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One World with Zain Asher

Israel Marks Second Anniversary Of Hamas Attacks; Trump On Trade: We're Going To Treat Canada Fairly; Israel; Marks Two Years Since Hamas October 7th Attack. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired October 07, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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

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[12:00:46]

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."

It was an attack so barbaric that it upended one of the world's most volatile regions and created a profound geopolitical shift that will be

felt for generations to come.

ASHER: The nation of Israel came to a standstill today to honor the 1,200 people killed and 251 others kidnapped two years after Hamas launched a

surprise air, land, and sea assault on the southern part of the country.

GOLODRYGA: We're joined now by Omer Shem Tov, who was held hostage in Gaza for 505 days after being abducted by Hamas from the Nova Music Festival two

years ago.

Omer, it is so good to see you, my friend. The last time we spoke, you were here in New York. You received a hero's welcome everywhere. You have

traveled around the world since your release after 505 days, as we noted, in captivity.

You could be spending today anywhere you choose to be, but you have decided to spend time with those who have come together in Israel to not only

commemorate this moment, but to also still press for the release of the remaining hostages and a ceasefire.

You told me that being in captivity never leaves you. It just changes form. Talk to us about how you're feeling today.

OMER SHEM TOV, HELD HOSTAGE IN GAZA FOR 505 DAYS: Hi, Bianna. Thank you for having me.

Yes. We're in a -- in a -- in an event for those who were deceased on the 7th of October and for those who are still there in captivity, for the

hostages who are still there.

You know, I -- I feel like I couldn't be anywhere else in the world right now. This is exactly where I have to be. I have to be here in Israel and I

have to -- to respect and to raise awareness for those who are still there. And, you know, we're feeling -- it's -- it's -- those are very, very tough

days today. Yes.

ASHER: And, Omer, take us back to that October 7th. You're at the Music Festival. I mean, this is the last thing, right? This is the last thing you

anticipate as you're having fun that morning.

Just explain to us that moment when you first realized that something was wrong.

SHEM TOV: I remember that I was with -- with friends of mine. And like I said, we -- you know, we're 20 years old and we were dancing. We're having

fun.

And on 6:29 A.M., Hamas started to attack Israel. And at first for us, as Israelis, you know, it's very -- we're very usual to it that it happens

every now and then. So we didn't give much notice to it, but as time went by, we could understand that there is an attack on Israel and there is

terrorist who invaded Israel.

[12:05:04]

Quickly, I remember me and two of my friends running for our lives, seeing people just getting shot everywhere. Bodies, everywhere we ran to. I

remember as we get into a vehicle and we tried to run away, but the Hamas terrorists, they -- they -- they stopped us in the middle of a road.

Immediately, they start -- started shooting us. They didn't give much notice if we're soldiers, if we're citizens, they just started shooting us

immediately. And I remember two of my friends getting shot, one of them he started running away. Unfortunately, he was also kidnapped and he was

brutally murdered while in captivity.

But, you know, I remember that day so clearly. Today when I woke up in the morning, everything just flew past me. And it's crazy to think that we're

two years into it and there are still hostages there.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. You were also with your friends, Maya and Itay Regev, who were released in the first prisoner exchange and they were fighting for you

every single day since.

Obviously, your parents, your siblings were fighting every day since October 7th for your release. But I do remember you telling me in our

interview that your captors were especially afraid of Donald Trump and didn't want him to win the election because they realized there would be

more pressure they viewed on Hamas for a hostage release deal. And then only a few weeks later after the election, you were released.

You have met with President Trump several times. He clearly has taken a liking to you. You've sent messages, notes to him, videos, thanking him

along with so many other Israelis for everything he's done to bring this war to an end and the hostages home.

We are so close to that date. Hopefully it will come very soon. Talk about the role that President Trump has played in your view to getting us here.

SHEM TOV: Wow. First of all, I have to -- to -- to thank President Trump for everything that he's done for -- for Israel, for me.

Like I told him when I -- when I first met him, I really do believe that God sent him to -- to help us, to help the hostages, to bring them back

home.

I -- like you've said, in captivity, immediately when Trump got elected, the -- the view of the -- fo the captors to us, everything changed

completely. I could see they were afraid of him. And I really do believe that they are still afraid of him.

And I really do believe that -- that Trump could get the deal -- the deal signed. And I really hope that in -- in, you know, in the -- in the next

few days, we could see the deal signed and -- and the hostages coming back home.

It's all we hope to. And, you know, it's all we -- we wish for. And we just -- we -- us as -- as -- as a society in Israel, we cannot heal until --

until they're -- they're all back home.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And I know that you will not stop fighting until they are all home as well.

Omer, please give your parents, Shelly and Malki, who have said -- shed so many tears over these last two years. Our best, our regards. I hope from

now on, they only have smiles on your face, on their faces.

And I hope, as your mom said, that you came home and finally cleaned your room. She left it as messy as you had it on October 7th for a reason. And

she said, I know he's gonna come home and he's gonna clean his room. Next time I'm in Israel, I'm gonna check to see if everything was cleaned, Omer.

Omer Shem Tov, thank you so much.

ASHER: Thank you, Omer.

GOLODRYGA: -- for joining us today.

ASHER: Thank you so much.

SHEM TOV: Thank you.

ASHER: Thank you.

All right. Well, President Donald Trump is meeting with Canadian Prime Minister at the White House right now. Let's listen in.

(TRUMP MEETING WITH CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER AT THE WHITE HOUSE)

[12:40:53]

GOLODRYGA: OK. The president bit of a feisty mood there, poking some fun with reporters at the end of what was about a 35-minute Q&A in the Oval

Office for -- is this his second or third meeting in the Oval Office now with Mark Carney?

ASHER: Second.

GOLODRYGA: Much better than the --

ASHER: Second meeting this year.

GOLODRYGA: -- first. It seems like the two men have really gotten to know each other.

Mark Carney didn't get --

ASHER: A lot of praises on Mark Carney.

GOLODRYGA: -- much -- much time in -- in words and edge-wise as we have come to expect this press conference and Q&A with reporters was wide-

ranging and varied on a number of issues, including domestic, international, and obviously relations between Canada and the United

States.

I want to bring in Alayna Treene for more. And, Alayna, feel free to jump in on whatever issue stood out to you most.

But as it relates to Canada, the president did say that a trade deal with Canada will be comprehensive when asked if the prime minister would be

walking away with anything. The president said, I think he will be happy.

They clearly are hoping to lower some of the tariffs, specifically the 50 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum that the president imposed on Canada.

The Canadian prime minister making it clear that the relationship between these two countries has changed even after Donald Trump's presidency has

really focused on reforming some of the economic policies at home, becoming more -- more self-dependent, economically expanding trade partnerships

around the world, but also making it clear that the United States and Canada still are very reliant upon each other.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Oh, absolutely. And I think that's actually, of course, one of the major goals for the prime minister is

convincing President Donald Trump that there's also pain from these tariffs being inflicted on the American people.

And look, the president did say he wants to make a deal. He made very clear that he had what he called, quote, great love for Canada, but that there's

natural conflict. He kept referring to that phrase, natural conflict, between the United States and Canada, at least in the President Donald

Trump's side, because they're competing for similar industries. President Donald Trump can bring up cars, for example, wanting to have similar car

dealerships.

All to say, it does seem like the president is approaching this meeting, which is much more friendlier rhetoric toward Canada.

He had, I would note, though, always kind of a better relationship or a bit of a -- a friendly rapport with Carney than he did with the former, of

course, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had, you know, left office earlier this year.

But some other things I want to point out and separate from Canada, despite those trade negotiations being so important, is when he was talking about

and answering some questions about the shutdown that's happening in Washington, D.C.

There have been so many questions about how this is affecting, you know, workers who are part of, you know, being paid for, federal workers who are

paid by the government, who are currently furloughed.

The president said that some of them -- he's open to some of them not having being back paid for when they are out of office for that time when

they are furloughed or temporarily laid off. He said, that really depends on who these types of workers are. If he doesn't think that they are what

he argued were good or don't deserve to be taking care of these federal workers and they would be handled differently.

[12:45:12]

And so that's a huge development. That has never happened before in -- in, you know, during a government shutdown where these workers are not paid for

or received back pay.

Some of the things I want to point out as well that he said when he was talking about the shutdown, he said that he doesn't think the Democrats are

capable of making a deal. He still held on to this idea that there could be mass layoffs, though he seemed to be pushing that deadline back a bit four

to five days he said.

And so still a lot of questions when it comes to this -- to shut down negotiations. But as for Carney and just going back to the meeting at hand,

we'll have to see what he means by walk away happy, because I can tell you from my conversations, Bianna and Zain, with people in the White House,

they weren't sure. They -- they said not to have super high expectations for a potential deal between the two. But perhaps these negotiations can

lead to something more tangible.

ASHER: All right. Alayna Treene, live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. We'll be right back with more.

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GOLODRYGA: Well, as the world awaits a deal to end the hostilities in Gaza and bring the hostages home, Israelis remember the lives lost two years ago

today. The war began when Hamas terrorists massacred 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 others in Israel. At that time, the Israeli prime minister

vowed to forcefully avenge that attack.

ASHER: Yes. Benjamin Netanyahu has done that upwards of 67,000 people have now been killed in Gaza, including more than 20,000 children according to

the Palestinian Health Ministry. Israel controls the food, water, medical supplies, all of the aid into Gaza as well.

What is being allowed through is not enough to feed the population. The U.N. says famine levels have reached life-threatening proportions. And 460

deaths have been reported because of starvation.

Relentless. Relentless Israeli bombing has left only 13 hospitals partially functional under very, very difficult conditions. In fact, 90 percent of

Gaza's water, sanitation, and hygiene resources have been destroyed. And nearly all of the enclave's two million residents have been displaced, many

of them, multiple times.

GOLODRYGA: Here's CNN's Jeremy Diamond on how October 7th has this devastating war has defined this devastating war in Israeli society over

the past two years.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[12:50:07]

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For two years, they have been fighting for sons taken hostage, for daughters killed at a

music festival, and for the future of a country at a crossroads.

Two years later, Hamas' October 7th attack and the war it unleashed still defined this small country. Viki Cohen knows that all too well.

DIAMOND: Hello, Viki. Hi.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Her son is still being held in Gaza. And she is at the forefront of the hostage family's movement, demonstrating in front of

the prime minister's home, inside parliament and in weekly Saturday night protests.

DIAMOND: This is another Saturday night.

VIKI COHEN, MOTHER OF ISRAELI HOSTAGE: Yes, but it's -- feel different.

DIAMOND: It feels different, huh?

COHEN: Yes.

DIAMOND (voice-over): On the night we joined her, the whole country is buzzing about a possible deal to free all of the hostages.

COHEN: And it's a mix of feelings. It's excitement. It's expectation. It's a -- also fear.

DIAMOND (voice-over): This video shows the moment that changed everything. Her 19-year-old son, Nimrod, conscripted for mandatory military service

being pulled from an Israeli tank on the Gaza border and taken captive.

DIAMOND: This is the Rubik's cube that was in the tank.

COHEN: The real one that was found in the tank. He used to take it wherever he goes.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Heading to another rally, Cohen cannot help but feel hopeful. But she is determined to keep fighting.

COHEN: We will still fight and do everything we did before until it's settle, until it's final. Until they are at home.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Cohen wasn't always at the forefront of the protest movement, but she ramped up her fight after losing faith in her government.

COHEN: And I think that there's many other families realized that we need to be more polite and less polite and be more aggressive with the fight.

DIAMOND (voice-over): She soon realized she had real power.

COHEN: I heard for so many people who told me, I heard you. You are asking and you are calling for us to come and we will come. We are coming because

of you. This is so important.

DIAMOND (voice-over): These rallies are where Viki found her voice and where she found a community to fight alongside.

DIAMOND: Saturday nights in Israel have represented a chance for the hostage families to raise their voices week after week with the support of

so many Israelis. Viki and her son are just about to go on stage.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Today, I was filled with excitement, anticipation, and great hope. But also, she tells the crowd, concerned. The Israeli prime

minister was speaking while Viki was on stage.

COHEN: Did Netanyahu say something?

DIAMOND: Yes. He said that he hopes that they can be returned during Sukkot.

COHEN: The hostages?

DIAMOND: He said the goal is to limit negotiations to a few days. He doesn't want it to be dragged out.

SIGAL MANSURI, DAUGHTERS KILLED ON OCTOBER 7TH: They thought it's going to be safe here.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Sigal and Menashe Mansuri are also still fighting.

MANSURI: We just know that they went to a festival and they never came back. And we do know that their last couple hours were --

MENASHE MANSURI, DAUGHTERS KILLED ON OCTOBER 7TH: Hell.

S. MANSURI: Were hell.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Two years after their daughters were slaughtered inside this bomb shelter, they are fighting for answers and accountability.

M. MANSURI: We're looking for is the truth.

S. MANSURI: We want to know the truth in a legal way, in a decent way, in a respective way. We want to know what led us to October 7th. We want to know

how come the -- the IDF didn't respond for so many hours.

DIAMOND (voice-over): The couple helped found the October Council, pushing for an independent commission of inquiry to investigate Israel's failures

that helped lead to October 7th.

DIAMOND: But two years later, can you believe that you still have to fight for all of this? Did -- did -- did you think this fight would last this

long?

S. MANSURI: No, no. You know what? It's -- it's -- it's even more than that. I didn't think that I will have to fight for this.

DIAMOND (voice-over): But the Israeli prime minister has refused, claiming the commission would be biased.

S. MANSURI: When you have nothing to hide, you just, you know, how come you're so against it? I mean, why are you trying to fight -- fight it?

DIAMOND: Do you believe that a state commission of inquiry will ever be set up while Prime Minister Netanyahu remains in office?

M. MANSURI: No.

S. MANSURI: Most likely and unfortunately no.

M. MANSURI: Country, the state of Israel, need to have the truth about what happened.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Along the border where Hamas militants stormed into Israel, the devastation wrought by Israel's subsequent attacks on Gaza is

unmistakable.

Here, the fight for Israel's character and its future are also on display.

[12:55:04]

SAPIR SUZKER AMRAN, ISRAELI ACTIVIST: We came to the fence today, as close as we can to Gaza, and to say that not all Israelis support the genocide,

not all Israelis are supporting the starvation of Gaza.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Others have come to see and revel in the destruction.

RAFAEL HEMO, ISRAELI CITIZEN: There is no Arab supposed to be next to us here.

DIAMOND: So you want Gaza razed to the ground?

HEMO: No Gaza. No Gaza.

DIAMOND: No, Gaza.

HEMO: All the building. I see a couple of buildings there are which (INAUDIBLE), I want this flat. If you ask me, Trump wants to build a base

here, you're welcome.

DIAMOND: Some would say that's genocide or that's ethnic cleansing.

HEMO: No, it's not genocide.

DIAMOND (voice-over): For Viki Cohen, whether Israel prioritizes a deal to free the hostages or a forever war in Gaza will also define its future.

COHEN: It's a fight of something bigger than to release the hostages. It's something very basic that say of the Jewish community here in Israel that

we care for each other. We don't sacrifice the lives for the land.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Two years. So hard to believe and how much has changed and how much suffering this has wrought.

ASHER: Yes. And with every anniversary, it certainly does not get easier for those who suffered on that fateful day, two years ago.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Well, that does it for "One World" today. I'm Bianna Golodryga.

ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. Bianna's going to be back with "Amanpour" right after this short break.

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