitting that convicted felon Donald Trump spent his time in a religious conference threatening to round up Latinos, bragging about ripping away Americans' freedoms and promising to be even more extreme if he regains power. Trump's incoherent, unhinged tirade showed voters in his own words that he's a threat to our freedom and is too dangerous to be let anywhere near the White House again.

Meanwhile, Biden continues his intense preparations with his advisers at Camp David. The president and his team are spending this weekend poring over briefing binders, focusing on Trump's prior comments and holding mock debate sessions.

Now, you can tune in to see the CNN presidential debate right here, of course, on CNN, coming up on June 27th at 9:00 P.M. Eastern, and then we'll replay the debate in its entirety a couple of different times. You can watch it at 7:00 A.M. London time, that's 2:00 P.M. in Hong Kong, or 12 hours later at 7:00 P.M. in London, or 10:00 P.M in Abu Dhabi.

Well, initiative in the Democratic Republic of Congo is taking what might seem like an unusual approach to help children cope with war by playing chess. We'll have that when we come back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Well, there was a full slate of action at Euro 2024 on Saturday with Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal progressing to the knockout round after a 3-0 victory over Turkey. The Portuguese side were helped by a Turkish own goal and sealed the win with Fernandez's goal after an unselfish assist by Ronaldo. Georgia missed out on its first win in a major tournament after taking the lead at the end of the first half.

[03:25:06]

The Czech Republic drew level in the second half. And with the final shot of the match, Georgia had the chance to go ahead but missed out on the win drawing 1-1.

And, finally, Belgium kept their hopes alive with a 2-0 win over Romania, looking much more composed after a disappointing start and surprise loss to Slovakia.

While chess can be played by almost anyone, but as CNN's Larry Madowo reports from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the so-called Game of Kings is more than a pastime. It's helping displaced children cope with the debilitating effects of war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDNET (voice over): Children at this camp for internally displaced people in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo huddle around a plastic covered square on the ground. They are learning to play chess, to focus on strategy and rules, and take a mental break from the trauma of war. The founder of Chess in the City says the game brings these children peace of mind.

AKILI BASHINGE LWENDA, CHESS IN CITY PROGRAM FOUNDER: When a young person grows up and lives in a state of displacement, they will soon spend more than two years in these camps. Their intelligence will focus much more directly on the war. So, we want to break that. We want to break this infernal cycle finally by occupying their minds, because chess eliminates stress. It manages stress. And it gives people the opportunity to find peaceful solutions to problems.

MADOWO: The children living in this camp near Goma are among the 6 million people displaced by decades of grinding conflict between the Congolese army and insurgent groups. Chess players from Goma provide weekly lessons to the children and the director of the association running the camp says it has transformed their lives.

CLAUDE BWENGE, FOCUS CONGO ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR: These children were scattered. They were playing dangerous games. But since we started this activity here, you can see for yourself how very, very concentrated they are. They're so interested, so concentrated. We tell ourselves it was worth it.

MADOWO: The program founder says the ultimate goal is to train these young players to compete around the world. One small move at a time, chess is giving Congolese children a chance at a better future.

Larry Madowo, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Hundreds of people flocked to Rio de Janeiro to celebrate the International Day of Yoga. Yogis gathered at Copacabana Beach at sunrise on Saturday to greet the dawn. It was the 18th edition of Yoga at Sunrise, which organizers say is a blend of music, connection with nature, and self-knowledge.

The U.N. declared June 21st International Yoga Day in 2014 after it adopted a measure proposed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Great place to do yoga. Thanks for joining us. I'm Kim Brunuber live in Atlanta. Marketplace Africa is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]