Transcripts For CNNW CNN 20240703

Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and All Around The World as we continue our breaking News Coverage of israel at war. Im rosemary church. U. S. President joe biden is on his way to israel this hour as a scene of chaos and devastation is unfolding in gaza. The videos we are about to show you may be upsetting. Palestinian officials report hundreds of people have been killed in an israeli airstrike on a hospital in gaza. Israel insists the hospital was hit by an errant rocket fired by the Palestinian Islamic jihad. Sources tell cnn the u. S. Is analyzing intelligence provided by israel. The World Health Organization says in addition to caring for patients, the hospital has been sheltering thousands of people displaced from their homes. The Hospital Blast has brought condemnation from around the globe. The human rights chief calls it horrific and unacceptable. President biden says hes outraged and deeply saddened. And here is the Palestinian Ambassador to the u. N. We condemn this action in the strongest possible terms, and we hold israel responsible for this massacre, this crime. Protests have broken out in the west bank and across the middle east. Demonstrators marched through the streets near the u. S. Embassy north of beirut in lebanon. Hundreds of people in baghdad chanted anti israeli slogans, as Security Forces kept them out of the heavily fortified green zone. And protesters gathered outside the french and british embassies in irans capital. I want to go live now to london, where journalist Elliott Gotkine is following developments for us. He joins us now. So, elliott, President Biden is about to arrive in israel. But of course, the Gaza Hospital blast has changed everything, with arab leaders now canceling their summit. President biden will now only meet with israels Prime Minister. Whats expected to come out of this very risky visit . I suspect the short answer, rosemary, is not a lot. There are two main objectives, originally, for this visit. One was to show that when President Biden says americas support for israels iron clad, he means it. And the other was to send, or to reiterate, a very clear message to israels foes, particularly iran and its proxy in southern lebanon, hezbollah, that if they were thinking of exploiting israels war with hamas as an excuse for opening up a new front in the north, in his words, it is one word warning, and dont. So no doubt President Biden will be reiterating that warning to hezbollah and its backers back in tehran. But of course, this blast, this explosion at this hospital in gaza, in the gaza strip, which is left possibly hundreds of people dead, really complicates matters. Because if it turns out that it was an israeli strike that caused this blast, and that is what the palestinians in the hamas run on clay of are saying, that is what the arab world is leaving right now, that its not going to be a particularly good look, the optics will not look great for President Biden to be there meeting with Prime Minister benjamin netanyahu, just hours after this blast took place at this hospital. Of course, if it turns out israel, as you, say shares its evidence with United States, it is also published, made public, its first batch of evidence that it says shows that it wouldnt have been an israeli strike that caused this blast, and these hundreds of deaths at this hospital in gaza. If that turns out to be the case, then that will perhaps take some of the pressure of President Biden. But its clearly a very risky and very concerning time for him from a political standpoint. And of course, against this backdrop, were seeing americas allies in the region, even countries with who israel has peace treaties, coming out and condemning israel for this explosion at this hospital, whether its the egyptians, the jordanians, the emiratis, or the saudis, with whom israel was of course hoping and inching towards some kind of Ground Normalization Deal overseen by President Biden. Thats what we were talking about a couple of weeks ago as the main kind of news coming out of israel and the middle east, there is potentially going to be this normalization deal, it wouldve been a really big Foreign Policy win for president , biden certainly going into elections next year. Well, that seems off the table for the foreseeable future. So a very tricky time and a tricky path to tread for President Biden as he arrives in israel. Rosemary . It most certainly. As Elliott Gotkine, joining us live from london, many thanks. Meantime, a top official of the Palestinian National Initiative Says the information hes received from his colleagues on the ground confirms it was an israeli air strike that hit a hospital in gaza, a clean cnn cannot independently verify. My colleagues are there, and ive been talking to them, and they are definite about what has happened. This was not a blast. This was not an explosion. This was an airstrike. It was a deliberate war crime that israel conducted on this hospital. And israel, by the way, repeated two different lies. The first lie was that there were hamas people hiding in the place and thats why they hit it. And in the second lie came immediately after, claiming that it was jihad rocket, or Something Like that. Because i think they could not deny that there was an airstrike. So the reality is that this was a war crime. It should not have happened. I do not want an israeli or palestinian killed, but the reality here is that israel is conducting actually genocide against the population of gaza. Joining me now from tel aviv, israel, is Lieutenant Colonel peter learner. He is a spokesperson for the israeli dispense forces. So of course, in the wake of this tragic blast on a Gaza Hospital, hamas is blaming israel, while the idf says this was an Islamic Jihad rocket that misfired. So what evidence do you have to show this was not an israeli bomb that hit the hospital . It is critical to the world sees that. Good morning, rosemary. Indeed, a very important question you are asking. I would actually ask what evidence do you have to corroborate what hamas has been telling and lying since the very beginning of this incident, which took place at around seven pm. Unfortunately, the dramatic heartbreaking images of death at the hospital are a result of a Palestinian Islamic jihad rocket. We initiated immediately a investigation, an inquiry, into the circumstances that cause these tragic images. And i can without a doubt say that the eye the f was not responsible with the attack on the hospital. We know that because once we investigated, we found at the highlevel investigation, were utilizing intelligence, operational data, an aerial footage. We concluded that there was no active operations by the idf against the our radar as tracked and found the contour of the rockets towards israel at that time. And indeed, we intercepted Intelligence Communications of Palestinian Islamic jihad terrace confirming that they actually hit the hospital by name. So i would say first of all, we need to be very cautious interesting anything hamas is saying. Hamas is a Brutal Terrorist Organization that butchers babies in their bedrooms, that utilizes the Palestinian People as a human shield that jeopardizes their own people. Why would it be beyond them to lie to the International Media . So i would say we have to be very conscious, very careful in jumping to inclusions, on Beast Unfounded and incidents like these will develop, i think there is a huge responsibility that news outlets around the world corroborate information that hamas is feeding you. Because what happened in the aftermath of this attack, and you briefly went over the international and the diplomatic ramifications, and its all because you did not confirm what actually happened and he based it on what a Terrorist Organization that is holding 199 people hostage till today. So i would say we have to be very clear. The idf is not responsible for the attack on the hospital. It is a Palestinian Islamic jihad that has launched rockets at israel. One of the malfunctioned and fell adjacent to the hospital in the parking lot by the hospital. There is no impact, there is no creators to identify that it was an airstrike, which would be expected in such a strike, if conducted by the idf. There was none. And if you look at the images, you see that it looks like an impact site weve seen in israel. Since the beginning of the civil war on the seven october after this massacre, there have been over foreign in 50 misfired rockets that landed in gaza. So why would it be beyond the reality to conclude that this is not only an option, but after weve investigated it and have established and crosschecked and reviewed it even further, to be certain. Because we are a serious operation. Right, so, sorry to interrupt you, but i just do want to see that we are waiting to see all of the video from israel that apparently shows it did not hit the hospital. That intelligence has been shared with the United States. And i wanted to ask, you will in upcoming News Conference this our share all of that video, and of course, that conversation that apparently was recorded between hamas militants clarifying that. I mean, this is what the world needs, is some clarity on this. Point its not that anyone is going either way. I mean, were just saying the blame being cast into different directions. And, we as media organization, need to establish on the basis of facts, that is our task. Unfortunately, the banner of cnn just last night was hamas says that israel conducted a strike against a hospital, Killing Hundreds of people. That was not checked. You did not check it. You just quoted them as a source. And you basically laid the ground for the whole event, which wasnt found, untruthful, and i would say, a disservice to your viewers around the world. So i would say, yes, we are presenting information. We also need to be very cautious in what we share, because we do not want to give hamas the advantage on the battlefield. Im sure you understand that when we are sharing aerial footage or footage from our radar system, we are jeopardizing our own security. When we are exposing capabilities to intercept between a and be, we are jeopardizing our intelligence capability. So we are very cautious. I think that some of the information indeed will be released throughout the day. But indeed, instead of believing automatically what hamas is telling you from the hamas side, the Ministry Of Health in gaza, they have no freewill. Theyre being told but they can say and cannot say. You have not seen them report one incidents of a terrorist being killed in their attacks. Why is that . Because they cant report the truth. They cant tell you what is actually happening. They are being held hostage like everyone else in this conflict. I can tell you, this israel is a truthful country he. We are professional military that fights on behalf of innocent people to restore safety and security terry country. And when we say something, we mean it. And it is the truth. When you are taking an organization, a Terrorist Organization, for its face value, a terrace organization that as i said has no problem in butchering babies in their bedrooms and abducting and taking hostage Holocaust Survivors and holding them against their will, you take what they say when theyre telling you a Rocket Attack was conducted by israel. Come on, we have a joint responsibility, and i would say the media here has a key part in making sure that the facts, our facts, and not based on whatever organization would say. You need to put a Question Mark on every announcer theyre making to, rosemary. We are now looking forward to the potential of a ground operation. We are looking forward to an expanding of ration. And we are going to destroy hamas. That is the governments directive. And that is what we intend to do. And indeed, you need to question us. And we have no problem being asked tough questions. And we are here, we believe in the transparency in the responsibility we have to report to the world and to the viewers that you are serving. But we need to be factual. We cant base are reportage on anything that hamas is saying. You need to question everything theyre conveying to, you because they are utilizing you, abusing you to manipulate the situation and exasperate the situation even further. And that as our joint responsibility, rosemary. Well, that is exactly why cnn continues to say we cannot verify this either way at this juncture. But once we get more facts on this issue, of, course we will be able to establish that. Idf spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel peter learner, thank you for joining us. Have a good day. You too. Well, israeli airstrikes also pounded other locations across cars on tuesday. The Palestinian Interior Ministry says at least 49 people were killed and dozens of others injured and strikes on rafah and gone eunice. Cnns salma abdulaziz. But a warning, some of the images in her report are graphic. This city should be the way out of the war zone. But it, too, was caught in the crosshairs of israels relentless air assault. You are looking at the aftermath of airstrikes on rafah. Thou zones have flocked here in recent days, seeking safe passage, only to find more death. Translator my children, oh god, please find my children, this man please. They are under the rubble, please pull them out. It is unclear if his children survived. Israeli bombardment has killed dozens here in recent days, according to palestinian officials. The city, which sits on the egyptian border, is home to gazis only possible humanitarian corridor, a corridor that is now in operable and unsafe, the w. H. O. Says, because of israeli bombardment. And at the border crossing, footage shows Smoke Billowing from multiple airstrikes nearby on tuesday. Desperate families gather here for hours a day, praying authorities will allow their exit. So far, a diplomatic standoff keeping this crucial quarter shut. Cairo is reluctant to take in refugees. It says it wants to see aid allowed into the enclave. Israels government has imposed a complete siege of gaza after hamas tara tax killed some 1400 people. It says it aims to wipe out hamas. We continue to operate and strike hamas targets as we have to find before. And we try to do that according to the law of conflict. And then of course, to minimize civilian casualties. Intensive efforts by the u. S. And the u. N. Are yet to resolve the logjam, leaving countless people, like this michigan resident, stop. With the war, i cant sleep. Theres a lot of bomb. Theres people here, theres people hear, leave. Its not right. On the egyptian side of the border, Life Saving Aid is piling up. With more than 10,000 Wounded Palestinians and a Health Care System on the break, every hour counts. Thats why its critical to get their. This is for people like pregnant women. We know that there are 84,000 pregnant women, and many them are delivering every day. Babies dont care about bombs. They come when they come. Gaza is in a stranglehold, Rights Groups say, under siege and under attack, with innocent civilians desperate to escape a growing hell escape. Salma abdelaziz, cnn, london. Still to come, the idf and hezbollah continued Exchange Fire along israels border with lebanon. As they brace for the possibility of the conflict spreading further across the region. Plus, israel hunts for the leader of hamas in gaza, who is why what do we know about him . Those details, next. As the siege in gaza rages on, the Israel Defense forces continue to Exchange Fire with iranbacked hezbollah militants along israels northern border with lebanon. Bracing for the possibility of a second front in the war, which could spill into other parts of the region. Cnns ben wedeman has more. Strike after strike after strike. And every strike is followed by an israeli counterstrike. Combatants and civilians killed on both sides. Hezbollah is testing just how far it can go, hitting israeli targets with out igniting a full scale war. But the stakes here are treacherously high. If hezbollah makes a mistake, these really militarys Chief Of Staff worn on a tour of the border, it risks, in his words, annihilation, annihilation, annihilation. Hezbollah isnt wavering. Were not afraid of israel, and were not afraid of the americans behind them, Hezbollah Parliament member has seem tells me. And behind hezbollah stands iran, whose Foreign Minister warns if diplomatic efforts fail to stop israels attack on gaza, the opening up of new fronts is inevitable. In south lebanon, could be that front. In some places, a wall separates lebanon from israel. And others, its wide open. From a hill by the border, you can pure down into Israeli Border towns like now largely abandoned, but for soldiers scurrying from house to house. Israel and hezbollah have battled here before. And they may soon be at war again. Ben wedeman, cnn, southern lebanon. Israel is vowing to kill the leader of hamas in gaza. The israeli Defense Forces have long been hunting for yahya sinwar, you can before the hamas tara tax 11 days ago. Cnns sam kiley reports. Israel wants this man dead. Yahya sinwar, the leader of a hamas in gaza. Evil, in the end, it is yahya sinwar. That man is in our sights. All of us will team up and we will get to him. He was first convicted for the murder of 19 eight of two Israeli Soldiers and four palestinian suspected of collaboration with israel. And he spent two decades in an israeli prison studying his enemy. The founder of Hamas Internal Security force, he had hunted alleged collaborators with zeal, and was among the movements biggest prizes went over 1000 palestinian prisoners were released in 2011 for an israeli soldier held hostage in gaza for five years. He said [speaking in a nonenglish language] there is no doubt that this is a nationalistic moment par excellence. It is one of the big strategic monuments in the history of our cause. He quickly became ahead of hamas military wing, and on election to the gaza leadership in 2017, effectively abolished its civilian branch. Ostracized by egypt overt support for political islam, he repaired friendships with cairo and built regional relationships that entrenched hamas power. It really needed to also have good relations with the key arab state that also shares the only arab border with the gaza strip, and with iran, that could supply how mass with military and logistical support. Iran has poured Military Support into hamas under him, and qatar has been major backer of civilian projects. He was soon in israels crosshairs quite literally. The idf try to kill him in may, 2021. Ten days later, he laid out his strategy. He said [speaking in a nonenglish language] if the world doesnt take action to stop it, meaning israel, there will be a religious war in the region. And he soon appeared in gaza alongside egypt intelligence chief, of us the u. S. Is now relying on egypt and qatar as key players to try to secure the safe release of hamas to hundred captives. Their main point of contact is likely yahya sinwar, unless israel fulfills its promise to kill him. Sam kiley, cnn. The hamas Terror Attacks in israel have prompted serious questions for many about the militant groups strategy and timing for its horrific assault. What was hamas thinking . That is the Question Reporters at the new yorker recently posed with senior political leader for hamas. David kirkpatrick, who co authored, that piece spoke with cnn about his reporting. The picture that emerged was desperation. I should tell you that when my colleague spoke, we spoke to he was in pains to say no if not to spare, restaurant. But the takeaway was that they basically feel like their backs are against the wall. It was a familiar litany of grievances about the occupation, about israeli settlements in the west bank about the management of the alaqsa mosque, very important to palestinians and muslims everywhere. But added to that was an increased sense it dispersion because of the rightwing government around netanyahu, because of the message its conveying what slacker receptive to any alongside israel. And alongside a sense of betrayal, as the arab states more and more accommodate im selves to israel. David kirkpatrick there, and he went on to tell cnn, senior hamas political Officials Say he does not expect the war to expand to a second front along the Israeli Border would lebanon. Though there have already been several attacks between israel and hezbollah in the area in recent days. An Israeli Border town is now mostly empty. But those who remain have strong feelings about when hes happen next and what they want to hear from the u. S. President. Back with that and more, in just a moment. Welcome back, everyone. U. S. President joe biden is on his way to israel for a high stakes visit. His arrival will come just hours after a massive Hospital Blast in gaza, which is believed to have killed hundreds of people. It remains unclear at this hour who is responsible. Palestinian officials. Are blaming ongoing israeli airstrikes. But israeli Defense Forces categorically denying any involvement, saying Islamic Jihad is to blame. According to the Palestinian Health ministry, v ha spill not only had patients and medical staff, but also thousands of displaced people who are sheltering there. News of the explosion ignited angry protests on the streets across the middle east, including near the u. S. Embassy in lebanon. Meanwhile, People Living near the border with gaza are sharing their concerns with the war and what can be done. Cnns Nic Robertson shows the situation in one community that Snow Straighter to Rocket Attacks. Sderot, a mile from gaza, is deserted. 90 of residents have gone. Even abandon pets, learning when to run. Bolting with incoming rocket warnings. It is an eerie place. The police station, overrun by hamas ten days ago, flat. You can hear the sound of the drones in the sky all the time. Over here, the Shell Casings for the firefight still here. Bullet holes in the wall, still there. Its like everyone is waiting for the next move. For local officials, that next move is President Bidens visit. I dont know what biden is thinking. I wish i knew. If i could be a little bird in his ear, id say hey, if you take a stance now, i believe if you take a stance and not fold, we will be able to get our people back, all the hostages. Over the years, sderot has become synonymous with resistance to hamas rockets. Its when the most fired upon israeli towns. But america is a true friend today, american politicians here to show their solidarity. But whereas this mott is a member the Prime Ministers likud party. We should never put our friends in american in position where they will feel uncomfortable, meaning we are not going its civilian. And biden, is he going to tell you that to respect that for you, to take that very tough decision, do not going to cause a right now, because that will just inflame the region . I think that President Biden and any american president knows exactly the morale of the israeli army. And we know how to put limits to ourselves. But there is one thing we should not put the limit, is the fact that hamas will not exist. To do that, a Military Ground Incursion into gaza appears inevitable. Along the border with gaza here, there is a real sense of calm before a possible storm. The number of strikes compared to the last few days seems to be down. And that town you can see there with the tower blocks, thats , it was one of the first places the israelis targeted in their 2014 incursion. And it could be again now. So what is this tour guide Robbie Berman came to sderot to tell journalist about his fund to offer gazans money for helping free hostages. His message for President Biden is typical of many here. Put pressure on aric countries to allow those innocent arabs, those innocent palestinians in gaza who are not supportive of hamas to get visas to go into other countries. And all those palestines that would go out into other arab countries, does that not for palestinians look like 48 or 67th, just losing their homeland again . Yeah, and it sad. Its sad for the palestinians. Life is sad. War is sad. Collateral damage is sad. I feel for the innocent palestinians, enough, we cant live under this tear anymore. More of that terror in sderot, just hours before President Bidens anticipated arrival. Several missiles from gaza crashing into the town. This looks like the fin of the missile over here. And you can see where it came, it smashed the outer wall, through that window, through this wall here, ending up here. Everything inside the house, torn apart. Fortunately, when it hit no one was home. Hard to remember a time in the mid east when American Power president s powers were more tested. Nic robertson, cnn, sderot, israel. In washington, u. S. Aid for israel is just one issue under threat from the chaos currently engulfing the house of representatives. It remains effectively paralyzed without a speaker. Almost two weeks after republican lawmakers ousted Kevin Mccarthy from the job. Multiple sources tell cnn House Republicans are divided over a backup plan if conservative republican jim jordan fails to win the speakership on a second vote. The most popular plan is to grant more power to the temporary speaker patrick a hangry. Jordan has scheduled that second vote in the coming hour after he lost the first snow tuesday, when 20 republicans voted against him. Hes now scrambling to win over those republicans. Were going to ke huy pounding those great conversations, great conversations with our colleagues. And frankly, no one in our conference wants to see this type of coalition government. So were gonna keep working, and were going to get the votes. Cnn senior political analyst Ron Brownstein joins me now for more on. Thats good to have you with us. Hello, rosemary. So, jim jordans first effort to win the House Speakership failed, with 20 republicans refusing to support him. How likely is it that a second vote in the coming hours well see a change in that outcome . Well, 20 votes against him was certainly more than jordan and his allies expected. And that is a big hill to overcome in a single vote. You know, the magnitude of what is involved here really cannot be overstated, not only in terms of the immediate chaos that House Republicans are in as the world is burning, and as we are showing on the program over the last half hour, but also the possibility of elevating to the speakership these Single Member, a member of congress in jim jordan it who is not only defended and supported Donald Trumps effort to overturn the 2020 election, but according to the january six committee, was more personally involved in Trumps Campaign to subvert the election result than any other Single Member of congress. And the prospect of the Republican Party elevating him to the speakership really at the same time that trump has restored himself as a current frontrunner in the gop race, really underscores the ongoing threat to what had been the pillars of american democracy, at least since the civil war. And ron, if jim jordan doesnt win a, second or even a third vote, do they find another candidate, or perhaps power the interim speaker for now, or do they keep going until joining gets the support he needs to become speaker, as we saw them do previously with Kevin Mccarthy, just where people down, essentially . I think its harder for jordan to where people down then mccarthy. Jordan is a much more polarizing figure. He presents a clear risk to republicans in more competitive districts, given his history as his involvement in the january 6th insurrection, his support of a total ban on abortion, is continue unalloyed defense of trump. I suspect that if he cannot get there and he may want to try to keep going. But if he cant get there in any intermediate timeframe, there may be growing pressure to find that temporary solution of empowering the the Acting Speaker so that the house can at least conduct the basic business of government. Dont forget, the clock is ticking for a potential government shutdown. And if the indication from the white house that they do intend to come with a combined supplemental requests for assistance, for both ukraine and israel. Yeah, of course, as weve been reporting, the houses paralyzed, unable to move on any legislation. And of, course this is at a critical time when israel is at war with hamas, with fear of the war expanding in the region, and russias conflict rages on in ukraine. What are the political ramifications of a party apparently unable to get its act together after a manufactured crisis by the farright to oust mccarthy set all of this in motion . You know, i think the general assumption of political strategist is that kind of what happens in Congress Stays in congress, and that these internal chaos doesnt ultimately affect the next election. I think this very well could be an exception. I mean, you look back at 2022, rosemary, we had widespread discontent in the country over the economy, former President Bidens performance. And yet, republicans severely underperformed expectations and the games they would make in the house. And the reason for that is that too many voters were unhappy with the way things were going in the country. Nonetheless, voted for democrats, because they view the republican alternative as too extreme. And certainly, this open chaos for weeks at a critical moment in the world and the prospect, as i said, of a member of congress who may have been most directly involved in trumps effort to overturn the 2020 election, becoming the speaker, will certainly give democrats plenty of ammunition to make that case in 2024, particularly against those 18 House Republicans representing the districts that biden won. There also are about another 15 of the House Republicans in a district that only narrowly voted for trump. They are certainly Playing With Fire with the way, not only the way they allowed the house to descend into chaos, but with the possibility of elevating as polarizing a figure as jordan to be their face and leader into 2024. We will certainly be watching in the coming hours to see what happens with this vote. Ron brownstein, many thanks for joining us in your analysis, appreciate it. Thanks for having me. Still to come, two dear friends, Fluttery Prudent and xi jinping meat on the sidelines of a global summit in beijing, were live in the Chinese Capital with more on their talks and what theyre hoping to achieve. Back in just a moment. Welcome back, everyone. Chinese president xi jinping has met with russian president Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a Global Infrastructures summit in beijing. That is according to china cctv. Both leaders addressed the crowd earlier and it opening banquet, but all eyes are on the two president s and their reactions to the conflicts in both the middle east and in ukraine. Cnns beijing bureau chief steven jiang joins me now live. Good to see, stephen. So what more do we know about the meeting between putin and xi, and what have we heard from the two leaders so far . Yeah, rosemary, was still waiting to hear more details on the Behind Closed Doors session between the two strongman leaders. Fought in xi jinpings opening remarks, as seen on state television, he made a point of saying this was their 42nd meeting since 2013. And how bilateral ties have grown so much in the past decade, especially when it comes to bilateral trade, soaring to new highs in the past few years, on track to hit their mutual goal of 200 billion u. S. Dollars annually. Thats perhaps not surprising, Giving Beijing is increasingly providing moscow with economic lifelines since russia very much under severe western sanctions after putin invade ukraine. But despite that won despite beijings claim of neutrality, the two sides have become a lot more in sync on multiple policy fronts, not just economically, but also politically and militarily, and in terms of their global messaging. That includes their responses to the latest crisis in the middle east and cause, of both sides very much focused on the palestinian cause, wild barely mentioning the israeli casualties and not naming hamas in their statements and condemnations. Now strategically speaking, analysts had pointed out this conflict, this crisis may be beneficial to both russia and china, as it could potentially divert u. S. Attention and resources away from both ukraine and the indopacific region. So the two strongman leaders, even though theyre not saying theyre knowing this partnership that much publicly anymore, their relationship remains strong, to countries relationship grows more robust and substantive. Because at the end of the day, they are very much bonded by their shared grievances against the u. S. And their desire to reshape the u. S. Led world order. That is also the underlying theme in this for, which is why putin is here at the tenth anniversary of the belt and road forum, xi jinpings signature Foreign Policy, in his Keynote Speech at the opening ceremony, even without naming the u. S. , the chinese leader very much taking a swipe at washington, seeing his program is not about ideological confrontation or geopolitical rivalry. Thats an argument putin seems to be very much on board, as the two good old Friends Meeting once again here in the Chinese Capital. Rosemary . Our thanks to steven john, joining us live from beijing with that report, appreciate it. Still to come, how is hamas gaining more followers on social media, despite being banned from major sites like meta and google . Cnn takes a look at the gap at the center of the groups Information Warfare campaign. Welcome back, everyone. Well, despite being barred by most social media platforms, there is one app where hamas and other Extremist Organizations are still free to post. And hamas has seen its following surge ever since the gruesome october 7th attacks on israel. Cnns Donie Osullivan reports. Hamas, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization in the United States, is banned by Major Tech Companies like meta and google. But on telegram, the group is thriving, especially since the october 7th attack on israel. One amass a count jumping from 200,000 followers to almost 700,000 followers. Another from 160,000 to more than 400,000. Telegram has actually marketed itself as a platform for free speech, where they dont take down content, which means Extremist Organizations like hamas are able to post messages on telegram with very little fear of retribution. Hamas has been using it for terrible propaganda. Their social media strategy, especially on telegram, is very sophisticated. Things like calling for further violence, things like justifying their actions, including attacking a Music Festivals civilians. It also includes things like hostage videos. If you live in the United States, chances are youve never heard of telegram. But its a massive social media chap with more than 800 million users globally. Its run by powerful paddle whose referred to as the Mark Zuckerberg of russia. He ran a Puppeteer Russian Social Media Platform Bose forced out a decade ago, when he wouldnt russian censorship requests, including to shut down the page of russian Opposition Leader alexei navalny. So, eventually i to step down as the ceo of the company. Durov sleet to do by where he now runs telegram. Telegram made attractive to terrorist in extremists around the world. We are not happy about i. S. I. S. Or other forces using telegram. At the same time, we think that providing this kind of secure private means of communication for the masses, for 99. 9 of people who have nothing to do with terrorism means more then the threat that terrorists will always find the means of secure communication. Telegram did take some steps to remove i. S. I. S. Content in the past, but after hamas used telegram last week to warn people about a missile strike, durov wrote we are shutting down their channel helped save lives or would endanger more lives . In every step in this conflict since october 7th, hamas has used telegram to tell this story. Yes, exactly. Telegram has allowed them to shape a narrative. Its allowed them to spread messaging to very large audiences, not just cause, at the audiences of the entire world. And this all just further muddying a further complicated Information Ecosystem around this conflict. Really, all the experts and observers weve been speaking to have really just remarked on how big a role Information Warfare is playing in this conflict. Donie osullivan, cnn, washington. Hundreds of mourners attended a vigil in illinois on tuesday for a sixyearold Palestinian American Boy stabbed to death in a suspected antimuslim attack. The boys uncle says he was overwhelmed by the huge show of support from the community. The mayor called sixyearold wadea alfayoume quote, one of our own. The family says they were shocked to learn the suspect in the attack was their landlord. Police say the suspect, now facing numerous charges including murder, had been influenced by Anti Palestinian sentiment on conservative talk radio in the days following the hamas Terror Attacks on israel. Appreciate your company this hour. Im rosemary church. I will be back with more cnn newsroom after this