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U.N. Holds Moment of Silence Honoring Staff Killed in Gaza; Soon: Trump Team Begins Defense in Civil Fraud Case; GOP Presidential Candidate Chris Christie Visits Israel. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired November 13, 2023 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[09:00:00]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWS ANCHOR: Well, this is the border of Israel and Gaza. Hospitals inside the territory are struggling, to say the

least. It is 4:00 p.m. there. It is 6:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. Hello and welcome to "Connect the World". I'm Becky Anderson for you. We've got

extensive coverage this hour and next on the crisis inside Gaza. First up, though, I want to begin in London this evening.

Well, to the U.K., a western global leader shuffles its key leadership at a time of vast international upheaval. You might recognize this man heading

into Downing Street earlier today, Britain's former Prime Minister, David Cameron. He led the U.K. during its vote for Brexit, of course, before

resigning straight afterwards, but now he is back at the helm.

Rishi Sunak has just appointed him just hours ago to the crucial role of U.K. Foreign Secretary, that position designed to find multilateral

solutions to international crises. And the appointment comes as the crisis in the Middle East is at its worst in recent memory. Threatening to engulf

this entire region and to reverberate out even further.

Let's kick off tonight, CNN's Clare Sebastian standing by for us in London. This was certainly a surprise to many. Do we understand why this

appointment is being made now?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, we don't know exactly why, Becky, but I think there's a couple of ways to look at it. Number one, as you say,

there are multiple crises going on in the world. The crisis in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine. And David Cameron is undoubtedly a very

experienced hand. He was, of course, Prime Minister, when Crimea was annexed by Russia and has had multiple dealings over the years with Russia

and Ukraine.

For example, I think on the other hand This is likely about internal politics within the Conservative Party. They are facing very low approval

ratings ahead of what is likely to be a general election at some point next year. And Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary who has now been sacked, was

someone who was seen to perhaps cause more fractures in the party by exciting the more right-wing members of that party.

David Cameron is a centrist, a more liberal figure and could perhaps bring that sense of unity or help bring that sense of unity that the party needs

and for its following as well ahead of an expected general election. I think that is, that is roughly how people are interpreting it at the

moment. Although there is of course criticism from the opposition about bringing back the former prime minister especially given his record on

Brexit.

ANDERSON: Suella Braverman, the now fired Home Secretary, described as a hardliner. She had made inflammatory comments about the policing of a pro-

Palestinian protest or protests in central London over the weekend. Her tenure has been wrought with scandal. Let's just talk about what led to

Braverman's sacking, because, of course, her position has been taken by the Former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, ushering in David Cameron back

into public office. I mean, U.K. public opinion is getting increasingly polarized over this Israeli-Palestinian conflict, isn't it?

SEBASTIAN: It is, Becky. This was, really sort of, the last straw when it came to Braverman. It was an incredibly controversial tenure and, you know,

she had actually been sacked from the role of Home Secretary, before in -- about 13 months ago, just before Liz Truss stepped down as Prime Minister,

and then Rishi Sunak brought her back and she'd made all sorts of inflammatory comments.

She had taken a very hard line on migration. She recently described sleeping rough as a lifestyle choice, which brought a lot of anger. But of

course, the tipping point came last week when she wrote an article in a British newspaper that was not only not approved by Downing Street, but has

been widely criticized for inflaming social and community tensions ahead of this march. She described pro-Palestinian demonstrators as hate marches.

She also accused the police of playing favorites when it came to how they deal with different kinds of demonstrators.

So, she was roundly criticized for that. The call started mounting for her to step down. I think, you know, in terms of public opinion in the U.K.,

you are seeing significant polarization. I was at this march over the weekend. It was it was relatively peaceful from what I can see.

[09:05:00]

But certainly, it's clear that tensions are very high, and I think that is the context which brought her eventual sacking.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. Thank you.

And next hour, we'll dive further into the policy strategy by Rishi Sunak with this new U.K. Foreign Secretary, a -- an old face in a new position.

So, I asked Director Lina Khatib, a friend of this show, normally based in London, will join me to discuss this reshuffle and its potential impact,

its significance, that's coming up a little later this show. No decision like that in the U.K. will be taken without it having an impact elsewhere.

Well, no food, no water, no medicine, and no safe way out. That is the situation being described at Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa, where the

director tells CNN essential units have and I quote here, "Collapsed." Operations are at a standstill, and hospital officials say that babies were

taken off incubators because there is no fuel to run those incubators.

Thousands of displaced people came to Al-Shifa for safety, but with incessant airstrikes and ground battles between Hamas and Israel close by,

some are reluctant to use corridors to the south declared by the Israel Defense Forces. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that people

should be able to evacuate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: There is no reason why we just can't take the patients out of there instead of letting Hamas use it as a

command center for terrorism. Even though Hamas has tried to prevent the civilians from leaving, hundreds of thousands have left.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, that's the Prime Minister. Hamas denies operating out of Al-Shifa. For more on what is this dire situation, CNN's Nada Bashir is in

Jerusalem.

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NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voiceover): These are the sounds of the final gasps from Gaza's collapsing healthcare system. Medical staff in Gaza City

working under near relentless Israeli bombardment for over a month. But now, this chorus of frantic voices, seen here working under torchlight,

tells its own gut-wrenching story. The Al-Quds Hospital, the second largest in Gaza, has now collapsed. It is one of many hospitals in Gaza that are

completely out of service, according to officials. Those remaining, now on a cliff edge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There is a direct injury in the head, internal bleeding. And we can't do surgeries. No surgeries, no

oxygen, no electricity. We work manually. We are using a manual resuscitator. It is a clear injury. It needs an urgent surgery, a

lifesaving one. He is less than a year old.

BASHIR (voiceover): Remarkably, this baby survived. But his father, who was in the very same building when an Israeli airstrike hit, did not.

At Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa, officials say three babies in the neonatal unit died after a generator powering incubators was damaged in an

Israeli strike. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment. The IDF regularly says it is targeting Hamas. But doctors here say, the

hospital is now completely surrounded.

DR. MOHAMED KANDIL, AL-SHIFA HOSPITAL: The situation overall is difficult. According to our colleague there, there is no water, no electricity. They

cannot communicate between each other. There is a lot of targeting around the hospital.

BASHIR (voiceover): The Israeli military said Sunday it has sent 300 liters of fuel to the entrance of the Al-Shifa Hospital, said to only be

enough to power the hospital's generators for 30 minutes. But the IDF says, Hamas blocked the hospital from receiving it. Hospital officials, however,

say staff were too afraid by surrounding Israeli tanks to collect the fuel.

Inside the hospital, doctors are overwhelmed. Morgues now long beyond capacity. And with communications frequently cut off, contact between

medical teams on the ground and with the outside world is growing increasingly difficult. Hospital officials say, thousands of displaced

civilians are still thought to be in the compound. Taking shelter in what once was thought to be a sanctuary in the midst of this seemingly unending

nightmare.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We though the hospital was a safe place, but it wasn't it. If we had stayed another five minutes, we

would have been killed. They started to bomb us and we ran away from Al- Shifa.

[09:10:00]

BASHIR (voiceover): The Israeli military says, it is now enabling passage from three hospitals in Northern Gaza. Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin

Netanyahu, telling CNN on Sunday that there is no reason why patients can't be evacuated from Al-Shifa. But doctors on the ground say a near constant

barrage of airstrikes has made it impossible for patients and staff to safely evacuate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is another form of torture. We have about six kilometers to go. No less. She got a stroke that caused

her brain damage. She can't speak and is paralyzed.

BASHIR (voiceover): Israel says, additional routes have been opened to allow civilians to evacuate southwards. But the United Nations itself has

raised doubts over the so-called safe zones outlined by Israel, warning that nowhere inside Gaza is safe for civilians anymore.

And for those too injured, too sick, evacuation is impossible. Many doctors on the ground vowing to stay beside their patients no matter what.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR (on camera): And look, as we know, there are many people at this hospital who simply cannot be evacuated. According to officials, there are

some 1,500 patients and medical staff there. But as you saw there, thousands of civilians also attempting to take shelter at these hospitals.

And as the bombardment continues there is huge concern, of course, for the safety of civilians.

And as we know, the vast majority of Gaza's hospitals are now out of service. The fact that Al-Shifa, Gaza's largest hospital, is now riding

(ph) catastrophic situations, according to medical staff on the ground, is a huge point of concern. And as we know, the situation is deteriorating by

the hour.

ANDERSON: Nada, thank you.

Well, in Tel Aviv, tens of thousands of people attended a rally over the weekend in support of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. This was the

largest rally since October the 7th, according to Israeli media. Many are growing more and more angry as they demand the Israeli government do more

to bring the hostages home. More than 200 people were taken into Gaza following Hamas's attack on October the 7th. Prime Minister, Benjamin

Netanyahu told CNN, he is doing everything within his power to bring those hostages home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU: Yes, we are doing everything and many things that I can't say here, obviously. But we're -- this is one of our two war goals. I mean. One

is to destroy Hamas, and the second is to bring back our hostages.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, for more, let's bring in CNN's Jeremy Diamond in Sderot in Israel. As we understand it, because, quite frankly, we have no further

information. The Israeli prime minister, his defense minister some weeks ago when they announced this second phase of this operation said that it

had two objectives, to destroy Hamas and its infrastructure and to bring those hostages home.

Many people at the time thought that was very contradictory, but the Israelis are sticking by that. A lot of anger. And again, we saw that today

and over the weekend in these rallies in Tel Aviv from families of those who say more can be done.

At this point, what do we understand? I mean, as far as I can tell, certainly talking to diplomatic sources who are familiar with those talks,

they do continue those negotiations are ongoing despite conflicting messages from both sides. What do we understand at this point?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, these negotiations certainly are ongoing. Whether or not they are going to yield a deal

anytime soon is an entirely different matter. As you know, Becky, we have watched over the last several weeks as we have appeared close time and

again to a potential deal between Israel and Hamas mediated by the Qataris with the assistance of the United States, only to then see that those talks

had broken down.

And so, even as those negotiations continue now, it appears over a more specific plan of a multi-day pause in hostilities in exchange for hostages,

a significant number of hostages being released on a rolling basis over several days. We don't know how close they actually are to the finish line.

Sometimes it is that last yard or so that is the most difficult in these kinds of negotiations.

But what you saw over the weekend here in Tel Aviv was the largest demonstration since October 7th in support of the hostages pressuring the

Israeli government, pressuring international leaders to do more to secure the release of those hostages. We heard from some of the families of those

taken hostage in Gaza, recounting stories of their loved ones, and really ramping up the pressure on the Israeli government to do more to get these

hostages out.

[09:15:00]

Now, I think we need to be clear that even as we do see that mounting anger, that mounting frustration, and a very large show of force from all

of these people in Tel Aviv, we are also seeing is still very high support in Israel for the war effort itself. But nonetheless, the Israeli prime

minister has had to make very clear, as you just mentioned, that it is not only the goal of destroying Hamas, but also the goal of retrieving the

hostages that are top of mind as he pursues this campaign.

$you know, when he first said -- as you mentioned, when he first said that securing the hostages was also a goal of the war, within a few days, he

actually had a proof point of that, which was the release of one of those Israeli soldiers who was taken captive by Hamas by a ground operation

carried out by Israeli forces.

Since then, though, Becky, we haven't seen any evidence that this ground operation is getting those captives closer to getting home. We haven't had

any other captives freed by Israeli forces, although the Israeli politicians maintain that this ground campaign is putting the pressure on

Hamas and perhaps getting them to get closer to agreeing to Israel's terms for securing the release of some of these hostages.

But in the meantime, as you can see over my shoulder here, perhaps, the Israeli offensive is very much continuing. And it is showing no signs of

letting up as Israeli forces move deeper into Gaza City, deeper into Hamas strongholds, even as the fate of those hostages remains unclear. Becky.

ANDERSON: And in conversation with our colleague Dana Bash over the weekend, the Prime Minister reiterating his stance regarding these

international calls for a ceasefire. Saying, that the only halt in fighting he would accept is, "One in which we have our hostages released." And so,

it goes on. Jeremy, good to have you. Thank you, Sir.

Well, as the crossfire intensifies on the border between Israel and Lebanon, the IDF says, it will hold the Lebanese government and Hezbollah

responsible for border hostilities. Now, on Sunday, there was one reported fatality on the Israeli side. And the IDF said, several Israelis were

injured from missiles fired from Lebanese territory. IDF fighter jets attacking Hezbollah targets in response.

Senior International Correspondent Ben Wedeman is in Southern Lebanon. Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, what we're seeing is this intensification of cross-border fire that really began to

pick up on Saturday is continuing. Now, so far today, there's been one Israeli strike on a house in the central sector of the border where two

civilians were killed, several were injured when the house they were in was hit. And according to the official Lebanese National News Agency, that

house was completely leveled.

And also, this afternoon, a group of journalists who were going to look at houses that had been hit in Israeli strikes came under fire themselves. We

understand that one journalist was slightly wounded, but it does -- look, in fact, we understand that actually two missiles were fired in their

direction as well.

So, it definitely seems that things are picking up. And of course, over the weekend, we did hear Yoav Gallant, the Israeli Defense Minister, say that

what we're doing in Gaza, we can also do in Beirut. So, there's growing concern that this ever so gradual but very noticeable increase in the

amount of cross-border fire could broaden out to something much bigger. Becky.

ANDERSON: Ben Wedeman's on the border. Ben, thank you.

More on the conflict coming up.

Meantime, other news for you. Also, coming up, a volcano watch underway in Iceland. Just ahead, we'll take a look at the wave of earthquakes that led

to a state of emergency.

And Donald Trump Jr. about the -- to head back to the witness stand in the civil fraud trial against the Trump family. Why he is testifying for a

second time. That is coming up.

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ANDERSON: Well, a state of emergency in effect in Iceland. Officials say, there is a significant likelihood of an eruption near the world-famous Blue

Lagoon. Now, this follows a wave of around a thousand earthquakes. The town of Grindavik, seen here, was evacuated on Saturday morning. CNN's Michael

Holmes with this report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Alarming signs in Iceland, where waves of tremors are shaking

and splintering parts of the country. And experts say the seismic activity there is likely to get worse. Thousands of earthquakes have struck

Iceland's southwestern peninsula in the last few days. Geologists say, it's related to an underground corridor of magma that's shifting and could soon

lead to a volcanic eruption.

In the town of Grindavik, some 50 kilometers away from the capital of Reykjavik, the ground has already split open in places because of the

volatility under the Earth's crust. More than 3,000 residents were evacuated Saturday, with a few allowed back Sunday to retrieve pets and

essential items from their home.

Experts say, the magma corridor, which stretches about 15 kilometers near Grindavik, could cause an eruption, and possibly destroy much of town.

VIDIR REYNISSON, ICELANDIC CIVIL PROTECTION AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: The magma is now on a shallow -- very shallow depth. So, we're expecting an

eruption within a couple of hours. Shortest, but at least within a couple of days. Anywhere on that fissure, we can see that an eruption could

happen.

HOLMES (voiceover): Iceland has declared a state of emergency and, as a precaution, closed the Blue Lagoon, a popular geothermal spa located near

Grindavik. The area near Grindavik is prone to volcanic activity, with three eruptions in the past two and a half years.

In 2021, a fissure measuring as big as 750 meters long spewed fountains of lava into the sky, attracting tourists to the unpopulated hot spot. This

time around, with an entire town potentially at risk, officials warned this eruption could have far more dangerous consequences.

Michael Holmes, CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, important medical news now, an injection used for weight loss could reduce the risk of heart attacks. Wegovy, part of a group of

drugs that's boomed in popularity as an aid to losing weight. Well, now a clinical trial shows that in people with heart disease, it also cuts their

risk of a cardiovascular event by 20 percent. The data was presented Saturday at the American Heart Association conference.

Let's get you some context on the impact of these findings. CNN's Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell, joins us now. Meg, why is this such a big deal?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, you know, we always think about, you know, weight loss, is sort of the conventional wisdom that

should lead to health impacts, like, potentially preventing heart attacks, but that's actually never been proven with a weight loss drug in a clinical

trial before. So, this is the first time we have ever actually seen this with the gold standard of evidence

Now, this was a massive clinical trial. It enrolled more than 17,000 people. It followed them for an average of more than three years. Folks who

were included in this study had cardiovascular disease, so it already had a heart attack or stroke or had peripheral artery disease. And they had a BMI

of at least 27, so they were in the overweight category. Importantly, though, they did not have diabetes.

[09:25:00]

We have seen a heart benefit for these medicines in patients with diabetes before. And what they saw is that this drug, unsurprisingly, resulted in

weight loss of about nine percent of patients body weight. We also saw improvements in blood sugar, blood pressure, levels of triglycerides and

inflammation. And importantly, it reduced the risk of a heart attack, stroke or heart related death by 20 percent compared with placebo.

So, I was at the conference on -- in Philadelphia on Saturday where this data was presented and this is a room full of cardiologists. So, if they're

not already prescribing this drug to help patients avoid these heart complications, it's likely they'll start now, Becky.

ANDERSON: What about safety issues?

TIRRELL: That's a really important question for these medicines. They have been around for more than a decade. And mostly what we see is GI issues

with these drugs. Nausea, vomiting, constipation, things like that, and they can be severe. Ten percent of patients on Wegovy stopped the trial

because of G.I. side effects, compared with two percent on placebo.

Importantly, though, we did not see any new emergence of severe safety issues, whether that's, sort of, stomach paralysis we've heard about with

these medicines or thoughts of suicidality, which regulators are investigating both here and in Europe. So, those didn't emerge. It's

generally the picture we already knew.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. Thank you.

The U.N. aid organization that works in Gaza says one of its premises was hit on Sunday by the Israeli Navy. Coming up, I've been speaking to the

head of UNRWA about that as well as the death toll in Gaza.

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN. More people get their news from CNN than any other news source.

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ANDERSON: Well, it is, just before 9:30 a.m. in New York. These are live pictures from the United Nations, where officials, including Secretary

General Antonio Guterres, will shortly hold a moment of silence. They are honoring the more than 100 colleagues who have died in Gaza since October

the 7th.

[09:30:07]

The U.N. agency in Gaza, of course, is known as UNRWA and it provides assistance and protection to registered Palestinian refugees. It was

established in 1948 to carry out direct relief and works programs for Palestinian refugees. The agency began operations in 1950, and on its side

it says in the absence of a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem, the general assembly is repeatedly renewed UNRWA's mandate -- most recently

extending it until this year.

It is unique in terms of its long-standing commitment to one group of refugees. It has contributed to the welfare and human development of four

generations of Palestinian refugees, defined as persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period the 1st of June 1946 until the

15th of May, 1948, when they lost both home, and means of livelihood, as a result of the war.

This is the moment of silence.

(A MOMENT OF SILENCE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

ANDERSON: A moment of silence for the more than 100 U.N. colleagues lost in the Gaza conflict.

I've just had the chance to speak to the commissioner general of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, about the deaths of you have been staff, and the

broader situation in Gaza. We discussed his diplomatic efforts, his hopes for a cease-fire, and I asked him about Israeli accusations that some UNRWA

personnel are members of Hamas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILIPPE LAZZARINI, COMMISSIONER GENERAL UNRWA: Listen, to start with all our staff, on a yearly basis, are submitted to both of the occupying

powers, the state of Israel, and the Palestinian authorities. I also believe that if an organization is providing a humanitarian assistance in

the Gaza Strip, it's UNRWA and its partner are working around the clock with extremely very limited resources. And I think that if the state of

Israel is doing its up most, it should definitely help us in bringing more commodities into the Gaza Strip, in alleviating or lifting the siege, and

we keep also calling for a humanitarian cease-fire, in order to protect the civilian population.

ANDERSON: Specifically to the claims that, for example, UNRWA workers are Hamas members, they're also claims by Israelis that there are, there is

equipment, munitions, tunnels, underneath UNRWA facilities. Can you just address those claims?

LAZZARINI: All our staff is being vented. We have no Hamas affiliated staff members. On a yearly basis, again, I repeat, we are submitting this

list to the state of Israel, as an occupying power, and also to the Palestinian authority, and I have never ever received any concern about a

possible staff being affiliated to Hamas. When it comes to the tunnels, I have to say, that we are a human development and humanitarian organization.

We are providing assistance, education, primary health (ph) to millions of Palestinian, but we do not have the military expertise to trying to find

out what is underneath the Gaza Strip.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Philippe Lazzarini went on to tell me how confident he is about the possibility of a cease-fire, or a humanitarian pause at least. And you

can see more that conversation, and it's an important one, just about 30 minutes from now, in what is the second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD.

[09:35:07]

Well, the U.S., South Korea, and Japan have agreed on a new way to share data about missile launches from North Korea. The announcement follows

talks between these three nations, with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Seoul for what is a trilateral meeting with his counterparts.

Next stop, the defense will start presenting its case in the civil fraud trial against former president, U.S. President, sorry, Donald Trump, his

adult sons and the family business. The first to testify will be Donald Trump, Jr. Defense attorneys say it is Eric Trump and also the former

president like also take the stand, all three previously faced questions from prosecutors.

Kara Scannell is outside the courthouse for us -- Kara.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Becky, so Donald Trump Jr. Derive just a few minutes ago, and he will be the first witness to take the stand

for the wind defense. And Trump's team are defending against these allegations that they inflated the values of their properties on financial

statements, and then gave those statements to banks and insurers to get better rates and terms.

And so, he will be the first one up. He already testified at this trial, when he was called by the state, and then he said that he had no role in

the preparation of these statements, and that he only signed off on them after he spoke with attorneys and accountants. So he has distanced himself

from that.

But during the state questioning, they decide the questions, and they tried to limit his answers to yes or no. Now that he's taking the stand as a

defense witness, they will shape the questions that they want to ask him, and he will be able to give very more expensive answers.

This as Trump's team is trying to put their defense on, saying that there was no intent to defraud anyone's, if there were mistakes made, they

weren't material, they weren't important, and there were no victims, and know things were defrauded. We saw a flavor of that when Ivanka Trump

testified last week, when she was called by the state, but when Trump's lawyers to question her, she spoke about how they had a long-standing

relationship with Deutsche Bank, one of the lenders, and that deutsche bank had done their own due diligence before underwriting these loans.

So, we expect to see more that come out of that, this general idea of trying to distance the head and the importance of these financial

statements, but also show there is no intent to defraud anyone, and there is no victims in this case.

So, Don Jr. will be on the stand today. We expect that could continue into tomorrow, because the state will be able to cross examine him. And they

will say that their defense could go for several weeks -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you. Thank you.

Well, the U.S. presidential race, at least the Republican one, has one last candidate. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott has suspended his campaign. He

was behind in polling, and says he will not endorse another candidate for president, and has no intention of accepting a nomination for vice

president.

Well, Chris Christie promises to share the atrocities, as he's described them, that he saw after visiting Israel. He's the first Republican

presidential candidate in the U.S. to go there, since the Hamas attacks on October the 7th. Christie met with families of hostages, and tour the

kibbutz where he said he could, quote, smell the death still a month later.

He insists the U.S. must continue giving Israel what it needs to defeat Hamas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHRISTIE, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The most important thing is for us to provide financial assistance and military hardware to

the Israelis so they can do what they need to do, in Gaza, regarding the terrorist who attacked them, and killed over 1,200 of their civilians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Chris Christie. CNN will continue to monitor the race for the White House.

Ahead in sports, a thriller at Stamford Bridge, in one of the most memorable premier league matches in years. That is coming up, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:41:15]

ANDERSON: The best in the world. That's Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino's assessment of the premier league after the Sunday thriller

between his quad and Man City that had massive amounts of drama throughout. This was, as described by so many as a wildly entertaining game.

Carolyn Manno joins me now.

I don't support either of these teams. So, it's always good, Carolyn, when you can sit back and watch somebody, watch a game which is just fantastic

to see. What did you think?

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It really is, Becky. I mean, talk about an advertisement for the Premier League. This game had everything, so

many storylines. If you would've told Manchester City at the beginning of this, hey, you're going to play Chelsea, you're going to score 4 goals, two

of them are going to come by Erling Haaland's foot, they would've said, right, what's next?

But it was far from it. I mean, it was a back-and-forth contest, so explosive. We'll have a report from Stamford Bridge, coming up.

ANDERSON: Yeah, good stuff, thank you for that.

"WORLD SPORT" up next, after this very short break. We'll be back top of the hour for you, with more CONNECT THE WORLD. Please stay with us.

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