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Isa Soares Tonight
Knesset Vote Boycott; Rafah Crossing to Open "in Coming Days"; CNN Investigates the Fate of Gaza's Missing Aid Seekers; King Charles Welcomes Frank-Walter Steinmeier to U.K. Pete Hegseth Faces Deepening Scrutiny from Congress; Ukraine-Russia Peace Talks Reach an Impasse; Fear Spreads Among Migrant Communities in New Orleans As the U.S. Ramps Up its Immigration Crackdown. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired December 03, 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, questions swell over U.S. Defense
Secretary Pete Hegseth's competence as Congress criticizes a double-tap strike on an alleged drug boat. I'll ask Congressman Bill Keating about
Hegseth's approach to Venezuela and the results of a watchdog report about posting military plans on Signal.
Then hopes for a Russia-Ukraine peace plan appeared dampened as talks reach an impasse. We'll be live on the ground for you in Kyiv. Plus, fear spreads
among migrant communities in New Orleans as the U.S. ramps up its immigration crackdown. We'll have that and much more ahead this hour.
But first, tonight, as Venezuela braces for possible U.S. military action on land, Congress is turning up the heat on the White House over strikes on
alleged drug vessels. U.S. Navy Admiral Mitch Bradley, who the Trump administration, if you remember, says gave the order for a follow-up strike
on a suspected drug boat last September, will meet Thursday with the top ranking members of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee. Both Democrats
and Republicans are demanding answers. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PETE SESSIONS (R-TX): I think there are series of questions that surround this, and as you know, those questions are being asked and that
is, who gave the order? What are -- what were the standing orders to be -- had they thought this through?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, President Trump says he's ready to significantly escalate the conflict by authorizing U.S. strikes inside Venezuela very soon, his
words. A move some military experts say would violate international law.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE ANDERSON, RETIRED U.S. ARMY OFFICER: This would be an act of war. I mean, this would be a violation of Venezuelan national sovereignty, a
violation of the War Powers Act that says that you're supposed to get congressional approval to do such a thing. I mean, this would be so wrong,
it's off the charts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: On the next hour, flight of migrants deported from the U.S. is expected to land in Venezuela. That is despite President Trump's assertion
that Venezuelan airspace could be considered closed. And beyond the swirling controversy over the boat strikes, the U.S. Defense Secretary is
facing major questions today about that Signal group message chat from last Spring, if you remember.
CNN spoke exclusively to sources who say Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information which could have endangered American troops
when he used Signal to share attack plans targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen. That was back in March. Now, those conclusions were part of a classified
Inspector General report sent to Congress.
Our chief U.S. national affairs correspondent, Jeff Zeleny joins us from Washington with much more on that. So, Jeff, let us start first of all,
with this report from the Inspector General, which is important to point out to our -- to our audience is an independent report, right? How
potentially damaging could this be for Secretary Hegseth, and what has been the response so far, if any at all, from both himself and from the
administration?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Isa, certainly, there is mounting criticism of the Defense Secretary, and you
laid out there, all of the examples, but on Signalgate, of course, it has been so long, so much has happened since March when that first report of
the conversation among top advisors was a disclosed that top military advisors, including the Defense Secretary were having an open conversation
about an active military engagement.
But it is this new Inspector General's report that is being presented to Congress in a classified form, and we are learning about it, it t will be
declassified as well that the Inspector General is saying that he risked compromising sensitive information. And it points out one specific thing.
There was one line in that Signal chat that at the time really stood out.
Now, it certainly does as well. It said this. It said, "this is the" -- excuse me. He said "this is when the first bombs will drop." And they gave
the exact time of it. So, that we are told is being sort of zeroed-in on by the Inspector General. But interestingly, Hegseth did not speak or sit with
the Inspector General's as they prepared this report.
[14:05:00]
He responded to questions, we're told in written form, as opposed to sitting for an interview. But he may not be that lucky in terms of members
of Congress. We have not seen anything to this degree as we near the end of this year and nearly the first year of the Trump administration, of so many
Republicans from the President's own party raising serious questions about the Department of Defense, about the Secretary's judgment, about just what,
in fact is going on there.
And it's the policy in Venezuela I think that has really brought this to the fore. So, a lot of extraordinary developments that tomorrow on Capitol
Hill, the admiral who gave the order, we are told, he is going to be testifying and talking to members of Congress as well. So, things are about
to get even more complicated it appears, for Secretary Hegseth.
SOARES: Indeed. And Jeff, you missed Signalgate. You mentioned Venezuela, and that was referencing, of course, that we have been discussing. The
double-tap, of course. And we've heard the threats in the last 24 hours or so from the U.S. regarding Venezuela, is it clear at this stage what the
strategy is from this administration?
Because we had that U.S. Oval Office meeting on Monday, we still have a large show of military force near Venezuela. Meantime, Trump and Maduro
have spoken. What is your sense from what you're hearing about a strategy, if there is one here at all?
ZELENY: Well, that is very much an open question. The strategy, of course, the White House will say, is to stop drugs from coming into the United
States, but also the facts do not support that necessarily. The vast majority of fentanyl comes through Mexico. So, it is unclear what the
strategy is. And even if this administration had the permission of Congress to declare war, which they do not, we should point out.
And that is no small thing. The administration does not build the public support for this at all. There are so many questions about what exactly the
administration is after here, so many questions about what the President's objectives are or goals are here. So, it is unclear exactly what this
Department of Defense is going to do or thinking.
But again, the President, he says many things. But he said that this is something that is going to be coming very soon. I think that Congress is
going to continue to sort of conflate all these, and this is a -- their first real challenge I think we will see to an administration cabinet
secretary. And Pete Hegseth, we will see if he survives the year. We've not seen any criticism like this up until now.
SOARES: Jeff Zeleny, good to see you, Jeff, thank you very much --
ZELENY: Sure --
SOARES: Indeed. Let's stick with the story, I'm pleased to have with us Democratic Congressman Bill Keating, he's a member of the U.S. House Armed
Services and Foreign Affairs Committee. Congressman, welcome to the show. Let me just pick up where my colleague -- I'm hoping that you could hear
him, Jeff Zeleny, talking there about this.
Sources telling CNN that a classified Inspector General report, which, of course, is an independent investigation, has found that Secretary Pete
Hegseth risked endangering U.S. troops by sharing those sensitive war plans on Signal; that is, of course, the messaging app. This was back in March.
Given this, what should happen? How concerned are you by what has come out from this independent report?
REP. BILL KEATING (D-MA): Well, thank you for having me on. I think one thing I want to clarify in the beginning, that report won't be available to
House members like myself for a few hours. So, I have not seen that. But I know enough in terms of what occurred during Signalgate, as we call it, to
know and to have follow-up questions at hearings with Secretary Hegseth himself in the Armed Services Committee, where, you know, the
accountability question comes into bear.
They admitted that things were as they were reported, and at this time -- I am sorry, the background noise, I don't know if you could hear that --
SOARES: No worries --
KEATING: But --
SOARES: We can hear you, sir, we can hear you --
KEATING: OK, well, thank you. So, what's happening with that is, at the time there was enough information to go forward and to make sure that our
classified information, particularly as it affected our troops at the time of a mission, giving a sort of a play-by-play at the time, of what would
occur, the endangerment of our troops in that instance was clearly would have been a violation to any other military person.
But the secretary refused to be accountable for that at a committee hearing earlier this year. That's unacceptable, because if there's that kind of
accountability across the whole hierarchy of the military, it certainly has the same level as a secretariat level. So, to me, at that time, that was a
serious breach.
It'll be very curious to see the -- and read the rest of the report, but there's enough information that was clearly out there then that made it
clear exactly what happened. And no denial about the facts.
SOARES: And I understand, congressman, that you haven't seen the report. So, I'll caveat that, of course. But does this coupled, of course, with the
controversy over the double-tap boat, alleged boat strike, alleged drug boat strike.
[14:10:00]
Does this raise questions, serious questions as to whether Secretary Hegseth committed impeachable offenses? I mean, are both of these cases
impeachable offenses in your view?
KEATING: Well, there is enough information with the first one in the Spring that I called for him to step down or to be removed. The issue of
the double-tap is one that, again, there's enough information that's clear cut. Now, many people on both sides of the aisle here in the U.S. said that
if the facts were as reported, then, you know, he shouldn't have that position.
And it's serious. Some actually saying that it's a violation that it is a criminal war violation. So, that what's happened since then -- just a
couple of days ago, the White House effectively said those were the facts. That they accepted the facts as reported as to what occurred. And
subsequent to that, Secretary Hegseth said afterwards, just at the White House yesterday, I believe, that he was agreeable to that policy.
He didn't see anything wrong with it. He thinks it should be continued, and he endorsed, you know, what the admiral who was commander did in that
regard? Now, there will be hearings. There will be hearings in the House and the Senate over this. But they take time. What we know now is that it
occurred, as reported, that he now still as Secretary of Defense is saying that, that kind of activity is appropriate.
And to me, that's unacceptable to many of my colleagues. It's unacceptable. And we don't have to wait. There's an urgency to act now. I think he should
be -- I think he should be removed if he does not resign voluntarily.
SOARES: And let's stay with Venezuela for just a moment, Congressman. What is your understanding? Let me put the same question I put to my colleague
just at the top of the show. What is your understanding regarding the strategy here by the Trump administration? Because, you know, we've heard
that there will be strikes very soon.
If so, give an idea of when? Because we have about 15,000 U.S. troops stationed close to Venezuela. We've got a huge show of military force. And
just in the last 24 hours, we've had President Trump raising the possibility that perhaps other countries, such as Colombia, could be
entangled in all of this. How do you see this turning out? Because has President Trump kind of squared himself in a box a bit?
KEATING: Well, first of all, you shouldn't undertake a military mission of that magnitude and be ambiguous. What the administration is saying, it's
related to narco drug trafficking, and it's related to the fentanyl crisis in the United States, which kills hundreds of thousands of Americans a
year. But the facts are counter that. The facts are very clear.
The drugs that are coming from Venezuela, it's not fentanyl, it's cocaine. And as a matter of fact, for the people listening in Europe, most of it is
heading to Europe because the price of -- the price of a kilogram of cocaine in the U.S. is like $28,000. In Europe, it's upwards of 80,000. The
profit margin is to Europe.
These are not destined for the United States, and there are certainly not fentanyl that comes through ingredients from China, and it's compounded and
manufactured in Mexico. So, the premise of this is wrong. And before I was in Congress, I was a prosecutor dealing with drug issues. I had my --
oversaw my own drug units dealing with not just state, but federal government officials.
This should be done in a civilian manner. It's a criminal act, not a military act. And they have crossed the line taking a military tack towards
dealing with what's clearly a civilian criminal issue.
SOARES: Yes, absolutely right. Only 5 percent to 8 percent of cocaine actually reaches U.S. shores. Congressman, really appreciate you taking the
time to speak to us. Thank you very much, Congressman Bill Keating there --
KEATING: Thank you so much.
SOARES: Thank you. Well, Colombia is warning the U.S. not to awaken the jaguar, their words, over threats leveled by President Trump. While
addressing tensions with Venezuela on Tuesday, Mr. Trump said military efforts targeting drug traffickers could expand further into South America.
Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hear Colombia, the country of Colombia is making cocaine. They have cocaine-manufacturing plants, OK?
And then they sell us their cocaine. We appreciate that very much. But yes, anybody that's doing that and selling it into our country is subject to
attack.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, Colombia's President, Gustavo Petro, you see there, issuing a swift and stern response. He invited Mr. Trump to visit his country
whilst warning attacking our sovereignty is declaring war, do not damage two centuries of diplomatic relations. He added, if any country has helped
stop thousands of tons of cocaine from reaching Americans, it's Colombia.
[14:15:00]
Well, I traveled to Bogota, to Colombia for an exclusive interview with President Petro, to see just how the country is addressing the cocaine
trade firsthand.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES (voice-over): In Colombia's decades long struggle with narco trafficking, concealment has become an art born of desperation, driving
traffickers from low-level couriers to organized networks to employ methods that range from the absurd to the darkly ingenious.
(on camera): This is 1.2 tons of coffee destined for the United Kingdom. At least, it looks like coffee, right? You've got the very official
packaging product of Colombia there, their date expires. If I look closer, actually looks and smells like coffee. But under a microscope, there's
cocaine inside.
(voice-over): Lieutenant Colonel Hector Toro(ph) says his unit tested this load after it was flagged by an artificial intelligence system they use to
identify suspicious shipments, passengers and even mail. It's one of the many examples of how drug seizures here at Bogota's El Dorado Airport have
become bolder and more frequent, forcing authorities to adapt as coca production in Colombia continues to rise.
(on camera): As you can see that one, you can see the white inside.
(voice-over): That increase, the reason why the U.S. says it has dropped Colombia as a partner in the fight against drug trafficking, ending a
partnership that had been in place for decades. (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) Isa Soares. It's President Gustavo Petro with whom I sat down for
an exclusive interview is also feeling the heat with the U.S. hitting him with sanctions and accusing him of being an illegal drug dealer.
GUSTAVO PETRO, PRESIDENT, COLOMBIA (through translator): What President Trump says is the opposite of reality.
SOARES: Why doesn't he listen? Why do you think he doesn't hear you? (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
PETRO: Out of arrogance, because he thinks I am a thug, a subversive, a terrorist, things like that.
SOARES: The tit-for-tat between both Presidents has only escalated as President Trump goes after alleged drug boats off the coast of Venezuela
and Colombia as well. Actions that Petro has deemed illegal under international law. And as far as drugs are concerned, the Colombian
President says he is doing his part.
PETRO: The government that has seized the most cocaine in history globally is the government of Colombia under my administration
SOARES: Major General Edgar Falla Vargas who oversees Colombia's aerospatial forces in the southern hemisphere, tells me cooperation,
collaboration and Intelligence-sharing with the U.S. and 41 other countries have been key to their success in nearly eradicating drugs by air inside
Colombian airspace.
EDGAR FALLA VARGAS, AIR FORCE, COLOMBIA (through translator): In 2003, there were 639 aircraft leaving Colombia bound for the United States. This
year, we can say we have had three involved in some type of illegal movement.
SOARES: Under pressure, traffickers have looked to the sea to make their gains. Most shipments leaving Colombia on speedboats or concealed inside
shipping containers, but the main route, not the Caribbean as President Trump's campaign against Venezuela seems to suggest. (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN
LANGUAGE) -- Caribbean Corridor --
VARGAS: Yes --
SOARES: Is that the biggest? Is that the one you see the most action?
VARGAS: From my perspective, we have an increase in the Pacific corridor. However, activity in the Caribbean is not zero.
SOARES: Despite tensions between both leaders and the threats of stopping Intelligence-sharing by President Petro, this is an area where
collaboration is non-negotiable. Major General Vargas, who has repeatedly exalted the importance of Intelligence-sharing during our conversation, and
prefers not to wade into the world of politics, tells me very simply that when it comes to cooperation.
VARGAS: There really isn't a problem.
SOARES: As drug production climbs and political rhetoric heats up, it seems both countries are bound by necessity, knowing all too well, perhaps,
if cooperation were to falter, only one group stands to gain the drug traffickers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: We're going to leave South America in just for a moment and turn our attention to Ukraine, because as bombs continue to fall in Ukraine, its
Foreign Minister says Kyiv has been invited to continue peace talks in the U.S. in the, quote, "near future". President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the
country's top negotiators now beginning preparations for a meeting with the Trump administration.
[14:20:00]
And the invitation comes just one day after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met with Russian
President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for five hours, yet failed to reach any breakthrough. Meanwhile, in Brussels, the European Commission has proposed
tapping frozen Russian funds -- assets, I should say, worth roughly $250 billion to fund Ukraine's defensive effort over the next two years.
But trapped in the middle of this slow as well as tedious path to peace, are ordinary war-weary Ukrainians who are losing hope as ceasefire is
within reach. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We have a constitution and we have territory. My parents are still in the occupied territory, so how can we
say we're giving up on you? That's impossible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Honestly, I think that we have already lost the territories we have lost. To prevent further losses of
other territories, we need to settle for what we have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's get more on all of this -- these developments. Our Nick Paton Walsh is for us in Kyiv this hour. Nick, let me just take a step back
and just get your perspective. You know, five hours of talks or so. How much progress is actually being made?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: We simply don't know. And I think the most remarkable thing is that even this amount
of time, since Witkoff; President Trump's envoy to this conflict and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, have left Moscow as far as we know, we've heard
nothing from them, nothing, remarkably from President Trump himself, who has been tirelessly using his Truth Social platform on other topics over
the past hours.
Total silence from the United States, which is a remarkable thing, given, frankly, how frequently Trump has taken to social media to blast various
parties in this war. We have seen in Brussels national security advisors of key European powers, meeting with Rustem Umerov; the chief Ukrainian
negotiator, presumably to get his readout on what happened in the Kremlin.
You know, obviously i think are waiting to hear more publicly what the U.S. interpretation of that meeting was. The Russians were mildly positive, but
most importantly said no compromise had been reached. There was no cause to plan a meeting between Trump and Putin, and that they'd received a 27-point
plan from the Americans.
That's not the 20-point plan that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was referring to a matter of hours earlier, and also three other documents
too, from U.S. officials as well, possibly four. So, a lot moving in terms of what exactly it was that Witkoff presented.
And I think we're at a point here where we have to try and work out whether or not this flurry of activity by the Europeans and the Ukrainians is a bid
to work on the results of that meeting, to try and progress something positive that may have emerged from that, or perhaps instead, a bid by them
to show to the White House that there is still an avenue ahead for negotiation.
That the changed proposal that they assisted with the Ukrainians, with some European feedback too, but that didn't essentially arrive dead in the water
with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. But we are also too, let's remind people, in a bizarre circumstance where it appears to be Putin,
essentially, who has the right to veto on what does and doesn't work as a peace process here.
And Ukrainian officials, Zelenskyy, in his most recent social media post, saying how they're ready for future contacts with U.S. officials, whether
they're in person, by the phone or however they indeed occur, that is not a President confidently saying my team are on their way to go and meet
Witkoff and Kushner and discuss exactly what the next steps may indeed be.
And it's, I think a moment where, again, the ball is in President Trump's court. It's clear from your program he's got an awful lot else going on.
But at this point, we just don't know if this plan was entirely rejected by Putin or indeed, if Trump is going to pressure Putin or his allies next,
Isa --
SOARES: Yes, lots of questions still unanswered at this hour. Nick Paton Walsh for us in Kyiv. Thanks, Nick. And still to come tonight, Trump's
immigration crackdown moves to yet another Democratic-led city. We'll go live to New Orleans, where U.S. officials are hoping to make thousands of
arrests.
And then later this hour, CNN investigation into the fate of some missing Palestinians near an aid station in Gaza, and the horrific allegations
about what may have happened to them. Both those stories after this very short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:25:00]
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. The Trump administration continues to ramp up its crackdown on migrants coming to the United States. Homeland Security
Chief Kristi Noem says she has asked Donald Trump to implement a full travel ban on quote, "every damn country that's been flooding our nation
with killers, leeches and entitlement junkies."
There are currently 19 nations which face full or partial immigration restrictions, mostly in Africa, the Middle East, as well as the Caribbean.
Meanwhile, Noem's Department of Homeland Security says it has begun a major crackdown on undocumented migrants in New Orleans. Officials say they are
targeting violent criminals from other countries, but similar operations in other cities have rounded up many migrants who do not have a history of
violent crime along with U.S. citizens.
Our Ryan Young is New Orleans suburb of Saint Rose right now. So, Ryan, just give us a sense of where you are and what more you are learning --
RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes --
SOARES: About this operation.
YOUNG: Well, let me first give our viewers a sense of where we are, which is we're just outside of New Orleans. You might as well give the entire
state under red alert at this point., and they are tweeting about the fact that this operation is ongoing. I walk you to this direction, just to give
you a sense here.
This is an office park. We've been sort of asked to leave this office park because of privacy concerns and also it's private property. But on the
inside of this office park is an ICE facility. And we know that anyone who is captured may be brought to this facility before they're processed and
moved to a different state.
They're going to be moved to Mississippi, but all day long, we've been talking to people who have been terrified about this action. The numbers
they're throwing out are quite astonishing. They're saying they want to capture 5,000 people during this operation. They haven't captured 5,000
people in all the states they've been to so far.
So, you understand why the community here is a little concerned about how this will work out as we show you the protests from the other night here.
People were marching in the streets. They're angry. They're upset. After Katrina, so many immigrants moved to this city to sort of help out.
In a restaurant that we were in today, they were actually handing out whistles like this one. They want to make sure that as many patrons as
possible have these whistles, and when they see members of the jump-out force or ICE or CBP, they start blowing the whistle to let the neighborhood
know these folks are coming.
And one of the things that stood out to all of us on this crew, is the fact of the matter is, we talked to a man today who was running in a park, who
was -- he's an illegal immigrant, and he was concerned that when he saw these members that he could be detained. Take a listen to Gabriel tell him
-- tell us how scared he was today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I'm not feeling safety because, you know, when you go to make exercise, you don't carry your driver's license, you don't carry
-- no, nothing can prove you are a citizen, you know, but the -- because I -- what I can hear on social media and everything these people are looking
at your color.
So, that's why I'm not feeling safety. I'm sorry about -- but that's what I'm feeling. I'm feeling because I'm scared, I've got to go on to call my
wife easily, like call my wife and be in the social media because, trust me, I feel like these people come behind me. So, it's, it's unreal. It's --
I don't know. I can tell you the truth. I saw something like that only in the video games, maybe. It is not. It's not like compare about New Orleans
feeling right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At the end of this, he started crying. He was very upset. He was on the phone with his wife. He
went home and got his papers. He tried to show me his papers. I did not want to see his papers, but he tried to show me and prove that he was a
citizen. He actually owns a business. He is scared, he says, to do the work over the next few days.
All this happening in a city where crime's actually going down. Homicides and crime are down. People are asking all sorts of questions. There are
businesses that are closing. It'll be interesting to see how this impacts the state over the next few days.
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Yes, the fear clearly very palpable. Ryan Young. Thank you very much indeed, Ryan.
And still to come tonight, lots of empty seats as Israeli Knesset advances the U.S.-backed ceasefire deal in Gaza, why far-right lawmakers and the
prime minister do not attend. Also, when we return --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Forgive me, mom. If anything happens to me. Whoever finds my phone, please tell my family
that I love them so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: A final message to a heartbroken family in Gaza. Our investigations team has found new evidence about what may have happened to
missing Palestinians.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:00]
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. The Israel Knesset has advanced U.S. President Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan, despite a boycott.
During Wednesday's debate, far-right coalition members fled the chamber. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also not there for the largely symbolic
vote. The key sticking point for members of his coalition is still the path to Palestinian statehood. Israel says its commitment to the ceasefire
agreement will show soon when it reopens the Rafah Crossing in southern Gaza, but reports that's only for Gazans to leave. Egypt has denied there's
any coordination around the key route.
Now, a CNN investigation based on video, satellite imagery, and eyewitness accounts points to Israeli military bulldozing bodies of some Palestinians
killed near an aid crossing in northern Gaza. IDF whistleblowers who spoke to CNN also point to a broader pattern of Israeli military mishandling
bodies in ways that could amount to war crimes.
The result, families in Gaza left searching for answers about loved ones who were missing while seeking aid. Our Jeremy Diamond reports from
Jerusalem, and we must warn you, of course, that you may find some of the video in this report disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My brother is missing. Anyone who saw --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My cousin went missing yesterday in Zikim.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ehab Adel Mansour, 16 years old, went missing in the Zikim area.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son went missing while going to the aid area in Zikim on Sunday.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Messages from desperate families all searching for loved ones who went out to seek aid
and never came back. Twenty-three-year-old Ammar Wadi was one of them last seen in June going to the Zikim Crossing in northern Gaza, where United
Nations food trucks entered. His mother is still desperate for answers.
NAWAL MUSIEH, AMMAR WADI'S MOTHER (through translator): I just want peace of mind, to know what his fate is. Even if he is a martyr, praise be to
God. I just want to know what happened to him.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Wadi's fate is still unknown, but a CNN investigation based on video, satellite imagery and eyewitness accounts
points to the Israeli military bulldozing the bodies of some of those killed near the Zikim Crossing. IDF whistleblowers who spoke to CNN also
point to a broader pattern of the Israeli military mishandling bodies in ways that could amount to war crimes.
Collecting humanitarian aid became a deadly reality in Gaza over the summer before the ceasefire took effect.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They killed him on the spot.
DIAMOND (voice-over): More than 2,000 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire while trying to get aid, according to the World Health Organization.
The Israeli military has acknowledged firing toward these crowds, but said it does not intentionally fire at civilians.
Hundreds, some dead, others still clinging on to life, were hauled away amid the mayhem, including here, near the Zikim Crossing. But amid the
clattering of gunfire, others were left behind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Gunfire, death, killing, martyrs, so many martyrs.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Six aid truck drivers told CNN they saw dozens of bodies near the Zikim Crossing. One shared these photos, showing partially
buried remains, surrounded by aid boxes. Some said they witnessed Israeli military bulldozers burying bodies. They've asked us to conceal their
identities, fearing retribution from Israeli authorities.
There are bodies everywhere, decomposed skeletal remains, one truck driver told CNN. Some are covered with dirt because the army cannot tolerate the
smell of decomposing bodies, said another. I watched Israeli bulldozers bury the dead, said a third.
This video appears to show the aftermath of Israel's bulldozing, alongside a crushed, overturned truck, partially covered bodies of several
Palestinians jut out from the earth. A paramedic at the scene said rescue workers managed to haul away 15 dead Palestinians. With the ambulance full,
some bodies had to be left behind.
CNN geolocated the video to this location near the Zikim Crossing. You can see the overturned truck here, alongside bulldozed roads and track marks
left by heavy machinery or armored vehicles. These are the roads where crowds of starving Palestinians swarmed aid trucks on a near daily basis,
where they were fired upon and at times killed by Israeli gunfire.
We geolocated multiple videos of people being shot and killed to these bulldozed areas. The same areas where Palestinians said some bodies were
left behind in the chaos.
[14:40:00]
On August 9th, 31 hours after crowds are seen here, evidence of fresh bulldozing appears in the exact same location. This video shows just how
close Israeli forces, including this D9 bulldozer, were to those crowds.
The soldiers came in front of us, eyes to eyes, and the quadcopter was 10 meters away from us. They were shot in front of us, and there is a martyr
that stayed over there, and no one could get close to him. We begged the soldiers to carry him back, but they didn't allow us.
We provided the Israeli military with GPS coordinates for the locations where bodies were likely bulldozed and a detailed list of questions. The
military said bulldozers positioned in the Zikim area are, quote, "used for operational purposes, to deal with IED threats and for routine engineering
needs." It denied they were used to remove bodies, but did not address questions about burying them.
The military also declined to describe its protocol for dealing with bodies in Gaza. The Israeli military's apparent improper disposal of bodies of
Palestinians stretched far beyond Zikim.
We spoke with two Israeli soldiers on condition of anonymity due to fears of retribution. Both described bodies of Palestinians being buried in
shallow, unmarked graves in different parts of Gaza.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Essentially, the idea was to shove the body with a bunch of dirt, clearing the road, and push it to the sides.
DIAMOND: And that was it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was it, yes.
DIAMOND: The grave was not marked?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
DIAMOND: There was no identification process or notification process to any international or Palestinian organization?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not that I was aware of. Not in my unit. So, essentially, we were never given any protocol or any order of how to handle
any bodies. There was never once that anyone told us, if you have a body, this is what should be done.
DIAMOND (voice-over): By allowing the dead to become the missing, international law experts say bulldozing bodies into unmarked graves can
violate international law. If those bodies are mutilated or desecrated, the practice can rise to the level of outrages upon personal dignity, a war
crime under the Geneva Conventions.
As for Ammar Wadi, about a month after he went missing in late June, his phone was returned to his family. A message had been left on the home
screen. Forgive me, mom, if anything happens to me. Whoever finds my phone, please tell my family that I love them so much. A message that reads like a
young man's final words. Words that are impossible for a mother to accept without a body to bury.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:00]
SOARES: The president of Germany is in the U.K. for an official state visit. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived Wednesday for a three-day
trip. Earlier, King Charles and Queen Camilla hosted a full ceremony to welcome him at Windsor Castle, as you can see there. President Steinmeier
is expected to meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. This is the first time in 27 years there's been a German state visit in the U.K.
Our Royal Correspondent Max Foster joins me now. 27 years, that's quite something, isn't it?
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is. And it's a key partnership, always has been. It's the biggest economy in Europe. U.K. is
up there as well. But there's been tensions, of course, with most famously Brexit, where the two countries fell out in a massive way and they weren't
coordinating in the way that they had done in the past, in the post-war past. And so, this is part of that journey.
So, we also had a state visit with King Charles to Germany and I went on that and he did this extraordinary speech, actually, and dealt with a lot
of the sensitivities. And he'd done France as well shortly before. So, you know, it's seen as one of King Charles's great triumphs of healing the
broken relationships of Europe between these three powers of Europe.
And he's got a state dinner tonight, and we'll expect him to speak a bit of German, as he did when he visited Germany. And this is all part of the
relationship building. It's -- you know.
SOARES: And this -- look, there is, as we'll expect to see later with the state dinner, there's pageantry, of course, there'll be some talk of
politics. But the timing of this is interesting, as you alluded to there, Max, the fact that this comes after 2016 with Brexit, when relations
weren't as great between Germany and the U.K., but also a time when we are seeing Putin trying to divide Europe, right? How much is this about
solidifying that relationship?
FOSTER: Well, that's what's brought these nations together, isn't it? Ukraine. And we've seen this grouping of European powers, which involves
the U.K. dealing with Ukraine, and they've had to work very closely together. So, he's also had meetings today with Keir Starmer, and that's
one of the key elements they were talking about, as I understand it, which is how can we support Ukraine with this negotiation that's taking place?
And also expecting Charles to reference that, because he's been very outspoken on Ukraine, which is one of the more controversial parts of his
monarchy, because obviously, in America, it's seen as a political issue. It's not so much seen as a political issue here. But he's very good at --
you know, framing these events and talking about the relationship.
The other thing, I showed you some pictures from Windsor Castle earlier. So, they've got this spectacular state dinner all lined up.
SOARES: It is beautiful.
FOSTER: It's always good. A massive Christmas tree at the end, which is also a tribute to Germany, because it was Prince Albert, who was Queen
Victoria's husband, of course, who popularized, brought the Christmas tree to the United Kingdom. And the size of it is extraordinary. So, you've got
this whopping great Christmas tree right in the middle of St George's Hall as a tribute to the Germans.
SOARES: I learned something today. Max, thank you very much. And, Max, we're back in less, what, 12 minutes or so with the show. Thank you, Max.
And this just coming in to CNN, Ghislaine Maxwell plans to ask a judge to release her from prison. That is according to a new court filing, which
does not state what the convicted sex trafficker would argue are grounds for her release. But her attorney says the Justice Department's request to
unseal grand jury transcripts in the Epstein case could jeopardize the possibility of a fair retrial for Maxwell. She's currently serving a 20-
year sentence at a minimum-security prison. Any more details, of course, on that, we will bring it to your attention.
We'll take a short break. We'll see you on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:00]
SOARES: And the results, it seems, are in. As Spotify releases its 2025 wrapped, there's no doubt one artist clearly rose above all of them with
his tribute to salsa music and his signature Latin style. Reggaeton star Bad Bunny has taken the world by storm, not just across Latin America, by
the way, but globally. Crowned as this year's most streamed artist with 19.8 billion streams. His latest album, "Debi Tirar Mas Fotos," was also
the most streamed album, featuring the first ever salsa song to top a Billboard chart. Coming in second was pop queen Taylor Swift. Followed by
The Weeknd in third.
For more on Bad Bunny's triumph on Spotify this year, let's bring in CNN's Lisa Respers France. Lisa, great to see you. I mean, the fact that, you
know, Taylor Swift came in second is quite something, I'm sure. But what a year it has been for Bad Bunny, hasn't it?
LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CN ENTERTAINMENT REPORT: It's been an incredible year for Bad Bunny. And this is not the first time that he's actually topped the
global artist chart for Spotify. He did it in 2020. He did it in 2021. And also, in 2022. He also has the top streamed album globally. So, you know,
he is rolling right into his Super Bowl halftime performance as the headliner. He's rolling right into that with just a wealth of goodwill from
fans. He is a global superstar.
I know there are plenty of Swifties who are disappointed today. She's a massive star, too, of course. But there's just been so much love and
outpouring. And believe it or not, some people believe it's a little bit because of the controversy over his selection. It's actually brought him a
broader fan base. People are super-duper interested in his music. And people are grooving to it even if they do not speak Spanish.
SOARES: Indeed, that's exactly what I was saying to my producer just before the break, people who -- I've seen all over social media, even if
you don't speak Spanish, you start learning it. You stop mumbling the words. He has attracted quite a following as we look ahead, of course, to
the Super Bowl. Talk us through some of the other top artists this year who've had a good year this year.
FRANCE: So, on the global artist chart, you had, of course, as we say, Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift, and then The Weeknd, Billie Eilish. Wait, did I do
that wrong? I think it's The Weeknd, Drake. Let's not forget Drake. Billie Eilish. And then believe it or not, below Billie Eilish was Kendrick Lamar.
So, you know, of course, we had the big Kendrick Lamar, Drake beef.
So, you know, these are artists, though, that have really solid fan bases. And so, it's not a surprise to me, not a single artist that was in that
list, especially in the top five, was a surprise to me, because these are all people whose music is enjoyed around the world. And Taylor Swift was
number one on the U.S. chart. So, she did snag the number one position on one of the Spotify rap charts.
SOARES: And do we have a sense at all, Lisa, what the top song, what has done well in terms of top single, most played song, most streamed song?
FRANCE: You know what, I totally am blanking on that. Now, I'm going to have to go back and look.
SOARES: No worry.
FRANCE: Yes.
SOARES: No worries. Just getting a sense of who would that be? I mean, would it be -- if any of my producers know, could you just let us know in
my ear. Because that paints a picture, of course, what kind of, you know, where everyone was turning to globally.
FRANCE: Yes, absolutely. You know, music is really important to people right now because people are leaning into the things that bring them joy.
And so, it's like full play albums.
[14:55:00]
Like I said, his album was top of the global charts. It is the singles. It is the artists. And Spotify offers so much, so much content for people
from, you know, audiobooks to music to podcasts. So, you know, I completely am blanking on the number one single.
SOARES: I've got the answer for you. Lady Gaga, apparently, and Bruno Mars.
FRANCE: Bruno Mars. I should have remembered that. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, which was the duet that we did not know that we needed.
SOARES: And I was going to say K-pop, Demon Hunters. But I think that's because my kids just had it on repeat. And I feel that's all I've heard
this year. That was number seven. Thank you very much, Lisa. Great to have you on the show. Thank you.
FRANCE: Thank you.
SOARES: And finally, tonight, holiday spirits proved a bit too much for one mass burglar in Virginia. It happened Saturday at a local liquor store.
Scotch and whiskey bottles completely destroyed, as you can see there. The suspect passed out on the floor of the bathroom. The culprit, a raccoon,
whose antics finally caught up with it. Apparently, the critter fell through one of the ceiling tiles and had its own, well, little party.
Animal control took the raccoon back to a local shelter to sober up. It was then released back into the wild. Clearly had a great night.
That does it for tonight. "What We Know" of Max Foster is up next. I'll see you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
