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Israel And Hamas Agree To First Phase Of Gaza Plan; Emmanuel Macron Tasks Sebastien Lecornu With Holding Last-Ditch Negotiations; Analysts Say Trump's Pressure on Netanyahu Got Us This Far; Comey Pleads Not Guilty, Attorneys Want Case Dismissed; Trial Set for January 5, Comey Faces Up to Five Years in Prison if Convicted; Palisades Fire Suspect to Have Detention Hearing Thursday; Camera Captures Bear Charging at Woman in Japan; Danish Pm Seeks Ban on Social Media for Children Under 15. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired October 09, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:28]

ANNOUNCER: Ella, This is CNN Breaking News.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max, I'm Rosemary Church.

We begin with celebrations and a sense of relief in the Middle East as U.S. President Donald Trump announces Israel and Hamas have signed off on the first phase of his Gaza plan.

President Trump says, as part of the deal, Israel will withdraw its troops to an agreed upon line, and Hamas will release all the remaining hostages, likely by Monday.

The families of Israelis still being held captive in Gaza have expressed excitement that their loved ones could soon return home. The feeling of joy also being felt in Gaza.

Singing and cheering breaking out in the city of Khan Yunis as Palestinians welcome the breakthrough, which they hope will mean an end to the two year war there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Thank God for the ceasefire, the end of the bloodshed and the killing. I am not the only one happy. All of the Gaza Strip is happy. All Arab people are happy. All of the world is happy with the cease fire and the end of the bloodshed. Thank you and all the love to those who stood with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the Israeli prime minister held an emotional conversation with President Trump following the announcement of a deal, and thanked him for his efforts.

The families of Israeli hostages also thanking the U.S. president during a call from Tel Aviv, Donald Trump spoke about what they can expect in the days ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hostages are going to be released. It's probably our time. Would be probably Monday. A lot of things are happening right now. As we speak, so much is happening to get the hostages freed, and we think they'll all be coming back on Monday. So, it looks like that's the thing, and that'll include the bodies of the dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Paula Hancocks is following developments from Abu Dhabi and joins us now live with the latest. So, Paula, talk to us about reaction across the region to this news of a breakthrough after two years of war in Gaza.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, the reaction is one of celebration at this point, one of relief. Yes, there are many unanswered questions. There are difficult negotiations ahead, but as many in the region wake up to this news that there has been this agreement on the first phase of this plan, there is certainly feelings of joy. We can see it on the streets of Gaza. We can see it on the streets of Tel Aviv and further afield as well.

So, what will we be seeing going forward? We know from an Israeli official that there will be an Israeli security Cabinet meeting today, at about 5:00 p.m. local time. We understand from that official, though, that they will be approving only the part where Israeli hostages are released and Palestinian prisoners released in exchange, it's not going to be a vote on the entire framework of this peace deal that the U.S. president has been leading.

So, once that is approved and it is expected to be approved, as the majority in Israel do want the war to end and want their hostages to come home, then that clock will start ticking.

Now, in the original 20-point plan, we understand that there was going to be 72 hours, and within that time, all Israeli hostages had to be released in exchange for up to about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

We've heard from the U.S. president, he believes that they will be released on Monday. We're waiting for more clarification on exactly how many Palestinian prisoners will be released, but we have been hearing from the U.S. president as well on Fox News talking about that the council of peace, as he put it -- the Board of Peace, saying it's going to be very powerful, saying that this is a great day for the world.

But when it does come to the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, there are far right elements in his coalition that will not want to approve this deal. We did hear from him, though, he did post a statement on X. I want to read a part of this to you. He said, "With the approval of the first phase of the plan, all our hostages will be brought home. This is a diplomatic success and a national and moral victory for the State of Israel. From the beginning, I made it clear we will not rest until all our hostages return and all our goals are achieved."

[02:05:35]

Now we understand there are 48 hostages still being held in Gaza. 20 of them are believed to be still alive.

And part of this first phase of the deal, as well, is the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. It is something we've heard from the United Nations, from NGOs on the ground that they are ready to be able to instigate this surge of humanitarian aid, which is so desperately needed. Parts of the enclave are experiencing famine.

So, we understand that the trucks are on the border waiting for this all to be implemented. We did hear from the UNICEF spokesperson in the early hours of this morning when this deal was announced, saying that there is immense sense of joy, of relief here in Gaza, and that really does need to be one of the key elements of this first phase of the deal, that an immense amount of humanitarian aid is sent into the Gaza Strip.

NGOs and the U.N. have said they managed to do this back in January, when there was that cease fire, and they got aid in very quickly. They are hoping to be able to do the same this time, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Thanks to Paula Hancock's joining us. Live with that report from Abu Dhabi. Appreciate it.

Joining me now from Tel Aviv is Alon Pinkas, former Israeli consul general in New York. Good to have you with us.

ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL IN NEW YORK: Thank you, Rosemary. Good morning.

CHURCH: So, we are, of course, seeing much celebration across the region after President Trump made his announcement that Israel and Hamas have signed off on this first phase of his Gaza peace plan, which includes the return of hostages, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

So, sticking points remain, though, don't they, and -- but even so, it is a significant moment. I did want to get your response to all of this.

PINKAS: Oh, there's no question that it's significant, and people feel elated and relieved, you know, with dstill some apprehensions on what may may go wrong.

But even if we limit this just to this first phase of hostage release and the prisoner exchange, it is still a momentous moment. But you did mention -- well, President Trump did, and then you did Rosemary that this includes an Israeli withdrawal. I wouldn't count on that happening smoothly and immediately.

Trump said -- President Trump said that this will be parallel or within the timeframe those 72 hours of the of the hostage release and prisoner exchange. I very much doubt that the maps have been delineated and the lines agreed on but I don't want to pour, you know, cold water on this. This is most definitely an important development.

As for the rest of the plan, it is so ambiguous, so difficult and intricate to implement, that I'm sure we'll have other opportunities to discuss, but I am less optimistic about the rest of the plan.

CHURCH: Yes, I wanted to talk to that because if this holds, it will bring the deadly two year war in Gaza to an end. But as we mentioned, sticking points remain, including Palestinian statehood, which Israel's Prime Minister has rejected so far, and also the disarming of Hamas. What will likely happen on these issues, do you think?

PINKAS: Well, that's the big issue. What will happen? Because you -- the premise of our conversation, of your question, Rosemary, is that there is a permanent ceasefire. I'm not sure about that. I mean, I hope, I'm I hope it'll happen.

But the moment phase one ends, and Hamas has not yet disarmed, and Israel did not completely withdraw, there is -- there are still lines of engagement, there is still friction. There is still a lot of firepower, and every small incident could -- you know, could break this ceasefire altogether.

But let's assume it does hold. Then the first phase would be the humanitarian aids, which Paula Hancocks just described. But there's also the interim Arab force and the temporary or provisional government in Gaza that's supposed to be manned by Arab states by invitation of the Palestinian Authority.

[02:10:08]

Now Israel objected to that too. Everyone celebrated Mr. Netanyahu agreeing to the plan last week in the White House, but in Hebrew, he said something completely different than what he said in the White House. In Hebrew, he said we're willing to negotiate. Willing to negotiate is not exactly an endorsement of the 20-points in that plan.

So, what is going to happen, per your question is a lengthy, tedious and very, very fragile process of negotiations. How do they disarm? Who collects the arms? In order to collect those arms, there need to be that interim Arab force who will allow them in, will they interact with the IDF, which has not yet fully withdrawn? This is extraordinarily complex and such agreements require, you know, goodwill and trust, two fundamental ingredients that unfortunately do not exist here.

CHURCH: And Alon, as you've been speaking with us, we've been taking these live pictures here from Gaza, from Deir al-Balah, very important day, of course, significant day for those in Gaza, as well as the families of the hostages and people right across Israel. And of course, the key here will be for Israelis will be the release

of the hostages. Celebratory gunfire has been heard in Gaza, and the families of the hostages are cautiously optimistic, but celebrating given their hopes have been dashed many times before. President Trump is saying that the hostage releases will start Monday, perhaps even earlier. Do you foresee anything interfering with that timeline?

PINKAS: Well, no, actually, no, and I'll tell you why. Because, yes, their -- you know, their expectations and hopes and dreams have been dashed.

But in the past, unlike this time, President Trump did not apply pressure on Israel. This time he did a lot of pressure, cornering him in the White House, demanding that he end the war, demanding that he accept the plan in a public way. Because he learned throughout the months that they've been working together, that what Netanyahu says in the closed room he feels doesn't oblige him later.

And then the Israeli attack on Qatar on September 9th, which I think, I don't want to exaggerate the important, but I think it could be -- it could have been -- could prove to be, I'm sorry, a point of inflection, because Trump clearly lost patience.

The moment he lost patience and got reengaged in this after many months of disengagement. That made the difference between this deal and other drafts. So, I don't think anything is going to interfere with this first phase.

As for the first -- as for the next phases, it's a different ball game, a different opera. Choose your cliche, but it's going to be much more complicated.

CHURCH: Alon Pinkas, thank you so much for talking with us. We appreciate it on this remarkable day, thank you.

PINKAS: Thank you, Rosemary. Good morning.

CHURCH: World leaders are welcoming the Gaza ceasefire. The British Prime Minister described it as a moment of profound relief that will be felt all around the world, but particularly for the hostages their families and for the civilian population of Gaza, who have all endured unimaginable suffering over the last two years.

Australia's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister described the deal as a much-needed step toward peace, and the Argentine President congratulated President Trump, calling the plan an extraordinary contribution to international peace.

Well, the French government is dealing with deadlock and a looming debt crisis. Ahead, the outgoing prime minister addresses talks over the budget and his eventual replacement. We'll take a look at that and a whole lot more on the other side of the break, stay with us.

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[02:18:38] CHURCH: A Russian drone attack caused a huge fire at an oil depot in northern Ukraine, according to the regional governor. Video posted by the State Emergency Service shows crews battling towering flames and thick plumes of smoke. It's the latest attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, a frequent target of Russia throughout the war. Attacks on energy have ramped up in recent weeks heading into the colder winter months.

Well, now, we turn to France, where the president could name a new prime minister within the next two days. That's according to the outgoing prime minister, who has been holding last ditch talks with opposition parties in hopes of salvaging the government and passing a budget.

Sebastien Lecornu says the majority of parliament does not want snaps elections. CNN's Melissa Bell has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was a glimmer of hope in an otherwise fairly bleak week. Politically on Monday, Sebastien Lecornu, the prime minister appointed less than a month ago had resigned only hours after appointing his cabinet because of the fractious nature of his cabinet. He was then asked by the French president to stay on and to try again, to focus the minds of the leaders on the traditional moderate right and traditional moderate left that he had hoped to bring into his government, in order to see whether it might not be possible still, to find some kind of compromise he had been given until Wednesday night. By Wednesday morning, he had this to say about his negotiations.

[02:20:09]

SEBASTIEN LECORNU, OUTOING FRENCH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): There is a will to have a budget for France by the 31st of December of this year, and this will create a movement and convergence that distances the prospect of dissolution of parliament.

BELL: The suggestion then that what the negotiations have yielded so far is that the urgent need to get the budget for 2026 not just approved, but to agree on the important budget cuts necessary to avoid the looming debt crisis here in France, might be enough to bring together that government in order that it might focus on that issue.

Then the question of the dissolution, maybe not in the immediate future, but perhaps afterwards, could remain a possibility. We should hear more, either by Wednesday evening or Thursday morning, from Sebastien Lecornu himself, or from President Macron, who has found himself in the very difficult position of having a dwindling number of options ahead of him, none of them terribly palatable.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: We have much more to come on CNN NEWSROOM, including reaction to the U.S. president's announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed on the first phase of a ceasefire plan, back in just a minute.

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[02:26:25]

CHURCH: Returning now to our top story, U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that Israel and Hamas have signed on to the first phase of his Gaza plan that will allow for the swift release of all hostages.

This was the scene in Tel Aviv for some hostage families. The mother of one hostage thanked President Trump and everyone involved with the deal.

ELNAV ZANGAUKER, MOTHER OF ISRAELI HOSTAGE MATAN ZANGAUKER (through translator): They're coming back. Thank you to the people of Israel, to the soldiers. Thank you to President Trump. Thank you to all who helped bring my son and the hostages back. We won't stop we won't stop fighting till the last hostage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And this was the scene in Khan Yunis in Gaza. Qatari officials say that in addition to hostage and prisoner releases, the deal will see Israeli forces withdraw to an agreed upon line and increased delivery of aid to the Enclave. Here's reaction from the spokesman for UNICEF.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES ELDER, UNICEF SPOKESMAN: As a Palestinian man said to me yesterday, everything's been taken from us, our homes, our ability to protect our children, our ability to feed our children.

People asked, the Palestinians have hope? Yes, they have hope. They have hope because it's the one thing they have agency over, they have hope for a better future, and that better future starts with education. Education is that future. These are the things that Palestinians will need right now, education, nutrition, water, no air strikes, peace, yes. It's a day of hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Several thorny issues are yet to be resolved, including a future government for Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas. Israel's Prime Minister will convene his government in the coming hours to ratify the agreement.

A former Middle East negotiator for the U.S. State Department weighed in on the breakthrough. Aaron David Miller explained why a deal is finally happening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER MIDDLE EAST NEGOTIATOR, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: The sun, the moon, the stars came together. The sun, Hamas is much more vulnerable now than it ever has been over the course of the last two years. The people running the show, the internal brigade commanders, are not attached, clearly, to hostages the way Yahya Sinwar, who was a Palestinian serving time in an Israeli prison, and vowed to free all of the prisoners the Israelis held. And he clung to the hostages.

The Arabs, Qataris and Turkey leaned on him as and tried to persuade them that the hostages were diminishing asset, and I think Hamas margin of flexibility increased. That's the sun.

The moon, Arab states came together in a way they have not, leaving Hamas fundamentally isolated with only Iran as a reliable patriot, sun, the moon and now the stars.

And let me be very clear, I worked for a half a dozen administrations, Jimmy Carter to Bush 43, no American president, Republican or Democrat, without exception, has ever pressured an Israeli prime minister on an issue that that prime minister considered vital to his politics and to his definition of Israel's security.

Trump's pressure on Netanyahu is why, in the end, we're having this conversation. And the key question I ask going forward is whether or not Trump's focus, Trump's commitment, Trump's determination to stay with this, that's going to be a critical ingredient as to whether or not we get to phase two phase three.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A judge has set a January 5th trial date for former FBI Director James Comey. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding.

[02:30:00]

His attorneys say the case is vindictive and outrageous, and they plan to file at least five motions to have it dismissed. The charges stem from Comey's 2020 testimony about leaks in the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Comey's legal team also plans to challenge the appointment of Prosecutor Lindsey Halligan, a former personal attorney for Donald Trump. I want to bring in CNN Law Enforcement Contributor, Steve Moore. He is a retired Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI. Appreciate you joining us.

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you.

CHURCH: So former FBI Director, James Comey pleaded not guilty to two felony charges, but his legal team is trying to dismiss the case before the trial that's set for January 5th. What's your reaction to this as a former FBI agent?

MOORE: Well, it's mixed. There are a lot of agents who are very frustrated with Comey's actions on the Hillary Clinton laptop issue and other matters. And they feel like he's -- he breached FBI protocol, etiquette and regulation. But at the same time, I have seen a lot of other cases that were stronger not even considered for prosecution. And I think it's telling that of the three charges that were presented to the grand jury, they only returned an indictment on two of them.

CHURCH: And Comey pleaded not guilty to lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding, but his attorneys called the case vindictive and outrageous, and they plan to file motions to dismiss it in full. How likely is it that they'll succeed, do you think?

MOORE: It kind of depends on the judge and the evidence that they can bring up. Obviously, there's circumstantial evidence that would lead -- that might lead a reasonable person to believe that this is a vindictive prosecution or a selective prosecution. And so, those could be very strong arguments, but they're going to be circumstantial arguments, and it's going to depend on whether the judge wants to see this play out and give Comey his day in court, or stop the proceedings before they get started, just on the circumstantial evidence of it.

CHURCH: Steve, how dangerous is it when a U.S. president goes after his foes? And what could this mean going forward?

MOORE: Well, going after your foes in politics is one of the danger signs for any democracy. And so, you know, this -- you have to take this very seriously. You also have to balance that with the fact that, as the director of the FBI, it appears that Comey was strategically leaking investigative materials. So both -- there -- there's no -- there's no innocent person in this one. And it's a fight between two people, right now, that appears very personal but it's taking over what our government is doing.

CHURCH: And what impact does all this likely have on the FBI and of course, those who work at the agency?

MOORE: Well, the problem is the agents themselves are stuck in between a rock and a hard place because some of them are getting fired for investigations that they conducted at the behest of Comey and others years ago. And at the same time, others are frustrated with Comey for some of his actions. So, morale is kind of taking a hit with the FBI. And right now, you can't find somebody on the far right or the far left that has any trust in the FBI anymore because both of their -- both of their bulls have been gored, so it's hurting the -- hurting the image, hurting the morale, and hurting the confidence in the FBI for everyone.

CHURCH: Steve Moore, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

MOORE: Thank you.

CHURCH: A dozen people killed, thousands forced to flee, and homes and businesses that went up in smoke. Now, investigators say they've caught the person who started a devastating fire near Los Angeles. We'll have that story next.

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[02:39:41]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. A detention hearing will continue in the coming day for the suspect in the deadly Palisades Fire near Los Angeles. Investigators say Jonathan Rinderknecht was arrested in Florida where he had his first court appearance on Wednesday. He did not enter a plea to charges of destruction of property, which could send him to prison for up to 20 years.

[02:40:00]

Officials say he started a fire while working as an Uber driver in California in January. Investigators say a lighter likely was used to set the fire in paper or vegetation. The Palisades Fire killed a dozen people and burned thousands of homes and businesses. The Los Angeles mayor says many survivors are still without homes.

Well, Japan is grappling with a growing number of bear attacks. This security footage captured the moment a bear went after an elderly woman in the town of Daisen. She screams and the bear runs off. Japanese broadcaster NHK says, she was hospitalized with scratches to her face. Seven people across Japan have been killed by bears so far this year. Experts say they've been venturing into urban areas in search of food because climate change is interfering with some of their traditional food sources.

Well, Denmark's prime minister wants to ban social media for children in her country, under 15 years old. Parents would have the option of giving permission to their kids from age 13. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen cited concerns for children's mental health in her address to Parliament about the proposed ban.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

METTE FREDERIKSEN, DANISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Never before have so many children and young people suffered from anxiety and depression as now. Many have difficulty reading and many have difficulty concentrating. On the screen, they see things that no child or young person should see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The proposal comes after Danish lawmakers last month banned mobile phones for children in primary schools and after school programs.

I want to thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is up next. Then, I'll be back at the top of the hour with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stay with us.

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[02:45:56]

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