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Gaza Ceasefire in Effect, Israel Pulls Back Troops; Trump Plans "Democrat Oriented" Federal Layoffs; Trump Administration Blames Antifa for Ongoing Protests in Portland; Letitia James Sees Post- Indictment Fundraising Boost; Displaced Palestinians Return to Northern Gaza; Ukraine Reels on Massive Attack on Energy System; North Korea Parade Marks Ruling Party's 80th Anniversary. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired October 11, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to all of our viewers watching in the United States and around the world. I'm Salma Abdelaziz. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Thousands of Palestinians return to the rubble in Gaza as Israelis wait for word on when the last living hostages held by Hamas will be released.
The Trump administration is targeting Democrats in the middle of a government shutdown. We'll take a look at the impact of a new round of layoffs.
Plus tracking down Antifa in Portland. It may not be as easy as the administration hopes. What we know about the ongoing protests outside ICE facilities in Oregon.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Salma Abdelaziz.
ABDELAZIZ: It's 10 am here in London, 12 pm in Israel and Gaza, where a long-awaited ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is now entering its second day.
And just moments ago, we learned the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza could happen overnight Sunday into Monday. And it is likely to happen from different locations. Now that's according to a source familiar with the matter.
The timing of the release is not definite yet and could still change but this timeline would ensure the hostages are out before U.S. president Donald Trump arrives in Israel on Monday.
The exchange is part of the first phase of the peace plan that ends the war in Gaza. The Israeli military pulled back its forces to an agreed-upon point in accordance with that deal. U.S. President Donald Trump says he believes that the ceasefire will
hold because, according to him, all sides involved are, quote, "tired of the fighting."
Now about 200 U.S. troops have begun arriving in Israel as part of an effort to monitor this ceasefire. Thousands of Palestinians displaced by the war are also hoping to return to whatever is left of their homes. Crowds of people, as you can see, have been walking from the south of the enclave toward Gaza City.
I have Eleni Giokos now live in Dubai to give us the latest.
Thank you so much for joining us. I know that we just got some information in the last hour about how the logistics of this are going to play out. It sounds super complicated.
Can you break it down for me?
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And it has always been complicated. I mean, the one thing is that Hamas would need to identify where the remaining hostages are and ensure the logistics work out. It was always going to be one of those big challenges.
But just to repeat -- and this is quite important because we understand the timeline a little bit better. And you've got to remember now, we're now -- we've got two days left where Hamas has to release the hostages.
According to a source familiar with the matter, speaking to CNN, saying that the hostage release likely to happen overnight Sunday into Monday. And this is likely to happen from different parts of the Strip. So that's the one thing.
And then importantly, that this is probably going to happen before the arrival of president Donald Trump to Israel on Monday; again, because this is -- the timing is important. The logistics around president Trump arriving.
And, of course, the hostage release, it all needs to work out in perfect unison. Again, this could change. This is obviously very fluid. It's shifting constantly. The International Committee of the Red Cross will be stepping in to assist, to not only facilitate this but also try and find the remains of the deceased hostages.
Forty-eight are still believed to be in Gaza, 20 are alive and the other 28 are deceased. Now even Benjamin Netanyahu said that it's very unlikely, a big probability here that not all of the remains will be found within the 72-hour window. So that is already out there.
And I just want to show you, these are live images that we're seeing of Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, where people have been gathering and clearly in anticipation for any kind of news in terms of timeline and when they can welcome their family members home.
Or at least bring some closure after this painful two-year war, when hostages were taken on the 7th of October. On the other side of the border, Salma -- and this is really important. You were showing the images of tens of thousands of people making that big trek back from the south, back into the north.
And frankly, it's images that we've seen so often on this coastal road of displaced Palestinians time and time again.
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Famine declared in parts of Gaza. We also know, in this alert coming in just a short while ago from UNRWA, saying that three months' worth of food aid ready to go into Gaza. They're waiting for the border crossings to open up so they can bring in that critical food, medical supplies.
And also other equipment, from what we understand, to try and repair infrastructure that has been destroyed, like waterways and also bakeries. So -- and when we see these images, you can see the decimation, the scale of the destruction across Gaza over the two-year period.
In the meantime, IDF withdrawing so that they can facilitate this; 200 U.S. troops on the ground as well, to help mediate this. So it seems like it's moving; phase one clearly on the go right now.
ABDELAZIZ: Thank you so much for breaking that down for us just hours ahead of what will be a poignant moment.
Families of Israeli hostages gathered at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv as they wait for the return of their loved ones. The crowd prayed and sang songs as an orchestra performed in the daytime.
At night, hundreds of Israelis joined hostages, families and former hostages for Shabbat dinner. It's an important weekly meal in Jewish and Israeli culture that marks the start of the Sabbath.
Luis Har is one of the survivors. The Argentine Israeli man was rescued along with another hostage from Hamas captivity after 129 days in an Israeli military operation in Gaza in 2024.
He offered a few words of understanding and compassion for the hostages yet to be released and the challenges they may face in the days and months ahead.
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LUIS HAR, FORMER HOSTAGE: When the hostages are coming is a -- they need time first to understand it's true. It's not a movie or a -- we're living like it's a movie all the time. And for that, people, after they what happened to him and no eating and no -- they make a shower to be is, maybe I dream.
Yes, it's the very same. It's happened to me. I was only 129 days. But for that people, it's 736 now, will be 740, something like that. It's so much time.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ABDELAZIZ: The Trump administration says it has begun firing federal workers as the government shutdown enters its 11th day. It's on track to stretch into next week with Congress still deadlocked on a funding plan.
A court filing shows more than 4,000 federal employees across seven departments were given layoff notices on Friday. CNN's Kristen Holmes has more for us.
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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we first became aware of these massive layoffs underway when Russell Vought, the head of the Office of Management and Budget, who has really been the architect behind the government cuts as well as this shutdown, posted that these RIFs -- reductions in force -- had begun.
President Trump was later asked about the layoffs. And here's what he said.
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QUESTION: How many layoffs have you authorized for this first round?
TRUMP: Well, it'll be a lot.
QUESTION: And from which agencies?
TRUMP: And it will be Democrat-oriented, because we figure, you know, they started this thing, so they should be Democrat-oriented. It will be a lot and we'll announce the numbers over the next couple of days but it will be a lot of people, all because of the Democrats.
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HOLMES: Now according to a court filing that we've just seen, 4,000 or more than 4,000 federal workers have been laid off.
And just to give you an idea of what this looks like, that includes around 315 workers from the Department of Commerce, 466 workers from the Department of Education, around 187 workers from the Department of Energy. And that goes on and on and on.
And I will tell you, when we had these conversations with the White House as to what exactly this was going to look like, all they would tell us was that the cuts to federal workers or the number of federal workers that were going to be losing their jobs was, quote-unquote, "substantial."
That was the word they used. But they didn't give us any of these details that I'm reading you about the agencies or what it looked like. And we know that there has been some hesitation within the White House to actually go through with these cuts.
They'd gotten pushback from other Republicans who thought it was a bad idea. And to be clear, this is really unprecedented. This is not something that generally happens during a shutdown.
Yes, you have federal workers who are furloughed. Yes, you have federal workers who don't get paid and then they eventually get back pay when the government opens back up.
But this idea of reshaping the government and using the presidential powers, which are expanded during a government shutdown, to reshape the government in your image, essentially, is not something that is commonly done.
And the reason why I say in your image is because president Trump himself, as you heard him talking, has said that the agency's cut or the jobs cut were Democratic aligned.
And we have heard that the jobs that the agencies were looking at and the different programs to cut were all essentially programs and jobs that didn't align with president Trump's agenda.
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So again, we're really entering into unprecedented times. This, coupled with a lot of fear that federal workers were already feeling about the fact that president Trump floated the idea that these furloughed workers might not get the back pay at the end of the shutdown.
So a lot of people wondering if they still have their job. A lot of people learning that they've lost their jobs on Friday -- Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.
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ABDELAZIZ: Travelers are being warned to expect delays at U.S. airports over the holiday weekend. The Federal Aviation Administration reports that a dozen facilities were short-staffed Friday amid the ongoing government shutdown. The reasons for the staffing issues are not clear.
But the Transportation Secretary has claimed some air traffic controllers are not going to work, accusing them of lashing out over the shutdown. They are considered essential workers, which means they are not paid but still have to work. The air traffic controllers' union is urging its members to continue to show up.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll keep it plain and simple. We swore an oath to protect the flying public.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even though some aspects of the government may shut down, we never do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The flying public may not know who we are but they trust we will continue to safely guide them home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I urge you, if you're fit for duty, continue to serve the American flying public.
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ABDELAZIZ: Now Thursday was the 12th busiest day for travel so far this year. The rest of the weekend is also expected to be very busy ahead of the federal holiday on Monday.
President Trump is now saying that his upcoming meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping is not canceled. That's despite his earlier comments on Friday, saying he no longer sees any reason to meet with Mr. Xi during his trip to Asia later this month.
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QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)
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TRUMP: And so but I don't know that we're going to have it. But I'm going to be there regardless, so I would assume we might have it.
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ABDELAZIZ: President Trump is threatening to slap a new 100 percent tariff on China on top of tariffs they are already paying. He says it will take effect by November 1st. It comes after China ramped up efforts this week to bring in export controls on critical rare earths.
Chaos and flames after an explosion in Tennessee. Still to come, we'll tell you how many people remain missing or are feared dead after a munitions plant was blown to pieces.
Plus, the Trump administration blames Antifa for anti-ISIS demonstrations in Portland, Oregon, comparing them to MS-13, Hezbollah and ISIS.
But what is Antifa really?
A look at the people behind the demonstrations, just ahead on CNN.
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ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): That's the roar of an enormous blast at an explosives manufacturing plant in Tennessee, leaving 18 people are feared dead or missing. The explosion could be felt up to 15 miles away.
Before and after images show the extent of the damage. The facility shown here on the left, was obliterated in the blast, which officials equated to a mass detonation. It left charred debris and burnt-out vehicles in its wake. Officials say the facility made military and demolition explosives and has 80 employees.
But it's unclear how many were inside the plant at the time of the explosion.
President Trump's push to send National Guard troops into major U.S. cities is facing several legal challenges. But now an unknown number of troops are patrolling in Memphis for the first time. The deployment is backed by Tennessee's Republican governor but was not requested by the city's mayor.
Officials say it's part of a multi-agency effort to end violent street crime. The U.S. military says National Guard soldiers are planning and training around Chicago right now but conducting no operational activities.
The clarification comes as a federal judge is blocking the government from deploying more troops as part of president Trump's immigration crackdown. Judge April Perry says the administration likely violated the 10th Amendment by sending troops from Texas into Illinois against the wishes of that state's elected leaders.
She also said that, quote, "provocative nature" of ICE enforcement activities in the area is intensifying protests there and warned that deploying more National Guard troops could incite civil unrest. The state's Democratic senators are blasting president Trump's plan and demanding access to the ICE detention facility outside Chicago.
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SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL): We just want to go in and look at this facility and see what the conditions are and they will not let us in. It is shameful. You don't run and hide if you're proud of what you're doing.
Let me make it clear what the Trump administration is trying to do. They are trying to normalize having troops on our streets and they're doing this all across this great nation. They're trying to normalize an extension of presidential power that is not appropriate under the Constitution.
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ABDELAZIZ: National Guard troops are now on a similar operational footing in Portland, Oregon. A federal court panel is expected to rule in the coming days on whether president Trump has the authority to deploy federal troops in the city, which he wrongfully describes as war-ravaged.
On Thursday, the president hosted a roundtable meeting on Antifa, which he described as paid anarchists who want to, quote, "destroy our country." Our Shimon Prokupecz hit the streets of Portland to find out who is behind those protests there.
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SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Another night in Portland, a few more arrests but that's not why we're here tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've got a presence in Portland that is Antifa affiliated.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): We've come to ask --
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Antifa thugs.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): -- about Antifa.
PROKUPECZ: You're not Antifa, right?
DUSTIN RAGSDALE, PROTESTER: Honestly, I don't even know what that means anymore because it's become such a corny label.
PROKUPECZ: Are you guys part of any organized group?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I mean, you know, calling Antifa an organized group in and of itself is kind of like a misnomer, right?
There is no organization of Antifa. I mean, I'm sure almost everyone out here is here just because they know someone else who's out here.
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Or they know someone else who's, you know, these policies are affecting and they're out here for them.
PROKUPECZ: And no one's paying you to be here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, obviously not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no. We're here on our own. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. There's no, like, there's no one giving me orders telling me to come out here. My mom called me when she heard I was going to come to this and she was worried about me.
And I'm like, Mom, nothing's going on. You know, we're going to come out here. We're going to maybe, you know, dance to some music on a loudspeaker, take a picture with the frogs.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): He's talking about all those people in inflatable costumes.
PROKUPECZ: There are more costumes tonight, right --
RAGSDALE: Yes.
PROKUPECZ: -- than there's been.
RAGSDALE: Yes. I've been hoping for this for months, actually. PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Dustin Ragsdale is the guy in the panda suit. He's also a Navy vet, lives in the community and has been here for over 100 days. He says the panda suit is a reaction to this.
KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: This network of Antifa is just as sophisticated as MS-13, as TDA, as ISIS, as Hezbollah, as Hamas, as all of them.
RAGSDALE: If Portland is being full-on Portland and it's Comic-Con out here, it's kind of hard to spin that narrative of calling us, like, terrorists and stuff when we're just out here in funny costumes dancing.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Live streamers are everywhere, many with their own point of view.
SGT. DAN DIMATTEO, PORTLAND POLICE BUREAU: Hey, how are you tonight?
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): So I asked these cops, who have been here for months, what they've seen.
DIMATTEO: There may be people who say, who espouse those ideologies, that say, like -- like I said, there was a girl who was over here the other day yelling, I'm Antifa.
We don't go around and poll the crowd to find out what they are, because if somebody said, this person's Antifa, I don't believe they dress a certain way or I'm going to be able to pick them out of a crowd if -- if those are your ideologies, much the same way I wouldn't be able to pick different religions out of a crowd.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Protests over the summer were violent. The ICE building was closed for a few weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll move once they tell me to move.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Standing in front of the driveway is a nightly ritual. It's where federal officers and protesters clash as agents clear the sidewalk to make room for their cars.
PROKUPECZ: What is the worst part about this, can we ask you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just got to step back just a little bit from me, OK?
It's going to be arms-length away, OK.
PROKUPECZ: How's that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just take -- just a little bit back, just a little bit back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just give him some room.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
PROKUPECZ: What is the -- what is the point of this?
What -- what is -- what is, I don't know, can you tell us?
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): When protesters get near the ICE property line, agents fire pepper balls from the roof.
RAGSDALE: It's ridiculous because the peaceful protesters out here, we're armed with cardboard and we have megaphones and silly costumes. We're not the ones bringing -- bringing the weapons loaded with poisons.
PROKUPECZ: What's the endgame here?
What's -- what's the --
RAGSDALE: We want ICE to leave.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): What's clear after this night, protesters aren't going anywhere for now. What's not, finding someone to label Antifa as the as the city and state await the decision by the appeals court on whether or not the president can order the National Guard to come here.
Many people are still coming here, many of them in costumes, to show solidarity and support -- Shimon Prokupecz, CNN, Portland, Oregon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABDELAZIZ: Trump's indictment of political opponent Letitia James is giving her a major boost in fundraising, a source tells CNN.
The New York attorney general raised more than $550,000 in the 24 hours following her indictment on Thursday. That's the single best day of fundraising in her nearly 30-year political career. She now faces felony charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.
The allegations against her focus on a mortgage agreement she signed in 2020 to purchase a house in Virginia. Since her indictment, both national and New York Democrats have rushed to her support.
Joining us now to break this down is Max Yoeli. He's a senior researcher at Chatham House.
I just want to start with that indictment of Letitia James.
Could this backfire for Trump in some way?
He's promised to be retribution for his supporters.
But is there a long-term threat here to the DOJ or public trust in the system as a whole?
MAX YOELI, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, CHATHAM HOUSE: Well, it's good to be with you. The president has made no secret throughout his time in public life
about the centrality of retribution to his political project. So in some sense, it's not surprising to see the indictment of Letitia James, as well as the indictment of James Comey.
But that doesn't make it any less damaging to the rule of law and to the trust in impartial administration of justice in the longer term.
I think the fact that the president directed his attorney general to begin these political prosecutions -- and that it is a political prosecutor who is pursuing them over and beyond kind of the career prosecutorial decisionmaking is just evidence of undermining a central tenet of the rule of law that you investigate crimes rather than people.
So I do think it is a worrying sign and something that will erode confidence in the Department of Justice and the impartiality of justice for years to come.
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ABDELAZIZ: And speaking of that long-term damage, I want to talk about the shutdown as well, because polls show that more people blame the Republicans than the Democrats. Yet the GOP shows no signs of backing down on this.
Do Democrats have any tools at their disposal to counter this?
And Trump might ask, do they hold any cards?
YOELI: I think part of the reason that you see this shutdown fight in the first place is because the Democrats have so few areas where they do have leverage. So this is one place where they can, you know, step up, band together and galvanize around a particular fight.
At the core of this fight is the question of executive power and it's really the central animating concern of the second Trump term and one that reverberates throughout the political prosecutions we're seeing, as well as other issues.
You know, in your previous segment, talking about, the deployment of American military across the United States and, ultimately, Democrats are limited having minorities in both chambers of Congress.
But what they have done here through the shutdown fight is, I think, grab some of the attention and the ability to message consistently. And, you know, their digging in suggests to me that they think that they are making progress.
At the same time, the fact that Republicans seem eager to continue the shutdown as well, you know, tells me that both sides think in some sense that they're gaining advantage here. And it's hard to see an offramp until that changes or the president perhaps changes his own position.
ABDELAZIZ: Hard to see an offramp. That's very indicative. You know, you're speaking to me from London, so I just want to go beyond the United States.
What are the risks if this shutdown continues?
We've been here before but does this begin to chip away at America's credibility?
YOELI: For so long, I think observers would look at the U.S. political process and all its messiness and compromise and negotiation as a source of strength. It was a source of pride for the United States to say, this is how we work through hard issues with each other for the benefit of the American people.
And I think the paralysis that you see today, the asymmetry of negotiation, whereby, you know, the president claims the right to not spend funds that are allocated by Congress and really makes it difficult to reach an agreement.
I think that reflects poorly on the United States internationally and really creates some skepticism about the governance model and really the United States' role in the world.
And when you zoom out beyond the shutdown to the span of domestic and international issues on the front pages, a day like today from, you know, strikes on boats in the Caribbean to troops on the streets in American cities, I think we are giving allies and partners a reason for some concern and adversaries an opportunity, a vacuum.
So while basic functions of U.S. national security and foreign policy will, of course, continue during the shutdown, some of the proactive diplomacy, some of the proactive steps may not move forward.
And, you know, it does have a long-term cost. We may not see it in a particular outcome tomorrow or the next day. But eroding that trust, that reliability of the United States does do long-term damage.
ABDELAZIZ: Eroding that trust, as do the long-term damage. That's such an important point to make. Thank you so much, Max Yoeli, for your time. Thank you.
Now still to come, thousands of Palestinians continue to make the long trek to what it remains of their homes.
How are they reacting as the ceasefire holds?
Plus, Ukraine's energy system takes more damage from Russian strikes as the country's bone-chilling winter approaches.
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ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Welcome back. I'm Salma Abdelaziz. Let's check some of today's top stories.
The Trump administration has laid off more than 4,000 federal employees, while the government remains shut down. That's according to a court filing Friday. Seven departments were impacted, with the most significant cutbacks hitting the Department of Health and Human Services and the Treasury Department.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported short staffing at a dozen of its facilities on Friday. This as travelers are being warned to expect delays over the holiday weekend. The U.S. Transportation Secretary blames air traffic controllers, accusing them of not going to work due to the shutdown.
The release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza could happen overnight Sunday into Monday from various locations. That's according to a source familiar with the matter. The timeline would ensure the hostages are out before U.S. president Donald Trump arrives in Israel on Monday.
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel are also expected to be released.
ABDELAZIZ: New satellite imagery reveals the sheer scale and extent of the damage in Gaza after two years of Israeli bombardment.
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ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): These images, taken after the ceasefire took effect on Friday, show a colorless, burned-out landscape, many buildings and infrastructure reduced to rubble. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more on how Palestinians are reacting as they return to their war- ravaged homes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There is no joy in this homecoming. Only mounds of rubble to step over and sift through. Israeli troops have withdrawn. A ceasefire is in place but at 70 years old, Majdi al-Gor (ph) has returned to find his Gaza City neighborhood in ruins.
"I want to sleep on the rubble but I do not even have a blanket or a cover to sleep on," al-Gor (ph) says. "I can't change my clothes. This is the only set I have. I want to take a shower but I can't. I want to go to the toilet but I can't. Where should I go?"
He is far from alone. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have begun to return to their homes in northern Gaza, trekking along the same coastal road many took to flee advancing Israeli troops just weeks earlier.
Here, the mood is still upbeat, despite it all.
"I feel immense joy. My heart is full of love, though also tired and weary," this man says.
"Now we will go to see our homes and we hope to find them still standing," Adel Abu Salama (ph) says, "because almost everything around them is destroyed and the children were killed. God willing, we will find other people safe and well."
[05:35:00]
This is the rude awakening that awaits many at the end of their long journey.
The Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City is one skeletal block after the next.
Khalil is still taking stock of the destruction after returning home to find everything destroyed.
"What are we supposed to cry for?
What are we supposed to look for?
Look, these are our cars. These are our homes. These are our lives."
As one chapter closes, another only just beginning.
DIAMOND: As Palestinians begin to pick up the pieces, here in Israel, the families of the hostages are eagerly awaiting their return. The Israeli military on Friday at noon completed its withdrawal from parts of the Gaza Strip. And that set off a 72-hour clock for Hamas to return the hostages back to Israel.
That means that Monday at noon local time is the last possible moment when Hamas can release those hostages. Remember, there are 20 living hostages expected to be released. The bodies of 28 others, although at this point it seems unclear whether all of those bodies will be released right now.
That's because we understand that Hamas does not know the location of all of those bodies. The International Red Cross set to assist in finding and recovering some of those bodies over the coming period of time.
And on Monday, we are also expecting President Trump to come and visit the region. His visit to Israel on Monday, set to coincide, it would seem, with the release of those hostages -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABDELAZIZ: Now president Trump says he thinks the Gaza deal will hold because everyone is just exhausted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think it will help. They're all tired of the fighting. Don't forget, you had October 7th, which was a horrible day, 1,200 people killed. But Hamas has lost 58,000 people. That's big retribution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABDELAZIZ: Security will be tight when president Trump is expected to visit Israel on Monday. A police spokesperson says thousands of officers, border police and volunteers will be deployed. Roads will be closed and aircraft, including drones, will be banned from flying over Ben-Gurion Airport and Jerusalem.
Now let's go live to Tel Aviv with ambassador Alon Pinkas. He's the former Israeli consul general in New York.
Thank you so much, first of all, for joining us today. I want to start by asking you about --
ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL, NEW YORK: Salma, good to be with you.
ABDELAZIZ: Thank you. I want to start by asking the mood in Israel. We've seen these live images with, it looks like dozens, hundreds of people camped out in Hostage Square, waiting for this poignant moment. There seems to be a collective breath-holding, if you will. Describe to me the atmosphere on the ground.
PINKAS: Well, to be honest, you just described it. I was there about 1.5 hours ago just to glance; took the dog for a walk. I live right across the street. And that's exactly how you described it.
There are hundreds there, maybe less. But I imagine that, by tomorrow, even by tonight, there will be thousands there. And it's all about, you know, it's all about emotions. It's all about relief. It's all about the devastation that people underwent in the last two years.
And there is huge expectation and anticipation. The odd political thing about this -- well, there are two, actually. The first is that people credit president Trump for this. And no one is willing to credit prime minister Netanyahu for that. And that's perfectly understandable.
And the second is -- and I may be, you know, speculating toward the future or guesstimating here -- once the hostages are free and back home with their families, in the dire medical and mental condition that they are but nonetheless free, then the big question is.
Do these demonstrations, do these protests now vent their anger and frustration toward Netanyahu?
But that that remains to be seen.
ABDELAZIZ: That is a very good question.
And speaking of the long-term, will this ceasefire last?
I just read your latest article where you say, the only viability this plan has is under a different government.
So what are the chances here?
PINKAS: Well, you need -- there are two fundamental and necessary ingredients. One is a different government in Israel and that requires an election.
And the second is that president Trump remain engaged and committed, which I somehow doubt, because, you know, the praise, the accolades and the laurels have all been wasted or, you know, used in this first phase. Now, I don't want to be the little boy that says the agreement has no clothes.
[05:40:00]
But I will be because you asked. The next phases are extraordinarily difficult or extraordinarily ambiguous. For example, Hamas needs to be disarmed.
When will it be disarmed?
By whom?
Are there, what, like you go to the post office and deposit your weapon?
Obviously not.
You're going to have police stations open up to collect these weapons?
Obviously not. There is no police in Gaza.
Then there's the issue of the Israeli withdrawal that would enable a provisional Arab force to go in. They won't go in unless Hamas is disarmed. And we can go on and on and on.
And I don't want to again, I don't want to, you know, be a party pooper here and dissect this and say, this won't work and this won't work and this won't work. But I'm extraordinarily skeptical that the next phase will work.
I don't think Mr. Netanyahu wants a next phase. And I am afraid that Mr. Trump will not be as engaged in the next phases as he was during this one.
ABDELAZIZ: So a lack of attention, a lack of motivation, all of those other obstacles you named. But president Trump will be on the ground on Monday as this hostage release happens in and around it.
What impact does that have?
What message does that carry?
PINKAS: Well, there are two messages here, Salma. The first is he's coming here because, you know, he's a performer and he knows that he's going to get the kind of love and attention and accolades that he may not get back home in America -- and certainly not in other places around the world for a variety of reasons. But he will get it here. And he knows that. And so, in this respect,
it would have a great impact. And people will thank him and, you know, shower him with compliments.
But there's another aspect to this. It's been reported that, on Monday, maybe Tuesday, I don't know the exact timetable, the president of Egypt, Muhammad Abd al-Sisi (sic), is convening a summit in the Red Sea city of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Which Trump will attend, as will the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Now if that actually happens -- and, you know, based on the reports, it will happen -- Trump is going to try, President Trump is going to use that to create a momentum that would carry into the next phases and that could impact public opinion here in Israel.
Per your question, if I were Trump and if I were advising Trump, I would go and make his plan a binding Security Council resolution. But I don't want to use CNN for giving free advice to American presidents.
ABDELAZIZ: Thank you so much, Ambassador Alon Pinkas, for the free advice and the breakdown. Thank you so much.
It's political --
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PINKAS: Thank you.
ABDELAZIZ: -- thank you.
It's political whiplash in France as the country's prime minister returns to office just days after stepping down. The details and a look at what's at stake for Emmanuel Macron's government, just ahead on CNN.
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ABDELAZIZ: It's a cruel twist which Ukraine is now used to seeing at this time of the year. Russia is targeting the energy system and anything else that can provide heat ahead of Ukraine's harsh winter.
The latest attack came on Thursday night and Friday morning, wreaking havoc on Ukraine's electricity grid. But this time Russia went even further than it usually does. Frederik Pleitgen explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ukraine says that Russia launched what they call a massive attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure in the night from Thursday into Friday.
And the Ukrainians are saying that that attack was not only gigantic in scale, with some 450 drones being used and 30 missiles being fired at Ukrainian territory, but also as far as the length of that attack is concerned as well.
Folks on the ground in Kyiv telling CNN that air raid alerts were on for about seven to eight hours as that attack dragged on. The Ukrainians are saying that, even in the early morning hours, during times that are normally there for commuter traffic, that the air attacks were still going on.
Now all of this, of course, had major consequences for Ukraine. There were big power failures in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Again, folks on the ground telling CNN that large parts of the inner city of Kyiv were without power for several hours.
But also the left bank of the Dnipro River -- of course, that's the massive river that runs through the Ukrainian capital -- also without power for an extended period of time. The Ukrainians are also saying that one boy was killed in the southern city of Zaporizhzhya and several people were wounded in the area of Kyiv and the surrounding areas as well.
The Ukrainians claim that what the Russians are trying to do is literally to freeze the Ukrainian population into submission, especially now with those power failures and also, in some cases, failures of heating having a devastating effect as the weather in Ukraine grows colder.
The Russians have a very different take on things. They also commented on the situation. The Russian defense ministry confirming that they were behind these strikes.
They called them high-precision strikes, using drones and ballistic missiles, including hypersonic ballistic missiles. And the Russians are saying that all of this was for was retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
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ABDELAZIZ: Rounding out a roller coaster week in French politics, president Emmanuel Macron is returning prime minister Sebastien Lecornu to his post just days after the PM quit the job.
Mr. Macron is hoping Lecornu can gather enough support in the deeply divided parliament to pass next year's budget by the Monday deadline. But Lecornu's appointment is being met with criticism from the far right and the hard left.
Many of Mr. Macron's rivals are demanding he either call snap parliamentary elections or resign. North Korea is marking the anniversary of its ruling party and tries
to send a message with the display of its latest missile technology. That story is just ahead.
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ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): You are looking at a show of military strength in North Korea, as the country celebrated the only political party it's known for decades. Friday's events marked the 80th anniversary of the Ruling Workers Party of Korea.
And as Will Ripley reports, they included a display of the country's latest military hardware.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Even in the pouring rain, North Korea's biggest military parade in years marched on. Tens of thousands braved the downpour -- as you're expected to do when you live in Pyongyang -- for a glimpse at new long-range nuclear missiles.
And, of course, most importantly, their leader, who's showing the world he's not backing down. Kim Jong-un standing at the podium there, flanked by senior officials from Russia and China. This, of course, always a carefully crafted propaganda moment of defiance.
Onlookers got to see the debut of the Hwasong-20. It's a new solid fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that North Korea claims can hit the U.S. mainland.
Also on display, hypersonic glide vehicles, drones, tanks and even weapons reportedly used against Ukraine. Among the marching troops in the parade, North Korean soldiers who fought on behalf of Russia, part of a force that reportedly topped 10,000. Many never came home.
Kim praised his troops in a speech at the podium there, with the rain falling, his growing arsenal serving as a warning to the U.S. and South Korea that denuclearization is off the table.
[05:55:03]
I remember watching a similar parade in Pyongyang 10 years ago. It was my first time there, actually, for the 70th anniversary of the ruling party. And each celebration is supposed to get bigger and bigger every anniversary.
Participation, of course, not optional in the North Korean capital. It is expected. So even though it was probably pretty uncomfortable out there, you had droves of people turning out and showing their full enthusiasm -- Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.
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ABDELAZIZ: Rock star Gwen Stefani will reunite with the band No Doubt for their first extended run of shows in nearly 14 years.
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ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): The band said on Instagram on Friday that they'll play a six-night engagement at The Sphere entertainment venue in Las Vegas in May. The announcement coincides with the 30th anniversary of the release of No Doubt's second album, "Tragic Kingdom."
Stefani has appeared periodically with her old band since she gained success as a solo artist. Tickets for No Doubt, live at the Sphere, go on sale next week.
But before we go, the updated red list of threatened species features both positive and negative news for animals around the world. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature issued a warning for Arctic seals, which are in danger due to global warming.
But there is good news. Green sea turtles are actually making a comeback. Decades of conservation efforts have helped the populations of turtles rebound in tropical and subtropical waters. Their status is now listed as least concerned rather than endangered.
OK, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Salma Abdelaziz. For our viewers in North America, "CNN THIS MORNING" is next. For the rest of the world. It's "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS."
