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CNN International: Beryl Roars Toward Jamaica As Category 5 Hurricane; Biden To Speak On Impact Of Weather After Briefing; Police Fire Tear Gas At Anti-Government Protestors In Kenya. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired July 02, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York.
Just ahead on CNN Newsroom, destruction in the Caribbean in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, the storm intensifying and heading toward Jamaica. CNN has a team of reporters across the extreme weather lines today. Plus, fresh protests have led to new clashes in Kenya's capital. We're live in Nairobi with the latest. And reshaping U.S. President Joe Biden's image, how his team is trying to reassure Democrats, voters, donors and world leaders?
We begin this hour with Hurricane Beryl. It's the earliest Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record, and Jamaica is bracing for impact. Beryl continues to pick up steam rapidly at this point with maximum sustained winds of 165 miles per hour. That's more than 265 kilometers per hour. And the storm has already wreaked havoc in the Windward Islands. At least three people have died with the storm leaving behind what one official described as a path of immense destruction, pain and suffering. Haiti and the Dominican Republic are likely to see heavy rainfall, storm surge, and dangerously high winds today, and Beryl is expected to hit Jamaica on Wednesday.
Now, in the U.S., President Joe Biden will be briefed by federal officials today on the extreme weather forecasts and the severe impacts of climate change overall. The President is also expected to propose new standards designed to protect U.S. workers from the dangerous heat. More than 60 million people are under heat alerts across parts of the South Central U.S. and the West. Extreme heat is expected from the Florida Panhandle to Texas, and even north to Kansas.
So, CNN has a team of reporters across all the latest weather and climate developments today. But first, I want to go to Patrick Oppmann, as you can see on the map, who is tracking the storm down in Havana for us. So, tell us about the damage that we've already seen from Hurricane Beryl.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the first time we've seen a Category 5 hurricane develop this early, first time in recorded history, since people have been keeping track of hurricanes, this early in the season. And for the people in the Windward Islands, who on Saturday were looking at a tropical storm and then on Sunday were looking at a major hurricane, a Category 4 hurricane that then developed into Category 5 hurricane, there simply wasn't enough time to prepare.
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OPPMANN (voice-over): With wind speeds of 150 miles per hour, Hurricane Beryl makes landfall in the Windward Islands. The storm closed schools, businesses and airports across the islands of Grenada, Barbados and St. Lucia. As Beryl rapidly intensified, officials urged residents to seek shelter immediately.
VOICE OF RALPH GONSALVES, PRIME MINISTER, ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES: You have to be off the road. You must be off the road. There are instructions to the police to enforce this. You have to take care of yourself. You have to look out for your neighbors and your friends and your families.
OPPMANN (voice-over): The hurricane knocked out power in about 95 percent of Grenada. In Barbados, over 400 people were evacuated and housed in hurricane shelters. The nation's chief shelter warden said some people only had hours to prepare, and lines formed at gas stations and grocery stores.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that I am well prepared. But, just getting a few more canned items. But, in terms of the house preparation and things like that, I have my water, bottled water and collected water. I have my extra foodstuff, my batteries, my battery, likes and so on. So, I'm well prepared.
OPPMANN (voice-over): The National Hurricane Center warned life- threatening storm surge would raise water levels six to nine feet above normal tide levels, leading to potentially catastrophic damage in low-lying islands. Abnormally warm waters fueled barrels alarming strength, record temperatures driven by climate change. Hurricane season began June 1. But, already, there is no shortage of pain and destruction caused by history-making storm
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OPPMANN: And as Beryl heads towards Jamaica, the fear of greater devastation is there because this is a much bigger island in terms of population, in terms of infrastructure, in terms of tourists that visit this island. So, of course, the potential there for even more pain and suffering, and the greater worry, of course, is there are more storms on the way. It is early in hurricane season, months more to go to hurricane season. Beryl looks like a storm that you would see sort of in August or September into the height of hurricane season, not typically what you would see this early on. And so, forecasters have said it's going to be a record hurricane season. It already has been one with the formation of this very, very powerful storm so early. JIMENEZ: And obviously already what we've seen has been so incredibly concerning. Patrick Oppmann, thank you so much.
I want to get a larger look at this, and let's bring in Meteorologist Elisa Raffa, who can talk a little bit more about the storm's path, because where is this going next? And do we expect it to stay this strong?
ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. We are most worried about Jamaica. That's coming up next. And we just got an 11 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center. It is maintaining its Category 5 strength for right now. It still has 160 mile per hour winds gusting up to about 200 miles per hour. And it's booking at west and northwest at 22 miles per hour. But, it has come down a little bit. The wind speeds have come down a little bit and the pressure has gone up a little bit. So, some of the first signs that some of the dust in the wind shear things are trying to eat away at the intensity.
But, we've had such intense storm already because it's rapidly intensified multiple times, because these ocean temperatures in the middle and upper 80s much more likely you would see at the peak of hurricane season early September. So, it's just incredible. It's had so much food and so much fuel. But again, as I mentioned, as it goes east, starting to find a little bit of dust, maybe a little bit of wind shear that can eat away at that intensity a little bit. We're still looking at it making a pass at Jamaica as a Category 5 or Category 4 hurricane. Hurricane warnings are in effect there. We could be looking at storm surge up to eight feet in spots. Hurricane watch is in effect for the Cayman Islands, and then it continues its way towards Mexico, as we get towards the weekend.
Rain totals could be upwards of a foot in some locations of Jamaica, especially in those higher elevations, flash flooding, mudslides, a problem there with some of the mountainous terrain. Tropical storm force winds will hit parts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, some new alerts there, again, worried about Hurricane 4's conditions in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Where it goes from here, it depends on how strong this high pressure that's causing the heat in the U.S., because whether it's stronger or weaker, we will determine if it nudges a little bit farther north towards Texas or a little bit farther south and stays in Mexico. So, that's something that we'll have to watch very closely. And you could see, within the next seven days, that's where we get kind of a spread and uncertainty in the forecast, something we'll be watching. Omar.
JIMENEZ: A lot to watch there. Meteorologist Elisa Raffa, thank you so much.
I want to expand this conversation and bring in CNN Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir, who joins us live from New York. Obviously, we're expecting to hear from President Biden a little bit later today. But, what are we expecting to hear from him, and what is the magnitude of the comments that we're expecting from him?
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Omar, I think he is going to use this record-shattering heat that we're experiencing. It's manifesting in so many troubling ways around the globe, to draw really the most distinctive difference between him and his rival in this upcoming election. Biden and Trump differ on a lot of policies, but the chasm may be widest around climate in which Donald Trump really doesn't want to acknowledge the fact that the planet is overheating with disastrous results. The President will talk about creating -- also draw a distinction between Republican governments in Florida and Texas, which has actively stopped mandatory heat breaks for outdoor workers to get shade and water when the temperature reaches a certain point.
Maybe there could be a new federal OSHA law (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) that would supersede any of that. And the state levels would say, there is already OSHA laws in place. Maybe this would beef them up. He is going to call for a White House Summit on extreme heat later this summer with leaders from Western and southwestern states, tribes as well, people who really suffer the heat most acutely this year, and also talk about adaptation, tree cover, millions of dollars for tree cover in urban heat islands or flood mitigation in places that are now suffering from water whiplash. About a billion dollars he'll announce today from the Inflation Reduction Act to going into heat relief, which is very much going to be on the minds of voters all summer long.
JIMENEZ: Yeah. A lot of very concerning aspects here. Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir, thank you so much.
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WEIR: You bet.
JIMENEZ: All right. We're also following nationwide protests underway across Kenya demanding the resignation of President William Ruto.
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Riot police have been firing tear gas at demonstrators in Nairobi and rocks are being thrown at police during confrontations in the streets, really been chaotic at times. The Kenyan Human Rights Commission says at least 39 people have been killed since the unrest started on June 18. Last week, CNN witnessed police shooting at unarmed protesters through the parliament building in Nairobi, as it was stormed and fires set. Now, many of the anti-tax hike protests were peaceful. But now, the anger is pointed at William Ruto's government and the security response. Young demonstrators asking the question, why are you killing us?
CNN's Larry Madowo is on the scene and has been there throughout all of this, and joins us from Nairobi. Larry, what are you seeing now?
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Omar, it's a lot quieter now. The police appear to have managed to beat back all the protesters. There are still the cops here, just making sure they don't gather. The brief today appears to have been that they do not allow any of the protesters to get any closer to parliament or even to really mass. So, they're still holding fort here. This is supposed to be a really busy street in Nairobi, but it's empty. This is supposed to be rush hour but you don't see anybody else there. But, the anger here began about the finance bill in Kenya, but it's since become about the government of President William Ruto, and so many people who say Ruto must go, and they feel that President Ruto is not listening to them.
I want to bring in one of the protesters here, Keziah, who I have been speaking to a short while ago. Keziah, why are you still out protesting?
KEZIAH MUMBI, PROTESTOR: Personally, I'm here because of my medical issue. I'm here because of what Ruto's government is doing to us, who have chronic illnesses. I have endometriosis and the medicine I need, the daily pill I need to take to prevent the growth from spreading any farther and causing fatal harm to my body, the company that manufactures this medicine left Kenya a few months ago. And --
MADOWO: And you think that is because of what?
MUMBI: Because of his government, because the business environment has been made so difficult for any manufacturers, any international firms by this particular government. Whether they're asking for kickbacks, whatever they're doing, we don't know. But, we the people who are suffering, who need this medicines to survive, are struggling. I can't find this medicine anywhere.
MADOWO: And your brother also has a chronic condition.
MUMBI: My brother has asthma, and the company that manufactures these inhalers, the sole manufacturer of these inhalers has also left Kenya. As we've known in the last couple of months, a couple of medical manufacturers have left the country. And now, this -- the inhalers, the pills we take to manage your chronic illnesses, we can't find them anymore in hospitals.
MADOWO: This is a life and death issue for you.
MUMBI: This is a life and death issue. That's why I'm here on the streets because I'm mad. Either I find this medicine or I die. What else can I do? I am a Gen Z who has nothing to lose. I am jobless. Despite having a computer science degree, I don't have anything to live for. If the meds I need to take to keep me from dying cannot be found in this country anymore, yeah, then I'll come to the streets and protest against this government. I really feel it and I feel it in my heart. I have nothing to lose, let me just say that. It is life and death.
MADOWO: Keziah, thank you so much. I think there is nothing more to add to that. She says a matter of life and death for her. If she can't find these medicines at an affordable price, then she can't live here. And there are so many other people, this young man, he was telling me he is a motorbike taxi driver and he is also upset about the government because President Ruto said that this government is for the regular people for boda-boda riders, as they're called in Kenya for the (inaudible) retail -- retailers. And you are still also upset with President Ruto's government?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His government, we expected a lot from it. When Ruto came to the office, we expected a lot from him because the promises he made during the campaign, he promised us as the boda-boda operators.
MADOWO: So, he promised a lot of things that he has not delivered?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I don't see anything. He is doing a lot of uncertain. We don't expect -- I don't understand even if this Ruto.
MADOWO: Right. Thank you so much, sir. So, you see that anger from across sections of society from somebody who is well educated, has a computer science degree, and can't find work, to him, who just wants to ferry people around, Omar.
JIMENEZ: And Larry, yeah. I'm struck by the first person you spoke to, who said I have nothing to lose. To me, this is life and death, painting out the stakes very clearly there.
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Larry Madowo, thank you, as always.
All right. Lots more news to follow. Still ahead, the presidential campaigns for Joe Biden and Donald Trump are trying to capitalize on good news for both sides. We will explain in a live report. Plus, our political analysts will weigh in on the public debate over President Biden's competency to hold office. Lots to discuss. Stay with us.
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JIMENEZ: Alright, everyone. Breaking news just now, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office says it's open to delaying Donald Trump's sentencing following his hush money conviction. Now, the announcement comes on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the former President is entitled to immunity for any quote "official acts." Now, Trump's legal team plans to challenge the verdict in the wake of the immunity decision. The former President is currently scheduled to be sentenced in the case on July 11.
Let's go now to our Alayna Treene with the latest for the Trump campaign. Obviously, some pretty big news here that the DA is open to this. What more do we know?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Right. Well, look, Donald Trump's team, in light of this Supreme Court decision, they're arguing that this does not -- the immunity ruling does not just apply to his federal election subversion case, the January 6 case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith, but that it also applies to his other legal cases. And specifically, what we're talking about here is his New York guilty verdict in his New York hush money trial.
Now, Donald Trump's team yesterday filed a letter to the DA's office, saying that they believe that they should be able to push back on this case and ultimately try to dismiss it based on how some of the guilty verdict was actually found using evidence, they argue, from his time as President, which the court had ruled yesterday he is now immune from an arguing, that they should be re-examining this conviction in light of that.
So now, we did just hear from the Manhattan DA's Office, saying that they are open to pushing back his sentencing date in order for them to brief both parties on the impact of this ruling. I'm going to read for you what the Manhattan DA's Office wrote. They wrote quote, "Although we believe the defendant's arguments to be without merit, we do not oppose his request for leave to file and his punitive request to adjourn sentencing pending determination of his motion. We respectfully request a deadline of July 24, 2024, two weeks after the defendant's requested deadline, to file and serve a response."
Now, I can also tell you, Omar, that Donald Trump's team is also hoping to hold oral arguments in this case, something that if it were to go forward, they could actually push this sentencing date until August. And remember, this sentencing date is currently scheduled for a week from Thursday, July 11, so pushing it back several weeks.
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So, we'll see what ends up happening. Ultimately, this is up to the judge Juan Merchan in New York to decide this. But, given that the Manhattan District Attorney's Office says that they do not -- they have no issue with pushing this back and hearing these briefs, it's pretty likely that the judge will agree to it.
And I just want to give you some context on all of this, because I know it's a lot of information we're getting. Donald Trump's team is very happy with that Supreme Court decision. And honestly, from my conversations with them, they argue that it's hard to see how they could have gotten any more than they did with that ruling. What they really were looking for was this type of limited immunity, meaning that he is immune from any official acts as President, not for official acts. But still, that really does have a massive impact. Again, not just on his federal case, this federal January 6 case, but the other cases he is facing.
And the big point is also a lot of this is delaying his legal efforts. And of course, that has been the goal of Trump's legal team for months now. They have been looking for ways to delay all of his trials until after the election. And so, this was, in their eyes, a huge win for them. And already, we're seeing impact, not only his future cases and future trials, but his recent trial in New York and that guilty conviction. Omar.
JIMENEZ: Lot of factors to keep in mind here, especially on the timing of things. And if it is pushed back, the sentencing is pushed back. I should note that that would come after the Republican National Convention as opposed to before. So, Alayna Treene, thank you for that.
I want to go to the President Joe Biden side of things because he also was trying to capitalize on a bit of good news for his campaign. Monday night, the President made a televised statement about the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity. He spoke out against the decision and what it means for the future. Now, after the President's speech, his campaign announced it brought in a hefty $127 million in donations in June.
I want to bring in Arlette Saenz, who joins us from the White House. OK. Obviously, a lot of questions about the President and his future viability as a candidate over this last week. But, is this news of Biden's campaign fundraising numbers going to reassure voters, donors, Democrats? How does this play out here?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Omar, it is one bright spot that the Biden campaign is trying to point to, as they continue to grapple with the fallout from President Biden's debate performance last week. The campaign today announced that they raised $127 million in June, a big portion of that came around the debate and the four days after the debate. The campaign says they brought in $38 million and are ending the month with $240 million cash on hand. That cash on hand is important because it gives the campaign more money to buy advertisements, hire organizers and open offices.
But, it does come at a time when there are questions about not just what President Biden's reelection bid will look like in the coming weeks, but also what that fundraising might look like. The Biden campaign, over the past few days, has been working the phones with anxious donors, trying to ease some of their concerns. Last night, the top campaign officials, including the campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon, held a phone call with about 500 donors to hear out some of their concerns. They defended the President's health and said that his candidacy does remain on track.
But, you are starting to hear not just from donors who are grumbling about what could happen if Biden remains in the race, but also there are Democrats up on Capitol Hill who have concerns today. Congressman Mike Quigley of Illinois said that it's up to the President to decide whether he remains in this race. But, he raised the focus that some people have on the fact that it's not just going to impact Biden's reelection bid to stay in the race but also could impact those Democrats running in competitive House and Senate races. Now, this is something that Democrats are waiting to see polling on to see what the broader impact of this debate performance will be on Democrats across the tickets.
But certainly, there are many questions for the Biden campaign going forward about what that path for President Biden looks like if he will remain at the top of the ticket. So far, advisors insist he has no plans to step down. And instead, what he is trying to do is point to things like the Trump immunity ruling to further his cause and making that argument that's been central to his campaign, that Trump presents a real threat to American democracy.
JIMENEZ: Yeah. We've seen him make a number of public appearances since, another one expected a little bit later this morning as well. Arlette Saenz from the White House, thank you so much.
I want to expand this conversation and bring in CNN's Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein. OK. Look, Biden came out with remarks yesterday, offering his dissent of sorts to the Supreme Court ruling, and one of the things I want to make, our colleague Jake Tapper asked the Biden campaign co-chair is. why doesn't he just do a two-hour press conference, answer questions live back and forth, show what many of his allies say he is and instill confidence for those that may have lost it after the debate?
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Do you agree -- if you're a Democrat, is that a smart move to make?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST, & SENIOR EDITOR, THE ATLANTIC: I think it's not only smart, but it's indispensable really. And it is striking that nothing like that has happened yet. And it's an -- I think whatever the campaign says about their level of confidence in the candidate, the fact that he hasn't done things like that, or town halls, not only in the aftermath of this debate, but all year, is revealing.
I've spent the last few days on the phone with a broad cross-section of Democratic leaders, people who run major advocacy, constituency groups, the donors, elected officials, pollsters and strategists, who I've known for decades, and there is enormous apprehension about whether Biden can recover from the impression that he left at the debate and there is equal apprehension about going public with those concerns, given the posture of the White House toward critics and the rallying around Biden by some of the party's leading officials. I cannot overstate how much confusion and really despair there is among Democrats at this one, particularly after that egregious Supreme Court decision.
JIMENEZ: And look, I think confusion might be the right word here, because we have seen a wide range of responses from people who have previously --
BROWNSTEIN: Right.
JIMENEZ: -- worked in administrations from -- we're now starting to see it in certain ranks of Congress as well. I want you to take a listen to Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley, who earlier today said this on President Biden.
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REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL): His four years are one of the great presidencies of our lifetime. But, I think he has to be honest with himself. This decision he is going to have to make, he clearly has to understand, I think what you're getting to here is that his decision not only impacts who is going to serve in the White House the next four years, but who is going to serve in the Senate, who is going to serve in the House, and it will have implications for decades to come. It's his decision. I just want him to appreciate at this time just how much it impacts not just his race, but all the other races coming in November.
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JIMENEZ: And I -- and that -- those comments strike me because his comments are a little nuanced in that. He is not saying Joe Biden is a bad President, but that maybe he needs to be honest with himself about what's next. And so, how should the Democratic Party handle that position?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I mean, I think that is the position of everyone concerned about where we are. I don't think any of the quote "critics" believe that Biden has been an ineffective President. The question is, whether he can effectively make the case against President -- former President Trump and have a reasonable chance of winning in November? Don't forget, the only reason this debate existed in June was because -- why would we debate in June? The reason is, because the Biden campaign recognized, as do many Democrats, that he is not on a trajectory that in all likelihood will put him back in the White House in four years.
I mean, the Sunbelt swing states, the southeast, North Carolina and Georgia are virtually gone. Arizona and Nevada and the Southwest are not as gone, but are very uphill. And what he has got is essentially a 50:50 chance to pull an inside straight in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, where he is probably trailing at least somewhat in all three. He was the one, Omar, who needed to shake up the trajectory and improve his position in the debate. Even if nothing deteriorated from the debate, which is hard to believe over time, that would still leave him with a losing hand.
And so, like Democrats aren't saying, Joe, you did a bad job. They're saying, can he articulate the case against President Trump and give us our best chance of avoiding a second term for all of these groups, would be existential and catastrophic for all the values they hold? And based on that performance, you cannot say, yes. I mean, the President Biden was fundamentally incapable of executing a message against former President Trump for much of that debate.
JIMENEZ: And I think, to your point, many saw the debate as a real opportunity to build momentum. And I can't imagine that this is the result that they wanted out of that.
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
JIMENEZ: But, it's still early. Anything can happen. But, we are getting closer now. Ron Brownstein, thanks so much for being here.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
JIMENEZ: All right. This just in to CNN, Rudy Giuliani, the former New York Mayor and advisor to Donald Trump, has been disbarred. It's over his part in Trump's election interference efforts in 2020. The New York Supreme Court's decision is effective immediately. Now, Giuliani had been suspended from practicing law while the court considered discipline proceedings against him, and this, of course, is the next step officially being disbarred.
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All right. Still to come, fleeing for their lives again, thousands of men women and children are on the move after Israel issues new evacuation orders for southern Gaza. And Palestinian families welcome home loved ones released from Israeli detention. But, the joyful reunions are tempered by disturbing accounts of abuse and torture. We'll have a report coming up.
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JIMENEZ: Welcome back, everyone. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. Here are some international headlines we're watching today.
30 people have been injured on an Air Europa flight from Spain to Uruguay due to high turbulence. People were tossed around the cabin. This video, I mean, you can see passengers had to be helped down from an overhead luggage bin. The plane was forced to land in Brazil. One passenger said we thought we were going to die. There is no evidence at this point of any malfunction on the plane.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's biggest ally in Europe is on his first visit to Kyiv since the start of Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, urging him to consider a ceasefire in order to speed up peace talks with Moscow. Now, Ukraine has previously dismissed any truce that would require it to give up seized territory.
And police in northern India now say at least 87 people were killed in a stampede earlier today. It reportedly happened during a prayer meeting in northern India. Dozens of women are said to be among the victims, as well as some children. Authorities are warning the death toll could still rise. And in India's east, more than 40 people have been killed in flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rains. The state has seen the worst effects of India's monsoon season so far, and more rain is forecast for the coming days.
All right. Dozens of Palestinians released from Israeli custody say they survived brutal treatment while in detention. They say they were abused and subjected to near-daily torture with very little to eat.
CNN's Nada Bashir has more.
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NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): A long hope for reunion after months in detention, removed from Israel's devastating military onslaught on Gaza, forced instead, they say, to face unspeakable horrors in Israeli detention. We were being tortured in ways I cannot describe, Farah (ph) says. Only God knows what we have been through. I swear to you, it was the kind of torture nobody can speak of. Overwhelmed, it is almost too painful for him to recount.
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They play with your emotions, he says. They would show us photos of our relatives' bodies, pictures of our families and children and say, look at your children. We killed them. They would show us pictures of our wives, our sisters, and tell us they had taken them and done this and that to them. For Farah's daughter, her father's safe return is all she has been praying for. Yeah. I'm very happy, she says, Never in my life have I been without him, not once in seven years. Inside, the relatives of those released on Monday frantically called
loved ones to share the news. They told him had they killed us all. He still can't believe that we're alive, this woman says. On Monday, Israel's Prison Service said that it was not aware of these claims, adding that all prisoners are detained according to the law, and that all basic rights required are fully applied by professionally trained prison guards, though Israeli security officials have previously told CNN that they have been made aware of allegations of torture tactics being used against Palestinians within Israel's prison system and are investigating.
Some 50 Palestinian detainees were released by Israeli authorities on Monday. Why they were originally detained? We may never know. CNN's inquiries to Israeli authorities went unanswered. Among them, the director of Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa, released more than seven months after Israeli forces first raided the hospital and detained him. We were beaten and tortured almost every day. My little finger was broken and I was repeatedly struck across the head, causing me to bleed several times, Dr. Abu Salmiya says. The torture taking place in Israel's prisons is near daily.
The decision to release Palestinian detainees has sparked fierce backlash amongst some Israeli officials. Top ministers were reportedly out of the loop. And everyone from the opposition leader to the far- right security minister called it dysfunction and national security malpractice. But, the Israel security agency, or Shin Bet, says it was forced to release some detainees due to a shortage in prison space.
Whatever the reason, Monday's reunions were a moment of relief for many families in Gaza. Mahmoud Ali Baider (ph) says he was detained for more than eight months. Look at my legs, he says. They wouldn't give us anything to treat our rashes. Many have spoken of the little food and water they received while in detention. Others say they were denied medication, including insulin for diabetes. For a month and a half, I was blindfolded, handcuffed and forced to kneel, Al Mansour (ph) says, highlighting the deep scars left on his wrists, a permanent reminder of all that he and so many others have been forced to endure.
Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
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JIMENEZ: Now, in response to reporters' inquiries, the Israeli security agency, Shin Bet, said about those overcrowding allegations. Without a choice, without an immediate solution to the prison shortage, arrests will continue to be canceled, and detainees will continue to be released, as they speak of those who are determined to pose lesser of a threat. Now, mass evacuations of civilians are underway in southern Gaza, as Israel escalates deadly strike just a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his troops are nearing the final stage of eliminating Hamas.
Now, the UN says it expects 250,000 people to be affected by the evacuation orders, that include eastern Khan Younis and Rafah, but it says they have nowhere safe to go. Medics are even evacuating an area hospital, including patients in intensive care and babies on incubators. One doctor calls it a chaotic and dire scene. Some displaced families who've made it to the Mawasi area are living in tents surrounded by unexploded rockets, some of what you're looking at there. A new UN report says Gaza is littered with such bombs, exposing Palestinian children to significant risks of injury or death.
Let's bring in Jeremy Diamond for more. He is live in Jerusalem. So, Jeremy, I mean, Israel has ordered fresh evacuations in southern Gaza. What more do we know about this? What more can you tell us?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is having an enormous impact on the civilian population in southern Gaza. We're talking about a quarter of a million people being directed to evacuate the area of eastern Khan Younis as well as parts of eastern Rafah as well.
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And when you think about that number of people moving in such a short period of time, you're talking about something that is an enormous task and one in which vulnerable people are often going to get left behind or are going to struggle to evacuate in the same manner as those who are more able-bodied. The Israeli military began to order these evacuations yesterday. Hours later, they began conducting airstrikes in Khan Younis, killing at least eight people and injuring 32, according to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
What we don't know yet is whether or not what's going to follow is going to be another Israeli ground operation in Khan Younis. Israeli troops were last in that southern city in Gaza in April. And so, now the question is, whether or not they will enter there once again, or whether these evacuations were simply as it relates to a stepped up a bombing campaign, like the one that we began to see last night. What is clear is the impact on civilians, not only those, who as I mentioned, have begun to evacuate and are heading to what the Israeli military has called a quote, "safer area in Al-Mawasi" where we know that resources are limited. People are living in tents with insufficient or totally lacking running water and other basic necessities.
But also, the European Hospital, which lies just between the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah was also evacuated over the last day or so. About nearly 600 patients in that hospital were moved to hospitals deeper inside of Khan Younis, outside of the evacuation zone. While this hospital did fall within the evacuation zone and that's why the medical staff there began to evacuate it, the Israeli military today saying that they had no intention to force that hospital's evacuation, saying that the evacuation order did not apply to the patients there. Omar.
JIMENEZ: And Jeremy, I mean, it seems that this is an area the Israeli military previously told people they could return to only to be evacuated again. Does this mean they aren't satisfied that Hamas has been cleared from this particular area? Do we know why there is such interest to go back into this particular spot?
DIAMOND: Well, what's interesting is that yesterday, according to the Israeli military, Hamas actually fired about 20 rockets from Khan Younis, from this very same area that is now being evacuated. That appears to be some of the sites that were struck in those airstrikes overnight. And we have seen, the Israeli military has been playing this kind of constant game of Whack-A-Mole in Gaza. They leave an area and then ultimately they return to it, many times with ground forces because Hamas re-emerges in those areas.
And that, of course, points to the overall questions about Israel's long-term strategy in Gaza, particularly at a time when the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been signaling that the current phase of fighting in Gaza is coming to an end, that the ground operation in Rafah is coming to an end, and that what will come next will be a more sustained kind of counterterrorism operations taking place in Gaza, but not the kind of all-out ground operations, all-out war that we have been witnessing for much of the last nine months.
But again, without an alternative to Hamas in Gaza governing that space, many military analysts say that this game of Whack-A-Mole is going to continue on, of course, the suffering of civilians in Gaza will also continue along with it. Omar.
JIMENEZ: Insightful reporting. Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much.
Still to come, there are plans for a brand new Trump Tower in Saudi Arabia. But, as Donald Trump eyes are returned to the White House, it is -- is it a recipe for a conflict of interest? That's coming up.
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JIMENEZ: Later today, President Biden is expected to speak about the extreme weather in store for much of the U.S. this summer. The President is visiting the D.C. Emergency Operations Center, as his administration proposes new heat safety rules in the workplace. Now, this comes as many Americans brace for what is expected to be an abnormally hot July.
Joining us now from our Washington, D.C. Bureau is CNN's Stephen Collinson. Obviously, this is an event about weather that we're expecting a little bit later. But, with every public appearance of President Biden in increased microscope, given the past debate, and now we're learning that some Democratic governors are seeking a meeting with the White House to discuss their concerns about President Joe Biden in the aftermath of the debate performance, sources tell CNN. How significant is that, especially within the realm of the fallout we have seen since the debate?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: I think it's significant because it shows, and this is something I've been picking up in conversations with Democrats over the last few days, that there is a strong feeling that the White House and the Biden campaign specifically doesn't do enough listening to Democrats in some of these key swing states that Biden needs to win, if he is going to return to the White House. There is a feeling that the campaign is rather insular and that is not taking into account concerns that have been raised for a long time about the President standing in places like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Those three states, by the way, are absolutely vital for him to win, if he is going to win reelection.
I don't think at this stage it's a sign that the governors want to speak to the President or the Vice President or people in the campaign, that there is necessarily an organized movement against the President in the wake of the debate. But, it is a clear sign that below a lot of these officials coming on TV over the weekend and defending the President and saying, OK, it was just one bad debate, there is a great deal of concern, not just about the debate, but now about the trajectory of the reelection campaign.
JIMENEZ: Yeah. And we've seen some Democratic congressmen tow that line, saying, Mike Quigley, for example, out of Illinois, saying I think Biden is a great President, but he needs to be honest with himself. And look, this is going to be his second time in less than 48 hours we've seen the President. How have the stakes of each public appearance now changed from maybe what they were a week ago?
COLLINSON: Yeah. It's a good question. I think now, there is absolutely no room for any more slip-up from the President between now and the election. Every single public appearance will be scrutinized. The problem is this appearance, which is a scripted appearance. He'll read prepared remarks in a fairly controlled environment. The speech last night, the four-minute address to the nation about the Supreme Court's big judgment on Trump's immunity claims that was also a scripted piece of White House Theater.
That's not going to assuage many of the doubts that a lot of Democrats have about the performance that the President put on that CNN debate in Atlanta, which is a much more spontaneous open event when he has to stand up to Trump who is fearful in his identification of an opponent's witnesses. So, it's going to need a lot more than White House events.
JIMENEZ: Stephen Collinson, thank you, as always.
COLLINSON: Thanks.
JIMENEZ: Meanwhile, Donald Trump's private conglomerate is planning its first major project in Saudi Arabia. The Trump Organization is working with a Saudi mega developer to build a luxury Trump Tower in Jeddah. Now, the announcement came just days after the Trump Organization unveiled a $500 million hotel property in Oman, set to open in 2028. Now, these new projects in the Middle East are raising concerns about a possible conflict of interest if Donald Trump is reelected as U.S. President.
So, let's get more on this from CNN business Reporter Matt Egan in New York. So, Matt, what more do we know about this deal between the Trump Organization and the Saudis?
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Omar, no doubt this would be a controversial project. This would be the Trump Organization's first major development in Saudi Arabia. [11:50:00]
The plan is to build this luxury Trump Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and the company is partnering with Dar Global, which is a London- listed subsidiary of a luxury Saudi developer. Now, terms of the project have not been disclosed. We don't know the price tag here, how many floors, exactly when construction is slated to begin or end. The two companies say that this would be aimed at international investors as well as the luxury Saudi market.
Now, Eric Trump, one of the former President's sons, he praised this deal in a statement, saying that we're thrilled to expand our footprint in the Middle East and bring the Trump standard of living to the region. And as you noted, this comes just days after another deal in the Middle East by the Trump Organization. That's the plan for the Trump International Oman. This is a $500 million 5-star hotel complex. It will include a nightclub, a golf club, and it's set to open in late 2028.
And Omar, as you mentioned, all of this comes just months before voters here in the United States are set to head to the polls to decide whether or not to return Donald Trump to the White House.
JIMENEZ: And of course, I mean, look, some might be wondering about a conflict of interest here. I mean, especially with a deal like this being announced during a presidential election and the fact that you can't get past the Trump name, that whether licensed or not, will likely be shown pretty prominently.
EGAN: Yeah. That's right, Omar. I think at a minimum, we can say the optics here are not great. Remember, former President Trump, when he was in the White House, he had pretty cozy relations with the Saudis, certainly relative to President Biden. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has an investment firm that reportedly landed a $2 billion investment from the Saudi royal fund. And this has all raised some questions about conflicts of interest.
I talked to the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and they told me in a statement that the Trump Organization's continued pursuit of foreign business projects raises perilous national security, corruption and constitutional concerns. Now, I reached out to the Trump campaign. They did not respond to a request for comment. Worth noting that Donald Trump does not run the day-to- day operations anymore of the Trump Organization. It's run by his sons, Eric Trump and Donald Jr. But, the Trump Organization is owned by a private trust and the ultimate beneficiary of that trust is Donald Trump.
So, listen, I think, Omar, at the end of the day, all of this is another reminder of some of the awkward appearances that we could see if Trump is back in the White House, where he could be, on the one hand, negotiating deals in the Middle East, and on the other hand, building a Trump Tower in Saudi Arabia.
JIMENEZ: All very interesting dynamics to keep up with CNN's Matt Egan. Thank you so much. EGAN: Thanks, Omar.
JIMENEZ: All right. Coming up, one more thing, an update from Wimbledon, as one tennis player moves forward, well, another steps backward. We will explain after the break.
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JIMENEZ: Before we go, one more thing. At the Wimbledon tennis tournament, last year's Women's champion Marketa Vondrousova is out in the first round, the first defending champion to fall in 30 years. Now, two-time winner Andy Murray will not be playing in the singles competition. His management team says he is still recovering from a recent spinal surgery. Murray still hopes to play in the doubles with his brother for his final tournament appearance.
[11:55:00]
Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka is celebrating her first win on the grass courts in six years. The Japanese native took a break from tennis for what she called mental health reasons and the birth of a child.
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NAOMI OSAKA, WORLD NO. 113: I was -- honestly, before my match, I was looking at my photo album and like they have that feature this time last year. So, I was looking at that and looking at myself, like photos of myself in the hospital. So, it's really cool to be here now. And I think my mindset last year was just trying to survive. I honestly didn't really know what was going on after I gave birth. But, yeah, just trying to piece myself back together.
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JIMENEZ: And she is looking to a bright future. Osaka will represent Japan at the summer's Paris Olympics.
And for all of you, thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. Don't go anywhere, though, because One World is up next.
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