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Four Israel Soldiers Killed in Hezbollah Drone Attack; Harris, Trump Looking to Pick Up Support in Razor-Thin Race; New Lawsuit Alleges Sean "Diddy" Combs Sexually Assaulting Teenage Boy. Growing Casualties in Gaza from Series of Israeli Strikes; Exclusive Look at Preparations for Pandas' Move to U.S. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired October 15, 2024 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:09]
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers watching all around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, Israel's prime minister vowing to target Hezbollah without mercy as an airstrike kills multiple people in Lebanon's north.
The enemy from within. Donald Trump suggests that he'd send in the U.S. Military after everyday Americans. It's slammed by Kamala Harris.
And coming to America two giant pandas leave China as the beloved bears head to Washington, D.C.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: The latest Israeli airstrike in Lebanon has killed at least 19 people according to the Lebanese Red Cross. This one hit a Christian majority village in the northern part of the country where displaced people had fled the bombardment in the south. Red Cross officials say teams are searching the site for victims and survivors underneath the rubble.
CNN has reached out to the Israeli Defense Forces for comment. A source tells CNN growing understandings between the U.S. and Israel have led to a pause in Israeli strikes in Beirut in recent days. But that hasn't calm the rhetoric of Israeli leaders against Iranian- backed Hezbollah.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON: All our enemies should know whether they are close or far away in Iran, they should know that we are determined. We are determined to supply security and safety to our citizens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, the IDF released video Monday of what it says is a Hezbollah bunker under a house in southern Lebanon. A spokesperson says the group was planning to launch an October 7th-style massacre from that bunker.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning strikes against Hezbollah will continue without mercy even in Beirut. He visited an IDF training base where four Israeli soldiers were killed, 60 others injured in a Hezbollah drone attack on Sunday.
More now from CNN's Nic Robertson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Moments after impact, elite Golani Brigade trainees struggle to save lives. The worst of the wounded whisked away to nearby hospitals by helicopter. Others taken by ambulance. Medics swarming to the IDF base 40 miles from the frontline in Lebanon.
Within hours, the toll becoming clear. Four dead, eight others seriously injured, making it the deadliest for troops outside of combat zones since October 7th last year.
HAGARI (through translator): We need an improvement to our defense.
ROBERTSON: Israel's prime minister on site inspecting the damage inside the canteen, which appears to have been the target. Time close to 7:00 p.m. when troops would have been having dinner. Uncompromising in his response.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I want to clarify, we will continue to strike Hezbollah without mercy everywhere in Lebanon, including Beirut.
ROBERTSON: After the strike, Hezbollah claiming it was a complex attack involving rockets, the decoy, Israel's air defenses, and a swarm of drones. Regardless of this claim, in recent days they've been threatening strikes on gatherings of troops away from the war at Lebanon's border, and in recent months have released what they claim is drone surveillance video of sensitive sites deep inside Israel.
But Hezbollah may have had unwitting help from the IDF in their intelligence gathering. An IDF promotional video of the base, 30 miles north of Tel Aviv, reveals its layout in detail, including the location of the canteen.
As the IDF expands its cross-border raids it says are targeting Hezbollah in an increasingly protracted campaign there, a new reality is emerging. After heavy blows, Hezbollah is finding its feet and its wings, becoming a lethal threat far from the frontlines.
The four trainee troops who died all 19 years old.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, joining me now from Tel Aviv is Alon Pinkas, the former Israeli consul general in New York. Good to have you with us.
[00:05:01]
ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL IN NEW YORK: Good morning, Lynda. Good to be with you as always.
KINKADE: So, Alon, Hezbollah was able to strike and kill at an army base deep inside Israeli territory. This was the deadliest attack for IDF soldiers since Israel began the war a year ago -- since this war began a year ago, rather. What has been the reaction there?
PINKAS: Well, as it seems, Lynda, there were some kind of a malfunction of the aerial defense systems because apparently the drone, although fired from Lebanon by Hezbollah, the routes that he had taken was from West, i.e., from the Mediterranean Sea, east across the shoreline and into that base, which is roughly halfway between the port city of Haifa in the north and Tel Aviv in the center.
And about a half hour into his flight, they lost track of him. So there was a malfunction in that respect that should not have happened and many cases before that these drones were shot down. So, you know, every once in a while, I know it's tragic to say. I know what that say. Every once in a while, one is going to slip by. And so the reaction was, OK, this is a war, this is sad, this was, you know, right in the middle of Israel. But this could happen every once in a while.
KINKADE: And I have to ask you about this piece you wrote, you wrote a great piece of analysis along in the "Haaretz." You said U.S. President Joe Biden has 99 days left in office. That's, of course, until the inauguration in January. More than enough time to present a plan for de-escalation in the Middle East and a regional ceasefire. Take us through your proposal. What is it going to take?
PINKAS: Well, it begins with the fact, well, stating the obvious, obviously, Lynda, that there's a war on three fronts now. There's still a war in Gaza, although it's somewhat subdued, but nonetheless just the other day, Israel conducted a ferocious attack in Jabalya refugee camp. There's a war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, which we just discussed, and there's a war or a confrontation or another theatre that's going on between Israel and Iran where Israel is expected to strike Iran in the next few days in retaliation for an Iranian strike a few days ago.
You take -- you combine all three and the one thing they have in common that they actually are three fronts of the same war. And the three fronts of the same war threaten to (INAUDIBLE) and escalate beyond those three. The West Bank, you have the Houthis in south Yemen and southwest Yemen and so on.
Now the second common denominator that they have is that in none of these wars, however just, however justified they may be, however justifiable, anyone could make the case about the fighting, Israel has no coherent and clear political goals. It's not clear what Israel wants to do with Gaza. It's not clear exactly what Israel seeks to do with Lebanon, and it's not at all clear what's this for tit-for-tat or ping-ponging of missile salvo between Israel and Iran is going to achieve.
Enter the U.S. The U.S.'s policy in the last year was all about averting or preventing escalation. That failed. It wasn't Americas fault 100 percent, but nonetheless if that was the paramount interest that was defined, the Americans did not succeed in achieving it. Now I think that, you know, you have 22 days before the election in the U.S. and then the 99 days, as you mentioned, between today and the 20th of January 2025, Biden has announced to put forth a plan to pull for an immediate ceasefire, simultaneous on all three fronts, and not play a game. Anyone not interested, take it or leave it.
That plan is not going to be a piece of paper that's going to be sent to someone's e-mail and forgotten. That's going to be submitted to the U.N. Security Council. And everyone should heed the advice to accept it. Anyone has reservations, stipulations, conditions, changes, that it wants to introduce, that's fine. That's what the negotiation process is about. But before negotiating -- negotiations, I'm sorry, you need to accept the plan. That's the gist of it.
KINKADE: Yes. Exactly. And you also pointed out in this case, the way that this is unraveling. it is gradually but steadily pulling the Americans into the vortex. The U.S. is now sending a new defense system known as the THAAD and 100 troops to operate it.
What's your perspective on that deployment?
[00:10:02]
PINKAS: Well, you know, on the one hand, the U.S. is saying we're assisting Israel but what we're trying to do here is to help Israel defends itself so as not to allow or not to enable further escalation because if this layer of defense that the THAAD offers, it's called the terminal high altitude defense, terminal high altitude area defense. That's the acronym, you have all these acronyms in the Pentagon.
If we add this layer then that makes Israel less vulnerable. So it's less vulnerable, maybe the incentive to strike Iran is going to diminish somewhat. If Iran sees that Israel is well-defended, maybe it'll have a disincentive to further attack Israel after Israel retaliates. What the Americans are afraid here, Lynda, is that this is -- that escalation, there's an immutable law in escalation and that is that when people think they control it, they don't. And it always spins or spirals out of control. And this is what's happening.
Now, because Iran can block the Straits of Hormuz, because Iran theoretically, hypothetically in some bad, worst-case scenario but actually retaliate by bombing oil terminals in Saudi Arabia, in Bahrain, in Kuwait, in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, that would pull the U.S. into this war. If, on the other hand, Israel goes as far as attacking Iran's nuclear infrastructure, which doesn't seem the case, but you never know, it's kind of a rolling escalation, that will drag the U.S. And the last thing the U.S. needs, whether before the election or
during a transition period, is to be sucked again into a Middle East war when the U.S. was thinking just two years ago that the main focus was Ukraine and the main challenge in the world for the U.S. is high enough, and all of a sudden look at us, America, here we are back in one of those forever war in the Middle East in which and with which we have nothing to do.
KINKADE: Yes, exactly. A lot certainly has changed in the past 12 months.
Alon Pinkas, in Tel Aviv, great to have you on for your analysis. Thanks so much.
PINKAS: Always. Thank you, Lynda.
KINKADE: Two commonwealth countries are locked in a full-blown diplomatic crisis over an assassination on Canadian soil. Canada expelled six Indian diplomats on Monday, including the high commissioner after police linked them to the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June last year, as well as other acts of violence against Sikh separatists in Canada.
India has called Nijjar a terrorist. Now Canada asked India to revoke the diplomatic immunity of the half dozen diplomats so that they could be questioned in the murder investigation. Not only did India refused it retaliated by swiftly expelling six high-ranking Canadian diplomats.
Well, Canada's prime minister is defending the need for a police investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: The evidence brought to light by the RCMP cannot be ignored. It leads to one conclusion -- it is necessary to disrupt the criminal activities that continue to pose a threat to public safety in Canada, that is why we acted. Because we will always, first and foremost. stand for the rights of Canadians to feel safe and secure in their own country.
We will never tolerate the involvement of a foreign government threatening and killing Canadian citizens on Canadian soil. A deeply unacceptable violation of Canada's sovereignty and of international law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, the Indian government released a statement accusing Canada of smearing India for political gain, and said the aspersions cast on the high commissioner are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt. Canada is home to the largest population of Sikhs outside their home state of Punjab. India.
Well, with just three weeks to go until election day in the U.S., Kamala Harris is slamming Donald Trump saying a second term with her Republican opponent would be dangerous for the country. Her warning comes after Trump told FOX News that the U.S. Military should be called upon to handle what he described as the enemy from within on election day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within. We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics, and I think -- and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard or if really necessary by the military because they can't let that happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[00:15:06]
KINKADE: Well, in an unusual move for her, Harris played the Trump clip during a rally Monday in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. And she followed it up with this comment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's talking about the enemy within our country, Pennsylvania. He's talking about -- that he considers anyone who doesn't support him or who will not bend to his will an enemy of our country.
This is among the reasons I believe so strongly that a second Trump term would be a huge risk for America and dangerous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, as the election draws closer Harris is reaching out for voters' support in some unexpected places and hoping to get a message across to some who might not normally hear it.
CNN's Priscilla Alvarez reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on a sprint to election day with both candidates beginning a weeklong stretch crisscrossing swing states.
First in Pennsylvania where the race remains deadlocked. Harris trying to lock in her coalition unveiled new economic proposals, appealing to black voters. That plan includes forgivable loans to black entrepreneurs of up to $20,000, promoting apprenticeships, and legalizing recreational marijuana. Taken together, it's a sweeping proposal aimed at trying to persuade black voters, in particular black men, amid signs of lagging enthusiasm.
Harris recognizing the ground her campaigns still needs to cover in an interview with the Shade Room.
HARRIS: Black men are no different from anybody else. They expect that you have to earn their vote. And that's why I'm out here doing the work that I'm doing about talking with folks, listening with folks, because I'm running for president of the United States. And it is incumbent on me to earn this support.
ALVAREZ: Monday's stop is the first in a travel blitz for Harris that will include the blue wall states of Michigan and Wisconsin, in addition to Pennsylvania as the Harris campaign tries to secure a path to 270 electoral votes.
Harris and Trump are also taking to the airwaves to reach voters, including a new ad in the key battlegrounds.
HARRIS: When the middle class is strong, America is strong, and we can build a stronger middle class.
ALVAREZ: The vice president confirming she will sit down for her first ever interview with FOX News the same day, the former president participates in a FOX town hall with an all-female audience. This after he refused to do another debate with Harris.
TRUMP: So because we've done two debates and because they were successful, there will be no third debate.
ALVAREZ: Trump also focusing on his base going after men with a potential sit-down with podcaster Joe Rogan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Joe Rogan has to have you on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
TRUMP: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you do that?
TRUMP: Oh, sure, I would.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Joe, like, besides us, Joe --
TRUMP: I mean I think I'm doing it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes?
ALVAREZ: In Pennsylvania both sides also set to pour millions of dollars into ad spending, underscoring how critical the state is for both campaigns.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Sabrina Rodriguez joins us now. She's a national politics reporter with "The Washington Post."
Good to have you with us, Sabrina.
SABRINA RODRIGUEZ, NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER, WASHINGTON POST: Thanks for having me. KINKADE: So the latest polls show that Trump is doing better with
black and Hispanic voters combined than any other Republican presidential nominee before him since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. For the question is why?
RODRIGUEZ: The reality is that Donald Trump has really made an impression on a lot of black and Latino voters and specifically men. I mean, we've seen by enlarge important well after poll that this is something that is very gendered. We see more men really finding an appeal in Donald Trump and part of it is them really buying into this message on the economy that he is putting out, him talking a lot about, you know, his focus on businesses, his focus on. You know, building wealth in America, and really calling now that the Democratic Party has not delivered on its promises, that it has made to these communities in years past.
So part of that has really helped, you know, build a coalition. At the end of the day, we're still seeing, you know, the vast majority of black voters and a majority of Latino voters are supporting Kamala Harris still identify with the Democratic Party and will be coming out to vote for her. But even a small increase in Donald Trump's support among these groups of people can really prove to be key in helping him in a path to victory in some of the key battleground states across the country.
KINKADE: Yes, exactly. I mean, you do rightly point out that Harris is winning the majority of black and Hispanic voters in the latest polls, but certainly not as well as previous Democratic nominees did.
[00:20:05]
Do you think it could be because she's a woman?
RODRIGUEZ: Absolutely. I mean, that is something that comes up repeatedly. I've been across battleground states talking to both men and women. I mean, it comes up more with men, but you still hear some conversations where it's sort of masked in a question around, is she strong enough to be the leader of the country, or, you know, how would she be with foreign leaders? How would she represent the U.S.?
A lot of people won't come outright and say that they are not going to support her for a woman, but just having been covered these issues of sexism and racism in the past, those are two factors that continue to be part of it. But it's not just as simple as that. I mean, for some people, it's -- they just don't know a lot about her. Just given how fast everything has evolved this year with President Biden stepping aside from the race and Harris then becoming the nominee, there are still a lot of questions around people wanting to know more about her policy proposals, wanting to know more about, you know, what she represents, what are her values, what if she really want to get done if she's elected?
KINKADE: And of course, Harris was criticized for not doing enough media interviews, and in recent weeks she has sat down with CNN and CBS and this week she'll sit down with FOX News. What can she gain from that interview and what's the risk? RODRIGUEZ: The number one thing for her right now is showing that
she's not scared of doing these interviews. She's been repeatedly attacked by Republicans that are saying that, you know, she's hiding, that she's not being forthright, that there's a reason that she's not doing these interviews and it's because she can't answer questions. I mean, Donald Trump has repeatedly questioned her intelligence on the campaign trail.
So this is an opportunity for her to show there is nothing for her to hide. She has a lot of proposals to really introduce the American people to. Of course, the risk is, you know, that viral moment that we might see on TikTok of if she slips up on a question or something, you know, something is not perfectly answered or anything like that. But the campaign is at the point that they realized that the benefits outweigh the risks.
KINKADE: We did also hear Donald Trump threatened to deploy the military to take down what he calls the enemy from within. He said left lunatics more of a danger than adversaries like Russia. Can you explain those comments and the sort of reaction we're seeing?
RODRIGUEZ: I mean, there has been a swift backlash to this. You know, just with Harris on the campaign trail in Erie, Pennsylvania, we saw her talking about it. They've already put out ads related to it. You know, even at her campaign rally, this is highly unusual for her. She put a clip of him saying it. And they're really using this -- Democrats -- to try and drive home this point of him being a threat to democracy and kind of riling up this outrage around those comments and seeing, you know, he's talking about Americans.
He's talking about people within this country. So it's certainly prompting some outrage. We're seeing Republicans try to, you know, downplay the comments. We saw his running mate, J.D. Vance say, you know, he's also talking about foreign nationals. He's not just talking about Democrats as enemies from within. But it's really hard for Republicans to navigate toning down comments like that when he is referring to at the end of the day Americans who he would be responsible for representing if he is elected.
KINKADE: Yes, exactly. Sabrina Rodriguez, great to have you on the show. Thanks so much for your time.
RODRIGUEZ: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, still to come on CNN NEWSROOM, new allegations of sexual assault leveled against Sean "Diddy" Combs. More on his deepening legal troubles when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:25:48]
KINKADE: Welcome back. A new round of serious allegations against musician Sean "Diddy" Combs. The rapper and record label executive has been accused of sexual assault in at least six new lawsuits, including with the alleged victims including men, women, and even a teenage boy. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Embattled music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs has been hit with six new lawsuits from six separate accusers, all of whom are represented by the same attorney.
Now all of these accusers filed anonymously, either as a John Doe or a Jane Doe. There are four male accusers and two female accusers. These alleged incidents spanned over the course of decades. The first allegedly occurring in 1995 and the most recent occurring in 2021. That most recent alleged incident comes from a male accuser.
Now, another male accusers says that he was 16 years old at the time, which of course would have made him a minor. He alleges that back in 1998 he was at one of Combs' infamous white parties, which was held at his mansion in the Hamptons in New York. He says that shortly after meeting him and telling him about his aspirations to make it in showbusiness that is when Combs allegedly sexually assaulted him.
Now, I have reached out to Combs' team and he is denying this. He says that the attorney who is representing these new accusers is simply looking for media and here is part of their statement that they sent to me. Quote, "Mr. Combs and his legal team have full confidence in the facts, their legal defenses, and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone, adult or minor, man or woman."
Now, this denial comes after Combs' nearly a year of repeated denials ever since he was hit with this first lawsuit back in November 2023, which came from his ex-girlfriend Cassie. Now that lawsuit quickly settled, but he is still facing 17 other civil suits. Of course, this comes as Combs is currently incarcerated in New York where he awaits his criminal trial, which is set to begin in May of next year.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Our thanks to Elizabeth there.
Well, more suffering in Gaza after Israeli strikes hit a hospital compound. We'll hear from survivors and aid groups and the Israeli military when we come back. Plus NASA's new mission to find out if one of Jupiter's moons has what it takes to support life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
[00:30:57]
Israel insists that it's not targeting United Nations peacekeepers in Southern Lebanon. Instead, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is accusing Hezbollah of using peacekeeper bases as a cover from which to attack Israeli cities.
Over the past week, the U.N. says Israel fired on its peacekeepers, forcibly entered a base, and injured more than a dozen of its troops.
Netanyahu says Israel regrets those injuries but says his troops are trying to prevent harm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The charge that Israel deliberately attacked UNIFIL personnel is completely false. It's exactly the opposite. Israel repeatedly asked UNIFIL to get out of harm's way. It repeatedly asked them to temporarily leave the combat zone, which is right next to Israel's border with Lebanon. In fact, on the day that Israel began its ground operation next to our border with Lebanon, we asked them specifically, please leave this area so you're not harmed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: The European Union is asking Israel to stop attacking the peacekeepers and to keep them safe.
UNIFIL, the U.N. interim force in Lebanon, has been there for more than 45 years. The unit includes more than 10,000 people from 50 countries, and they operate along Lebanon's de-facto border with Israel.
The death toll from an Israeli strike outside Gaza's al-Aqsa Hospital has now risen to five, according to Doctors Without Borders. This is the seventh time the hospital compound has been hit since March.
Thousands of people have been sheltering on its grounds.
Well, several Palestinians were rushed to a separate hospital in Gaza City after a strike on Jabalya.
CNN's Nada Bashir has the latest on the Israeli attacks. And a warning: Her report does contain disturbing images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What once was a shelter for the displaced, now ablaze after a deadly airstrike by the Israeli military, targeting a hospital complex in central Gaza.
Desperate attempts to quell the fire seemingly hopeless. Some of the footage from this devastating night is simply too harrowing to show.
Displaced civilians still alive, engulfed in flames.
These smoldering structures are all that remain of the tents which have occupied the grounds of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital throughout this past year of relentless war. Several people were killed, and dozens more badly injured. As dawn breaks, the severity of this latest nightmare becomes clear.
Little has been left untouched by the blaze many of those who survived the night were spared only by a matter of meters.
"It was extremely difficult. The fire consumed people before it consumed anything else," Abu Yusuf (ph) says. "There were people in the midst of the fire that we couldn't pull out."
Nearby Uma Hammad (ph) gathers whatever belongings were not destroyed in the fire. The shoes of her daughter and granddaughter, both injured overnight, she says.
"I quickly woke my daughters up. I kept shouting, 'Wake up! Wake up! The fire is above us,'" she says. "We ran to the hospital. I saw people injured with shrapnel wounds, people who are completely burned. My neighbors were killed, all burnt alive while they were sleeping."
The Israeli military has acknowledged responsibility for the strike, saying its forces were targeting a Hamas command-and-control center they say was embedded within the hospital complex, adding that steps were taken to limit civilian harm.
But no evidence has been provided by the Israeli military to support these claims.
It was, however, known to the military that civilians had been sheltering on the grounds of the hospital complex for months. At least 5,000 people, according to hospital officials.
[00:35:02]
Inside the hospital, another gut-wrenching scene. These are the victims of a different strike, which targeted the al-Mufti school in Nuseirat on Sunday.
Among the bodies, little Yuman (ph). His grandmother, overcome with grief as she cradles her grandchild. Yuman (ph) is one of at least 22 people who were killed after Israeli forces struck the U.N.-run school, which had become a shelter for many.
Another sanctuary targeted in a war which has shown no mercy for so- called safe zones.
Another name added to the growing list of more than 42,000 killed in just over a year. Another reminder that it is civilians who continue to pay the highest price in Gaza.
Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: The Gaza Health Ministry says more than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the enclave since the start of the war. The office of the U.N. secretary-general is urging both sides to protect civilian lives.
We're going to take a short break.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The secretary-general condemns the large number of civilian casualties in the intensifying Israeli campaign in Northern Gaza, including its schools, displacing sheltered Palestinian civilians.
He strongly urges the parties to the conflict -- all parties to the conflict -- to comply with international humanitarian law and emphasizes that civilians must be respected and protected at all times.
Humanitarian assistance into Gaza is woefully inadequate and is at the low -- lowest level in months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: We are going to take a short break. We'll be right back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one. Ignition. And lift-off! Lift-off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: That's NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft, launching on a SpaceX rocket Monday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It's now on a long-awaited mission to investigate the potential for life on Jupiter's moon, Europa, which boasts a vast ice-covered ocean.
Scientists believe Europa may contain the ingredients needed for life.
The massive spacecraft is longer than a basketball court. The mission costs over $5 billion, and the journey will take at least five and a half years.
Well, in the coming hours, two Chinese pandas are set to arrive at Washington's National Zoo. Bao Li and Qing Bao will spend the next ten years here in the U.S., on loan from China, a renewal of the panda diplomacy, which dates back decades but comes amid recent tensions between the two countries.
CNN's David culver got an exclusive look at the preparations for the pandas' long overseas journey.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've traveled here to Sichuan, China, for a rare look at preparing these pandas for their very long journey.
[00:40:03] CULVER (voice-over): We're in and around the city of Chengdu. It's known for spicy hot pot, its mountainous landscape, and giant pandas.
CULVER: We're actually going to go meet now with some of the folks from the Smithsonian National Zoo from D.C., who have flown here and are part of that transition team to bring Bao Li and Qing Bao back to the U.S.
We can't go back there. But that's where Bao Li and Qing Bao are. They're in quarantine. And those you saw there were the zookeepers from the National Zoo, as well as some caretakers from China.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, they both have pretty different personalities. Bao Li has a huge personality, so he's very vocal. He's very energetic. And he's always kind of like up doing something.
Qing Bao is his polar opposite. She can be almost always found in a tree or sleeping on her climbing structure.
CULVER (voice-over): The panda pair will fill a void at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C. For the past 11 months, the panda exhibit has sat empty.
Now, as part of the terms of the Smithsonian's exchange program with China, late last year, the zoo's three pandas were sent back here to Chengdu.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think people realize how attached you get.
CULVER: When you're here, in this setting, what has stood out to you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here, the sheer number of pandas.
CULVER: It's crazy, right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's crazy.
CULVER: You turn here and you're like, oh wait, you can go there. You can go there. Nowhere else do we have something like this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nowhere else. And the scenery is obviously beautiful, and the commitment.
CULVER: Pandas were on the brink of extinction. But in recent years, they've moved from endangered to vulnerable. But there's still more work to go.
The panda exchange, also called panda diplomacy, dates back more than 50 years now, when China gifted two pandas to the U.S. following President Nixon's historic visit.
Today, they're given on loan, and they are a strategic diplomatic tool, serving as ambassadors of hope, and spreading global goodwill.
Somehow, pandas were able to unite nations, something we could use about right now.
David Culver, CNN, Chengdu, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, an animal once on the brink of extinction is making a comeback.
Experts say they're seeing more yellow land iguanas on the Galapagos Islands. Almost 50 years ago, the iguana population was dwindling, as animals like dogs and goats were introduced to the island.
The goats damaged their habitat, and the dogs preyed on the iguanas. But with conservation and recovery efforts, the population continues to grow.
Besides the yellow land iguana, there are two other species of land iguanas on the Galapagos, all of which are found nowhere else on earth.
Well, thanks so much for watching. I'm Lynda Kinkade. I'll be back with much more news at the top of the hour. WORLD SPORT is next.
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