Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
Israel-Hamas Truce Begins Tomorrow; Israel's Cabinet Approves Hostage Deal; Iraq Condemns U.S. Airstrikes on Iran-Backed Militia; Maidan Protests Changed Course of Ukraine History; Israel Publishes Names of 300 Palestinians for Possible Release; OpenAI to Rehire Sam Altman in Principle; Iceland Volcano Threat; American Airlines Reviews Video of Crashing Wheelchair. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired November 22, 2023 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome to the second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD, with me, Julia Chatterley. It's 10 am here in New York. It is 5
pm now in Gaza. And Israeli official tells CNN that in 17 hours in Israel, the truce between Israel and Hamas will take effect.
It would involve a four-day pause in fighting, during which initial 50 hostages taken by Hamas six weeks ago would be freed. And a number of
Palestinian prisoners would also be released from Israeli jails.
The deal was approved by Israel last night. The delay is to allow Israeli judges to review potential legal challenges. And then today we saw fresh
explosions in Gaza and Israel's prime minister says that the agreement does not mean the war is over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): And I would like to make it clear here again, the war continues. The war will
continue until we achieve all of our goals to eliminate Hamas, to return all our hostages, to ensure that the day after Hamas, Gaza will no longer
be a threat to Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: So to summarize, if things go according to plan -- and that is a big, if -- by this time tomorrow, some of those hostages could be closer
to coming home. Nada Bashir joins us now from Jerusalem.
Nada, it's going to be a long 24 hours, less than that, 17 hours both for the families, of course, the hostages and also for the families of the
Palestinian prisoners, who are hoping that they are among the 150 of the 300 names that have been released that will also be freed at some point as
a result of this deal.
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. This is certainly being taken as a welcome step for the many families of Palestinian prisoners. And we've
seen a list of about 300 names including teenagers, listed the ages of 16 and 18 young men. And a handful at the age of 14 as well.
So there are certainly a lot of concern amongst Palestinian families waiting to see if their loved ones, for many of them, if their children,
will be among the 150 set to be released as part of this exchange deal, as part of this truce if the terms of that are upheld by both sides. Certainly
an anxious few hours ahead.
Of course, as we, know this is just a fraction of the number of Palestinian detainees currently in Israeli custody. According to the Palestinian
Prisoners Society, an NGO here, there are some 8,000 Palestinians currently in Israeli custody.
Among, them more than 3,000 who are under administrative detention, meaning with no clear charges and with no ongoing legal process. This is an area
that has drawn much concern amongst the Palestinian population over here.
As we understand it, according to the Israeli Defense Forces and other Israeli officials, those that are potentially set to be released are not
considered to be serious offenders. As I mentioned, many of them are between the ages of 16 and 18, including some women as well.
So there is a lot of hope that this could be an initial step. That list of 300 would be the potential names, that initial first step would be the
release of about 150 prisoners, perhaps signaling that we could see a second phase to this.
And, of course, there is a lot of focus on what this means for those inside of Gaza as well when it comes to the terms of that truce. The hope is that
this would see four days of a pause in fighting. That will prove crucial for aid getting into the Gaza Strip.
Not least a moment of respect for those inside of Gaza who have faced relentless bombardment for over a month now and, of course, as we have
seen, the destruction, the damage, the humanitarian catastrophe they are facing.
And, of course, the civilian death toll which is mounting seems to be getting worse by the hour. We have seen the situation inside the Gaza
Strip, particularly now moving southwards as well. Many have been told to evacuate. That situation only continuing to deteriorate.
We've heard from the United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres say that the U.N. stands ready to facilitate any support needed to keep this
truce upheld.
Crucially, of course, when it comes to getting hostages out of Gaza and ensuring that that part of the deal is held up and that that can take place
safely and securely but also ensuring that aid is getting into the Gaza Strip, we have heard from sources who are familiar with the negotiations as
they were ongoing --
[10:05:00]
BASHIR: -- that the deal, the terms of the deal, is working toward allowing some 400 trucks full of aid to get in each and every day over the
course of this truce. That is quite close to the prewar level of aid convoys that we have seen getting into Gaza.
Some 455 before the war. But this is a process that is going to require careful monitoring. We've heard from the U.S. State Department and the U.S.
National Security Council saying that they would be paying close attention to the vetting process in terms of getting those eight trucks into the Gaza
Strip.
But also highlighting that this is a process that will take time. But for those inside of Gaza, for the millions in need, desperately requiring
urgent humanitarian assistance, this will come as a welcome development. The hope is, of course, that this truce, the terms of that agreement are
indeed upheld.
CHATTERLEY: Nada Bashir in Jerusalem, thank you so much for that report.
And Israel is holding more than 8,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails. That is according to the nongovernmental organization the Palestinian Prisoners
Society. Our Nima Elbagir spoke with one mother, who is hoping that she may soon see her long imprisoned daughter once again.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): For the past 8 years, Sosan Bakir's (ph) daughter, Mara (ph), has been held in an Israeli prison. She was just 16 when she was arrested.
SOSAN BAKIR (PH), MARA'S (PH) MOTHER: Honestly, at the beginning, we thought it was a nightmare. Then it became necessary to stand strong on our
feet because we have other children besides Mara.
We have Musa (ph), Noor (ph) and Hala (ph). Of course, the most important one right now is Mara (ph), because after all, she is a child and she's so
innocent.
ELBAGIR: She says that since Hamas' deadly attack on October 7th, Mara (ph) has been moved into solitary confinement and communication cut off.
BAKIR: We are really worried about Mara (ph). The situation of the women prisoners is really hard. They confiscated all the electrical devices and
clothes.
ELBAGIR: According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, 83 Palestinian women and 380 teenagers under the age of 18 are being held in Israeli
prisons, more than half of whom have been detained since October 7th.
Night after night in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, Israeli forces have been arresting Palestinians in their homes. Some, the IDF say,
are accused of being members of Hamas but many others are detained without trial or stated cause.
MOHAMMAD SHTAYYEH, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER: Israel today is in the mood of revenge. And this mood of revenge also is combined with a mood of
humiliation. This is very simple. Israel is preparing for an exchange of prisoners. And they are arresting as many people as they can simply because
they are preparing for such a deal.
ELBAGIR: The Palestinian Prisoners Society says that in the past six.5 weeks, several thousand Palestinians in total have been detained by the
Israeli defense forces. If there is to be a hostage deal, it's not yet clear how many people might be freed or who would be included.
Even so, for Sosan Bakir (ph), it presents a small glimmer of hope that she may soon see her daughter again -- Nima Elbagir, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: The next 17 hours will be a long wait for the hostage families as well, including Liz Hirsh Naftali, the great-aunt of 3-year-old Abigail
Idan. They say the family is holding on to hope that the youngest American hostage will be home for her fourth birthday this Friday.
Naftali told CNN about what she calls the, quote, "excruciating" wait to hear if little Abigail will be freed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIZ HIRSH NAFTALI, ABIGAIL IDAN'S GREAT-AUNT: It is our belief, we have not had anything confirmed. There is no lists. But we believe that a 3-year
old orphan American Israeli is, should be a priority for release.
I keep thinking about these innocent children and that no child should be held hostage. No child should be in the middle of this and they should be
released and they should come home right away to their families.
And Abigail's fourth birthday is on Friday. And no child should spend their birthday as a hostage somewhere in the dark. And so we do not have any
confirmation but it is our hope and it is our belief that she will be one of the first hostages to come out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: OK, let's get to the West Bank now and bring in Sari Bashi. He's program director of Human Rights Watch.
Thank you so much for joining us. Much to discuss with the contours of this deal, assuming -- and we keep our fingers crossed -- that everything goes
to plan but I do want to start with the hostages.
[10:10:00]
CHATTERLEY: And your view is very simple on this, that humans should not be used as bargaining chips.
SARI BASHI, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Yes. Of course, we're thrilled by the prospect that 50 hostages will be released but -- and I
hope that goes through, especially the mothers and children who have suffered so much.
But the obligation is for Hamas and Islamic Jihad to release all civilian hostages. It was a war crime to take them hostage and it is a war crime to
continue to hold them. They should not be used as bargaining chips for anything. They should be released immediately and unconditionally, all
civilians.
CHATTERLEY: And likewise, part of this period now -- again if everything goes to plan as a four-day truce, which hopefully will facilitate more aid
to flow into Gaza as well, which has been desperately essential now for many days, weeks.
BASHI: Yes, and I'm also concerned about that, because the Israeli military has unlawfully impeded the delivery of life-saving humanitarian
relief to Gaza in ways that have been devastating for Gaza's 2.2 million people, nearly half of whom are children.
There have been outbreaks of infectious diseases, patients in hospitals dying after the generators stopped powering their ventilators and
incubators. This is collective punishment against the civilian population.
And the Israeli military should allow the full panoply of humanitarian aid into Gaza not as a bargaining chip, not as something to be negotiated but
as an obligation that it has to civilians in Gaza, full stop.
And that means opening up the crossings with Israel, as it has done in previous hostilities, for humanitarian aid and ending arbitrary
restrictions on lifesaving fuel.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and this is different for many reasons. Let's talk about the planned release of Palestinians as well that are being held by the
Israelis. And I pored over the list of 300 names -- we believe at this stage it will be 150 that are at least initially released.
A lot of these individuals are male, between 16 and 18 years old. There are some women on the list. Some, it seems, affiliated to terrorist groups like
Hamas but not all. Give me your perspective on what we are seeing here.
BASHI: I think it's important to understand that most of the people on the list were convicted or arrested through a military justice system that
applies in the West Bank to Palestinians but not to Israelis.
So it is a two-tiered system, where Israeli children, some of the 600,000 Israeli settlers living in the West Bank, if they are arrested, they are
subject to -- appropriately subject to the protective elements of Israeli civil law.
It provides mostly adequate protections to children. Palestinian children, on the other hand, are arrested for the very same offenses -- throwing
stones, writing graffiti -- are tried under a draconian military system.
That allows soldiers to arrest them in the middle of the night using unnecessary force, terrifying them and their families, without access to
parents or a lawyer during interrogation.
And many children confess and take a plea deal because the maximum sentence that they could get for the crimes that they are accused of is actually
shorter than the amount of time they spent in pretrial detention.
And so I'm glad some of the children will be able to come home. I also would hope that there would be massive changes in that system, because it
is not delivering justice to Palestinian children.
CHATTERLEY: What you're saying here is that you're deeply concerned about due process throughout all of this. And I have to say, it comes at a time
where, even just in the past few days, there were discussions in Israel of potentially using the death penalty at some point in the future for those
that are deemed to be terrorists.
Can I just get your take on, if indeed that decision were made -- and it was very contentious, particularly among the families of the hostages as
well, simply giving the timing.
But indeed, just that discussion or the prospect of that in the future, where do you stand on that?
BASHI: Yes, I mean Human Rights Watch opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances because it's inherently cruel and unjust. And I very
much hope the Israeli government will not pass those laws.
But I would say much more is needed in terms of the criminal justice system to make it fairer, in particular for Palestinians in the West Bank. I mean
I think the broader point here is that, since October 7th, what we have seen is just a complete deterioration of very basic principles of
protecting civilians, of keeping them out of the fight.
And while it's very good that some hostages will go home and civilians in Gaza will hopefully get some more aid, it is not enough. We need to stop
using civilians as tactics for negotiations. And all parties need to respect their obligations to civilians, full stop, Israeli and Palestinian
civilians.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I know you don't take a stance on cease-fires but I think your point is very clear that this is a good outcome, that humanitarian
laws have been broken on all sides in order to achieve it.
[10:15:00]
CHATTERLEY: Thank you so much for your time. Sari Bashi, program director of Human Rights Watch, joining us there.
Now after dozens of attacks on American coalition troops, U.S. fighter jets are retaliating in Iraq. The Iraqi government issuing a furious response.
We are live in the region next to break down what it all means and the consequences.
And the climbing toll of Russia's war in Ukraine, the number of civilians killed reaches a grim milestone. Stay with CNN.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD. Iraq is condemning U.S. airstrikes targeting Iran-backed militia. The militia says eight of its
fighters were killed today in strikes south of Baghdad.
The Iraqi government calls it a, quote, "dangerous development and a blatant violation of sovereignty."
The United States, for its part, calls it a direct response to dozens of recent attacks on American and coalition troops. Senior international
correspondent Ben Wedeman is covering the stories from Beirut.
It includes, Ben, the use of multiple short range ballistic missiles targeting U.S. and coalition forces. And that is the first time since we
have seen violence against them.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and if you look back since the 17th of October, Julia, there have been almost 70 strikes or
attacks on U.S. forces spread through Syria and Iraq.
And as far as yesterday was concerned, indeed, according to the U.S. officials, two short-range ballistic missiles were fired on El Asad base,
which is northwest of Baghdad. And as a result, the U.S. struck back to the source of those missiles where they were fired, killing, they said, at
least three pro Iranian-backed militiamen.
The incident this morning was on a facility to the southwest of Baghdad, where the U.S. said they killed -- they hit two separate facilities and
they killed eight Iranian-backed militiamen.
And, of course, the Iraqi government is very unhappy about that, saying that it was a violation of their sovereignty, distressing that they were
not informed of that operation.
But this sort of spate of attacks on U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq really underscores perhaps just how exposed the United States is when it is caught
in this situation, where it is backing Israel and its war in Gaza.
And, at the same, time it has troops, I think, 900 in Syria, 2,500 in Iraq, spread around a variety of bases in an environment where you do have
Iranian-backed militia men that are very powerful --
[10:20:00]
WEDEMAN: -- very well armed and far outnumber the American troops in those areas.
CHATTERLEY: And Ben, can I just get your wisdom and insight, because I know that the Iranian foreign minister is actually in Beirut today.
Any sense of whether he is going to be meeting officials from Hezbollah, perhaps even representatives of Hamas, too?
What do we know?
WEDEMAN: In fact, he arrived in Beirut airport after noon and there were representatives of Islamic Jihad and Hamas at the airport, greeting him.
And there were also members of the political party to which Hezbollah is affiliated.
At the airport, he said that basically the members of the resistance groups -- I think he's referring to Hamas and Islamic Jihad -- said that their
hands will be on the trigger until the rights of the Palestinians are fulfilled.
Of course, as the foreign minister, he will be meeting with his counterpart here in Lebanon. But it is expected that, at some point -- and we have no
idea where -- he will be meeting with Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of Hezbollah as well.
CHATTERLEY: Ben, for now, thank you.
Ben Wedeman in Beirut.
Just a little while ago, Vladimir Putin spoke at the G20 summit, hosted by India virtually. This is the first time the Russian president has attended
any G20 meeting since the onset of the war in Ukraine.
During his address, he said it was necessary to think about how to stop the, quote, "tragedy in Ukraine."
Meanwhile, Ukraine is also marking a grim milestone where the U.N. now says 10,000 civilians have been killed since Russia invaded in February of last
year. However, the true toll is likely much higher.
Ten years ago, the pro-democracy Maidan protests sparked a revolution in Ukraine, which changed the course of history. Anna Coren has more from
Kyiv.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Among the woods full of both maple and oak trees, now almost bare, is one of Kyiv's oldest
cemeteries.
A soldier arrives, back from the battlefield, for only a day. He's here to visit his son and see the new monument that stands over his grave.
TARAS RATUSHNYY, FATHER OF KILLED UKRAINIAN SOLDIER: It's what my son wanted. It must be a cross, simple and ordinary and traditional.
COREN: His son was Roman Ratushnyy, one of Ukraine's most prominent activist. What ignited the fire in the then-16-year-old was the Maidan
Revolution.
T. RATUSHNYY: I think that he was a person all this time. Maidan just helped him to conduct this transformation.
COREN (voice-over): On the 21st of November, 2013, a few hundred people gathered at Maidan, Independence Square, to protest against the
government's decision not to sign an association agreement with the European Union.
Then-President Viktor Yanukovych had ditched closer ties with Europe and pivoted toward Russian President Vladimir Putin. Within weeks, the protests
swelled as thousands of people took over Maidan.
Police violence intensified over the next three months, until riot police, using live rounds, opened fire, killing more than 100 protesters.
OLHA SALO, EUROMAIDAN PROTESTER (through translator): The youngest of them was 17. The oldest was 82. There were people from all over Ukraine, from
different professions, different education. I think this is a collective mission of Ukrainian heroes and they all died of the same violence.
COREN (voice-over): In the following months, Putin would occupy Crimea and covertly back separatists in Eastern Ukraine. Maidan set in motion a series
of events that would reshape Ukraine and alter the course of history.
COREN: What began here in Kyiv 10 years ago was the start of Ukraine's fight to join the European Union. All that struggle continues to this day
but the stakes are so much higher, as this country fights for its mere existence.
COREN (voice-over): Next month, E.U. leaders will meet to decide whether Ukraine should be given membership and so far, the signs are promising.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The future of Ukraine is in the European Union. The future that the Maidan fought for has finally just begun.
COREN (voice-over): When the Russians launched their full-scale invasion on Ukraine, on the 24th of February last year, a 24-year-old Roman
immediately signed up for military.
ROMAN RATUSHNYY, SOLDIER AND ACTIVIST: Thank you for support.
[10:25:00]
COREN (voice-over): First fighting in the defense of Kyiv, he then joined the 93rd Combat Brigade, stationed in the east.
His father and older brother also enlisted but were located elsewhere.
On the phone, Roman would tell his family all was fine but they knew everything was far from OK. On the 8th of June last year, Roman was killed
during a reconnaissance mission.
Two weeks before his death, he wrote his last will and testament on a sheet of A4 paper, stating what he wanted for his funeral. The ceremony, that
music, the monument.
T. RATUSHNYY: My thoughts are always with him. I wish him to be respected.
COREN (voice-over): Even in death, he continues to inspire young Ukrainians and remains a beacon of hope for a father full of sorrow.
COREN: He sounded like such an incredible young man, future leader of this country.
T. RATUSHNYY: Yes, exactly. And his time was very short.
COREN (voice-over): But in that short time, Roman always knew what he was fighting for.
R. RATUSHNYY: For me, all that was not in vain. I see a huge number of positive changes in this country and they happened, only thanks to Maidan.
COREN (voice-over): Anna Coren, CNN, Kyiv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: OK, still to come, a truce in the Israel-Hamas war is due to begin Thursday morning. But the IDF says it is still taking aim at Hamas
targets until then. We will have the very latest from the ground next.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Julia Chatterley.
After nearly seven weeks of war, Israel and Hamas have agreed to a temporary truce starting Thursday. But the IDF says it is continuing to
target Hamas infrastructure until then.
[10:30:00]
CHATTERLEY: In the meantime, Israel has published the names of 300 Palestinian prisoners who are eligible for release in exchange for those
hostages held by Hamas. Legal petitions against the release of specific prisoners (INAUDIBLE) to Israel's supreme court up to 24 hours from the
list's release and hence the delay.
Becky Anderson is following all that for us, once again from Doha. But first, let's bring in Jeremy Diamond from Sderot in Israel.
Jeremy, good to have you here. It's clear as we look at the live pictures across Gaza that the IDF continues their operation certainly in the north
of Gaza. And they're also continuing to communicate and let us know what their plans are.
What more can you tell us about that?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right. The Israeli military in the hours before this pause in hostilities goes
into effect is continuing to target Hamas targets inside the Gaza Strip.
We have been witnessing over the last several hours as there have been numerous explosions, large scale plumes of smoke and illumination rounds
being fired into the Gaza Strip.
In fact, just moments ago, we had some flares ongoing. You can see in some of the footage earlier in the day, this is very much still an active war
zone, in which the Israeli military is continuing to operate and will likely continue to operate right up until that pause in hostilities takes
effect.
It is scheduled to happen at 10 am local time tomorrow. What the Israeli prime minister has also made clear -- and I think you just saw a pretty
large explosion happening right behind me -- what the Israeli prime minister has also made clear is that this pause in hostilities is simply
that.
It is not a cease-fire and Israel's military will resume its military operation, its campaign to eliminate Hamas from the Gaza Strip after the
pause in hostilities ends.
I've also been speaking with Israeli officials over the last 24 hours, who have made it very clear that this initial release of 50 hostages in
exchange for a four-day pause in fighting could simply be the beginning, that they intend to get all of the hostages back.
And if Hamas chooses to release 10 additional hostages after that, they could get an additional day of pause in hostilities in exchange for those
10 and that could continue for some days.
But all of that, of course, depends on the ability of both parties to maintain that pause in the fighting, the mechanisms for the release of the
hostages, for all of that to go smoothly. So a lot of question marks in a lot of things that could still potentially go wrong as we wait over these
coming days to see how this happens.
CHATTERLEY: And certainly, to your point, key questions surrounding the location of these hostages, who has the hostages.
If, to your point, the truce holds in that four-day period and we don't see any fire or accidental fire from either side, certainly perhaps from other
players in the region, like Hezbollah, for example, sat nought (ph) we believe in the contours of this agreement too.
So still so many questions to be asked in a long 17-hour wait for the families of both sides for their prisoners -- the Israeli prisoners, the
Palestinians and, also, of course, the hostages in Gaza.
DIAMOND: Yes, that's exactly right. And I've been speaking with some of those families over the last 24 hours.
Those who are most likely to benefit from this deal, the parents and loved ones of children who are held hostage in Gaza, we believe that there are 39
children that are being held inside of the Gaza Strip by Hamas and perhaps other militant groups as well.
And for those families, this is just nerve wracking, because they hope, they want to hope that their families are going to be part of this initial
release of 50 hostages but they simply do not know for sure.
And they do not want to get the hopes up too high, given the uncertainty that they've been dealing with for weeks now, as there've been public
reports about the possibility of a deal to free their family members.
But they have had pretty limited communication from the Israeli government. Even just a few hours ago, I spoke with Hen Avigdori (ph), who is the
father of one of those children being held hostage in Gaza.
And he told me that he simply does not know. And the expectation is that they will not know until perhaps the very last minute or the few hours
before any of those releases take place, whether their loved ones will be in the release of any given day.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and we shall wait and see. I will let you go, Jeremy, I know that you have got news gathering to be getting on with as well. Thank
you for your time for now.
Jeremy Diamond there. Let's bring in Becky now, too.
And Becky, I know you are listening to that, too. It will be perhaps the hardest 17 hours' wait beyond what we've seen for the last few weeks for
many of these hostage families.
[10:35:00]
CHATTERLEY: You're also in the perfect place with all of the right connections to understand the complexity and the difficulty of getting even
to this point.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): That's right. I spoke to the lead negotiator here, Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, who is the minister of state in
Qatar, about how difficult and complex these talks have been.
In the last 45 days have been very intense but he provided me more in detail on the sort of mechanisms, the mechanics of what happens next,
providing a little bit more detail on questions that Jeremy was hearing from the families.
Not everything is clear today but I did press him on how this deal would work very specifically and how they would monitor it and how they would
ensure that both sides would keep to what they were doing. Have a listen to what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED AL-KHULAIFI, MINISTER OF STATE, QATAR: Within the four days pause, in each day, there will be an obligation on each side, an obligation
on the Israelis and obligation of Hamas, making sure that they are going to fulfill those obligation in each day.
So in each day, we aim to have a number of releases, because the number is big. So we've managed to get the parties to agree on the releases
systematically, with, in other words, there will be an organized schedule, allowing the releases each day and each party is quite familiar now with
their obligations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And those obligations include Hamas providing a list daily of those hostages who will be released.
To Jeremy's point, the agonizing wait for many of these families who, at least in principle, now stand a chance of seeing the women and children in
their families who are being held by Hamas.
It is, in principle, that is a good thing. But it is an agonizing wait because the names and the identities and the nationalities of these
individuals have not yet been released. The idea is that that list is provided every day.
And the opportunity, as we've been discussing, is for this four-day period to be extended, this truce -- and I will come to the language here -- this
truce will be extended the more hostages that they see.
And I pressed Mohammed Al-Khulaifi on this. And he said on the Hamas side, they need to see at least 10 hostages a day. We know that the Israelis have
already released a list on the Palestinian prisoner side. And so that is available because that is being now -- that is with the supreme court.
And that is available for people in Israel to appeal against. The language of this deal is really important. It is a humanitarian pause and, don't
forget, there've been huge cries and demands for a pause, if not a cease- fire -- and this is very definitely not a cease-fire, by the way.
This is a humanitarian pause in the fighting. And the contours, the obligations, as he suggested, are very clear. The release of the hostages,
keeping to the cessation of hostilities to ensure that that pause is sufficient for this hostage exchange to be completed.
To ensure on the second part of this humanitarian pause is exactly that, humanitarian. To that end, the second pillar of this deal, as it were, is
the increase in aid coming through the Rafah border. And that really is important.
He described it as the quality of aid perhaps more than the quantity of aid. The quantity is certainly increasing; 300 trucks a day. But it is the
quality of that aid and he specifically told us that it includes fuel.
This has been a really contentious issue. That fuel, that has been agreed upon as part of this deal, will come in through the border crossing to be
used very specifically for humanitarian infrastructure, education facilities, hospitals.
I asked him, is this for the entire Gaza Strip or just the south?
He said, no, this is for the entire Gaza enclave. So that is really critical. Again, that is another one of these obligations.
If the Israelis refuse or put a stop to that aid, that fuel coming in, then that is going to be another issue with this truce holding. All of this is
obviously really delicate, as you rightly point out, we're 17 hours away from the start of this.
At the moment, I asked him, who are we going to see?
Who are we going to see from Hamas released on the first day?
Jeremy said that there are 39 kids for example.
[10:40:00]
ANDERSON: People under the age of 18 being held by Hamas. He said you're only going to know that when the lists are released each day and we see
those women and children being released.
So there is an awful lot here, I mean, agonizing for those who are hoping that their families will be released, I'm sure on both sides quite frankly.
We also asked about the fact that the military, the soldiers who have been taken hostage, are not included in this.
He hopes for a wider deal going forward. We know that Hamas will treat those soldiers as strategic assets, as leverage in any negotiations going
forward. And I think it would be fair to say, do not expect to see soldiers released at any time soon.
But certainly in principle, on the hostage file, the negotiators here in Hamas have written a deal, which has now been agreed upon by both sides,
which should effect the release of all those civilian hostages who are being held, the women and children in the first instance.
But hopefully that will be expanded in Gaza by Hamas. And then on the Palestinian front, the women and children who are not high-risk prisoners
as far as the Israelis are concerned.
We talked this time yesterday about a deal is not a deal until the deal is done. That deal is done now. Whether this deal will hold, the mediators
explained to me just how difficult things have been with the escalation in violence.
I asked him specifically whether the raid, the Israeli raid on Al-Shifa Hospital, which lasted a week, which ended ostensibly on Monday this week,
whether that is a spanner in the works.
He said look, any escalation in this conflict makes the conversations, the negotiations, the talks so much more difficult. Qatar have said out loud,
they want to see a permanent cease-fire going forward. That is very specifically not what this is.
The Israelis have said, categorically, until all hostages are released, they will not stop this conflict. But at least in principle we have this
humanitarian pause.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, Becky. I was just making notes as you were writing, aid, fuel, drones, prisoners, hostages. The sequencing on this, so much has to
go right.
Yes, we are praying, keeping our fingers crossed for the next 17 hours. For now, thank you. And we look forward to listening to that full conversation,
another great get. Thank you.
OK, coming up, Altman's future?
Altered. Dizzying new developments at OpenAI, the home of ChatGPT, the very latest on this ongoing corporate saga after this.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD.
[10:45:00]
CHATTERLEY: And welcome back to Sam Altman, the once and it seems future CEO of OpenAI. The artificial intelligence giant, which runs the popular
ChatGPT platform, has ended in principle to hire Altman back after firing him just six days ago.
Its board said at the time that it had lost confidence in his leadership. But hundreds of OpenAI employees then threatened to quit and join Altman at
Microsoft, unless he was re-hired. Anna Stewart joins me on this.
The power of people, in this case -- you know, I was thinking to myself earlier after we chatted, I wonder if ChatGPT was consulted on any of this
by the board?
(LAUGHTER)
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Possibly not by the board. But I certainly consulted ChatGPT, though.
To be transparent, I asked them what it thought and I got several answers. They were very erudite and long, so I did ask it for a shorter, more
quotable (ph) response.
And it said this, "OpenAI has been playing musical chairs with its CEOs, ending up with Sam Altman back in charge. This could shake things up a bit.
It's a mix of fresh ideas and a little bit of chaos. But Sam knows the drill at OpenAI, so he might just steady the ship and keep things on
track."
How all this plays out, though?
It really depends on how they handle the switcheroo, which I thought was a pretty good response, actually.
CHATTERLEY: The switcheroo.
(LAUGHTER)
CHATTERLEY: I mean, you know, it is a ridiculous story, when the two of us are just playing, quite frankly, on reporting on it. Anna Stewart, we will
finish there, great job.
(LAUGHTER)
CHATTERLEY: OK, let's move on.
Any day now, a volcanic eruption could destroy a town in Iceland. Up next, we will show you the view from above the emergency zone, as authorities
work hard to protect the town's infrastructure.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:50:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back, as the world's population growth, traditional farming methods alone are not enough to meet our food demands. But a team
of scientists at the technology innovation institute in Abu Dhabi are working to train tiny drones to help revolutionize the agriculture
industry. As Eleni Giokos reports. It
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At this indoor garden in Abu Dhabi, they are growing fruit trees from all over the world.
It's also a laboratory for a group of scientists from the nearby Technology Innovation Institute who are conducting research into the use of nano
drones in agriculture.
JENNIFER SIMONJAN, LAND RESEARCHER, TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION INSTITUTE: This is it. This is it. This is our nano drone.
GIOKOS: You want me to be excited about this nano drone?
SIMONJAN: Yes, because I'm very excited about it, too. Yes. So this is a nano drone, one of the type that we are working on in our lab. It has a
processor on board, it has a camera and we can build our software and make it fly autonomously and perform.
GIOKOS: Using these tiny flying computers, these scientists are training it to perform several tasks.
SIMONJAN: What we are trying to achieve here is to make the environmental monitoring and plant monitoring autonomous and more smart.
What we do is we take these little tiny drones that are like in the size of a hand and we let them fly around the plants so they can measure at any
point any height any angle any type of environmental sensor reading.
GIOKOS: The emergence of artificial intelligence has come at a pivotal moment in their research. Today they are teaching the nano drone to
recognize different objects like identifying certain fruits. Using AI and computer vision it's able to recognize that this is a banana.
What kind of information is it gathering?
SIMONJAN: So most of all it's gathering images so then you can feed it into an AI that can tell you, oh, it's ripe we can pick the plant and also
it is checking for your plant diseases so you can see on the leaves right if the plant has any disease.
Or if maybe it doesn't have enough water so that's image based and then also along with that we have some environmental sensors so it's also
collecting information about the air quality the temperature the humidity in the place.
GIOKOS: How quickly can you get this deployed?
SIMONJAN: We are right now having our first prototype flying we have to train our AI and build it in a way that it can understand, OK, this
strawberry is doing well. This is ready to harvest this has some problems but I think we target that we can have a first prototype proof of concept
flying in spring next year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHATTERLEY: OK, people in Iceland are on edge over the threat of a volcanic eruption. Officials say it is highly probable. Any day now, the
looming eruption has forced an evacuation of this town on the coast.
Authorities say it is an ongoing process to allow some residents to temporarily return home to gather some of their belongings. Fred Pleitgen
got a bird's-eye view of the threat from a helicopter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Taking off straight to the emergency zone, we're on a mission with
Iceland's Coast Guard to the already affected area by what could soon be a massive volcanic eruption.
PLEITGEN: You can see how everything here is on a knife's edge but of course, the authorities are doing everything they can to save the town and
save the infrastructure.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The town is called Grindavik. Massive cracks in the roads show the places where pressure from an underground magma stream has
already burst through the earth's crust. The ground now uneven, as the crew says they have been observing the rift widening in the past days.
ANDRI JOHANNESSON, HELICOPTER PILOT: We see differences between days. We see the -- sometimes we see it crack a little bit wider.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Grindavik was evacuated and could soon be completely destroyed by hot lava, authorities fear.
PLEITGEN: From up here, you can already see just how extensive the damage already is to the town of Grindavik and that crack that you see runs all
the way to the ocean.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Iceland is in an area of massive volcanic activity. While this part of the country had been dormant for around 800 years,
scientists say; in the past two years, volcanic activity has come back to life with several major eruptions.
We fly over the most recent one, past the mouth of the volcano and over seemingly endless lava fields still steaming hot even months after the
actual eruption ended. On the ground, crews are working around the clock to try to build a berm to protect this geothermal power plant.
And we also see the world famous Blue Lagoon hot springs. Normally a major tourist attraction, now closed down and also evacuated. The economic toll
already immense.
PLEITGEN: What do you think it means for the people there?
HRANNAR SIGURDSSON, FLIGHT MECHANIC: I can't even imagine. Losing their houses and maybe their work, their whole life, it's just -- it's crazy.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Iceland's government says a major eruption here remains highly likely and it could happen in a matter of days. Iceland's
Coast Guard aviators say they are on alert all the time.
JOHANNESSON: In case of the volcano starts, then we will fly over the area to evacuate the people.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Reykjavik, Iceland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: An actor, Susan Sarandon, is feeling some backlash after speaking out at a pro Palestinian rally. Sarandon's talent agency dropped
her after she said a lot of people are afraid of being Jewish and they're getting a taste of how it feels to be Muslim in the United States. Here is
what she said at another rally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN SARANDON, ACTOR: You don't have to be Palestinian to stand with the Palestinian people. You don't -- you do not have to be Palestinian to
understand that the slaughter of almost 5,000 children is unacceptable and a war crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: We have reached out to Sarandon's representatives for comment.
Finally, American Airlines is reviewing a video that went viral on TikTok - -
[10:55:00]
CHATTERLEY: -- showing a passenger's wheelchair, crashing onto the tarmac. You can see it tumble down and bounce over a metal barrier. It has brought
renewed attention to the hardships experienced by disabled travelers.
American Airlines released a statement, saying in part, quote, "This visual is deeply concerning and we are gathering more details so we can address
them with our team. We will continue to work hard to improve our handling of assistive devices across our network."
They also promised to install wheelchair movers and lifts at airports with high mobility device traffic but they did not provide a timeline.
OK, that is it for CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with CNN, "STATE OF THE RACE WITH KASIE HUNT" is up next.
END