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One World with Zain Asher

Indirect Israel-Hamas Talks Underway In Egypt; Millions Could Lose Food Assistance In The Next Two Weeks; National Parks Partially Open Due To Shutdown; Illinois And Chicago Sue Trump Administration Over National Guard Troops; Hundreds Rescued After Blizzard Pummels The Himalayas; Endangered African Wild Dogs Reintroduced In Uganda; Trump Sending Son-In-Law Jared Kushner To Help Finalize Gaza Deal; Aired 12-1p ET

Aired October 06, 2025 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[12:00:41]

ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. You are watching the second hour of "One World."

Well, most of the timelines are vague, the details are lacking and significant gaps remain.

ASHER: But for the first time since the ruthless Hamas terror attacks in Israel, nearly two years ago, that triggered the war on Gaza, momentum may

be building for a ceasefire deal. Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, based on U.S. President Donald Trump's 20-point plan, are now

underway in Egypt.

GOLODRYGA: The proposal calls for an immediate halt to the fighting and the release of all of the remaining hostages. But some key sticking points do

remain.

Still, the U.S. president and the Secretary of State are both expressing optimism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't need flexibility because everybody is pretty much agreed to, but there'll always be some

changes.

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This is the closest we've come to getting all of the hostages released every single one, all 48, including

the 28 who are deceased, of course, the 20 that are still alive. But there's a lot of pitfalls along the way. There's some work to be done here.

TRUMP: The meeting seemed to be very good. We'll find out. We'll let you know soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Hamas has agreed to part of the plan and the Israeli Prime Minister has verbally consented to the proposal as well. But the Israeli

Cabinet hasn't formally approved the initiative and Benjamin Netanyahu's closest advisor isn't part of the negotiating team as of right now.

ASHER: Yes. A lot of lives hanging the balance. And both Israelis and Palestinians are nervously waiting to see what happens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASMAA RIHAN, DISPLACED PALESTINIAN WOMAN (through translator): We are worried, really, that the deal they are talking about will fail because

every time they reach a solution, they say a truce will be declared. We wake up on a terrible nightmare at the end. No, we hope to go beyond the

stage.

HILDA WEISTHAL, ISRAELI RESIDENT: I really hope that all the leaders will make a push and that this war will -- this war will end. And I think it's

the best thing for all civilians. And I think we -- we are ready to -- to get -- to get this done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Nic Robertson is live in Cairo with the very latest for us.

Nic, we know that the -- president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as well as Steve Witkoff, his Mideast advisor, have made their way to Egypt to be part

of these negotiations representing the U.S. and Ron Dermer, the top ally for Netanyahu, is expected at some point in these negotiations. Do we know

when?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. We don't know when. We do know that before the proximity talks, which have been underway

now for a couple of hours in Sharm El Sheikh, before they took place, Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya and his delegation met with Qatari and Egyptian

officials to try to narrow some of the gaps of understanding, if you will, some of the other issues in the 20-point plan beyond the ceasefire, beyond

the handing back of all the hostages, things like the demand that Hamas must put down its weapons, it must disarm, that it has no political role in

the future in Gaza, that its leadership figures offer the opportunity to leave Gaza if they want to.

Those sorts of areas appear to have been in the scope of narrowing the gap conversation. So going into the proximity talks, Hamas will have listened

to the -- the -- those mediators and perhaps moved its position closer to that 20-point plan. We don't know, and that's the key question.

The -- the -- the talks have been going on for a couple of hours now, I think, typically in the past rounds of talks have lasted. All these phases

in the rounds of talks have lasted a number of hours, four, five hours, that sort of ballpark before -- before breaking, before we get a little bit

of information about what ground may have been covered, what -- what issues still exist.

I think we're still some ways off of -- of knowing that fundamental question of, is Hamas going to completely sign up to the deal, accept the

ceasefire, accept the line of where Israeli troops will be inside of Gaza and hand back all the hostages, in essence, from their view, give up all

their leverage, if you will.

[12:05:03]

That -- that -- that -- that at the moment, I think, is being the expectations were strong that this could be done reasonably quickly, but I

think that's being tempered at the moment. And -- and we're being told to expect the talks to last over a few days.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And important to note when Nic says all of the hostages that's all 48 of them, 20 are still believed to be alive, part of this deal

would include the return of all of the deceased bodies of the hostages as well an important point the president has been making now for months.

Nic Robertson in Cairo for us. Thank you so much.

ASHER: All right. We are now in day six of the U.S. government shutdown. And while the Senate is expected to vote again today on the funding bill,

we're not expecting a breakthrough.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. At the core of the stalemate is funding for Obamacare health insurance subsidies. Democrats want funding for them included right

now, while Republicans say that the issue can wait.

Meantime, with the House not in session and Republican Speaker Mike Johnson saying he will not reconvene until the Senate passes the bill, no one knows

when that moment of reopening will come.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): There's nothing for us to negotiate or to -- to - - to -- to debate right now because the House already did that. The House did its job. We passed our bill. We did the job to keep the government open

and now it's on the Senate Democrats.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): We've said from the very beginning we'll sit down with anyone, anytime, anyplace in order to reopen the government, find

a bipartisan agreement that actually meets the needs of the American people. We need to spending agreement that improves the quality of life of

everyday Americans that doesn't hurt everyday Americans. And we also need to address this Republican healthcare crisis that is hurting people all

across the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: The longer the shutdown continues, the bigger the impact on families. Let's just take a look at what's at stake here. Rene Marsh and

Brian Todd are in Washington for us.

Rene, let me begin with you because it's so easy for the headlines to focus on the sort of political impasse and the fact that you have both sides

blaming each other. And each one is hoping that the other one is going to cave in.

But in the middle of all of this is, of course, the impact on ordinary Americans who are suffering to an extent. Some of whom are suffering to an

extent given the shutdown, particularly as I understand that you've been looking at women and children. Just walk us through what you're uncovering

there.

RENE MARSH, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, look, keep in mind, we are at the very beginning of this. And so the longer this drags

out, the more painful it will be, but anxiety is certainly high right now for nearly seven million pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and young

children who depend on this food -- federal food assistance program known as WIC that helps families buy items like formula, baby food, eggs, bread,

fruits, and vegetables. WIC also provides breastfeeding nutrition support. So this is a critical program for low-income pregnant and postpartum women,

infants and children who qualify for the program at a time when inflation has pushed grocery prices up.

Now, we do know that the USDA, which is the agency that gives federal funding to states for the program tell CNN, and I'm quoting, nutrition

programs will operate based on state choice and the length of a shutdown.

The agency also added if Democrats do not fund the government, WIC will run out of funding and states will have to make a choice.

Now, we should note that during previous shutdowns, states have stepped in to keep the program afloat, but this time, it could be different since many

states are in a very tight financial pinch as participation in this program has also increased.

So the shutdown is happening at a particularly challenging time because it comes at the start of the fiscal year so states haven't even received a

dime yet a federal grant money for this particular program.

And, Zain, as the clock ticks on availability of federal funds for this program, millions of families who rely on it are now trying their best to

prepare. They are stretching the food that they have now for as long as they can and hoping at the same time that this shutdown ends soon, Zain.

GOLODRYGA: And, Rene, thank you. We're also seeing the shutdown impact national parks as well. Brian Todd, this has been a focus of yours. What

are you seeing right now are our nation's parks open at the moment?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna and Zain, they are partially open and that's actually a big part of the problem. I went to three

national parks in the D.C. region in recent days. One was Great Falls Park and Manassas National Battlefield Park there in northern Virginia. I also

went to Greenbelt Park in Maryland.

And we saw a few situations in these parks that illustrate the dangers for park goers and the concern among national park advocates. At Great Falls

Park, I saw several park goers go past barricades on foot. They drove up to the barricades. There's a picture there that I took in recent days. They

drove up to the barricades. They couldn't go past them in their cars to get to the parking lot, so they moved around the barricades on foot and walked

in basically parking illegally and creating a very narrow one-lane road up to that park.

That, according to park advocates, is kind of a dangerous practice. It's not illegal to go in by foot, but it does create dangers.

Edward Stierli who's with the National Parks Conservation Association told me, especially at Great Falls. That is a park that has several cliff sides

that hang over the rapids of the Potomac River in a very dangerous spot. He's worried that without park rangers there and there aren't any there

during this government shutdown, because of furloughs, that they can't monitor people who are climbing and hiking all around those cliff sides and

could fall in in a very dangerous stretch of the river.

Here is what we were able to tell you. The parks are partially open. Park roads, trails, open-air memorials are generally accessible, but many

visitors' centers are closed. And as you see there, 9,000 National Park Service employees, more than 9,000, are furloughed and that includes many,

many park rangers. That is a safety hazard.

The National Parks Conservation Association says that they believe that all parks should close during this shutdown.

There is also concern about damage to the parks and vandalism. Theresa Pierno, who's the president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation

Association said that in the previous significant shutdown that was in late 2018, early 2019, here's a quote from her. "Parks were left open without

enough staff. Landmarks were graffitied, artifacts stolen, Joshua trees destroyed, fragile landscapes damaged by illegal off-roading, wildlife

poached, and trash and human waste overflowed."

They are very concerned, guys, that this is going to happen this time around the longer this shutdown goes. We have reached out to the National

Park Service for comment. We have not heard back.

GOLODRYGA: Brian Todd, doing some of his own reporting this weekend. Thank you for documenting the parks that you visiting -- or visited for us to

give us a sense of the impact six days into this shutdown. Rene Marsh, thank you as well for your important reporting.

ASHER: All right. Just a short time ago, Chicago and the state of Illinois filed a lawsuit to stop Donald Trump from sending in National Guard troops

to Chicago.

GOLODRYGA: On Saturday, Trump ordered 300 guard forces to the city to protect a federal immigration facility that has been the site of

increasingly tensed protests. The new lawsuit comes after a federal judge block Trump's effort to deploy guard troops to Portland, Oregon. That judge

said protest in Portland did not rise to the level of a rebellion.

Illinois governor said that Trump's administration is looking for an excuse to send in even more troops.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D-IL): What kind of a country we living in? And this -- this -- this raid at this building is emblematic of what ICE and CBP and

the president of the United States, Kristi Noem and Greg Bovino are trying to do. They want mayhem on the ground. They want to create the war zone so that they can send in even more

troops.

Now, they're claiming they need 300 of Illinois' National Guard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Joining us live now is CNN's senior political reporter Stephen Collinson. So, this judge that essentially just pivoting from Chicago to

Portland, obviously, we're going to talk about both cities.

But the judge that blocked the Trump administration from sending National Guard troops to Portland worth noting that Judge Immergut was actually

appointed by Trump. But the judge also says, look, this does not rise to the level of a rebellion. The protests that we've seen in Portland does not

necessitate the need for sort of National Guard presence.

Obviously, though, the Trump administration is not going to give up that quickly. Just walk us through what the administration is looking at, at in

terms of other options, in terms of other ways to still send in National Guard troops to the city of Portland.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes. So, in the United States, it's illegal under most cases for a president to deploy federal

troops to a state unless they're requested by a state governor.

These are National Guard reservist troops we're talking about. Generally, they're under the control of a state governor, not the president, except in

emergency circumstances. So that's where the point the judge made came in that you were talking about that she found that there was not a rebellion

or an insurrection taking place in Portland, Oregon against the federal government. So she said, therefore, those conditions weren't met.

First, Trump tried to federalize federal troops in Portland, in Oregon to send to Portland. When the judge threw that out, he decided, OK, in that

case, I'm going to send troops from California. She again had to hold a hearing late Sunday night and seemed quite hurt that the president was

trying to get around what she was doing.

We have word today that the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is trying to federalize troops in Texas and send them not just to Oregon but potentially

also Illinois as well. So you're seeing here a real attempt by Trump to use federal forces, regular or reservist troops, to -- in -- in an act of law

enforcement, and that is expressed against the Constitution.

[12:15:11]

The question is whether he goes one step further and invokes the Insurrection Act which would allow him to send troops, but that, I'm sure,

would also draw plenty of legal challenges.

GOLODRYGA: And Judge Immergut wasn't incredulous, basically saying that how could bringing in troops from California not be in direct contravention of

my order? But the president seems to be bypassing that and continues to be, for lack of a better phrase, troop shopping now in other states, including

Texas, trying to look at potentially other options for him.

Now, I guess illegal experts will say we're not at a constitutional crisis yet, because this hasn't gone up to the Supreme Court.

Do you expect the Supreme Court to step in at some point? And given the speed at which the courts work and the speed at which this administration

is working, could this be favoring Trump?

COLLINSON: Well, it's very interesting, because today is the first day of the Supreme Court's new term. It already has some massive cases which were

brought up by Trump's use of massive executive power that is constitutional questionable.

For instance, his use of tariffs to launch this global trade war. Tariffs are usually part of the powers of the Congress, not the president. So

almost everything that Trump does. And I think it's a commentary at our times, ends up before the Supreme Court.

In many cases, when it loses throughout state's courts and appeals courts, the Trump administration accelerates the appeals process to try to bring it

up before that conservative Supreme Court.

I think it's interesting in this case, as you say, that this is a Trump appointed judge. There -- there seem to be a lot of cases that are going to

end up before the court, that it's very hard to see the court ruling if it reads the Constitution, as is written, as many of the conservative judges

say that's their legal philosophy, how they rule in Trump's favor.

But I would expect this to go further up the court process just because this is such a litigious administration.

ASHER: And just talk to us about what the political gain is for Donald Trump in terms of fighting this specific battle, going into democratic-led

cities, essentially intimating that there's out of control crime, because there's protests that are -- are not favorable to him.

What is the political gain for the -- for the Trump administration? How does all of this appeal to his base?

COLLINSON: Yes. It's a really interesting point, because Trump has always, across the span of his two administrations, always govern more for the

people who voted for him than the country as a whole. He likes to look tough. I think there is a bubble around the White House. They only watch

really conservative news. They're buying into these depictions of some democratic cities as war zones and rife with crime.

It is true that there's a great deal of crime in American cities, but those numbers are coming down. They think this is an effective organizing

mechanism for Trump's policy.

Having said that, we've seen a few polls in the last few days that indicate that some Americans, particularly those in the critical middle, believe

that Trump is going too far in his immigration purge, which is what all of these federal troop deployments are supposed to support, and they don't

necessarily want him deploying troops into American inner cities.

So, it is a bit of a delicate political balance, but I think one of the characteristics of this second Trump term is that the president believes

he's all powerful. He's trying to impose expensive executive power everywhere.

And in many cases, he doesn't seem to be too worried about the political consequences more than a year out from the next midterm election.

ASHER: All right. Stephen Collinson, live for us, thank you so much.

GOLODRYGA: Hey, Stephen, one day soon, let's have a segment just on the bookshelf behind you because I'm always fascinated by all of those books.

COLLINSON: OK. Give me time to read them.

GOLODRYGA: You've read them all. I'm sure you have. Don't be so honest. Thank you, Stephen.

ASHER: It's funny, Tsundoku is a Japanese word, meaning, when you buy books, but you never read them and you let them just stack up, which I

think (INAUDIBLE).

All right. Now to France where the prime minister has resigned after just 27 days on the job.

GOLODRYGA: Hasn't over been 27 days. Well, the unexpected move has deepened the political gridlock in the country amid its budget woes.

Sebastien Lecornu stepped down after hours, just hours after unveiling his new cabinet. He was a key ally of the French president and the country's

fifth prime minister in less than two years.

Now, Lecornu blamed a lack of compromise for his government's collapse. There are growing calls for the president to call snap the parliamentary

elections. Listen to far-right leader, Marine Le Pen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[12:20:03]

MARINE LE PEN, NATIONAL RALLY (through translator): We've reached the end of the road and there is no solution. There won't be any tomorrow. And

therefore, the only wise decision in these circumstances and one provided for by the constitution of the fifth republic is to return to the polls and

for the French to give direction to the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: All eyes are now on the French president and his next move.

All right. Still to come, the dramatic moment fireballs fall from the sky at a drone show in Southern China.

GOLODRYGA: And stuck at the top of the world, the latest on the rescue efforts of hundreds of hikers on Mount Everest.

ASHER: Plus, a ground-breaking conservation effort to revive a species that's nearly extinct in one African nation, how they're doing it and

where, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Fireballs fell from the sky during a national day drone show in Southern China. Social media videos captured spectators running for cover

as fiery debris rained down. No injuries have been reported according to local media sighting authorities there.

ASHER: More than 200 people are still awaiting rescue near the eastern face of Mount Everest in Tibet. Chinese state media reported yesterday that 350

trekkers had reached the small township of Qudang while rescue operations were still continuing to retrieve those who are stranded.

GOLODRYGA: And recent days, a blizzard has pummeled the Himalayas, bringing unusually heavy snowfall and rain for this time of the year. Visitors --

visitor numbers in the region were high this week with tourists taking advantage of an eight-day national day holiday in China.

ASHER: Yes. Last hour, I spoke with Everest expedition leader, Garrett Madison, who is in Tibet and narrowly avoided the storm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARRETT MADISON, FOUNDER, MADISON MOUNTAINEERING: Fortunately, the weather has cleared up a little bit now. We've got some sunny skies, but there's

three, four, five feet of snow in places and that has to melt first before the rescuers can get their vehicles into where these people are stranded.

So, it's going to take some time, probably four, five, six days, maybe a week before the roads will be clear and they can get in and help some of

these people that need assistance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us now from Atlanta. How are things looking as this rescue operation is underway, Derek?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, it's going to be very challenging in the days to come. They've got a lot of snow, three, four, five feet of snow

in such a short period of time. That is going to paralyze the people on the ground and it clearly has.

[12:25:00]

And it really took people off guard as well. Remember, the Tibetan Plateau. So, we're talking about the Chinese approach to Mount Everest is very dry,

typically this time of year. That's why hikers and tourists typically target this timeframe, this narrow timeframe in October, but unfortunately,

a storm system came out from the south and it had a lot of moisture and it dumped this this five feet of snow bearing these tents and these kind of

temporary villages.

I mean, look at people trying to just take the snow away from the base of their tents. They're using yaks to try and break ground where the three,

four, five feet of snow actually fell.

So let me show you just how quickly things can change in the Himalayans or the mountains for that matter, right? So we're monitoring a storm that was

coming from the Bay of Bengal. So it had a lot of tropical moisture. It moved over Nepal.

And then what it did is it actually wrung itself out right across the Himalayans. So here's Nepal, here's China. And look at how it went from bad

to worse in a matter of a few hours. This storm just hung out over the Mount Everest and the Eastern Base Camp region where some of these people

are still stranded.

And really what's happened is that it took that moisture from the Bay of Bengal and wrung it out in the form of heavy precipitation for a long

duration time right over this mountainous region where the people happen to be hiking.

So, as the rescuers go and attempt to try and save these people who are still stranded on the mountain, they have to worry about the warning signs

of hypothermia. People there are going to become confused, shivering, sleeplessness.

There is so many signs of hypothermia that they are currently monitoring because they're now in effect with these cold temperatures and the snow

that is on the ground. It is going to make it very difficult for the people who remain on the mountainside still.

So, we talk about these narrow windows of time in terms of the weather world, right? Normally on the eastern side of the Himalayans and the

Tibetan Plateau, dry and sunny. You heard the interview just a moment ago.

But because of the nature of the weather pattern that's setting up across this region, there is additional snow and rain potentially going forward

here in the days to come. So, they need to get to these people quick.

Zain and Bianna.

ASHER: You talk about the health impacts, not to mention the psychological impacts of being trapped --

VAN DAM: Exactly.

ASHER: -- on the mountain and obviously fearing the worst. God knows what's going through their minds right now.

Derek Van Dam, live for us. Thank you so much.

VAN DAM: All right.

ASHER: All right. African wild dogs are being reintroduced to Uganda after they nearly disappeared for decades. And they may be the key to bringing

back the species from the brink of extinction.

GOLODRYGA: That's a really important story. Conservationists say there are still many challenges, including the climate crisis and poaching.

CNN's Ben Hunte reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN HUNTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After being functionally extinct for decades, these African wild dogs are making their return to Uganda. The

painted dog or cape hunting dog is known for its predatory instincts, rounded ears and unique coat colors.

These endangered carnivores can run more than 44 miles per hour and are crucial to ecosystem balance in Africa.

THOMAS PRICE, DIRECTOR, CTC CONSERVATION PARK: Well, in Uganda, they're not only an endangered species, they are technically functionally extinct.

There are rare sightings of single animals or two animals here and there. But there's not been any denning activity seen in Uganda for decades.

HUNTE (voice-over): Now, that could change. The organization conservation through commercialization has brought in eight wild dogs from South Africa

to the Uganda Park in hopes they'll regrow the population.

PRICE: One of our females is highly pregnant at the moment, and we do hope, if all goes well, that she will have offspring by next week.

HUNTE (voice-over): Officials say fewer than 7,000 African wild dogs remain worldwide due to poaching, habitat loss and climate change. But these dogs

seem right at home in their Ugandan habitat.

PRICE: Well, they're doing great because this is their natural environment. I mean, they're used to be here, so there's nothing we need to adjust for

them.

HUNTE (voice-over): Gone for decades, their absence caused ecological imbalance, but their comeback from the brink of extinction is a welcome

change.

Ben Hunte, CNN

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: All right. Still to come.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: The president answered my questions on text about his hopes for this nascent deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: CNN's Jake Tapper texting with Donald Trump about the Gaza peace plan. We'll tell you exactly what the president said.

GOLODRYGA: And we will look at the role Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is playing as he works to get the Gaza peace deal across the

finish line.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:30:12]

GOLODRYGA: All right. Welcome back to "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga.

ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher.

Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel are underway in Egypt right now, based on U.S. President Donald Trump's 20-point ceasefire plan for Gaza.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. These discussions are coming after Hamas voice support for parts of the proposal and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said that he'd

support it.

And while there is cautious optimism, the plan will succeed, there are, however, some significant gaps.

CNN's Jake Tapper asked the U.S. President in an exclusive interview what would happen if Hamas isn't fully committed. Here's how he responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The president answered my questions on text about his hopes for this nascent deal. I asked him, "What happens if Hamas insists on staying

in power in Gaza?" The president said, "Complete obliteration."

Then I said, I assume you saw that Senator Lindsey Graham interpreted Hamas' response as a rejection since Hamas insisted on no disarmament,

keeping Gaza under Palestinian control and tying hostage release to negotiations. Is Lindsey Graham wrong? The president said, "We will find

out. Only time will tell."

I asked him, "When will you know if Hamas is truly committed or just stringing the world along? And is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on

board with ending the bombing, as you called for, and whatever else you need him to do to make this peace proposal a reality?"

The president said, "Yes on Bibi. Soon on the rest."

I said that I thought the Arab League calling on Hamas to not be part of any future leadership in Gaza, Palestine was a remarkable step. Are they

committed to seeing your plan implemented? And will they help with funding and a law enforcement presence or whatever is needed? I said, "I hoped

peace would become a reality." The president said, "I hope," and that he was working hard.

[12:35:03]

I also asked the president, "How do you think the government shutdown is going to end?" He said, "Good. We are winning and cutting costs big time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: The U.S. president's son-in-law is part of the U.S. delegation taking part in the talks.

GOLODRYGA: A White House official says Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, along with Jared Kushner, will travel to Egypt later today to finalize the

technical details. But Kushner's comments on Gaza in the past have raised some eyebrows, especially when describing the besieged enclave in terms of

a real estate deal last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JARED KUSHNER, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO THE U.S. PRESIDENT: In Gaza's waterfront property, it could be very valuable to -- if people would focus

on kind of building up, you know, livelihoods. You think about all the money that's gone into this tunnel network and to all the munitions if that

would have gone into education or innovation, what could have been done?

And so I think that it's a little bit of an unfortunate situation there. But I think from Israel's perspective, I would do my best to move the

people out and then clean it up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Time now for "The Exchange." Joining us CNN political and global affairs analyst, Barak Ravid, also foreign policy reporter for "Axios."

First, let me just say, Barak, if the president calls you in the middle of this conversation, by all means, please take the call. I don't know who has

who on speed dial either he has you, you have him. A few people have spoken to the president more throughout the course of the war and obviously over

the last few days, especially more than you.

ASHER: And if you end up texting with him, like one of our colleagues, do show us this text.

GOLODRYGA: Exactly. Let's get to your scoop with the president and what he told Prime Minister Netanyahu over the weekend when this deal was laid out.

And I'm assuming Prime Minister Netanyahu was not as enthusiastic about it as President Trump had presented the plan. And he said to him, you're

always so effing negative, this is a win, take it.

So, what does that exchange reveal about the leverage that President Trump has over Netanyahu? Because that was very similar language that President

Biden had used with Prime Minister Netanyahu over a year ago. That didn't get him to stop. What's different now?

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, I think what - - what's different is that Netanyahu is actually deterred by President Trump and President Trump has real leverage and is willing to use that

leverage.

And we saw that in the -- at the end of the 12-day war with Iran when Donald Trump ordered, I can't use any other word, ordered Netanyahu to call

back the planes from conducting a huge strike on Tehran. And Netanyahu did it and the war ended.

And he did the same thing last Friday where he basically forced Netanyahu into a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza. It's not a complete ceasefire, but it

is definitely a significant decrease in Israeli military operation and a halt to the ground operation to occupy Gaza city.

And he did that because Netanyahu is 100 percent dependent on Donald Trump, unlike with Joe Biden. I think that's the main difference.

And Donald Trump is not afraid, at all, to use the leverage that he has over Netanyahu, while Biden was always very hesitant to do it.

ASHER: Yes. I mean, it's interesting what you point out because, yes, Donald Trump said to Israel, no more bombing Gaza on Friday, but we did see

at least 100 Palestinians, roughly around 100 Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrikes over the weekend.

My question to you is that, obviously, Netanyahu is kind of between a rock and a hard place. A lot of Israelis, particularly hostage families, believe

that the prime minister has a need to sort of keep the war going, obviously, for political reasons. But at the same time, as you point out,

Donald Trump does have real leverage over Netanyahu because of military financial dependency.

Just explain to us what you anticipate Netanyahu's next move is.

RAVID: I think Netanyahu is not really in control with what's going on right now. I think this process is being run right out of the Oval Office.

Netanyahu's influence, I'm not saying he doesn't have influence, but it's - - it's very minor.

I think that Donald Trump -- and I -- I heard that when I spoke to him just the other day, he's adamant in ending the war and releasing the hostages.

And I think that in the coming days, we will see how with his envoy, Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, if needed, will basically tell

the parties, OK, you have this remaining gaps, no problem.

We think that the middle ground is here. So this is what we're going to do. Please sign this deal now. And I think that's what we're going to see in

the next few days.

[12:40:01]

This is not going to be a prolonged negotiation of, you know, haggling over details. No. It is going to be they're going to come. They're going to see

what the gaps that remain. And they'll say, this is the middle ground. Please sign the document here.

GOLODRYGA: Right. Because this may be a 20-point plan, but it's pretty clear that President Trump is focused on maybe points one, two, and three.

And that's about it at this point --

RAVID: Exactly.

GOLODRYGA: -- in trying to get there as soon as possible. Prime Minister Netanyahu's already spending this to his domestic audience as home, as a

win. What are you going to be looking for over the next 48 hours that convinces you that we are finally at a point where there will be a

ceasefire and these hostages will be coming home in the short days ahead?

RAVID: So first, I think the next point is to see when Kushner and Witkoff will depart the U.S. towards Egypt. That's number one. Number two is to see

how quickly they're going to put on the table a U.S. bridging proposal and try to force it on the parties. I think that's the -- that would be the key

-- that would be the key point.

And, obviously, I think anybody who's interested in where this thing is going should look very carefully at President Trump's Truth Social account.

Because when you look at what Trump posted over the last few days, you see that he posted at least three times photos of the demonstrations in Israel

for the release of the hostages and the end of the war.

And I think Donald Trump understands where Israeli public opinion is. And I think he is using it to press Netanyahu to go for this deal.

Another key issue is Hamas. Trump brought in the Turks for the first time into a much more active role in this negotiation. And he told Erdogan on

Friday, I did a lot of things for you. Now you need to do those things for me. And he expects Erdogan and President Sisi of Egypt and the Emir of

Qatar, Sheikh Tamim, to really put the screws now to Hamas to get them to - - to say yes to any deal that will be on the table by the end of this week.

GOLODRYGA: Barak Ravid, breaking news, not on only one war, but two on Ukraine as well. You've got prime minister, you've got the president there

in Ukraine calling you and President Trump here as well. Busy man.

Thank you so much for taking the time --

ASHER: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: -- to talk to us today. Appreciate it.

RAVID: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: And that does it for "One World" today. I'm Bianna Golodryga. I'll be back in about 15 minutes with "Amanpour."

ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher. I appreciate you watching. "African Voices Changemakers" is up next.

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