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Hamas Issues Counterproposal to U.S. Ceasefire Plan; Appeals Court Temporarily Reinstates Trump's Tariffs; Harvard Holds Commencement Ceremony as School Battles with Trump; Russia's Poster Child for War Killed in Explosion at Home; Elephant Seal Stops Traffic in Cape Town Suburb. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired May 30, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

BEN HUNTE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello. Wherever you are in the world, you are now in the CNN NEWSROOM with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta. And it is so good to have you with me.

[00:00:37]

Coming up on the show, a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is on the table. What each side has to say about the U.S. plan.

On, off, and back on again. The White House is digging in to get its way with tariffs.

And a standing ovation for Harvard's president on graduation day as the university continues to battle with the Trump administration.

Welcome. An Israeli official and the White House confirmed that Israel is backing a new U.S. plan for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza.

The official says it calls for the release of ten living and 18 deceased hostages. Hamas says it's willing to turn over all the hostages, but it has some demands.

The group wants assurances that the fighting will not resume after the 60-day truce. It also wants all humanitarian assistance carried out through U.N. channels.

And it's demanding the IDF pull back to positions they held on March 2, before Israel relaunched its military operations.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more on the U.S.-backed plan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, this is the latest U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, one that could lead to an end to the war if the negotiations between the two sides are successful.

But for the time being --

DIAMOND (voice-over): -- what this latest proposal involves would be the release of ten living hostages, 18 deceased hostages in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire.

This would. Also presumably include the release of Palestinian prisoners, as well as the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

And during that 60-day ceasefire, they would be negotiating an end to the war, which Steve Witkoff, President Trump's special envoy for the region, told me earlier this week he would personally preside over.

That's a gambit to try and give Hamas the assurances it has been seeking that Israel will actually negotiate a permanent ceasefire, which it failed to do during that last temporary ceasefire earlier this year.

DIAMOND: We are now into the first week of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation being operational in the Gaza Strip. This is that controversial --

DIAMOND (voice-over): -- U.S.- and Israeli-backed mechanism for getting aid into Gaza in a way that it will prevent Hamas from getting its hands on the aid, which is an allegation Israel has made, but which humanitarian aid organizations have said they've seen no evidence to substantiate.

We've already seen 11 people killed near these distribution sites, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. We know that there has been Israeli gunfire with -- in the area. The Israelis have said that it was aimed at dispersing the crowds.

But clearly, we have seen video of individuals who were struck by some of that gunfire.

And what's also clear is that the humanitarian situation in Gaza simply has not been alleviated as of yet.

DIAMOND: And that's why we are seeing such scenes of desperation at the moment, not only around these distribution sites, but it is especially acute in the Northern part of the Gaza Strip, where this new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is not yet operational, and where the Israeli authorities have really provided almost no safe routes for the United Nations to drive its trucks to the Northern part of the Gaza Strip.

And -- and amid all of this, we are seeing the desperation of Palestinians as we reach a grim milestone of more than 54,000 who have been killed in this war.

And all of this has led the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations to break down this week in this emotional moment. Watch.

RIYAD MANSOUR, PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: It's unbearable. How could anyone tolerate this horrible -- excuse me, Mr. President.

I have grandchildren. I know what they mean to their families. And to see the situation of the Palestinians without us having hearts to do something is beyond the ability of any normal human being to tolerate. DIAMOND: And all of this comes as we have reached more than 600 days

of this war, 600 days, as well, of the captivity of the Israeli hostages in Gaza.

And it is important to note that those former hostages, like Keith Siegel, an Israeli-American who I interviewed earlier this week, they want to see the war end. They believe that a diplomatic deal is the only way to get the hostages out of Gaza alive.

And they are calling on the Israeli government and on Hamas to reach this deal in order for the hostages to come out and for the war to end.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Let's dig deeper with Alon Pinkas, Israel's former consul general in New York. He's joining us from Tel Aviv.

Hello, Alon. Thanks for being with me. How are you doing?

ALON PINKAS, ISRAEL'S FORMER CONSUL GENERAL IN NEW YORK: Good. Thank you very much, Ben. Good to be with you again.

HUNTE: Good to be with you, too. Let's get into this.

We've now seen several ceasefire proposals fail in recent months. What makes this one and this proposal so different? Could we be about to see the end of the war, do you think?

PINKAS: I hope so. There are some -- I don't want to say. I don't want to use the word "optimistic," because it's been -- it's been misused or abused.

But there are -- there are promising signs. Look, there was a ceasefire agreement in place in January. As you recall, the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration somehow cooperated, collaborated. And there was a ceasefire that held for over two months, which was then by mid-March, violated.

And we've been in this merry-go-round of Witkoff plan one, Witkoff plan two, Witkoff plan 3.5, and so on and so forth.

The -- the -- all these plans look very, very much alike. But here -- here's the caveat. Even according to this plan -- which again, I very much hope would be implemented. Israel accepted it. Hamas is showing signs that it is willing to accept. And there -- supposedly, there's a guarantee. There's a clause that, beyond the 60-day ceasefire, there's going to be a permanent ceasefire to be negotiated during that 60-day period.

However, here's the caveat. Only ten living hostages will be released. That leaves 13, 14, or 15. I do not know the exact number, obviously. Hopefully, 15 rather than a smaller number -- still in captivity.

This also means that, as negotiations begin to end the war, Mr. Netanyahu has his time of reckoning. Because the reason he violated the agreements in the first place, in March, was because it was supposed to enter the end-of-war phase of negotiations, because he did not want to end the war.

So, the question is -- the question is now what changed? And I think that the key here -- I think. I don't know this for a fact. The key here was President Trump's trip to the -- to the Gulf, to Saudi Arabia, to the Emirates and to Qatar, but particularly to Saudi Arabia -- in Saudi Arabia, where I think -- I'm not saying it was a quid pro quo, and I'm not suggesting it was conditional.

But I think it was made clear to him that all this bonanza of $142 billion worth of arms and then in Qatar, 200, reportedly -- $200 billion worth of Boeing jets, it was all sort of implied that get this war in Gaza to end.

And ever since that trip, I think America has increased its engagement and involvement, which leads me to my initial response to you. That is, there are signs that this may work.

But, you know, like we said, we've been here before, and we've been disappointed time and time again. We'll just have to wait and see.

HUNTE: Well, let's talk about that involvement a bit, because the U.S. and Israel seem to insist that Steve Witkoff's role in reconstruction negotiations is a guarantee that there will be deeper talks to actually end this war.

But do you think that Hamas actually cares? Do they see him as any kind of legit, credible figure?

PINKAS: No. But I don't think they have much of a choice. But let me reverse your -- your remark, which is accurate, but let me reverse it just for the sake of conversation.

The war ends and whatever reconstruction efforts the U.S. will make politically. And the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar make in dollar contributions. Hamas, while degraded militarily, significantly, retains a political power. It retains residual power.

For them to leave, their need to -- we need to go back to the Biden plan of late 2023, early 2024 of some kind of an inter-Arab force that would enter Gaza, including the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank. All this, with Israel's consent.

That would require an Israeli withdrawal from most of Gaza. You know, some security buffers for a limited period of time.

[00:10:06]

This -- this means that Hamas will be replaced. And so, their incentive to end the war right now is not that great. Which brings me back to what I told a moment ago. What I said a moment ago: as long as there are still hostages in Gaza, the war is not over, even if there is a temporary ceasefire in effect.

HUNTE: And while these ceasefire talks are happening, Israel just approved a major expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Can you just break down that decision for me? What message does that send to Palestinians and to the international community? What's going on?

PINKAS: Oh, a message -- a message of despair and hopelessness. I mean, look, there are two or three ways of looking at this.

One is to say, oh, well, to dismiss this as being declaratory. There's no way in the world Israel is going to build 22 new settlements in the West Bank. But they did. But Israel did declare that it intends to. And you're right in asking, what kind of message does this send?

The second way of looking at it is that this is defiance. This is Mr. Netanyahu's extreme right-wing coalition defying the American president, defying the international community against the background, as you recall, of the European Union saying it will -- it will review the association, the trade association agreement with Israel, the -- the government of Britain, of the U.K. suspending trade talks.

And then there was the Canadian, French, and British joint statement on -- on the war in Gaza and the settlements and sanctions that follow.

Then there is this drive in Europe, in the European Union to recognize -- unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.

So, this could be just an act of defiance.

The third way of looking at it is that this is just another chapter in this tragic march of folly. Because what Israel is doing -- let's assume not 22; 11 settlements are being built. They're going to be built inside Palestinian areas. They're going to be -- they're going to disrupt the continuity, or contiguity, rather, of Palestinian territorial continuance (ph).

So, that means that Israel is single-handedly and unilaterally preventing any political settlement, even if its ten years down the road, by -- by creating facts on the ground.

Now, if you -- and this deserves a different conversation altogether, if you look at the demographics of the Israeli-Palestinian, the Israeli Jewish and the Palestinian Arab equilibrium between the Jordan River on the East and the Mediterranean Sea on the West, you see -- and that includes the West Bank, Israel proper, and the Gaza Strip.

There is a -- there is a 50/50 balance, which means that, if Israel controls Gaza, controls the West Bank -- de facto, if not de jure -- then we're looking at a -- one binational state.

And if we're looking at a one binational state, that Israel is further cementing by virtue of those -- of building those settlements, then we're looking at a recipe for -- for -- I don't know -- another 100 years of conflict.

HUNTE: Wow. PINKAS: And I say this lightly, but it is very, very daunting and tragic.

HUNTE: Yes, indeed. So knowledgeable. Always -- we learned so much from you. I appreciate it.

PINKAS: I didn't mean -- I didn't mean to depress you.

HUNTE: No, no. It's good. It's -- it's good to know this. It's the history, and it's the future. So, thank you so much for that. I appreciate it already. Let's see what happens next. And I'm sure we'll be speaking to you very, very soon again. Thank you for now, though.

PINKAS: Thank you again.

HUNTE: A new court ruling is adding to the uncertainty around President Donald Trump's tariffs. A federal appeals court is reinstating his tariffs for now.

It comes after the Court of International Trade ruled on Wednesday that the U.S. president lacked the authority to impose sweeping tariffs using emergency powers.

In a very long Truth Social post, Mr. Trump slammed that decision and called on the Supreme Court to step in.

CNN's Kristen Holmes reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump's administration has said that they are not only willing to, but prepared to take this all the way up to the Supreme Court to seek emergency action, should those tariffs be blocked.

HOLMES (voice-over): Now, of course, as we know, this lower court, this appeals court has restored Donald Trump's tariff -- ability to level [SIC] -- levy these tariffs at this time. But they are prepared to move forward with next steps.

But of course, the big question is what exactly is next? This is a huge block, and this is only a temporary reprieve. So, are they looking at different options to try and work around this ruling, should these tariffs be blocked by the courts?

I talked to a number --

HOLMES: -- of various administration officials who insisted they were, saying that there were three to four ways that they could go around the legalities to still implement these tariffs. We still don't have any idea of what exactly those options look like.

[00:15:09]

They say there's a Plan B, but they won't say what the Plan B is. Now, in the meantime, they have been attacking judges, saying that

this is rogue justices; saying that this is judicial bias, particularly, of course, the judges who ruled against the tariffs recently. This is what Karoline Leavitt said in the briefing.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There is a troubling and dangerous trend of unelected judges inserting themselves into the presidential decision-making process.

America cannot function if President Trump -- or any other president, for that matter -- has their sensitive diplomatic or trade negotiations railroaded by activist judges.

HOLMES: Now, one important piece of context here is that this decision was made by a panel of three judges on the U.S. International Trade Court.

What's important about those three judges is that they are a bipartisan panel. Two of them were actually appointed to the bench by Republicans, one by a Democrat.

But of the two Republicans --

HOLMES (voice-over): -- one was appointed to the bench by Donald Trump himself. So, it's hard to square away this idea of judicial activism and political bias when one of the judges themselves was appointed to the bench by Trump.

HOLMES: Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: The class of 2025 graduated from Harvard on Thursday. Ahead, how students, faculty and others are defending the school against attacks from President Donald Trump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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HUNTE: Welcome back. A federal judge in Boston says she will block the White House from ending Harvard's ability to enroll international students. This comes as the school held its commencement ceremony on Thursday.

CNN's Danny Freeman was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An emphatic show of support at Harvard University for the school's president at graduation.

As the historic Ivy League university continues to battle with the Trump administration over federal funding, antisemitism, and now, enrolling international students. ALAN GARBER, PRESIDENT, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Members of the class of

2025 from down the street, across the country, and around the world. Around the world, just as it should be.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Despite a federal judge halting the effort to ban Harvard from enrolling international students, the administration is now threatening to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students across the country.

While some Chinese students on campus were hesitant to speak to CNN today, a master's student from China made a plea for empathy during the commencement ceremony.

YURONG "LUANNA" JIANG, 2025 HARVARD GRADUATE FROM CHINA: When I met my 77 classmates from 32 different countries, the countries I knew only as colorful shapes on a map turned into real people with laughter, dreams.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Though the tumultuous school year is now finally over, fears about the future linger at Harvard.

For international students --

LEO GERDEN, HARVARD GRADUATING SENIOR FROM SWEDEN: It's all of these crazy things that people are thinking about in this moment. Can I transfer to another institution? Is it worth doing it in the U.S.? Because what if Trump goes after that university next?

FREEMAN (voice-over): And fears linger for researchers whose federal funding is still frozen or canceled.

PROF. MARC WEISSKOPF, HARVARD T.H. CHAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: How to protect your brain as you're aging and stay -- keep your quality of life so you're not heading into dementia, or not getting cancer, or not getting cardiovascular disease.

Those advances take time to develop. And so, we are putting that off, if not stopping them.

PROF. WALTER WILLETT, HARVARD T.H. CHAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: If we pull the rug out from under our research, we're going to miss a huge opportunity that no amount of money can buy.

FREEMAN (voice-over): But today, Harvard's graduating class set the stage for tomorrow's fight.

THOR REIMANN, 2025 SENIOR ENGLISH ORATOR: Now look, our university is certainly imperfect, but I am proud to stand today alongside our graduating class, our faculty, and our president with the shared conviction that this ongoing project of veritas is one worth defending.

FREEMAN: Now, one thing that also struck me while being on campus this week is perhaps the unlikely amount of unity that really has grown at Harvard University after this battle with the Trump administration. Remember this is a university that's been very divided in recent

years. The former president had to resign last year. There's been a lot of back and forth and division over accusations of antisemitism and many protests on campus.

But on this issue, you have administrators, faculty members, even students all coming together to defend the university.

Danny Freeman, CNN, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Massive wildfires are burning out of control in Western and central Canada, and they're forcing thousands to flee their homes while sending hazardous smoke toward major U.S. cities.

Much of Canada from the Northwest Territories and Alberta to Quebec are at extreme risk of wildfires, the highest level.

There are more than 160 fires burning across Canada as of Thursday, and about half are uncontrolled. Smoke is expected to reach the upper Midwest and Great Lakes areas of the U.S. and linger through the weekend, leading to dangerous air quality in some places around Green Bay, Wisconsin; Milwaukee; Chicago and Detroit.

[00:25:02]

A Russian military veteran was touted as a hero by the Kremlin for his role in Ukraine, but that's before his apparent assassination on Thursday, which is not a first in Russia. That story is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNTE: Welcome back. I'm Ben Hunte. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

[00:30:04]

U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs are back on. A federal appeals court has temporarily restored the president's ability to levy tariffs using emergency powers, after he was blocked by another court on Wednesday.

Mr. Trump slammed that decision, saying it undermines his presidential power.

Iraq is facing a severe water crisis, with officials warning for strategic water reserves have hit their lowest level in 80 years.

The Water Resources Ministry says the alarmingly low inflows pose a threat to agriculture and public health.

Iraq is working with Turkey to address the crisis and has implemented a strict distribution system.

The U.S. is threatening to step back from its peace effort if Russia keeps attacking Ukraine. A U.S. diplomat said in the statement at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday after relentless strikes by Moscow in recent days.

Russia says it has invited Kyiv to continue peace talks in Istanbul next Monday.

Ukraine is reportedly relying on state-of-the-art technology to hold back expected Russian attacks this summer. Experts say Kyiv is scrambling to build what some call a drone wall, designed to compensate for Russia's advantage in manpower.

The idea is to use continuous swarms of drones to defend the most vulnerable parts of the frontline. But analysts say Ukraine still needs to improve its drone technology and possibly use A.I. For the concept of fully work.

Russia is expected to step up its attacks despite losing about 100 troops for each square kilometer it gains, according to Western experts.

A military veteran turned poster child for Russia's war in Ukraine is the victim of an apparent assassination at home. As CNN's Matthew Chance reports, he's hardly the first prominent figure associated with the conflict to suffer that fate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Excel for Russia on the battlefield in Ukraine, the Kremlin might call you a hero, but it could also mark you out as a target for assassination by the other side.

These are the final moments of the latest Russian war hero killed in a mysterious explosion. Thirty-four-year-old Zaur Gurtsiev had only recently been made deputy mayor of Stavropol in Southern Russia.

But the former soldier distinguished himself here in Mariupol, where he led a Russian airborne unit in one of the most brutal sieges of the Ukraine war.

The Kremlin even made a promotional video about him called "Time of Heroes," highlighting his exploits and family. A model veteran to be given priority in Putin's new Russia being forged in the Ukraine War.

ZAUR GURTSIEV, TOUTED AS RUSSIAN WAR HERO (through translator): I could bring my experience to public administration as a person who has gone from a cadet to a commander, from a person to whom ready-made decisions are communicated, to a person who makes those very decisions.

CHANCE (voice-over): But becoming a face of Russia's war potentially paints a target on your back. Russia enduring a spate of assassinations of pro-Kremlin bloggers, propagandists, and military figures, all reminders that in the brutal calculus of what Russia calls its special military operation, there are only rewards at the price of considerable risk. Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: We'll be right back with more news. You are watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:38:27]

HUNTE: Welcome back.

At least 70 members of European Parliament are planning to attend this year's pride celebrations in Budapest, despite Hungary's ban on LGBTQ gatherings.

Hungarian lawmakers passed the ban earlier this year and granted authorities permission to use facial recognition technology to identify attendees.

Organizers have vowed to hold the pride parade at the end of June anyway.

On Tuesday, 20 countries signed a letter urging Hungary to revise its legislation and called on the European Commission to take action if it doesn't happen.

South Africa's Cape Town attracts plenty of tourists, but this week the picturesque city found itself dealing with a very unusual visitor. Take a look at what happened when an elephant seal wandered into town.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, look.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (voice-over): An elephant seal wandered into suburban Cape Town, South Africa. At first, a traffic hazard, the seal eventually won the hearts of Gordon Bay's locals, with residents dubbing the seal, quote, "Gordon," or "Gordy," for short.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (voice-over): Police say they discovered Gordy early in the morning on May 27th, a little over half a mile inland.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What? Incredible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): The Cape of Good Hope SPCA says it's likely the seal traveled over 1,000 miles to end up in Gordon's Bay.

They believe Gordy weighs about a ton and is still growing.

Southern elephant seals are the world's largest seal species.

After nearly nine hours of corralling, coercing, and cuteness, Gordy was safely returned to the sea. (END VIDEOTAPE)

[00:40:13]

HUNTE: Aww, the news we need.

The infamous and anonymous British street artist named Banksy has revealed some new artwork. It depicts the shadow of a metal street pole forming the silhouette of a lighthouse. The accompanying text reads, "I want to be what you saw in me."

The image was unveiled on Banksy's Instagram account. It is unclear where the work is located.

Some of Banksy's art pieces sell for millions of dollars.

Well, hopefully that's outside my house in London.

That's all for this hour. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. Thanks so much for joining me and the team. WORLD SPORT is next. I'll be back in about 20 minutes with some more news. See you then.

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