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Connect the World
Russian Attacks Show No Sign of Slowing Amid Stalled Global Efforts to End the War; Israel: Conducted Strike on Hamas in Doha; Hamas Leaders Use Doha as a Headquarters Outside Gaza; IDF Statement: Hamas "Senior Leadership" Targeted with "Precise Strike"; Attack Appears to Mark First Time Israel has Launched Operation in Qatar; Israel Targets Hamas Leaders in Qatar. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired September 09, 2025 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, a birthday notes and a denial from the White House as documents from Jeffrey Epstein's estate are
revealed publicly. It is 09:00 a.m. there in Washington, 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson, you're watching "Connect the World".
Also coming up this hour, a Russian strike on Ukraine kills more than 20 including the elderly collecting their pensions. Israel orders a full
evacuation of Gaza City, as Netanyahu warns quote, this is only the beginning. And the dramatic end to a real-life succession drama which
Murdoch won the billion-dollar family fight. More will be revealed.
Well, the stock market in New York opens about 30 minutes from now. The arrows mostly pointing higher after the NASDAQ close at a new record high
in Monday's session. More on that of course, at 09:30 local time. Ordinary people living walking distance from the front lines of the war in Ukraine
are the latest victims of a Russian airstrike.
This is what we know. Ukraine's President sharing that distressing news along with video from the scene that shows the aftermath, and we have
blurred that footage, but we have to warn you, it is disturbing. The aerial bomb hit a rural village in Ukraine's Donetsk region.
Many of the victims do appear to be elderly. Officials say more than 20 civilians were killed. And Volodymyr Zelenskyy is appealing yet again for
the world to respond. Well CNN's Clare Sebastian has reported extensively from the region. She joins us now from London.
And Clare, President Zelenskyy, describing this as a brutally savage attack on ordinary people. What happened?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, brutally savage was the word that he used in that post, Becky, and this really seems to have hit at the heart
of Ukraine's attempts to keep up normal life in these rural areas very close to the front line. This town, village, perhaps best described as, is
some eight kilometers from the front lines.
And interestingly, it has been occupied in this war by Russia, but was retaken by Ukraine in one of its successful counter offensives in 2022. So,
in that sense, I think emblematic of this long, dragged out war, a town once occupied now coming under the bombs once again.
But what seems to have happened, according to Zelenskyy and other officials, is that people were lining up to get their pensions. If we show
you this video again and again, a warning that it is extremely disturbing, and we have blurred out some of it. You can see that as the CEO of
Ukrposhta, which is the Ukrainian postal service, that they basically use a mobile unit to administer pensions and other things in this area.
And the CEO said that they've adjusted security procedures and that you can see the car there just under the trees, that was part of an effort to avoid
being spotted. So now they're going to have to adjust security procedures again, but look, this is something that we saw much more in the first year
of this war, these very deadly attacks on civilian areas, specifically very close to the front lines.
As Russia made significant gains on the Eastern Front, I think the concern now will be that this is another moment of peril for those regions as
Russia pushes forward tries to exploit this window of opportunity, not only the last few weeks of good weather for its summer offensive, but of course,
the window of opportunity provided by this now stalled U.S. led diplomatic process and the lack of consequences so far for Russia, Becky.
ANDERSON: Zelenskyy again calling for more global action, efforts to end this war, of course, so far failed. So, what's on the table? What more can
be done, and what hope of any solution anytime soon?
SEBASTIAN: So, I think that the hope now, and certainly it was the hope before this attack, but especially, I think now, given these disturbing
scenes that were coming out of that village is that this may accelerate Trump's thinking towards getting tough on Russia. Of course, we've seen
multiple sanctions deadlines crumble along the way, including one last week.
But he did say earlier this week that he was ready to move to phase two, which we assume means more secondary sanctions on India, perhaps also on
China as punishment for buying Russian oil, and he does seem to be tentatively moving towards that. So, I think there's some hope behind that.
There's also a meeting today of Ukraine's allies on air defense, a group that coordinates arms supplies to Ukraine. So, I think arming Ukraine and
getting tough on Russia, those are the two key areas where Ukraine will be looking for movement, Becky.
[09:05:00]
ANDERSON: It's all so bad. Clare, good to have you. Thank you. Well, to Israel's order to a million Palestinians to leave Gaza City now. The
military has been dropping leaflets urging people to get out ahead of its expanded ground operation in the city, but only a small fraction of
residents there appear to have left.
Some told CNN last week they would rather die in their homes than be displaced again. Well ahead of that, ground offensive Israel's Air Force
has been carrying out relentless strikes on buildings that the military says are used by Hamas. That seems like this one happening over and over
again.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the IDF has destroyed 50 high rise towers in Gaza City. As far as what comes next, he warns this is
only the beginning. Let's bring in Jeremy Diamond from Jerusalem today. And Jeremy after enduring nearly two years of war, this appears to be a very
ominous moment for Palestinians in Gaza City. What are we hearing from residents?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Without a doubt about it, Becky. And indeed, this is just the latest of so many displacements of
Palestinians living in Gaza. We have watched as people have been displaced time and again throughout this war.
And what is beginning to unfold now could ultimately be one of the biggest force displacements of a population in Gaza today. Today, we have seen
following the Israeli military dropping leaflets over Gaza City, urging people to evacuate immediately towards this humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi,
which is in the southern part of the Gaza Strip alongside the coast.
We have watched as more people have indeed begun to evacuate. The estimates last week from the Israeli side were that some 70 to 80,000 Palestinians
had already begun to evacuate from Gaza City, but that is still just a small share of the roughly 1 million people who are estimated to be living
in Gaza City right now.
But this morning, some of the images that I've already seen coming out of Gaza City and the surrounding area suggest the movement of thousands of
additional people who are beginning to make their way out as we have watched not only the dropping of these leaflets over Gaza City, but also
intensified Israeli bombardment.
We have also been witnessing the destruction of high-rise buildings, as well as the tents that surrounded many of these buildings, which ultimately
means that many people who were sheltering in Gaza City no longer have a place to live. According to Gaza's civil defense, there have been five high
rise buildings, each over seven floors, that have been not just struck by the Israeli military, but absolutely leveled by Israeli military
bombardment over just the last few days.
They estimate that, that comes up to more than 4000 people who have been left homeless as a result of those strikes. And in addition to that, we
often see these tent cities that have sprung up around many of those buildings that are also left destroyed or severely damaged as a result of
these strikes.
But indeed, there are others who either don't have the means to get out of Gaza City, given some of the prices that people are being charged, to take
their belongings and load them onto a truck and get out of that area. Others, of course, are elderly or have disabilities and have difficulty
getting out of the area.
And so, some people are also simply choosing to go west of Gaza City, to go along the beachfront area there, and to try get and get away from the city
center. There's no question that this is a very precarious moment for the population of Gaza City, and indeed for the population of the Gaza Strip at
large.
Especially as you see that this Al-Mawasi area is so small in comparison to what is already a thin strip of land of the Gaza Strip. And so, people are
being forced into a smaller and smaller area, one where there are simply, there's simply not enough room to pitch tents, not enough tents to be
pitched, in many cases.
And beyond that, of course, the issue of resources, as the Gaza Strip has been struggling with famine and starvation for months now, Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, Jeremy. Thank you. Well next hour on "Connect the World", we take a deep dive into the ongoing issue of starvation in
Gaza. CNN's Katie Polglase takes a look at the Israeli military's role in choking off food and water to the enclave, leaving parts of Gaza in an
officially declared state of famine. French President Emmanuel Macron is now looking to name a fifth prime minister in less than two years.
[09:10:00]
Francois Bayrou was ousted in landslide no confidence vote on Monday over his plans to tighten the budget amid the country's spiraling debt crisis.
He handed in his resignation to the Elysee Palace just a short time ago. CNN's Melissa Bell is live in Paris. You were there yesterday during this
vote of no confidence. No real surprises. Melissa, what happens next? Who the likely choices for PM?
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's been so much speculation these last few weeks, Becky, because the vote of yesterday, of
course, came as no surprise the scale of it. I think, was noteworthy, but the fact of the rejection of a confidence vote in favor of this latest
centrist prime minister to try and fail to govern France, this particularly delicate juncture itself was no great surprise.
So, the speculation for many weeks had been that having tried and failed now three times in a row in a very short amount of time. Emmanuel Macron
would not renew his efforts to name an MP, a PM, rather, from the center ranks of French politics. Since that had not worked so far, there had been
a lot of speculation of whether he might not go the way of naming a prime minister from the left, in line with a lot of the voting that we saw in the
last snap election last June.
Where you'll remember just cost your mind back for a moment, Becky, the far right, had won the first round of those elections after the dissolution of
parliament. This left-wing coalition, fairly mock group of many different parties that don't necessarily agree on too much, apart from the fact
they're vaguely from the left of the political spectrum, had come together and resoundingly won that second round.
They had tried and failed to agree on a prime minister, and Emmanuel Macron, in the end, had gone back to the center. So, a lot of speculation
about whether this time he might not try to name a prime minister from maybe the moderate left, but knowing that would no doubt face complications
on the traditional and far right.
In fact, now, when we've just watched Francois Bayrou leave the Elysee, we assume, believe it was to tender his official resignation and that was to
be accepted by the president, since we'd heard from him last night that he would be naming a new prime minister within next few days, by this morning,
and a lot can change in French politics overnight.
The speculation is that he may look to the center. A couple of names being bandied about are Sebastien Le Cornu, the current defense minister, but
also Yael Braun-Pivet, who is the president of the National Assembly, both drawn from the center of French politics.
Will he try for a fourth time in just a few months, to find a centrist to take up what could be another poisoned chalice and try and get some kind of
consensus, perhaps not from the far right and the far left, but at least from the traditional right and traditional left? That is one of the
questions we expect, or certainly French media speculating, Becky, that this decision could come sooner than we'd expected, and he might not even
leave it to the end of the week.
So, allies very much from what comes out of the Elysee in terms of his next plan, his next hope for a government here in France that might be able to
govern, and even more than that, might be able to address France's dire financial situation. Remember that it has a budget to pass by the end of
the year.
And according to the outgoing prime minister, this was urgently a budget that needed to be many tens of billions of dollars smaller than any we'd
seen in the recent past, Becky.
ANDERSON: Yeah, and we're going to do more on what this plan by Macron might look like. Because, you know, clearly, there's more than you know,
one option at this point, but to your point, bottom of the hour, we'll get the opening on the U.S. markets. We'll take a look at what the European
markets have been doing.
Will very specifically taken. We'll take a look at how French assets are being impacted by this decision. Well, it's a decision by French lawmakers.
Of course, the prime minister there has gone. Right, well, we are awaiting any reaction from U.S. President Donald Trump after a trove of documents
from Jeffrey Epstein's estate was made public for the first time.
Among the files released by a House panel on Monday, a letter inside the birthday book, as we've heard it known, gifted to Epstein in 2003 that
bears Mr. Trump's name along with a suggestive picture of a woman. Now the president has repeatedly denied writing or drawing this.
Meanwhile, several Democratic lawmakers are pushing for the release of every piece of Epstein information. All right, let's get you some breaking
news. Just into CNN. Jeremy Diamond standing by in Jerusalem, Jeremy.
DIAMOND: Well Becky, as we have been watching video of an explosion over the skies of Doha, plume of smoke emerging over the Qatari capital.
[09:15:00]
We are now getting a statement from the Israeli military, saying that the Israeli military and the Israeli security agency, meaning the Shin Bet,
Israel's Internal Security Service has quote, conducted a precise strike targeting the senior leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization.
They say that for years, these members of Hamas leadership have led Hamas' operations and are directly responsible for the October 7th massacre. They
say that prior to the strike, measures were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, and they insist that there was the use of, quote, precise
munitions and additional intelligence that is just coming in right now.
Notably, that statement does not specifically say that this strike was conducted in Doha, but of course, we know that Hamas' primary leadership
has indeed been based in the Qatari capital. It is also where Hamas' primary negotiators over these ceasefire talks.
They are also based in Doha, in the Qatari capital, namely Khalil al-Hayya, who has been leading the Hamas organization for some time now, and who has
been throughout this entire nearly two years of war, the primary negotiator with Israel over any ceasefire and hostage release negotiation.
And so, if indeed this is confirmed to be an Israeli strike targeting Hamas' leadership in Doha. The implications of that are just an absolute
earthquake, Becky. I don't have to tell you who knows that region so well, the implications that that will have vis a vis the Qatari government and
perhaps other Gulf state governments as well.
But in addition to that, you have to look at the timing of this Israel and the United States and Hamas have been engaged, as of a few days ago, in the
latest round of negotiations to try and revive a ceasefire and hostage release deal the United States just put on the table a matter of days ago,
a new proposal that called for Hamas to release all of the hostages on day one, to enter into negotiations to end the war in Gaza altogether.
And now we have this split screen image of a large plume of smoke coming out of the Qatari capital of Doha, as well as this Israeli military
statement saying that the Israeli military conducted a quote, precise strike targeting the senior leadership of Hamas that is quite the split
screen, quite the moments, Becky, and one with enormous, enormous implications for the future.
ANDERSON: Yeah, enormous implications. We know that the Qatari Prime Minister, the chief -- one of the chief mediators, of course, in these
talks, try and get a ceasefire on a hostage deal. In a meeting with Khalil al-Hayya in Doha last night, one source familiar with the matter has told
us here at CNN, the Qatari Prime Minister putting significant pressure on Hamas to get a deal done within the context of what is on the table at the
moment, which is a U.S. initiative for all hostages to be released.
And we have been waiting for detail on how Hamas will respond to that initiative. And I was told by one source close to the matter last night,
then the next 24, 48 hours, we're going to be absolutely crucial and now this. We're going to take a very short break. We have reached out to the
Qataris for a statement on this.
And we will get that to you just as soon as we get one. You are watching, "Connect the World". There is a lot more news ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:20:00]
ANDERSON: We're getting breaking news now from Doha in Qatar. Smoke has been seen rising over the Qatar district in the capital there. We are
awaiting more information on this from Qatar, and we've reached out to our contacts there. This, though, is what CNN has at present.
Israel has carried out an attack against the Hamas leadership in Doha, according to an Israeli source to CNN after that explosion was heard in the
Qatari capital. The source didn't say who was targeted, but we do know that Hamas leaders, of course, have used the Qatari capital as a headquarters
outside of Gaza for years.
And we also know that on Monday, Hamas' Chief Negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, met with the Qatari Prime Minister, who we were told by one source familiar
with the matter put a lot of pressure on the Hamas leadership to sign up to what is a new initiative from the U.S. to try and get a solution to this
conflict in Gaza, very specifically, to get the release of all hostages out of Gaza at the beginning of any deal.
This is different. It has different parameters now from the deal that we've been reporting on over the past couple of weeks, which Israelis did not
respond to. This is a new U.S. initiative, the headline of which is, all hostages released immediately, a ceasefire begins.
And then a sort of cascades a number of other issues that would happen, not least President Trump, guaranteeing that he would put pressure on both
parties, certainly on Israel, to work out how this conflict might end, although there is nothing as far as we can tell in the parameters of this
current deal that would suggest that's going to happen anytime soon.
That deal in front of Hamas as we speak, what we now know is that there have been a number of explosions in the capital of Doha on one source --
one Israeli source, telling CNN that these are strikes by Israel on Hamas leadership there, and we will, of course, get you more on this as we get
it.
Well, we are also awaiting any reaction from U.S. President Donald Trump, after a trove of documents from Jeffrey Epstein's estate was made public
for the first time. Among the files released by a House panel on Monday, a letter inside the birthday book gifted to Epstein in 2003 that bears Mr.
Trump's name along with a suggestive picture of a woman.
CNN's Kevin Liptak has the very latest from the White House. We're obviously on this story. I don't for a moment imagine that you have got
though, Kevin, there any response from the U.S. to these explosions in Qatar, and what this Israeli source has told CNN Hamas leadership there has
been targeted. I don't -- I'm asking you this without knowing whether you actually have an answer for me.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, we've asked in the White House hasn't responded yet. I mean, I think the big question is
whether Israel gave the U.S. a heads up of its plans here. Obviously, the timing is quite critical. President Trump just as recently as Sunday saying
that he thought a ceasefire would be happening in the near term in Gaza with this latest proposal that he's put on the table for an immediate
release of all 48 remaining hostages in exchange for an end to Israel's plan to take over Gaza City.
What this does to that proposal, I think, obviously, remains very unclear. In the past, the president has expressed some frustration and surprise at
some of Israel's actions in the region, specifically targeting government buildings in the capital Syria, in Damascus, whether this came as a
surprise to the White House, we just don't know at this point.
We do know that Ron Dermer, who is the top associate for the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was meeting in the U.S. in Florida yesterday with Steve
Witkoff, who's the president's top envoy to the Middle East.
[09:25:00]
He has been trying to work on this ceasefire for hostage deal for months, initially through the Qataris, but this latest proposal sort of did an end
run around the Qatari negotiators trying to negotiate something more directly. We also know that President Trump and the Qataris have maintained
quite a close relationship since he came into office.
Obviously, he visited there in May. They have done a lot to try and cultivate this administration Qatar, obviously home to a massive air base,
a U.S. Air Base. And so how this affects that particular relationship, I think, also unclear at the moment, but certainly officials now at the White
House still digesting this news.
We have not gotten an official response for them, but certainly a lot at play now that this has happened in the president's broader efforts to try
and bring this conflict to an end.
ANDERSON: Can you just explain for us briefly, to provide some context here, just why it is that Hamas are hosted in Qatar? Of course, this has
been a sort of years long request by the U.S. Administration, of course. And what the relationship between the U.S. and Qatar is at present?
LIPTAK: Well, I mean, it's a good relationship, and the Qataris have done a lot to try and get on President Trump's side, essentially, you know, dating
back, really, to his first term in office, but especially in this term, the conversations and the meetings have been extensive.
The president visited there. I think he was the first president to visit Qatar, at least in several years, if not ever. And certainly, the air base
there has proven a critical component to the U.S. with broader national security initiatives in the region. So, this is an essential relationship,
but this the fact that Qatar had housed some of the political leadership for Hamas has always been something of an irritant in the relationship.
Really, dating back even to President Biden's term, there was discussions among Biden Administration officials about leaning on the Qataris to try
and do more to either influence those leaders or to try and get them out of sort of safe haven in Doha. And so, this has been a complicated
relationship, but it's viewed inside the White House and inside the administration as quite a critical one, namely because they were acting as
the mediators with Hamas to try and bring the ceasefire or try and bring the war in Gaza to an end.
But obviously those efforts have sort of sputtered and stalled. And so, I think in the sense from President Trump, there was a desire to try and
break the deadlock there. Whether this was part of it, I think we don't know, and we'll have to wait and see, talk to more officials to see what
they're saying about all of this.
But certainly, this is going to be, I think, a major turning point perhaps, in these efforts to try and bring the war to an end. And at this point, I'm
not sure we know what exactly the consequences will be.
ANDERSON: Kevin Liptak is at the White House. Kevin, thank you. All right. Well, let's get you now more on our breaking news. Paula Hancocks joining
me now. Paula, we know that there have been a number of explosions in a district of Doha in Qatar, and we have also had a statement from Israel
confirming that it has attacked Hamas leadership, who, of course, are in Doha. What do we know?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Becky, so Israel has confirmed that it was, in fact, Hamas that was the target. It was top
leadership of Hamas that was the target in Doha. We don't know exactly who they were targeting at this point.
I mean that we know, for example, that the Hamas negotiator, Khalil al- Hayya, he is the main negotiator for this ceasefire hostage deal that was in progress. He is there. He met, in fact, with the Qatari Prime Minister
just on Monday to discuss this potential deal, and then took that deal, the U.S. deal, back with him to those in Gaza to decide whether or not they
were going to agree to it.
So, there are some top members of Hamas in Doha, but I think the most surprising part of this is the fact that Israel has decided to target Hamas
in Qatar. As far as we know, this is the first time that this has happened, that they would target a Gulf nation when trying to target Hamas.
We know they have done it in Iran, they have done it in Syria, they have done it in Jordan, they have done it all around the Middle East. But up
until this point, it doesn't appear that they have carried anything like this --
ANDERSON: I'm reminded that Benjamin Netanyahu said very recently, we will threaten Hamas. We will go after Hamas wherever they are.
HANCOCKS: And that's something he has said consistently. But it doesn't take away the surprise that they have decided to go ahead to Doha.
[09:30:00]
And also at this time, when there is this new proposal that's on the table to potentially get to a ceasefire hostage deal, where Israel wants to have
all of the hostages released on day one of this ceasefire, and then they will discuss how to end the war permanently. We understand from Israeli
officials as well, that U.S. President Donald Trump had guaranteed that there would be no more fighting until the negotiations had ended.
So, the fact that they decided to go ahead with this anyway, on the one hand, it does suggest either there was tacit approval from President Trump
or the Israeli Prime Minister believed that he could talk the U.S. President around and still have him on his side that this was a risk that
was worth taking.
But we have heard that consistently from Netanyahu, that no matter where the Hamas leadership is, we will target them. The fact that they targeted
Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, in the Iranian capital the day before that the Iranian President was being inaugurated. I mean, they have shown that they
can reach Hamas anywhere. It is surprising that they've decided to go to Qatar.
ANDERSON: So, we know that the Qatari Prime Minister, who's also the foreign minister, was meeting with Khalil al-Hayya late last night. One
source familiar with the matter described that meeting as the Qatar Prime Minister, who is the sort of chief negotiator in all of this, as far as the
mediators are concerned.
Putting significant pressure on Hamas to respond positively to this latest proposal, which, of course, will be a proposal which lacks the sort of
substance that Hamas has signed up to in the past, forcing Hamas to lay down its arms, no clear end to this conflict, or to Israeli troop departure
out of Gaza.
But significant pressure being put on Hamas by the chief sort of mediator in all of this in Qatar to respond positively. And I was told last night,
just 12 hours ago, the next 24, 48 hours would be absolutely crucial. I was given no indication, by any stretch, perhaps not surprisingly, that this
would happen just 12 hours later.
And you're right to underscore the significance of an Israeli attack on a Gulf nation will be a Gulf nation who hosts the Hamas leadership. They have
done that over the years, at the request of the United States, and they have been encouraged to do so, and continue to do so by recent U.S.
Administrations as well.
We await the statement from the Qataris. We've reached out to the Qataris, of course, at this point. Where does this leave things?
HANCOCKS: One thing I should correct myself on actually, I said this is unprecedented for the Gulf nations. I actually now remember, it may would
12, 13, years ago here in the UAE, there was a Hamas leader in Dubai that was targeted undercover by Israeli operatives.
So, it's not unprecedented that, but certainly that was an individual assassination. This is explosions in the capital of Qatar. So that is
certainly very different. I mean, the question that has to be asked is, apart from what was targeted, who was targeted, where does this leave the
hostage deal?
I remember when Ismail Haniyeh, the Political Bureau Chief at the time was assassinated in Tehran. There were questions of, why assassinate the person
you are negotiating with? Now, of course, this has potentially happened once again, that Israel is negotiating with Hamas leadership, indirectly in
Qatar.
And of course, they are now attacking the country of the main mediator that is has been instigating all of these talks. So --
ANDERSON: Yeah, I mean these talks being -- these talks, you know, and mediated, shuttling between, you know, two key sort of date lines, Doha and
Cairo, the last sort of attempt at this ceasefire, some two weeks ago, when I was happened to be in Cairo at the time.
Negotiators had sort of got to a point at which they could get Hamas to sign up to this deal that was in Cairo. But these negotiators have been
shuttling all over the place, as I understand it. Steve Witkoff in Paris late last week, saw Qatari negotiators, you know, just 72, 96 hours ago.
So, this has been a sort of full court effort by both Doha and Cairo and the United States. I mean, the three key mediators in all of this, of
course, include the United States and the Trump Administration.
[09:35:00]
All right. We are going to take a very short break at this point. Paula, stand by. We will be back with more, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: We're getting breaking news now from Qatar. Smoke has been seen rising over the Qatar district in the capital of Doha. I'm joined now by
Paula Hancocks here with me in Abu Dhabi. And we have just had a statement from Majed Al Ansari, who is the spokesperson for the prime minister and
the foreign ministry, what is he saying?
HANCOCKS: So, this is the first response from Qatar. They have called this attack cowardly. They have called it a criminal assault. And he has said
that Israel targeted residential buildings housing several members of the Hamas political bureau. Now we have a source telling us this was an aerial
attack, and we have heard from Ansari as well saying that this is a blatant violation of international laws and norms.
That's a direct quote. They do strongly condemn this attack, and they say that the State of Qatar emphasizes that it will not tolerate this reckless
and irresponsible Israeli behavior. So, this is the first response that we have heard from Qatar. And interestingly, the spokesperson saying that it
was residential buildings that were targeted.
Now they say they were housing members of Hamas. It's unclear at this point if anyone else would have been in those residential buildings. Clearly,
there was no warning that this was coming. So that will certainly be a question that we will need answering soon, but the fact is, this shows it
was a residential area that has been targeted.
ANDERSON: Let me just read what we've got from Israel here. This from a source to CNN. Israel carried out an attack against the Hamas leadership in
Doha after -- this was after the explosion was heard there. The source didn't say who was targeted, but Hamas leaders have used the Qatari capital
as their headquarters outside of Gaza for years.
Shortly after the explosion, the Israel Defense Forces issued a statement that it had targeted, quote, a senior leadership of Hamas with a quote,
precise strike in a joint operation with the Shin Bet Security Agency. The statement from the IDF did not specify where the operation was carried out,
but suggested it was outside of Gaza.
And went on to say, quote, for years, these members of the Hamas leadership have led the terrorist organization's operations.
[09:40:00]
They are directly responsible for the brutal October the seventh massacre and. And have been orchestrating and managing the war against the State of
Israel. And a reminder for you folks that on Monday, Hamas' Chief Negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, met with the Qatari Prime Minister Sheik
Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Thani in Doha.
This was a meeting during which a source familiar with the matter told me that the Qatari Prime Minister had put significant pressure on Hamas to
respond positively to the latest ceasefire and hostage release deal, a U.S. initiative. We are now getting the first video into CNN of the smoke rising
over Qatar, which is the district of Doha where this strike took place on as we understand it, a block, a residential block of flats.
One -- saying this was an aerial strike Israel, describing this as a precise strike on senior Hamas leadership. Joining us now is H.A. Hellyer,
a Senior Associate Fellow at RUSI. I just want to get your initial response to what we are seeing and hearing here.
H.A. HELLYER, SENIOR ASSOCIATE FELLOW AT RUSI: Thank you, Becky, always a pleasure to be on the program. I think this highly significant escalation
on the side of the Israelis is an independent, sovereign nation. It's not involved in the conflict except -- mediation, the fact that the Israelis
would think that it's actually OK to strike the Qataris.
And they are -- in Qatar, they're saying it's a decision to strike against Hamas. But of course, to strike on Qatar during a time when negotiations
are supposed to be taking place, even if there were negotiations at the present moment in time, it's a massive violation, and the -- and the region
are going to be wondering two things.
One, how much this confirms that the Israelis are operating on the basis of an -- imperative where they can move ahead with addressing security
concerns, any consequences. I'll also be wondering what the United States has to say, and how much the United States were aware of the Israelis
intention to attack that is a very significant American ally in the region.
ANDERSON: I just want to quote for you what the statement from the IDF said, quote, for years, these members of the Hamas leadership have led the
terrorist organizations operations are directly responsible for the brutal October 7th massacre, and have been orchestrating and managing the war
against the State of Israel.
And we were reminding ourselves that we have heard repeated threats by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that he would go after Hamas
leadership, wherever they were, of course, famously, Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political unit and chief negotiator for any hostage deal at the
time, assassinated in Iran and now this.
HELLYER: So, two things. One, if Israelis have evidence -- Hamas officials -- International Criminal Court, we can take the -- they can't simply write
as though it was a part of -- sovereign territory. The second thing is, is that these Hamas officials have been operating in Qatar over the past two
years and negotiating with the Israelis and with the Americans as part of the negotiation process over the past two years.
And I think that what these strikes today reaffirmed to many in the region internationally is that there aren't really any negotiations -- when
negotiating partners can targeted and, on the territory, even of the mediator, then really what sort of negotiation process can we possibly be
talking about?
ANDERSON: H.A., good to have you. Thank you for joining us. I just want to read the official IDF statement again. Paula is still with me.
[09:45:00]
The IDF and ISA conducted a precise strike targeting the senior leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization. For years, these members of Hamas have
led the terrorist organization's operations are directly responsible for the brutal October 7th massacre, and have been orchestrating and managing
the war against the State of Israel.
Prior to the strike, measures were taken in order to mitigate harm to civilians, the statement said, including the use of precise munitions and
additional intelligence. The IDF and ISA will continue to operate with determination in order to defeat the Hamas terrorist organization
responsible for the October 7th massacre.
There has been a very quick response to this by Qatar. Let's just for those viewers who may just be joining us, just read exactly what Qatar have said
in response.
HANCOCKS: So, this was from the foreign ministry spokesperson, and they have called this attack cowardly and a criminal assault, pointing out that
it is a, quote, blatant violation of international laws and norms. Now they have said that this was an attack on residential buildings housing several
members of the Hamas political bureau.
But the fact that they say residential buildings would suggest that it is a residential area, so that's certainly something to focus on. But they have
said, quote, while strongly condemning this attack, the State of Qatar emphasizes that it will not tolerate this reckless and irresponsible
Israeli behavior.
This criminal assault constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws and norms and poses a serious threat to the security and safety of
Qataris and residents in Qatar. So, a strong statement, as you might imagine, from Doha there, as it appears it is a residential area that has
been targeted.
Israel says it is targeting Hamas, but we have heard from some eyewitnesses in Doha saying that they heard a number of explosions, five explosions, is
what we're hearing from some eyewitnesses. It would be a very worrying time for people in the capital not knowing what is happening.
ANDERSON: Yeah. And this, of course, follows the Iranian attack on the U.S. Air Base, which is hosted in Qatar, of course, back in June, extremely
worrying for Qatari residents at the time, Qatar, of course, has decent relations with Iran. At the time, Doha's leadership condemned Iran, Tehran
for that attack and said it would take a very long time for its residents to have confidence in Tehran again.
Well, I imagine the Doha leadership will be feeling the same way about the perpetrators of this precision strike, as the Israelis are calling this
today. And a reminder, because it's important to provide context here. This is the Hamas leadership, which, of course, has changed significantly since
October the seventh, 2023 because, of course, a number of its leadership have been assassinated.
This is Khalil al-Hayya, as we understand it, who is the sort of chief negotiator for Hamas in Hamas -- in Doha at present, with the prime
minister just last night, in talks to respond positively and a lot of pressure put on Hamas by Qatar, as I understand it, to respond positively
to a new ceasefire and hostage initiative, which is a U.S. initiative.
This is an initiative that had been discussed by Steve Witkoff and Qatar negotiators just in Paris at the back end of last week. Qatar, Egypt
pushing Hamas extremely hard to sign up to this and that would allow for the release of all hostages in the first instance.
HANCOCKS: Well, that's right, that I mean, what was on the table at this point? It had changed quite significantly. Just in the past couple of
weeks. It was going to be an incremental release of hostages. The Israeli Prime Minister said he didn't want that. The U.S. President Donald Trump,
said he didn't want that.
It had to be all or nothing. And so, this new proposal that is now on the table had been given to Hamas. They had said they had accepted it, and they
were discussing it, was that all of the hostages, those still living and those deceased, would be released on day one of the ceasefire, and then
there would be these discussions and negotiations for a permanent ceasefire.
ANDERSON: Let me get you to our -- my colleagues who are in the States, and we will continue with our breaking news this hour.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: -- instituted a shelter-in-place order for its facilities. U.S. citizens are advised to shelter-in-place and monitor the
embassy twitter feed for updates.
[09:50:00]
Let's get right to CNN's Jeremy Diamond in Jerusalem. For the latest on what you are hearing on this attack, Jeremy.
DIAMOND: Well, John, I am learning that there was a name for this operation as well. This was operation summit of fire, according to the Israeli
military. And make no mistake, this is an attempt to assassinate Hamas' political leadership in Doha, in the Qatari capital, this strike from the
Israeli military was heard throughout the Qatari capital.
We're already starting to hear from residents who said that they heard the blast, or they heard their windows or their rooms shaking at the moment
that this explosion actually took place. We still don't know what kinds of munitions the Israeli military used, but Israel has indeed confirmed that
it carried out this strike in order to try and kill Hamas' political leadership in the Qatari capital.
As we've been saying, among those leaders targeted in this strike was Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas' leader, who has also been Hamas' Chief Negotiator
for nearly two years, since October 7th, since the beginning of the war in Gaza following Hamas' attack on Israel.
Israeli leaders have made clear from the very onset of this war, from the very first hours and days after the October 7th massacre that they were
going to target and ultimately kill any leader of Hamas who they deemed responsible for that terrible attack on Israel on October 7th.
And we have been watching over the last two years as they have been ticking down that list, whether it was Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas political leader
during October 7th and in the first months of the war, whom Israel killed in a Mossad operation in the Iranian capital, whether it is Yahya Sinwar,
whom Israeli forces killed inside of the Gaza Strip, or the subsequent leaders who have succeeded them.
Israel has gone after every single both military but also political official that they have been able to and that they have decided to. The
question now, John is, why now? Why did Israel choose to carry out this strike at this very moment, especially as you see that over the last few
days, there has been this renewed effort by the United States to try and push for a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
One that the United States hoped would ultimately lead to an end of the war in Gaza and the release of the 48 remaining Israeli hostages still held in
the Gaza Strip.
BERMAN: Absolutely questions about the timing. Jeremy Diamond, stand by for us. Thank you very much.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely. Let's bring back in Kim Dozier, who's been working her source has also been watching this all play out along with
us, and you see it at the bottom of the screen. We have CNN has reporting, according to an Israeli official, Kim and Israeli official has said that
the United States was informed ahead of this Israeli attack in Doha.
Just for everyone out there, just setting the stage also for how significant this is, that this attack is happening at all, especially right
now.
KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: It is unprecedented. We haven't had an open-air strike on a country in the Gulf in recent memory,
much less a targeted assassination in the center of a modern city in a country that is not at war hasn't been at war in centuries.
And I just heard from a Qatari official, a senior Qatari official, who is very upset. Qataris are trying to reach out to make sure that their loved
ones aren't affected by this. But they said that Hamas had just received a new proposal from us, which they had obtained from negotiator Witkoff last
week in Paris, the prime minister then met with Hamas yesterday.
Hamas decided to meet again today to discuss the proposal. However, as has happened before, the Israelis undermined hopes for peace, further
prolonging the war and complementing our efforts to bring back the hostages. So that is a view from one Qatari official who has been very
closely involved in these negotiations.
They had hoped to head off the onslaught of Israeli forces against Gaza City and get out the 48 Israeli hostages remaining, and then move to
negotiations. When you've had all of the top Hamas negotiators, the ones who were more willing to negotiate than Hamas commanders on the ground
inside Gaza, that leaves peace talks with nowhere to go.
BERMAN: Kim, we got about 30 seconds left. Israel basically putting out a statement saying, yeah, we did this. I mean, what do you make of not just
the fact of the attempt, but the fact that they want everyone to know?
DOZIER: I think it shows that the Netanyahu Administration feels fully supported by this White House in its actions and that Netanyahu's offer to
consider these last-minute negotiations, which surprised a lot of people.
[09:55:00]
May have just been cover or a way to say to allies, look, we really did give them one last chance. A Hamas spokesman said yesterday that the deal
that they were being offered, he said publicly, amounted to a humiliating surrender, and so today we have Israel's response.
BOLDUAN: Kim, thank you so much for helping us with this breaking news, and it does continue to unfold. We have people all throughout the region. We
have our producer on the ground in Doha going to the scene. Jeremy Diamond, bringing us all the breaking news out of Jerusalem. Much more on this
breaking news with the situation room, up next.
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