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Isa Soares Tonight
Israel Conducts "Targeted" Strike in Northern Gaza; U.S. Military Withdraws Some Troops from Eastern Europe; Rio de Janeiro Police Conduct Deadly Raid on Organized Crime. Hurricane Melissa Batters Jamaica As Storm Moves Through the Caribbean; Deadly Strikes in Gaza Leaves More Than a 100 Dead; Two Louvre Suspects Admit Their Involvement in the Brazen Heist, But Jewels Still Remain Missing. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired October 29, 2025 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, daylight reveals the devastation from
Hurricane Melissa. The death toll is rising as search and rescue efforts are underway. Deadly strikes in Gaza leave more than a 100 dead as cracks
are revealed in the fragile ceasefire there.
Plus, two Louvre suspects admit their involvement in the brazen heist, but the jewels remain missing. We are live for you in Paris with all the
details. We do begin this hour with breaking news. The U.S. Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates. Our business editor-at-large, Richard
Quest joins us now live as the news, of course, starting to break.
And Richard, as you look through your e-mail, good to see you. I know that markets were pricing in --
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Hi --
SOARES: A 25-basis point, Richard. What are you --
QUEST: Yes --
SOARES: Seeing? I'm looking at my phone as well.
QUEST: Yes, it's got -- it's gone -- the Fed has lowered rates by a quarter of a percentage point, it did the same thing at the last meeting,
and so they've now read the Fed -- so-called Fed funds rate is 3.75 to 4 percent. It says once again that the worrying part from the Fed's point of
view is jobs, job gains have been -- have slowed, and that the unemployment rate has edged up, says the Fed.
Inflation has also moved up and remains elevated. Now, what's interesting is, we are heading into the scenario that really Jay Powell, the chair,
doesn't want, which of course is higher inflation, stubborn unemployment. And he has to cut rates because he has to choose between unemployment and
inflation, which is the most pressing problem.
It's a very rare scenario that the Fed finds itself in. But now, it's clearly made its choices. The core issue is that of unemployment. And so,
the Fed has cut rates to bolster the employment or the unemployment situation. The -- let me just read you the one bit. Here we go as I've just
proven myself right, if you will, the committee --
SOARES: Talking about --
QUEST: Is attentive to the writ -- yes, to the committee's attentive to the risks of both sides and judges the downside risks to employment rose in
recent months. Voting against was our -- Mr. Miran, Stephen Miran who wanted to lower rates by half a percentage point, and Jeffrey Schmid, who
preferred no change at all. What a fascinating Fed. We've got a majority for lowering. One wants to go faster, one wants to go slower.
SOARES: So, Richard, just -- you know, you and I have spoken about this because of the U.S. government shutdown, there are lots of readings we
haven't had, right? And I've asked my producer to put a graphic up to -- just so viewers get a real sense. We haven't had jobs report, jobless
claims, jobs report, PC prices.
All of these have been delayed, of course, because of the government shutdown. So, how do they make these policy decisions while in the dark,
Richard?
QUEST: Well, they have other numbers. They have a lot of private economy numbers. Those from banks and economic forecasters. So, they've got a vague
idea. And also they knew the trajectory. There are other numbers from those parts of the economy that are still functioning. They can extrapolate.
It is a poor best by no means satisfactory. The quality of the data that you just showed is really essential, particularly the jobs, particularly
when jobs is the number. But we do have private surveys that show the number of new jobs being created, the employment scenarios, they're just
not as robust. They're not as big.
They're not as -- they don't have the same integrity. There is a clear -- I wouldn't say they're flying blind, but they've certainly got an eye patch
on and it's foggy weather outside.
SOARES: Right, so when we listen to Jay Powell in less than 30 minutes or so, Richard, what are we looking for? Because last time you and I spoke, it
was concerns over inflation. Now it seems concerns over employment, right?
[14:05:00]
QUEST: Yes, and that's been the concern for the last couple of meetings.
SOARES: Yes --
QUEST: What I'm listening for, number one, the very point you just said, how far off is he? How worried is he? He doesn't have the tightness of data
he requires. Number two, is he done? Do the -- bearing in mind, look at that split. One wants more, one wants less.
SOARES: Yes --
QUEST: The majority -- are the Fed done for now while they wait for quality data that really shows what's happening? My guess is, they are
done. Maybe one more cut, but they're not on a tear to cut much more than this. They need to wait. They need to find out. They need to be more data-
dependent. And for that, to be data dependent, Isa, you need to have data.
SOARES: Yes, it would help, wouldn't it? At the moment they're in the dark like you said. Richard, good to see you --
QUEST: Yes --
SOARES: Live for us from Riyadh. Good to see you, Richard. Thank you. We'll stay, of course --
QUEST: Thank you --
SOARES: Across this story as soon as we hear from Jay Powell, we'll monitor it and monitor that and bring that to you any key lines. I want to
turn our attention this hour to Hurricane Melissa though, and the powerful winds are indeed expanding. The storm is now eyeing the Bahamas after
ripping through Cuba and Jamaica.
Melissa had caused major damage to public infrastructure, though its full extent remains unclear, with some areas very much inaccessible. The eye
passed over more rural areas in western Jamaica, while the capital, Kingston, was spared the worst of the storm. Earlier, Jamaican Senator Dana
Morris Dixon provided this update on power outages. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA MORRIS DIXON, MINISTER OF EDUCATION, SKILLS, YOUTH & INFORMATION, JAMAICA: In terms of electricity, 77 percent of the country is without
electricity. There is work that's going to be done to bring that up as quickly as we can, but that is a large number. The least affected areas of
Jamaica have been St. Thomas, St. Catherine, and sections of Kingston and St. Andrew.
Obviously, we know the most affected areas have been on the western side of the island.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: We've also learned that 25 people were killed in southern Haiti after a river burst its banks due to heavy rain from Melissa. Our CNN
meteorologist Derek Van Dam is in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, with a closer look at the damage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): We're now traveling to the western side of Jamaica, that's where obviously, Hurricane Melissa made
landfall. And this is the first time we've been safely been able to get out of the capital city of Kingston. And you can see just some of the over-wash
here on the roadways, we've encountered a lot of rockslides and mudslides and downed trees, some power lines over the roads.
And it's difficult to navigate this area. I mean, here's an electrical wire dangling right in front of us as well. This is obviously very typical of
hurricane damage. But as we get further and further into the disaster area where the core of the hurricane struck, we anticipate the destruction to be
more widespread.
And obviously, the weather has been a challenge as well. We've encountered a lot of fog, so, these narrow roads that wind through these regions as we
head towards the St. Elizabeth Parish, the western portions of Jamaica, we're getting closer and closer to new hope where the official land point,
landfall point was.
This is going to be quite a challenge, but we're going to try and report from this area that was so heavily impacted by the hurricane. Look at this
gully here that was washed out from the heavy rain. Just really incredible.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: And our thanks to Derek Van Dam and the team on the ground. My next guest is Dean Jones who moved back to Jamaica four years ago to care
for his parents and is now a realtor and founder of Jamaica Homes. He joins us now from Tower Isle. Dean, good to have you on the show.
Just tell us, first of all, where you are and what really the last 24 hours have been like, as you know, as Jamaica felt the brunt of this truly
devastating storm. Unfortunately, we can't hear you, Dean, hold on, give us a second. We're trying to see -- can someone tell me if they can hear him?
Check if you're not -- check if you're not muted.
Let's try again. Are you there, Dean? No, let's do this. Dean, stay with us, I'll get my team to see if they can connect with you. I'm going to go
first of all, continue on Melissa because its continuous destruction, as was there from Jamaica to Cuba. Earlier, the hurricane made its second
landfall as a Category 3 storm, and it drenched the Caribbean island with heavy rain and flooding.
The President calls the damage significant, and says his government is prepared for the worst case scenario, a 100 -- around 140,000 people cut
off by rising river areas. CNN's Patrick Oppmann has been assessing the damage. He joins me now live from Santiago de Cuba. Good to see you,
Patrick. Give us a sense of how bad it's been for Cuba, and what the damage has been like.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, you have to put it in perspective because it was not the worst case scenario, where at
one point we thought the storm could come across where I am in Santiago de Cuba as a Category 4 or 5. But all morning long, we've been hearing people
trying to repair their roofs.
[14:10:00]
And this is why a rainstorm just came in. If your roof was damaged, so many were here, and you get rain into your house, you know that is a worst-case
scenario for someone here. They didn't lose their house, but they now have water damage in their home. And so, that's what people are racing to avoid
here because when you have any kind of property damage in Cuba, that can take years to recover from.
This is not a country where you just go off to the hardware store and pick up your supplies or, you know, the insurance company comes around and
writes you a check. You have to find a way to fix it yourself. And for people who save up for years and years to have the most basic things, it is
heartbreaking to see damage.
Not as bad as we expected, but still damage all the same. So, we are getting a better and better idea of some of the damage that took place
here. There were communities that were cut off. There were areas where rivers went over their banks and flooded homes. No news of any deaths at
this point.
The storm lost some power as it came in and went a little bit to the west of us, which was good for the city of about half a million people. The main
issue right now is the power, and that there's just none of it. We're getting on to about 24 hours of no power in Cuba's second largest city. Of
course, power on a good day in this --
SOARES: Yes --
OPPMANN: On this island is a dicey proposition. But when you lose power for more than one day, more than two days, your food begins to spoil, and
that's where a bad hurricane turns into kind of a humanitarian disaster where people don't have food. They are in their homes at night without any
power.
They're not able to recharge cell phones, batteries, flashlights, that kind of thing. And so, people are anxious to get here, any word from the
government that power will be restored because it makes a bad situation so much worse when you have to wait days or longer to get the power back on.
SOARES: And Patrick, on the government line that you just mentioned, that I'm -- what is their sense from what you're hearing of the damage across
the island, and how quickly of course, the power can be -- can be back up.
OPPMANN: You know, the power system here, the power plants, they fail on any normal day. So, when you have so many lines that have been brought down
by a storm, it's going to take them longer to get it back up and going. But it will still collapse at any point. There's actually power outage.
I was just talking to my wife in Havana right now, which of course was unaffected by the storm. But when you knock out several power stations,
like a row of dominoes, they all collapse. So, you know, this is the situation that Cubans are living with on a day-to-day basis. Things are
just so fragile on this island.
It wasn't as bad as a hurricane as we feared it might be. We're looking at a historic, really life-threatening-type storm. We missed a bullet, but all
the same, people are feeling the impacts here. And so, the government is trying to get power restored. But of course, they are facing headwinds, the
infrastructure here was already so badly damaged, so badly degraded.
It doesn't take much for it to knock it down and really deliver a knockout blow. And so, we have seen activity. We have seen the military out trying
to restore some of the services, but it's going to take a while longer, and for many people that's when you see their tempers run short. People --
SOARES: Yes --
OPPMANN: We haven't seen it so far, but sometimes people go out and protest, and the government has, of course, a very low tolerance for that
kind of thing.
SOARES: Yes, as we have seen before. Good to see you, Patrick, thank you very much indeed. Before we went to Patrick, you saw I was speaking, trying
to connect with Dean Jones, who moved back to Jamaica about four years ago to care for his parents. Dean, well, I hope that we've got you this time
around. Let me check if you're there. Good to have you back on the show. Dean, can you hear me? Wonderful --
DEAN JONES, REALTOR & FOUNDER, JAMAICA HOMES: Wonderful welcoming me. I can hear you.
SOARES: Fantastic, Dean, just give us a sense, first of all, where you are. I know you're in Tower Isle where that is within Jamaica, and what the
last 24 hours has been like for you.
JONES: So Tower Isle is approximately five minutes from Ocho Rios, and it has been like a scene out of a perfect storm. You know, the part when you
think it's going to end, and it just gets worse. That's what it was like on Tuesday night and in the run-up to the hurricane. It was every night from
Sunday. And the worst thing about this storm is because I'm a chartered -- construction manager, surveyor, project manager, and of course realtor.
I knew the damage that could -- a storm with 165 miles per hour to 185 miles per hour could do to a country like Jamaica, which is still
developing.
SOARES: Can you speak to the damage you have seen as the -- as the sun come up in Jamaica? What has that damage been like? Speak to that.
JONES: I mean, waking up this morning, I didn't know what I was waking up to, and I was huge -- I was very nervous. The damage I've woken up to in my
immediate community is the landscape has totally changed. I can see buildings and structures I've never seen before. Trees, entire landscape
has gone down.
[14:15:00]
The trees have been decimated, some houses have -- localized damage. There's some serious damage around me, including the property I'm in. The
road are blocked in. I can't leave this road. There's things everywhere. And I've not assessed the full damage yet. But what I'm seeing in Ocho Rios
from pictures and hearing from family members is that there's been flooding, there's been total annihilation, destruction of buildings in
Black River.
Places closer to the center, I've -- can't reach a lot of friends and family. I don't know where my business is now. I don't know whether I'm
going to have a business, what real estate is going to be like. And it's a very -- it's very nervous -- nerve-wracking time.
SOARES: Can you imagine? You are real -- you work in real estate, and I just wonder for viewers around the world, Dean, whether with majority of
people, would they have insurance? Would the hurricane -- I'm sorry for my ignorance here, will they be covered under their premium? Just speak to the
reality potentially for many here.
JONES: I mean, the reality is, and I'm being very honest to say that a lot of returnees -- I talk to -- speak to the returnees, we return and most of
us were on pensions, I'm not a pensioner yet, I'm not there yet. But no, they cannot afford insurance. It's usually about 10 to 15 times more
expensive than the U.K., and I expect more expensive than the U.S. as well.
And locals -- well, no, insurance is not a thing that people do here. So, when your home gets damaged, you know, you've got to rebuild, and it's a
case where people save sometimes or they just roll the dice. People generally do not have insurance unless you have a mortgage where the bank
mandates that you get insurance.
So, this is a huge blow on the economy. Jamaica really didn't need this. I hope that some lessons have been learned. Our two airports, main airports
are down, Ocho Rios and Mo'Bay, we have Ocho Rios, but that airport still needs further expansion. And I pray that the government actually takes heed
and we start to work together as I have done with the government in the past, and that we start to plan and be more strategic in what we put our
money to and our resources.
SOARES: Yes, you told my team, I'm just going to quote what you said to my team. "The truth is, even with three degrees", you say, Dean, in design,
construction and surveying, I may find myself like so many others unable to earn enough to keep bread on the table." Where do you start then after
something as devastating as this, Dean?
JONES: Well, you start with picking up the pieces where you are with your house, and where you live, and that's what I'm beginning to assess the
damage there. In terms of real estate, my clients have phoned me and said they don't know whether their properties will be there. That's properties
I'm currently looking to -- I'm listed to sell.
SOARES: Yes --
JONES: There's that side. There's partnership agreements that I was in the process of signing. I don't -- maybe they won't exist anymore after a few
more telephone calls. Where do I start? I might be dusting off my CV and looking elsewhere again. I mean, I work for the Palace of Westminster
before now, and also I was director of Strategic Projects at Cranfield University, so, I might be giving them a call, you never know --
SOARES: Wow --
JONES: But I'm still assessing my options now.
SOARES: I'm sorry -- I'm sorry to hear this, Dean, it's just the images we're looking at, it's just absolutely heartbreaking and situation for our
viewers and so many, of course, with send chills down so many people's spine. Can I just ask before we go about your parents, how are they doing?
JONES: I have not -- I've spoken to them once. My in-laws have not been able to get through to them, I have no idea, and we're extremely -- I am
extremely worried.
SOARES: Yes --
JONES: They were in somewhere just on the outskirts of Mandeville. There was flooding. I've seen pictures from that area, and there was just roofs
that you could see in the houses were underwater. So, there's lots of valleys in Jamaica. And I saw one image of a person flying off with the
roof. I just pray that person is OK. I'm not too sure where they're at. I pray that they're doing OK, and I'll hear from them soon.
SOARES: Yes, and we pray, of course, that they are well as well. Dean, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to us, thank you. Best of
luck by the way. And still to come tonight, a dangerous escalation in Sudan's civil war. I'll speak with the Norwegian Refugee Council as
civilians try to flee the violence.
And Israel launches renewed strikes in Gaza less than three weeks after the U.S.-backed ceasefire with Hamas. Both of those stories after this very
short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:00]
SOARES: Turning now to an often forgotten crisis in Sudan where civilians are fleeing violence and mass killings in the city of Al Fashir in Darfur.
The Sudanese parliamentary rapid support forces claim they've captured the army's headquarters in Al Fashir. It's the latest escalation in the
country's civil war.
The U.N. is sounding the alarm over reports of atrocities including kidnappings, rapes, sexual violence and killings. The war comes with an
immeasurable human toll. Doctors without borders say that in a screening of arrivals from Al Fashir to Tawila last week, 75 percent of children were
acutely malnourished and 26 percent were severely malnourished.
Tawila hosts 800,000 internally-displaced people, largely from Al Fashir and the nearby Zamzam Displacement Camp. The conflict between the
parliamentary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army broke out in April of 2023, when the former allies clashed over the plans to integrate their
troops.
Since then, more than 12 million people have been forced to flee, as you can see there, that includes more than 7 million people who are internally
displaced, as well as others who have sought refuge in neighboring countries. The International Criminal Court has said it believes war crimes
and crimes against humanity are happening in Sudan's Darfur region.
Joining me now is Noah Taylor, who is the head of operations for the Norwegian Refugee Council in Sudan. Noah, welcome to the show. Let me start
off with just very alarming news that we're getting out of the city of Al Fashir. What do you understand is happening on the ground from a
humanitarian point of view What are you hearing?
NOAH TAYLOR, HEAD OF OPERATIONS, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: So, this latest escalation of fighting comes after 18 months of siege on the city of
Al Fashir. And what we understand is that the Rapid Support Forces troops have now broken through the last remaining defenses of the city.
The reports that we are hearing from people who have been able to get out of Al Fashir, and from our colleagues and our partners in the city, a truly
horrifying reports of ethnic cleansing, of retribution killings of a culture, a climate of violence and fear that is incredibly worrying, is
incredibly concerning.
We are deeply worried for our colleagues, our partner agencies, and for the civilians still trapped inside the city right now. Remember, too, this is a
city that has been under siege for so long that very little assistance has been able to get in.
[14:25:00]
We had reports earlier this year of people eating leaves and charcoal in the city, and as that report from Doctors Without Borders that you
mentioned has just confirmed, malnourishment is incredibly high and incredibly concerning. The vicinity of the city in Abu Shouk and Zamzam
Camp are areas where famine has been declared.
So, this is a crisis on top of a crisis of a people who have been battered without remorse for an incredibly long time now.
SOARES: Yes, and I'm just reading.. The U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights said today that his office had received reports of the summary execution
of civilians trying to flee with indications of ethnic motivations for killings and of persons no longer participating in hostilities. Multiple
distressing videos received by U.N. Human Rights show dozens of unarmed men being shot or lying dead.
This is -- this is incredibly concerning, given, of course, the duration, the intensity of the siege, of course. What do you know in terms of the
number of people, Noah, that are still trapped in Al Fashir, or for the time-being, because there have been calls for ceasefire, there have been
calls for human corridors. Do we have a sense of how many people are trapped?
TAYLOR: Look, the numbers are very difficult to ascertain, as you can appreciate, we're getting pieces of information right now. We have
operations in Tawila, which is some 60 kilometers near Al Fashir. We have been able to do some response in Al Fashir over the last month, but that
has largely been through supporting local organizations still active in the city.
As of Sunday, five of those organizations have reported that they have lost contact with entire teams of colleagues, and two of those partner
organizations we've not heard from in two days. The conditions in the city like we said, incredibly dangerous and incredibly violent numbers could be
in the tens of thousands to well over 100,000.
And what is most worrying is that our teams have only registered about 3,000 people who arrived to Tawila. So, somewhere between Al Fashir and
Tawila, there are tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people trapped and still trying to seek safety. And we must guarantee safety and
assistance for these people above all else.
SOARES: So, when they -- when they leave, when they leave Al Fashir, do they -- the majority, from what you understand, Noah, do they -- do they
go to Tawila, when they get there, what -- and we're looking at some footage from Tawila, of course. This is from UNICEF back in June. Speak to
what you are hearing from the people on the ground, the concerns over, of course -- over food insecurity. That must -- that must be one of the main
concerns when people arrive.
TAYLOR: So, the journey from Al Fashir to Tawila is long, is harrowing and is incredibly dangerous. I was last in Al Fashir -- in Darfur, rather, a
few months ago. And speaking to people who had arrived when I was there, they talked about leaving at night, leaving on foot or leaving by donkey,
moving in small groups to try to avoid armed patrols and armed men.
There are stories of rape and sexual violence all along the route. I met a family of women who traveled as a group of five. They brought with them one
sack of sorghum, and they told me that when they first encountered a checkpoint, a soldier took that sack of sorghum, slid it with a knife,
poured it all onto the ground, and then told them to leave.
And that was the only food that this family carried with them for the next week. The food insecurity situation is incredibly worrying. It has been
escalating across Sudan. But again, remember that, Al Fashir and north Darfur has been particularly heavily hit and no food assistance has been
able to properly reach affected people for incredibly long time.
Markets fluctuate. They are unable to support these populations and prices are incredibly unstable. In rural areas of Darfur, particularly, markets
can take some 9 to 12 months to recover from violent attacks like this. So, people have no ability to cope and rebuild their lives even when the
violence stops.
SOARES: Noah, I really appreciate you coming on, I know the medical teams trying to help, of course, have also come under fire. The International
Federation of Red Cross saying just in the last 24 hours that five of its volunteers were killed in Sudan and three others are missing. That just
speaks, of course, to the dire conditions for so many on the ground, and trying to protect civilians.
Thank you very much, Noah, I appreciate it. And still to come tonight, the deadliest day since the ceasefire began, Israeli strikes in Gaza leave more
than 100 dead, including dozens of children. We'll talk to someone from UNICEF after the break. Plus, police in one Brazilian city conduct a major
crackdown on crime. We'll tell you how many have been killed in the raids. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:00]
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. Israel says the ceasefire is back on after launching a wave of strikes on Gaza overnight. Palestinian officials
calling it the deadliest state since the truce began.
The strikes killed more than 100 people, including dozens of children. We are hearing that from health officials in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu says he approved the strikes because Hamas had killed an Israeli soldier and allegedly staged the discovery of a deceased hostage,
all of which Hamas has denied.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond has the latest. And a warning to you, there are graphic as well as distressing images in his report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gaza's morgues are full once again, filled with the sights and sounds of mourning, with
the bodies of children who had no say in their deaths, and with scenes like this, of one child bidding farewell to another. This girl says her cousins,
uncle and aunts, were all killed in an Israeli strike.
God is sufficient for us, she says, but it is all just too much to bear.
They were bombed inside the tent, this man says, lying beside his great- grandchild's body. Innocent ones, children, children, children.
Crawling over their bodies, he has come to kiss them, to say goodbye one by one.
Painful moments made that much worse by the timing, killed during a ceasefire that was meant to end the carnage.
[14:35:00]
There was no ceasefire at all, he says. They keep making excuses all along the way while they're striking. This is all a lie. It is all lies.
Those children were killed when Israel struck this tent encampment in central Gaza overnight. They are among more than 100 people Israel killed
across Gaza, nearly half of whom were children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The single deadliest day since the ceasefire
went into effect.
What did this one do? Is this a rocket, for example, this woman asks? It's a bottle. He was only one year old. He didn't even start to walk.
Israel says it targeted more than 30 Hamas militants, launching strikes after accusing Hamas of killing an Israeli soldier in southern Gaza on
Tuesday. The Israeli military also published this video, which appears to show Hamas militants staging the recovery of the remains of a deceased
hostage, violating the deal, according to Israel.
Gaza civilians are once again paying the highest price, as Israel claims it is enforcing the ceasefire. The wounded children being treated at this Gaza
hospital played no part in any alleged violation of the deal. Nor did this baby, whose body is cradled one last time, before joining several others to
be buried.
All victims during a ceasefire that is supposedly back in force.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram joins me now from Gaza. Tess, I appreciate you being with us once again. You know, the factor there, that
package from Jeremy Diamond, had one main point, every single one of those, you know, voices we heard, parents were parents of little children. More
than half, of course -- almost 46, almost half of those killed were children. I mean, that is just unfathomable that we are here yet again.
Just give us a sense of what you are hearing on the ground, and what you are seeing, more importantly, too.
TESS INGRAM, SPOKESPERSON, UNICEF: It was a very dark day in Gaza today. Reportedly 46 children killed in about 24 hours, which is a figure that
should shock the International Community and a brutal but unnecessary reminder of what is at stake here in this ceasefire, it is again children's
lives.
I was at Nasser Hospital today where I met children who were injured last night. I met an 11-year-old girl called Toka (ph), who said that shrapnel
ripped through the tent that she and her family were in and found its way into her leg, her arm and her skull. Her brothers were injured. Her parents
were injured. And I also met a five-year-old girl called Tala (ph), who was injured last week when she was with her grandparents in Khan Younis to the
east of where I am now, an airstrike buried her underneath rubble, and she was under there for 24 hours before she was found alive, but she told her
family that she could hear dogs eating her grandparents' bodies. And this is during a ceasefire, Isa, a ceasefire.
SOARES: You know, it is unbelievable that we're talking about this yet again under a ceasefire, right? I remember James Elder, your colleague,
saying to me, this is a war on children. And I remember the last time you and I spoke to us, you know, we were talking about humanitarian deliveries.
But what do you tell Palestinians, those on the ground, when they say, why are we -- why is this happening to us when we're in a ceasefire? I mean,
when is a ceasefire not a ceasefire?
INGRAM: The sound of drones above us now and all day today make Gaza feel anything but calm. And as one mother said to me today, the mechanical hum
of the drones is in my bones. I can't escape it. And people here are terrified that the ceasefire will collapse and they will be returned to the
constant attacks, the atrocities of the last two years.
People have had enough. They're exhausted. And they're seeing a bit of hope in this ceasefire, in the slight increase in aid coming in, in their
attempts to try and resume some sort of normalcy, even if that is just erecting a makeshift shelter in the rubble of what used to be their homes.
And we need to give people that chance. And yet, here we are again on the brink of absolute disaster.
SOARES: And you spoke about, you know, creeping aid. You know, you and I spoke last time as this was being agreed. And you said to me, I remember
you saying, you know, we need to be seeing aid being scaled up, right, humanitarian deliveries.
[14:40:00]
Has that happened? What have you seen? What have you and your team on the ground, what have you been seeing in the days -- in the last two and a half
weeks or so?
INGRAM: So, we've been measuring how many pallets of aid we get in. And in the 10 weeks before the ceasefire, we were averaging about 1,100 pallets a
week. Now, we've gone to about 2,700. So, we've just more than doubled the volume of aid we've been getting in in this ceasefire. But we were coming
off a very low base. So, that is still not enough. We need to go higher again.
And we have 1,500 trucks pre-positioned outside the Gaza Strip waiting to come in with lifesaving aid. But the rate at which they're moving in is far
too slow. So, we continue to call on the Israeli authorities to open all of the crossings into the Gaza Strip and allow the aid into Gaza in a
meaningful way. If we're serious about this ceasefire, and about remedying the damage that is being done, this aid needs to come in now. This is our
opportunity to stop children from dying from preventable deaths like malnutrition.
SOARES: And what are you hearing -- what is UNICEF hearing when you ask that question over why we're not seeing aid coming in at the required
levels? What response do you get to that?
INGRAM: We're told that aid is being facilitated. And this is something that we've heard constantly for two years. But it is not enough. We need
all of the crossings to open. We need aid to come in at scale. We need the processes at those crossings to be more efficient so that the trucks can
move through faster. And we need to be given routes to move within the Gaza Strip that facilitate that fast movement of aid.
For example, at the moment we're being funneled down a road that's incredibly crowded coming out of the most southern crossing, and that
delays us moving trucks for many hours. So, there's still things that are hindering our movement in the Gaza Strip to get aid to people who are
desperately, desperately waiting for it.
SOARES: Tess Ingram, I really appreciate, Tess, you coming on and giving us the very latest. Very busy, very noisy, as you can hear the drones
behind her. It gives you a reality of the situation on the ground right now. Tess, appreciate it as always. Thank you. We'll have much more news
after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:00]
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. The U.S. military is withdrawing some troops from Eastern Europe where NATO allies are currently trying to
strengthen their response to Russian aggression. U.S. and European officials say the Pentagon is now trying to shift some of the military's
focus towards what it calls homeland defense in Latin America. The redeployment from Romania comes as Eastern flank NATO countries have faced
a spike in threats from Moscow, as we've been showing you in the show, in recent weeks. The troops will be pulled from an airbase on the Black Sea
just across from Crimea, which remains under Russian control.
A major police raid in Rio de Janeiro is being called the largest and deadliest to occur in the city. Rio's Public Defender's Office estimates at
least 132 people have been killed. Residents report dozens of bodies left in the street for identification. Governor Claudio Castro says the raid was
aimed at major drug trafficking gangs. The raid, called Operation Containment, has been in the works for more than a year.
More than 2,500 military and civilian police personnel were involved, being told, and it comes, of course, just one week before Rio is to host a U.N.
climate summit.
Let me get some more on this. Mariana Janjacomo joins me now. Mariana, this is one of the most lethal operations of Brazil, with, clearly, as we said,
a death toll to match. Can you bring us up to date with the very latest, first of all? What are you hearing from the mayor there?
MARIANA JANJACOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Isa, the death toll is shocking. This was the deadliest police operation in Rio de Janeiro in the
history of Rio de Janeiro. During the night, residents of the city searched for bodies in the woods where a big part of this operation happened. They
then took the bodies to a central square and laid them down so they could be recognized in a truly shocking, horrific scene.
Now, the local police said they will investigate the people who took the bodies out of the woods. The police is also still searching for the leader
of Comando Vermelho, that's Portuguese for Red Command, the name of the criminal organization that was targeted in this operation. They're offering
a reward of 100,000 reais for information leading to his arrest.
Now, Isa, this massive operation has also showed, exposed the big political divide in Brazil right now. Governor of Rio de Janeiro, Claudio Castro,
said he wasn't given support from the federal government to this operation. The federal government argues that it has been providing support to many
security operations in Rio, but that it was not asked to help with this one specifically.
This morning, right-wing state governors, like Claudio Castro himself, joined the meeting to express support for Castro and to discuss sending
resources to help with the situation. And these are names from the opposition to the federal government. Some of them are considering a run
for presidency against President Lula next year. President Lula also joined a meeting with government ministers this morning, and he said he was
shocked with the death toll of this operation.
Now, Claudio Castro, the governor of Rio de Janeiro, said that the operation was a success. Earlier in the afternoon, the secretary-general of
the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, spoke about the operation and said he was gravely concerned with the death toll of this operation. Also, the U.N.
High Commissioner for Human Rights called for comprehensive and effective reform of policing methods in Brazil after this operation. Isa.
SOARES: Mariana, plenty of human rights groups, Human Rights Watch in Brazil, are calling for the details for investigation. But let me pick up
with something you said about Governor Claudio Castro. And the whole politicization of this, because he's from a conservative opposition, from
the Liberal Party, of course, really taking a swipe at President Lula on the question of giving more support. What has President Lula had to say
about this?
JANJACOMO: Yes, President Lula so far has been focusing a lot on the operation himself. All the details that we have from the federal government
are very focused on saying how shocked they are with the operation itself right now. So, it seems like the federal government is trying to avoid
politicization of the subject. But the fact is, it is already very politicized. It's impossible not to be right now, and there is clearly a
divide between the opposition and the federal government right now.
And that became clear this morning when we had these two meetings. One was basically a coalition of the right-wing state governors, and the other one
was the meeting from the federal government. And while in the middle of all of this, President Lula only said that he was shocked with the death toll
and that he wanted more information on this, and this is the information that we have from the federal government. But this whole discussion has
become very politicized in Brazil right now. Isa.
[14:50:00]
SOARES: Yes, I saw -- I was going through some of the Brazilian newspapers today, and that is indeed the case, very much focused on politicization of
this horrific raid. Mariana, thank you very much indeed. Good to see you. Thank you.
And still to come tonight, an important update on the multimillion-dollar heist from the Louvre. So, where are the stolen crown jewels, you ask?
Well, we'll try to get you an answer after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: The two suspects arrested in connection with the brazen heist of France's crown jewels from the Louvre have admitted their involvement in
the robbery, that is according to the Paris prosecutor's office. And while the two remain in custody, the jewels are not in possession of the
authorities. During Wednesday's news conference, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the suspects went before an investigative judge.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LAURE BECCUAU, PARIS PROSECUTOR (through translator): As I'm speaking to you, the two have partially admitted their participation in the robbery
before investigators. They're currently before an investigation judge with a view to placing them under formal investigation for the crimes of
robberies as part of an organized gang, crimes carrying a 15-year prison sentence and a heavy fine. Also, the qualification of criminal association
has been selected, and offence carrying a 10-year prison sentence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, the audacious seven-minute daytime theft of October 19th captured the world's attention after thieves got away with jewels worth an
estimated 88 million euros. Our Senior International Correspondent Melissa Bell has more for you from Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Paris prosecutor has been giving more details about the latest on the investigation into the
heist at the Louvre Museum confirming many of the details that we had understood already about the two men currently in custody, that they are in
their 30s, that they were known to police before the heist for things like low-level delinquency, petty thefts, and that they had been tracked down
thanks to DNA that had been found on one of the helmets they left behind. They are of Algerian nationality and come from the outskirts of Paris.
What the prosecutor said, though, is that they do believe that there were four people involved in the heist on the day itself, two others remain at
large, and that she wouldn't give that many details because this was an ongoing investigation.
[14:55:00]
She also pointed out that whilst these other two were at large and they were looking for four altogether, they had not excluded the possibility
that someone else may have been involved, whether to commission the theft or in other ways. She also added that there was no suggestion that anyone
on the inside of the Louvre had been complicit in the heist. The latest details, then, an investigation that continues and no sign yet, she
explained, of the jewels themselves.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Well, the newly found Dr. Seuss book will be posthumously published next year. "Sing The 50 United States" asks readers to learn and
name all the states along with a cat in the hat and two little cat helpers. Earlier this year, the full text and a cover sketch by author Ted Geisel,
the real Dr Seuss, was found in a manuscript housed at the University of California, San Diego. The manuscript included notes on the direction of
the art in the book. Kids and adults, of course, will enjoy it when it comes out next June, just in time for America's 250th birthday.
And that does it for us for this hour. Do stay right here, "What We Know" with Max Foster is up next. Have a wonderful evening. I shall see you
tomorrow. Bye-bye.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
