Reporters do their damndest to keep composure while reporting the news, but war can break even the most unflappable. On Monday, on the third day of the conflict between Hamas and Israel, no less than Anderson Cooper became so emotional during a particularly wrenching segment that he briefly broke down.
Heartbreaking. Anderson Cooper struggles to speak after watching Israeli woman plea for the release of her kidnapped family. (Video: CNN) pic.twitter.com/rrcrzCXnaf
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) October 9, 2023
Per Mediaite, CNN had interviewed Yifat Zailer, a woman whose cousin’s family, among them an infant and a three-year-old, had been kidnapped by Hamas. During her interview, Zailer was distraught, choking back tears, pleading for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the leaders of Turkey and Egypt, to help save her relatives. “I’m sorry I’m so emotional,” she said.
When they cut back to Cooper, he was visibly floored. It took him several seconds to patch himself together to continue with his reporting. He even briefly turned his back to the camera. Even when he was able to speak again, his voice quaked with emotion over what he’d heard. He then asked a reporter on the scene in Jerusalem about new threats Hamas had made about civilian hostages.
On Saturday morning, Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, attacked Israel by land, sea, and air, killing over 1,000. Among the places attacked was a music festival in Re’im, a village in the south. Netanyahu was quick to declare war.
(Via Mediaite)