Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Israel Agrees to Ceasefire Deal; Trump's Cabinet Nominees Expected to be Confirmed; Giuliani Reached Seal with Georgia Election Workers He Defamed; Southern California Evacuees Return to Communities to Find Devastation. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired January 17, 2025 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Prime Minister saying that the deal's done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can allow myself a little bit of regular breathing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I don't know how I'll go back to Gaza City to continue living.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Republican leaders are confident that Donald Trump will get most, if not all, of his picks confirmed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SCREAM) I'm not ready!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some 2 million content creators could lose $300 million in just one month.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm Max Foster. It's Friday, January 17th, 9 a.m. here in London, 11 a.m. in Jerusalem, where the Israeli Security Cabinet is thought to be discussing the ceasefire deal with Hamas.
They're expected to vote on it before sundown, and it appears to be on track for a full Cabinet vote on Saturday. This comes just hours after Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed for the first time that his government had indeed reached a deal with Hamas to release the hostages, but the Prime Minister is now facing major political fallout. There's been fierce backlash from far-right members of his ruling coalition, namely National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is threatening to pull his Jewish Power Party out of the Netanyahu government, which could cause it to collapse.
The ceasefire -- the deal on the ceasefire would halt the fighting and lead to the phased release of dozens of hostages held in Gaza. One of the hostages expected to be freed is American Keith Siegel. His brother Lee spoke to CNN's Bianna Golodryga about his hopes for the next few days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEE SIEGEL, BROTHER OF AMERICAN HOSTAGE KEITH SIEGEL: Something will be signed. Disagreement will be signed. And then I can allow myself a little bit of regular breathing, normal breathing that, yes, we will start and it will continue for the six weeks. And within that time, I believe Keith will be one of the hostages who returns.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, the truce also calls for a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza and for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners to be freed at the same time. CNN's Paula Hancocks is following this live for us from Abu Dhabi. Paula, could you just take us through this political process in Israel? Because clearly Netanyahu is dealing with some major fallout within his government.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Max, this was really expected to be a fairly basic ratification process in Israel of this hostage ceasefire deal. It has become a lot more complex, though it has been delayed as well. We are hearing from the Israeli prime minister that as far as he's concerned, the deal has been approved and he's putting it through the processes now.
Now, about 15 minutes ago, we were expecting the security cabinet to start meeting to discuss this. If that meeting hasn't started already, it will imminently. He is expected to see it pass through that process.
He's also expected to see it pass through the full cabinet meeting, which could be after sundown on Saturday. So that's Saturday evening due to the Jewish Sabbath. And then, of course, is the question of when exactly that ceasefire deal will go into being.
But there are some difficulties within his own coalition. He has a fairly sizable part of the coalition that is dead set against this deal, most notably the far right elements. His national security adviser, Ben Gvir, has already said that he will resign. He will pull his party with their coalition members out of that coalition if this deal goes ahead.
Now, that in itself will not collapse the government. But if he is followed by other right wing party members of that coalition, then there could be trouble for the prime minister.
Let's first listen to what Ben Gvir said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ITAMAR BEN GVIR, ISRAELI NATIONAL SECURITY MINISTER (through translator): If this reckless deal is approved and implemented, the Jewish Power Party will give the resignation letter to the prime minister. The Jewish Power Party will not be a part of the government and will withdraw from it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[04:05:00]
HANCOCKS: Now, the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrych, is one who is also against the deal. He has not said he will leave the coalition at this point. But if he does, with his party members, then that could spell trouble for the prime minister and, of course, for this deal potentially as well.
We have heard, though, from the opposition leader, Yair Lapid, that he will be the safety net. He is no fan of Benjamin Netanyahu. They disagree really on most things. But when it comes to this deal, the opposition leader said that he will come into the coalition with his party because he believes in the hostage deal and is insistent that this has to go ahead.
Now, of course, this is a very tense time, as it has been for many months for the families of those hostages, fears of this final horse trading, these political internal issues here in Israel.
But as far as the Biden administration is concerned, they're convinced that it will go ahead as it was planned. We heard the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, say that as far as he's concerned, he's confident he fully expects the deal to go into effect Sunday. Also pointing out that the negotiations were so difficult, there were always going to be loose ends to tie up at the end. And he's not surprised by what's happening at this point.
So it's complicated, the Israeli political system. But at this point, the U.S., at least, is convinced that this will go ahead as planned -- Max.
FOSTER: OK, Paula in Abu Dhabi, thanks to you for that. And we'll be back with you as we get any updates about it.
As the region waits for a ceasefire, though, to take effect, Israeli bombs haven't stopped falling on the Palestinian people.
Gaza's civil defense says Israeli strikes have killed more than 100 people, including 27 children. Since the ceasefire deal was announced on Wednesday, Thursday saw the highest daily death toll in Gaza in more than 10 days. And now overnight, more than 20 people were killed by Israeli attacks on buildings, sheltering people in Gaza, according to the civil defense there.
Now, the spokesperson for the Gaza civil defense says every time a ceasefire seems within reach, Israel appears to escalate the intensity of its bombardment. The Israeli military, for its part, said it carried out strikes on what it called, quote, approximately 50 terror targets across Gaza.
The ceasefire deal calls for a surge in humanitarian relief into Gaza, including 600 aid trucks entering the enclave per day. However, a senior U.N. official says that would be, quote, only a start in addressing the immense need and extreme suffering in Gaza.
By comparison, just over 2,200 aid trucks entered Gaza last month, or roughly 71 trucks per day in the month of December. U.N. officials say security conditions on the ground could impact their ability to get relief to the people of Gaza, but they are undeterred. International aid groups are renewing their calls for unhindered access to Gaza.
Live to Gaza and Gavin Kelleher, a humanitarian access manager for Gaza at the Norwegian Refugee Council. Thank you so much for joining us.
Just tell us about the access you're expecting to get as of Sunday.
GAVIN KELLEHER, HUMANITARIAN ACCESS MANAGER, NRC: Sorry, the connection is a little poor, but from what I'm hearing, if you can hear me OK, we're still a little in the dark about what exactly is being included in this ceasefire deal, particularly in relation to humanitarian access. We're hearing that we might see 600 trucks of aid a day entering Gaza. As you mentioned, this would be a massive increase on what we've seen in the war to date, and it is direly needed.
But we're not exactly clear on how free we will be to move right the way across Gaza from day one and whether civilians in Gaza will be able to quickly return to Gaza City, which is the priority intention for most people here in south and central Gaza.
FOSTER: Obviously, a huge amount of aid is needed. We're just looking at these pictures. I mean, when they return to northern Gaza, you know, they don't know what they're going to find, do they? But we know that there's a lot of rubble.
You need a huge amount of aid to get in there. Are you -- how are you going to organize it? The UNHCR isn't approved by Israel. And a lot of you link into that main U.N. body, don't you?
KELLEHER: Well, humanitarian actors here on the ground have been preparing for a ceasefire for as long as we've been calling for one, which is for the last 15 months. It is going to be extremely difficult for us to track the movements of people. We expect to see hundreds of thousands of people moving very quickly in different directions.
So we're making preparations for that at the moment.
[04:10:00]
We're closely coordinating with each other, but we do anticipate a number of other challenges as well. There's a significant amount of unexploded ordnance and structurally unsafe buildings right the way across Gaza. So we need to do a lot of sensitization with civilians as they prepare to move back to different areas.
We also rely on other aspects like fuel to be able to actually run this response. And as I said, we're still waiting for the actual details of what this is going to look like so that we can finalize our preparations. Because at the moment, we're just preparing for every scenario that we can anticipate.
FOSTER: Because you're going to have to work out which crossings you can use. And that has a huge impact on you, doesn't it? Because it will determine, you know, how you move, you know, all of this aid into the region.
KELLEHER: Absolutely. So, I mean, as the Norwegian Refugee Council, we've got 50 trucks currently in the queue to enter Gaza on the Egyptian side of the border. Most of those trucks have been waiting for more than a month. Some have been waiting for more than two. Once we know what access will look like, we can start dispatching dozens and hundreds more trucks. And that's the same for other aid actors here.
So there's a big information gap that's making it more difficult for us to respond. But even when we get the information about which crossings will be open, how much aid will be able to come in, it's not just the volume of aid coming into Gaza that's limiting our capacity to respond. We also need to see improvements in all other aspects of the situation.
That includes the resumption of the private sector's access to Gaza. We need to see cash liquidity addressed. That's a major concern.
And we also need to be able to move aid safely around within Gaza, which has become extremely difficult over the last few months, as law and order has been systematically dismantled here on the ground.
FOSTER: OK, Gavin Kelleher, thank you so much indeed for joining us from Gaza. We wish you luck over the very intense period coming up.
We are following a developing story out of Pakistan. Meanwhile, a court has sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 14 years in prison in a land corruption case. It's the largest case in terms of financial wrongdoing faced by the politician. The verdict was delivered by an anti-graft court in a prison in Rawalpindi, where Khan has been jailed since August 2023.
Now, when we return, confirmation hearings for Trump's cabinet picks continue on Capitol Hill, days before he takes office for the second time. We'll have the latest details next.
Plus, former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani settles with two Georgia election workers he defamed over the 2020 election. Both sides are welcoming the agreement. What we know about what they're walking away with, though, next.
An investigator searching for the cause of the Southern California wildfire say it could take weeks. CNN is there as some evacuees return to their homes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:15:00]
FOSTER: Today on Capitol Hill, lawmakers are expected to grill Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security. Kristi Noem, a source tells CNN her FBI background check led to her confirmation hearing getting postponed earlier this week.
Trump said Noem has been very strong on border security when he announced her nomination. She has a long history of taking hardline positions on immigration. That includes calling for the punishment of Democratic-led sanctuary cities. They protected undocumented immigrants by not cooperating with federal agencies during Trump's first term.
Now, Thursday's confirmation hearings put the focus on Trump's domestic and economic agendas. His nominees faced a third day of hard questions from lawmakers, but most are expected to be confirmed.
CNN's Manu Raju reports from Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Republican leaders are confident that Donald Trump will get most, if not all, of his picks confirmed to fill out his cabinet. And this in the aftermath of a number of confirmation hearings, both on Thursday, Wednesday, really all throughout the week, as GOP leaders prep for getting some of those confirmed, including on the first day when Donald Trump takes office on Monday. That's when we expect there to be a vote in the House and the Senate Armed Services Committee for Pete Hegseth, his pick to be defense secretary, perhaps the most controversial of his picks.
Hegseth, though, seems to be on a path to confirmation after Republican senators started to fall in line in the aftermath of, despite of all the concerns about these allegations of misconduct, these allegations of sexual assault. Hegseth has denied all of this. Democrats went after him at his confirmation hearing earlier this week.
But it was not enough to dissuade GOP senators, including one senator, a freshman senator, John Curtis, who was seen as a potential swing vote, but indicated to me that he is on board, despite these allegations.
RAJU: These issues of personal misconduct for Pete Hegseth, it seemed like that did not -- was not an overriding concern for you. Is that fair?
SEN. JOHN CURTIS (R-UT): Had to balance, right, between giving the president deference, giving my own standards, right, and what happened and what didn't happen. And I think it's fair to say, because of the length of the time of my decision that I took all of those things into consideration.
As you know, there was a lack of people willing to step forward to actually validate those.
RAJU: Now, a number of other Trump picks are on the glidepath to be confirmed. Expect Marco Rubio to be the first, if not one of the first, if not the first nominee to be confirmed next week, the secretary of state pick, but also some other ones.
Treasury secretary, the nominee -- expected to be nominee Scott Bessent was on Capitol Hill on Thursday. He's expected to be confirmed potentially with some bipartisan support as well.
Even Pam Bondi, who had a controversial and contentious at times confirmation hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats, she is expected to be confirmed as attorney general, maybe not next week, maybe the week after, as Republicans are indicating that they will fall in line. One person to watch, though, is Tulsi Gabbard, the director of National Intelligence pick.
She is someone who has taken views that have conflicted with some of the more hawkish views of GOP members, like the former Republican leader Mitch McConnell. He -- I asked him on Thursday whether he was willing to get behind Tulsi Gabbard. He indicated that he is not ready yet to make an announcement, and he would in the coming days.
One of the big questions, will he fall in line behind Tulsi Gabbard or RFK Jr. for Health and Human Services Department? Another question mark as those confirmation hearings are yet to be set. But the Trump team is hoping that they will be confirmed in just a matter of weeks.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: We are just days away from Donald Trump's second inauguration, of course. And he is seeing some of the most positive ratings of his political career as well. A new CNN poll shows most Americans are expecting him to do a good job.
The survey stands at 56 percent up a couple of points from December, and 55 percent of those polled approve of Trump's handling of the presidential transition.
They were also asked where the country will be four years from now. 52 percent believe things will be better, whilst 47 percent say it will be worse.
Even though Trump has more favorable ratings now than he had before his first term, these numbers still lag behind other recent presidents when they entered office.
Donald Trump's former attorney Rudy Giuliani has reached an agreement with two Georgia election workers that he defamed to settle the nearly $150 million judgment against him. Giuliani claims the deal does not involve an admission of wrongdoing.
His lawyer refused to answer many questions about the details of the settlement, including whether someone else paid the bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Did anybody step up to assist Mr. Giuliani in paying the settlement? [04:20:00]
JOSEPH CAMMARATA, ATTORNEY FOR RUDY GIULIANI: I'm not going to answer that question. It's irrelevant. Thank you.
REPORTER: Why not?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).
CAMMARATA: Because it's a material term of the agreement, and we're not going to discuss material terms.
(CROSSTALK)
CAMMARATA: I think that's an improper question, sir.
REPORTER: Does the judge need to agree to this?
CAMMARATA: Excuse me?
REPORTER: Does the judge need to --
CAMMARATA: No, I'm sorry. I don't get to decide what's an improper question, but I do get to decide what questions my client and I answer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, the two Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, called the deal a major milestone that allows them to move forward with their lives. And the agreement allows Giuliani to keep his condos as well in Florida, worth millions and most valuable possessions. And it brings to an end a years-long saga over his false statements after the 2020 presidential election when he was working for Trump.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner now reports 27 people have died as a result of the Palisades and Eaton fires. The sheriff says another 31 people are unaccounted for.
Favorable weather has helped firefighters contain more of the outbreaks, but forecasters are warning of strong, dangerous winds again next week.
Investigators are working to determine what caused the fires, but they say that could take weeks, and authorities are warning people to be careful of hazardous materials as well, including chemicals and lithium-ion batteries. They're also promising to help with rebuilding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF KRISTIN CROWLEY, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: We will remain steadfast and dedicated from day one, when that fire started, all the way through to the end. I promise you that as your chief, that the LAFD will stand with you as you continue to clean up and rebuild your communities. (END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Authorities in San Bernardino County have arrested a man in connection with the Little Mountain fire that broke out on Wednesday. The brush fire was contained at about 14 hectares with no reports of injuries.
More than 170,000 people in Los Angeles County are still under evacuation orders. Some people have been allowed to return to their communities only to find utter devastation. CNN's Veronica Miracle reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAYA RICHARD-CRAVEN, FAMILY UNDER EVACUATION ORDER: Absolutely devastating to not even be able to see your own home after such a travesty.
HORST EDELAHARDT, LIVES IN ALTADENA: I've been here for 20 years. So, where else do I go?
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Many Eaton Fire victims are feeling frustrated.
ANNEMARIE PAZMINO, HOUSE DESTROYED IN EATON FIRE: I didn't take anything for myself. I didn't take anything.
MIRACLE (voice over): Thousands of homeowners ordered to stay away from their property, not only because of downed power lines or leaking gas but because --
ROBERT LUNA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF: There are areas that we are holding because we believe there may be deceased victims there.
MIRACLE (voice over): And public health officials say a lot of the debris left behind is dangerous.
DR. NICHOLE QUICK, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISOR, LA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Initially, toxicity from any of the high levels of particulate matter and ash in the air can cause respiratory irritation. But we're also concerned about some of the potential impacts from heavy metals or long-term impacts.
MIRACLE (voice over): Still, many feel unsatisfied.
MIRACLE: Do you see a lot of the hazards, though, and what they're contending with? Some of the toxic ash in the air?
EDELAHARDT: That is all, besides that cotton -- there's nothing tough. I smell it all day. So what?
RICHARD-CRAVEN: Dirty air to us is like, but what about our homes?
MIRACLE (voice over): But officials are pleading for residents to follow their guidance until they mark areas safe. QUICK: We know people feel very strongly, they want to get in there. First and foremost is follow the, you know, the advice on all of those agencies that are going to come in and look at the home.
MIRACLE (voice over): Days after the devastation, officials scrambling to help frustrated Angelenos receive insurance payouts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want them to start the claim process immediately.
MIRACLE (voice over): The county now gathering and posting photos of individual losses from the Palisades and Eaton Fires on a website for residents that need proof of destruction for their insurance providers. Insured or not, many fire survivors have nowhere to turn, and some are making personal appeals.
MIRACLE: All over Altadena, we are seeing signs like this pop up in front of peoples burned out homes. They're leaving their QR code that links directly to their GoFundMe pages so that if you're here, you can scan it and donate immediately.
MIRACLE (voice over): In the meantime, the Pazminos and many like them wait for news from their insurance companies to see what of their former life they can rebuild.
PAZMINO: These people have lost everything. It's not just us. It's everybody.
MIRACLE: All day we have seen utility crews and firefighters making repairs and making sure that this area is safe.
We also understand that 90 percent of the homes here at the Eaton Fire have been searched for bodies, so that difficult process is almost complete. And as of this afternoon, the evacuation zone has shrunk just a little bit. But of course, we are in the heart of the burn zone, where it will be at least a week before people can return here.
[04:25:02]
Veronica Miracle, CNN, Altadena.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Some of the biggest names in show business are coming to the aid of fire victims. Taylor Swift announced on Instagram that she's donating an undisclosed amount of money to relief organizations. The pop star says the fires have devastated so many families now faced with the most challenging times of their lives.
Lady Gaga, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Billie Eilish are amongst the musical acts scheduled to perform in concerts at two different venues on January the 30th. The Fire Aid benefit will also feature Katy Perry, Pink, Green Day, Joni Mitchell and Rod Stewart.
A fire at a power plant in central California has forced about 1,500 residents to evacuate their homes. The Monterey County Sheriff's Office says the Moss Landing power plant serves as a battery storage site. That's prompting concerns about hazardous materials and potential chemical releases. The sheriff's office tells CNN it's deployed drones to assess the situation and monitor air quality.
Public health officials in nearby Santa Cruz are urging residents to stay inside, keep their windows and doors closed and turn off ventilation systems.
Now still ahead, anxiously awaiting a ceasefire in Gaza. Palestinians exhausted by 15 months of war along with families and loved ones of the hostages held captive. They are all waiting to find out if Israel's government approves the deal with Hamas.
Plus, hostage families turn up the pressure on Israel's government to green light the Gaza ceasefire. And they make a direct appeal to diplomats about the next phase of negotiations.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us, here are today's top stories.
Donald Trump's cabinet nominees facing intense scrutiny on Capitol Hill. Confirmation hearings are well underway in the Senate with Trump's pick for Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, expected to appear before the committee today.
Firefighters in California are seeing some progress as they battle blazes in Los Angeles. The state's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says the Palisades Fire has reached 27 percent of containment and hasn't grown in the past 72 hours. More than 5,000 firefighters are battling that blaze.
Israel's prime minister says they've reached a deal with Hamas.
