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Wife of Hamas Hostage Speaks Out; Russia Struggling With Ukrainian Incursions. Aired 11:30a-12p ET
Aired August 16, 2024 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:30:49]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Turning now to Russia, a country now playing defense on its own soil.
The Pentagon confirms Russian soldiers are being redirected from Ukraine to the Kursk region, as the Kremlin struggles to slow Ukraine's military advances inside its own country. Ukraine claims to control nearly 400 square miles of Russian territory following last week's surprise cross-border assault into Russia.
And perhaps the most surprising part of this is just how easily Ukrainian forces were able to cross into enemy territory, specifically Russia.
Here's what our Nick Paton Walsh witnessed at a border crossing. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Now, this is what's so startling about this offensive, the volume of Western-supplied armor that we're seeing passing back and forth, their passage through here up into Russia unimpeded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And joining us now for more on this, CNN political and national security analyst, David Sanger, who's also the White House and national security correspondent for "The New York Times."
David, President Zelenskyy of Ukraine says the goal of this assault is to force Russia into -- and I'm quoting now -- fair negotiation process, not necessarily to occupy Russian territory. Do you think this strategy will work?
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, first of all, Wolf, it's fascinating that he's now saying that, because until he uttered those words, we didn't really understand what the strategic goal here was.
To embarrass Putin, for sure. To show the Russian people that it would not be cost-free for Russia to be attacking Ukraine, for certain. But this is territory that I think everybody agrees he probably can't hold over the long term. Eventually, the Russians will gather the force to go deal with them on their own -- on Russian territory.
So if he can hold it for now and force a real negotiation, then he's got a bargaining chip to be able to say, no, you're not going to hold 18 percent of Ukraine, you're going to pull back, and Ukraine would pull back.
I'm not sure, though, that Putin would be in a mood to enter that negotiation.
BLITZER: We are seeing some pretty surreal video coming into CNN this morning. We see what appears to be Russian troops surrendering on Russian soil. And this follows images of Russian troops being taken prisoner by the Ukrainians in their own country, inside Russia, only yesterday.
So what impact is this having on Russia's war effort? What do you think, David?
SANGER: Well, until yesterday, we hadn't seen any evidence that the Russians were moving troops from Ukraine or from occupied sections of Ukraine to the Kursk area.
Now the Pentagon says, we are beginning to see that. I don't know whether that will be a large enough move to give the Ukrainians any breathing room in the areas that the Russians have occupied. But what it certainly indicates is that Russia was caught flat-footed. It had no effective defenses here.
It's highly embarrassing for a great power, a nuclear power to see territory like this taken with such ease. And it's a little bit of a reminder of how quickly the Russians were evicted in the fall of 2020 from -- certainly from the parts of Ukraine that they had initially occupied, including Kyiv.
So it shows Russian weakness. And that's why I have my doubts about whether or not Putin will see this as the moment to negotiate. He's going to see it as a moment of embarrassment. And I think there's a fair bit of concern among U.S. officials I have talked to about how he may react.
[11:35:00]
BLITZER: And very quickly, before I let you go, David, what's your reaction to the talks, the Israel-Hamas talks, that have been going on in Doha, Qatar, yesterday and wrapping up today? And they're going to resume in Cairo next week.
The U.S. is trying to mediate some sort of cease-fire, hostage release deal in the next few days, hopefully. They're working together with Egypt and Qatar. What do you see happening right now?
SANGER: Well, it was a fascinating statement issued by the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar just within the past hour, in which they said that they were going to break up the talks for now, have working groups, and come back before the end of next week to deal with a new proposal, a compromise proposal that the U.S. made. They called it actually a bridging proposal. We know that they have
made a few suggestions to the Israelis about areas where they may give ground. Presumably, they did the same with Hamas. The statement says that the meeting next week is to come to a final conclusion.
Well, that puts everybody out on a limb a little bit, because we have had many moments where we thought we were going to get a hostage and cease-fire deal, and it didn't happen. But by putting this in writing, they're sort of saying the moment is now.
BLITZER: And let's hope they work out a deal. It's so, so important. Many lives will be saved, and those hostages will be coming back here to Israel, where I am.
David Sanger, as usual, thank you very, very much.
And we will be right back with more news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:41:20]
BLITZER: We have a powerful interview to share with you.
I first spoke to Gali Idan when I was here in Israel last November. Her 18-year-old daughter, Maayan, was murdered by Hamas on October 7 right in front of her family. Hamas then held the Idans at gunpoint on the floor of their kitchen for hours, livestreaming the whole thing on Facebook.
The ordeal ended with Hamas kidnapping Gali's husband, Tsachi.
Gali and I spoke again this week. We talked at length about the pain she's endured, her plea for officials to reach a hostage deal, and her hope that she will see her husband alive again.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Thank you very much for talking to us.
It's been almost a year since we last had this conversation. First of all, how are you doing?
GALI IDAN, WIFE OF HAMAS HOSTAGE: Good question.
In my worst nightmares, I wouldn't believe that we are meeting in this situation where nothing changed, actually. Tsachi is still in the Hamas.
BLITZER: Tsachi Idan, your husband...
IDAN: Yes.
BLITZER: ... 50 years old, he was kidnapped by Hamas. And your daughter Maayan, 18 years old, she was murdered that day.
IDAN: Yes.
BLITZER: And you have been living with that, both of those enormous, enormous tragedies all this time.
IDAN: Yes. It's been 313 days of hell.
We are out of breath, just like them in captivity and being hostage by Hamas, which are terrorists and murderers.
BLITZER: He was kidnapped and taken to Gaza. What's the latest you have heard about his condition?
IDAN: The latest was, at the end of November, when the release of the hostages, the last release of hostages from Gaza.
I had an eyewitness say that she was with him for a few -- for a day or two, and she talked to him. And he was really emotionally down and thinking about Maayan and what happened, and that he misses all -- I don't know if he knows if we're OK.
And it was a really long time ago that -- that day that she told me that she saw him. It's unimaginable that we are sitting right now after this time and nothing changed. He's not back. They are not back. They are not all back. It's unthinkable. It's unthinkable and unbearable. And we live in this audacity every day, every hour, thinking about our loved ones in hostage conditions.
BLITZER: Do you have any hope that these negotiations, which are taking place and are about to resume, will result in a, A, cease-fire, and B, the release of the hostages, including your husband?
IDAN: Most definitely, yes. Yes. The only way that Tsachi and 114 other hostages can come back, some alive, some dead, for a proper burial, the only way is in a deal. The only way is in a deal.
[11:45:00]
We cannot make army -- a mission to save them all. We cannot do that.
BLITZER: Well, further complicating this whole situation now...
IDAN: Yes.
BLITZER: ... is the possibility that Iran might attack Israel.
IDAN: Yes.
BLITZER: And that could happen within days.
IDAN: Yes.
BLITZER: And, presumably, that would undermine whatever negotiations might be taking place for a cease-fire and a hostage release.
IDAN: Yes, I know. It's like -- it's -- I'm trying not to be -- I'm trying to filter the ongoing threats from all over and keep my eye on the hostages and on Tsachi, my husband, my loved one, my better half.
The threat is here. And I think it's been ongoing for a few months. It's not a new thing. I think they need to close this deal, so all the Middle East can be relaxed from this situation, because the situation is burning.
And if the Middle East will become a battle zone, it will be a Third World War. I don't see it -- it will take all the allies into the situation. It's horrific.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Coming up, more of my interview with Gali Idan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:50:50]
BLITZER: Welcome back.
I want to share more of my very powerful interview with Gali Idan. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: What do you miss most about Tsachi, your husband?
IDAN: I miss his voice. And I miss his hugs. And I miss the time that we have together.
And I miss him joking with the kids and laughing and making dinner with him and watching a movie, taking a walk. I miss every little thing. It's been too long. It's been too long. It's unbearable. We have no air anymore.
They have to come back. It's part of us.
BLITZER: And your daughter Maayan, she was killed, murdered that day.
IDAN: Yes. Yes.
BLITZER: You miss her, obviously, every day too.
IDAN: I will tell you something. I tell you something that is -- I cannot grieve about Maayan yet because I'm in an ongoing war to save my husband.
I didn't went to see her grave. I couldn't. And it's going to be a year, and I need to go and see her. And I can't. I need Tsachi to be here, and we need to do it together. He needs to see her grave. He needs to grieve with me. We need to hold each other through this.
BLITZER: And as all of us know, October 7, almost a year, was the worst day of Jews being murdered since the Holocaust.
IDAN: Yes. It's interesting that you are saying, because, today, I thought that I
think the mark, the horrific marks of Jewish is the Holocaust and 7th of October. You're so right. This is -- I think it will be staying in Israeli history. And it will be worse if the hostages will not come back.
And I will not, I will not allow them to sacrifice my husband for the sake of war.
BLITZER: How are your other children dealing with all this now?
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: They're young kids.
IDAN: There are young.
Sharon is 16. She turned 16 while this year has passed. And Yael is 12 and Shachar is 10. There are some good days and some bad days. We are all talking about Maayan all the time.
They have some times that they are breaking down and crying and missing their sister. And a few days ago, Sharon came to my room crying in the middle of the night and said: "I want my daddy. I want dad here. I miss Maayan, and I want dad here."
And it's -- and you need to -- and you need to hug her. And just what can I say to her? What can I say to her? What answer is there? I can't bring her, her dad. I wish I could. I would have in any means.
I need the government and everybody that are in the doing of this deal to bring Tsachi home alive, like he was taken. He was taken alive. He needs to come back alive.
BLITZER: I hope he does. I hope he comes back soon.
[11:55:01]
IDAN: Yes.
BLITZER: And when he does, I hope to come and meet him.
IDAN: I promised you...
BLITZER: Yes.
IDAN: ... that, when he comes back, we will do a recap.
BLITZER: Good. I would like to talk to him in person.
IDAN: I'm keeping the hope. I have to.
BLITZER: That's what we said the last time we met too.
IDAN: Yes, I know. And we are 330 days after.
BLITZER: Yes. It's a long time.
IDAN: It's a long time. It's unbearable, Wolf. We need to breathe again. And to breathe, we need them back, all of them back.
BLITZER: Let's hope, the next time we meet...
IDAN: Thank you.
BLITZER: ... Tsachi is back.
IDAN: Oh, it's going to be amazing.
I have this picture that he's coming back, and I'm meeting in the hospital with the kids running toward him and Jane (ph) running toward him. And it's going to be a strong reunion. And we need this circle to be closed.
BLITZER: Let's hope it happens.
IDAN: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
BLITZER: As we say, let's hope.
IDAN: Let's hope. Bring them back, please.
BLITZER: Please.
IDAN: Please.
BLITZER: Thank you.
IDAN: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And thank you very much for joining me.
I'm Wolf Blitzer in Tel Aviv. I will be back later tonight 5:00 p.m. Eastern for a two-hour special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM."
Stay with us. "INSIDE POLITICS WITH DANA BASH" starts after a short break.
