Nicholas Fondacaro
Nick grew up in East Stroudsburg Pennsylvania. He graduated from Binghamton University in 2013 with a degree in Political Science. While at Binghamton he served as the Speaker of the Student Assembly and wrote for the Binghamton Review, where his love for journalism started. After graduating, he interned at the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity where he worked with Watchdog Arena.
While many in the liberal media have shifted support away from Israel in favor of demanding a cease-fire that would benefit Hamas terrorists, CNN senior international correspondent Will Ripley seemed to buck the network’s line during an appearance on Friday’s CNN This Morning. While reporting on Hamas killing another October 7 hostage, Ripley let his emotions take over as he lamented the death and called out Hamas. Co-host Poppy Harlow had to pull him back and tout the UN’s expected condemnation of Israel.
“The confirmation just came in minutes ago, Gadi Haggai, just 73 years old, who was kidnapped on the morning of October 7th along with his wife, Judi, while they were walking in the vineyards and fields near their Kibbutz, Nir Oz. They were taken. They were shot,” Ripley somberly announced.
The emotion in his voice was obvious and welled up until he couldn’t hold it in any longer:
And while we don’t know the exact circumstances of Gadi’s death, we have been hearing from hostages, newly released who talk about just total information blackout, being separated from their loved ones, sometimes being held down in underground tunnels, hearing every single airstrike, feeling like maybe they were forgotten about.
He took a long pause before explaining that the Haggais reminded him of his parents. “Seventy-three years old, that’s the same age as my parents,” he said. “I can’t imagine what their families have been going through and feeling, Poppy. But this is the situation for families here in Israel, families throughout this whole conflict who’ve been losing loved ones every single day.”
With obvious angry indignation in his voice, Ripley noted that “Israel has been trying and has made an initial offer to Hamas for a week-long pause in fighting in exchange for people like Gadi,” but “Hamas rejected that offer, not in any rush to negotiate too quickly, hoping they can get more concessions out of Israel, including the exchange of their own high-level potential militants…”
His emotion built again as he reported that Hamas wanted terrorists “convicted of crimes here to get handed over in exchange for these women and elderly and patients desperately in need of medical care that Israel is asking to get back as soon as possible.”
Harlow commended Ripley for his work covering the war but gave him a tone that he had to rein it in because they had to be critical of Israel now. “And if I could before, before you go, there is the UN vote today finally on potentially a pause and much more aid for Gaza. What do we know?” she teed him up.
Ripley seemed to play along for a bit before getting in some hit on Hamas and reiterating the fact that they started the war by attacking innocent civilians unprovoked:
Well, what this means is that finally the United States, which has delayed these votes repeatedly as they pore over the language of this. The US has vetoed past UN resolutions for calling for a ceasefire, calling for a procedure to get desperately needed humanitarian aid into Gaza, partially because they’re concerned that there wasn’t strong enough language condemning Hamas for starting this, for coming into Israel, unprovoked and murdering hundreds of people on October the 7th and kidnapping hundreds of others.
The segment did conclude with Ripley repeating the talking points from the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health claiming 20,000 people had been killed.
The transcript is below.
CNN’s This Morning
December 22, 2023
7:17:44 p.m. Eastern
POPPY HARLOW: This just into CNN, sad news to report. We are learning that an Israeli hostage, Gadi Haggai, has been killed in Gaza.
CNN’s Will Ripley joins us live from Tel Aviv with more. What can you share with us this morning?
WILL RIPLEY: Hi, Poppy. The confirmation just came in minutes ago, Gadi Haggai, just 73 years old, who was kidnapped on the morning of October 7th along with his wife, Judi, while they were walking in the vineyards and fields near their Kibbutz, Nir Oz. They were taken. They were shot.
Judi, his wife said that her husband was badly hurt at that time on October 7th. She was able to get in touch with friends before they were kidnapped and they were taken into Gaza. And while we don’t know the exact circumstances of Gadi’s death, we have been hearing from hostages, newly released who talk about just total information blackout, being separated from their loved ones, sometimes being held down in underground tunnels, hearing every single airstrike, feeling like maybe they were forgotten about.
Seventy-three years old, that’s the same age as my parents. I can’t imagine what their families have been going through and feeling, Poppy. But this is the situation for families here in Israel, families throughout this whole conflict who’ve been losing loved ones every single day.
Israel has been trying and has made an initial offer to Hamas for a week long pause in fighting in exchange for people like Gadi, who presumably would have been in need of urgent medical care if he’d been shot so badly back on October 7th, given that we know that all the hospitals in Northern Gaza have been leveled. Just a handful of hospitals in the south are operational, functional, barely functional at this stage.
He along with his wife, Judi, one of the last remaining women who are being held, and they’re both, of course, in their 70s, so they fit the category of elderly, they might have been able to go home had this hostage deal been able to come together. But Hamas rejected that offer, not in any rush to negotiate too quickly, hoping they can get more concessions out of Israel, including the exchange of their own high level potential militants who’ve been convicted of crimes here to get handed over in exchange for these women and elderly and patients desperately in need of medical care that Israel is asking to get back as soon as possible.
HARLOW: Will Ripley, looking at that photo of them embracing each other, like that really says everything. And, of course, it’s so hard. And all the work you’re doing there is really, really important, Will. So, thank you.
And if I could before, before you go, there is the UN vote today finally on potentially a pause and much more aid for Gaza. What do we know?
RIPLEY: Well, what this means is that finally the United States, which has delayed these votes repeatedly as they pore over the language of this. The US has vetoed past UN resolutions for calling for a ceasefire, calling for a procedure to get desperately needed humanitarian aid into Gaza, partially because they’re concerned that there wasn’t strong enough language condemning Hamas for starting this, for coming into Israel, unprovoked and murdering hundreds of people on October the 7th and kidnapping hundreds of others.
So, there had to be strong enough language in there condemning Hamas. And also the US said they were concerned that some of the language might actually slow down the delivery of the humanitarian aid that the people in Gaza so badly need, given that there are reports now from two different health ministries, one in Ramallah, the other in Gaza, indicating that the death toll has possibly surpassed 20,000 people in Gaza killed.
So, the United States signing this, it does pile on the pressure of the Israeli government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to find a way to negotiate a ceasefire and continue their military objectives, which is to go after Hamas but leave the civilian population out of it.
HARLOW: That’s right because the US has not been on board with prior drafts of these resolutions, so it does really potentially change things.
Will Ripley, reporting for us from Tel Aviv, thanks again.
