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UNICEF Says Gaza at "Point of Absolute Catastrophe"; U.S. Talking to Hamas via American in Doha; Interview with Former French Prime Minister on Sanctions against Israel; South African President to Meet with Trump at White House; Video Appears to Show Killing of Surrendering Ukrainian Troops; IDEALS Charity Surgeon Says Gaza "Has Reached the Point of Utter Inhumanity"; Jordan Evacuates Six Child Cancer Patients from Gaza; Israeli Military Fires Toward Diplomats in West Bank; Elon Musk Reducing Spending on Politics; U.S. Lawmakers Still Debating Trump Agenda after All-Night Session. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired May 21, 2025 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Welcome to the second hour of the show from our Middle East programming headquarters. I'm Becky Anderson.
Time here just after 6 pm.
Israel facing growing international pressure over its escalating offensive in Gaza as the U.N. says the small amount of aid allowed into the enclave
has not made it into Palestinians' hands.
I'll speak to a former top French official about the new steps his country and the E.U. are or should take to put pressure on Israel.
Next hour, U.S. president Trump will welcome South African president Cyril Ramaphosa at a tense time for the two countries as the White House has
turned the treatment of white South Africans into a political cause.
And Elon Musk, who was, of course, born in South Africa, looms large over this meeting. CNN has learned he is in talks to use his Starlink satellite
internet service in South Africa.
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ANDERSON: Well, the "point of absolute catastrophe," the words of UNICEF to CNN, who say Gaza is facing impending famine, with images of starving
children already being streamed to the world.
The U.N. says that, while Israel gave permission for 100 aid trucks to enter Gaza on Tuesday, only five of those trucks got through and none of
that aid has been distributed. Israel says 93 trucks crossed into Gaza on Tuesday but would not confirm if any of the aid was handed out. One Gaza
resident says the scale of hunger is overwhelming.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AHMED FATHI, PALESTINIAN REFUGEE (through translator): None of us can find anything to eat. The five trucks that arrived won't even make a dent in the
shortage. They might as well not come at all.
Gaza needs at least 100,000 trucks to meet people's demand for just eating. We're living in a catastrophe. There's no food, no water, no work, nothing
to make us feel alive. We might as well count as dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: To Wednesday as Israel pushes forward with its new military offensive. But the backlash is growing. The E.U. says it is now reviewing
its relationship with Israel, as the U.K. has paused trade talks.
Well, all that as a breakthrough in ceasefire and hostage negotiations is looking uncertain. Let's get the reaction from Washington. Kylie Atwood has
that.
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ANDERSON: You're learning of a new step that the U.S. is taking in ceasefire negotiations. Tell us what you know.
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So when it comes to these ceasefire negotiations, we know, of course, that Israel sent a
delegation to Doha for indirect talks with Hamas this week.
Those talks continue at a working level but the United States is also pursuing their own channel with Hamas. They are using an American
Palestinian who ran a group that was supporting of Trump throughout the course of the 2024 presidential campaign.
He is on the ground in Doha right now, meeting with Hamas face-to-face, elevating a channel that the administration used to help secure the release
of American Israeli hostage Edan Alexander earlier this month.
And obviously, they believed that he was an effective player because he sent messages back and forth with Hamas, shared those with Steve Witkoff,
president Trump's top envoy for the Middle East, who was central to brokering that release.
And now they are relying on him in a pronounced way. Now you talk to some Middle East experts and they say this demonstrates that the administration
feels that they are at a critical place in these ceasefire negotiations.
They think they can break through some of what is out there and talk to Hamas directly and push things forward more quickly.
But you also talk to folks who say that this American Palestinian Bishara Bahbah doesn't have very much experience at all talking with Hamas. Also,
he's not talking with the leadership of Hamas, who makes the decisions. Of course, they are in Gaza.
So there are some who are skeptical that this channel would create any breakthrough. But it does come as U.S. officials are telling our colleagues
at the White House that president Trump and his top officials are growing increasingly frustrated with Israel.
[10:05:00]
The fact that they haven't, you know, charged forth toward a ceasefire at all; recently, of course, the backdrop being their renewed offensive in
Gaza.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Thank you.
Well, as Israel faces more pressure internationally, the former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin says, and I quote, "There are three
things that must be done.
"First, immediately suspend the E.U.-Israel agreement. The majority of Israel's trade is with Europe; suspend it. Second, immediately impose an
arms embargo from all European countries. Third, bring the entire Israeli government and senior military officials before the International Criminal
Court."
And Dominique de Villepin joining me now live from Paris.
It is good to have you. Thank you for joining us.
DOMINIQUE DE VILLEPIN, FORMER FRENCH PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Becky.
ANDERSON: Right now, the E.U. is reviewing its relations with Israel.
Do you expect Europe to go as far as you suggest?
Do you expect it to do the three things very specifically that you have suggested?
DE VILLEPIN: I think we should really put the necessary pressure on Israel today because Benjamin Netanyahu is putting Israel's security at risk. It
is putting America's security at risk, as well as the Western world.
So we wish -- we should make sure that Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu are going to understand what is going on, which is a ethnic cleansing in Gaza;
a risk of genocide, which will be a huge stain on Israel and all of us. And that's why we should really put all the necessary pressure.
Becky, in 2003, I was with Jacques Chirac, the most strong voice against an American intervention in Iraq. And we felt sorry the U.S. did not listen to
us at that time. What is going on today is really a tragedy, a tragedy for all of us. Everybody understands that we should fight as strongly as
possible against Hamas, against any terrorist groups.
But here we are talking about civilians, about the Palestinian people, without no political objective. And the plan of Benjamin Netanyahu is very
clear.
The plan is occupying the whole of Gaza, to have, in a tiny part of land, to have the 2,200,000 people of Gaza, depending on the military, Israelis
and the foundation of humanitarian for Gaza, to deliver aid and to have all these people displaced from Gaza.
This is ethnic cleansing. And I think that we should not, we could not, we cannot accept such an awful situation. People are dying every day, children
dying, no water. It has been said very clearly, no water, no food, no medicine.
How in 2025 can we accept that?
And there is one country that can stop that, America.
ANDERSON: Right.
DE VILLEPIN: Donald Trump said, America great again. This is the worst of America. This is not what we believe America is. And we should rely on the
American people to say no to such a policy, because it is really a shame for the whole of us, for Israel, for Europe and the Western world.
ANDERSON: Dominique de Villepin, Benjamin Netanyahu stands by his goal that he laid out in the first week after October the 7th. His goal is to
eradicate Hamas and to bring home the remaining hostages.
Do you believe that any of this pressure will actually push Israel to change course?
After all, today, as you and I speak, they still have the support -- or he still has the support, as we understand it, of the United States.
DE VILLEPIN: Well, I think it very much depends on the United States.
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I think the message of Europe should be very clear, embargo on arms; cutting the relation, the economic relation. And we are the first partner
of Israel. And Israel is today more isolated than ever.
And we know that what is going on now in Gaza is not going to make things any better for Israel. This is not anymore a matter of security for Israel,
because deterrence has been restored since many months.
Today, it is a matter of what should happen in Gaza. And I think we should restore hope for the Palestinian people. You see, the idea to have a
Riviera on Gaza is just a joke. So we should go back to reality. We should give a perspective for the Palestinian people.
If we don't do that, we are every day making more terrorists for tomorrow. We are creating insecurity for the children of Israel tomorrow and the day
after and for all of us also. So we should be held responsible for all of that. And we should change course of history. This is really in our hands
and mostly in the hands of the United States.
ANDERSON: Changing the course of history would be recognizing a Palestinian state. France says it is determined to do so. A small number of
European countries, of course, have already done so recently.
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, leaving open the possibility of declaring, unilaterally declaring a Palestinian state at a conference, a
U.N. conference in June, co-sponsored, as I understand it, between by the Saudis and the French.
Would you support Paris taking this step?
And how likely is it to happen?
And should the United States, under Donald Trump, do the same?
DE VILLEPIN: If we want to stop the course of violence, if we want to be able to put all this violence in the track of politics, of course, creating
a Palestinian state is solving one of the biggest injustice since 1945.
So giving to the Palestinian people the possibility to have a state, to have a piece of land, where to live, I think it is our responsibility
today.
And yes, I think it will change everything, because, whenever they will be in their land and living peacefully with Israel, of course, we should
guarantee to the Israeli people that we should always back their security.
And this is the promise that we've made long ago. But what happened on the 7th of October is the exact proof that there is no way you can have
security without peace. You need peace to have real security. So we should get out of this vicious circle. This is the 14th war in Gaza, so we should
change the course of history, definitely.
ANDERSON: Let me ask -- let me ask you this.
Why do you believe it has taken Europe -- and the U.K. these days -- this long to take a stronger stance against Israel?
DE VILLEPIN: Well, it's not a stronger stand against Israel because I don't think we should held the Israeli people responsible for the policy of
Benjamin Netanyahu, for domestic political reasons.
This government is choosing the worst path of politics. But Israeli people, as well as Jews around the world, should not be held responsible. We
should, on the contrary, try not to essentialize. And in the same way, we should not essentialize the Palestinian.
Hamas is not the whole of the Palestinians. It's a small group of people that have chosen terrorism. We should fight against terrorism but we should
give hope to the Palestinian people.
If we don't do that, we are creating a whole generation of terrorists and things will be ever worse in the Middle East --
ANDERSON: Right.
DE VILLEPIN: -- with very strong consequences in our countries.
ANDERSON: The view of Dominique de Villepin.
It's good to have you, sir. Thank you very much indeed. Your perspective important today. Thank you.
[10:15:00]
Well, next hour, U.S. president Donald Trump will host South African president Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House. It could be tense after the
U.S. started granting white South Africans refugee status.
Mr. Trump and his key ally, Elon Musk, claim white South Africans are being persecuted in a, quote, "white genocide." CNN's Larry Madowo has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): White South Africans, many of them farmers, entered the American dream, some too young
to know they've also entered an international firestorm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome. Welcome to the United States of America.
MADOWO (voice-over): The U.S. government says it's taking in these refugees fleeing alleged racial discrimination at home.
That's why they've opened the door for them.
CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: Yes. And they don't fit that bill. Those people who have fled are not being persecuted. The American
government has got the wrong end of the stick here.
MADOWO (voice-over): South Africa's president has come to the U.S. to set the record straight and is expected to meet President Donald Trump
Wednesday, hoping to reset the two countries relationship. It was his signing of a controversial land seizure law in January that invoked Trump's
wrath, allowing the state to take unused farmland without compensation if deemed just, equitable and in the public interest.
South Africa's majority Black population still owns just a small percentage of farms. More than 30 years after apartheid officially ended while most
are owned by the white minority. There were 36 murders at farms between April and December last year but only seven of the victims were farmers,
according to police data.
But President Trump calls it a, quote, genocide against white farmers.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're being killed and we don't want to see people be killed. It's a genocide that's taking place.
MADOWO (voice-over): The accusation partly stemming from this apartheid era song made popular again by far-left opposition leader, Julius Malema.
JULIUS MALEMA, MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF SOUTH AFRICA: Kill the poor, the farmer.
MADOWO (voice-over): But AfriForum, conservative white Africanist lobby group, won't explicitly say there is a white genocide.
KALLIE KRIEL, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER: AFRIFORUM: There's a call for genocidal call. People are being killed and people are being tortured. We
need to prevent this from going further.
MADOWO (voice-over): AfriForum is described by the U.S.-based Southern Poverty Law Center as a white nationalist group. They have the ear of the
U.S. administration but they're not leaving South Africa.
KRIEL: At AfriForum, we say our future is in Africa because our ancestors came here more than 300 years ago.
MADOWO (voice-over): South African born entrepreneur, Elon Musk, has fanned the accusations against his homeland, frustrating locals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they are lying. There's no genocide in here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elon Musk is overhyping the situation. There's no such as genocide.
JOHN STEENHUISEN, SOUTH AFRICAN MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE: He must have mischaracterized things as a genocide. There's no mass appropriation of
land taking place in South Africa, there's no genocide taking place.
MADOWO (voice-over): Musk reportedly wants approval for his companies to operate in South Africa.
MADOWO: Well, is Elon Musk invited when you have that face-to-face meeting?
CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA: Well, I don't know. They will determine whether Elon Musk is part of it or not.
MADOWO (voice-over): President Ramaphosa hopes to mend the rift and convince Trump to attend the G20 Summit in Johannesburg in November.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Larry joins us now live from Nairobi in Kenya.
Thank you for that report.
Is it clear what Trump and Ramaphosa expect to achieve from today's meeting?
As we understand it, I think I'm right in saying that Elon Musk will be in attendance.
MADOWO: What President Ramaphosa hopes to achieve from this, Becky, is to talk about the trade deal between South Africa and the United States. South
Africa needs the U.S. The U.S. needs South Africa, maybe less so.
But President Ramaphosa has said that he hopes to clarify a few things about the relationship. And obviously the sticking point, there is this
issue of the white genocide that president Trump keeps talking about and President Ramaphosa keeps saying there is no white genocide.
And I spoke to President Ramaphosa last week, as you saw in that clip, in Abidjan in Cote d'Ivoire. And he said he learned at the feet of Nelson
Mandela he would never discriminate against any person because of that controversial land seizure law, which the government can take land only if
it is unused.
It's deemed to be just and in the public interest. And that has become an issue on the Right. It began in right-wing circles in South Africa, among a
small group of aggrieved white South Africans.
It's transferred over to the MAGA Right in the United States and this will almost certainly come up in this meeting. That could be confrontational,
especially if president Trump brings it up, brings it up and President Ramaphosa feels the need to clarify the word he uses there.
And obviously, Elon Musk has been one of the people who's been one of the big promoters of this white genocide narrative, which South Africans are
very frustrated about.
ANDERSON: Elon Musk himself very frustrated about not being able to get business done, as I understand it, in South Africa, not least with his
Starlink project.
[10:20:08]
What do we know about that?
And, you know, given what you know and those you spoke to, how controversial is Musk there these days?
MADOWO: Elon Musk is deeply controversial in South Africa. Many South Africans are unhappy about the image of South Africa he paints out there.
And he's got a big megaphone. He owns X and he's buddy in chief to the president of the United States.
And Elon Musk said, as recently as yesterday, speaking at the Qatar economic forum that, even though he was born in South Africa, he cannot get
license for Starlink to operate in South Africa because he's not Black.
Now the South African government has repeatedly denied that. South Africa has what is called Black economic empowerment laws. This is because of the
legacy of apartheid. So any telecommunications company needs to have at least 30 percent Black ownership.
And Elon Musk is not keen to see at least 30 percent control of Starlink to a South African Black-owned organization. So that is a sticking point.
There's been some recent reporting that the South Africans have found a workaround for Elon Musk, so that he does not have to obey this 30 percent
requirement for local ownership.
Which, again, is controversial in South Africa because they see that as a way to just please one man when this has been for a long time -- and for
good reason -- because of the legacy of apartheid. Becky.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. OK. Well, we will wait to see what comes out of this meeting. Good to have you, sir. Thank you very much indeed.
Larry Madowo in the house.
Still to come, disturbing accusations from the battlefield in Ukraine. Russian troops accused of killing Ukrainian soldiers even after they
surrendered. Our exclusive report is just ahead.
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ANDERSON: Russia's president has made his first visit to Kursk since Moscow claimed to have completely recaptured the region from Ukrainian
forces. Russia's state media released video of Vladimir Putin touring the Kursk nuclear power plant.
Ukrainian troops launched a surprise incursion into the region last August, capturing and holding the territory for months.
On the battlefield in Ukraine, CNN has obtained exclusive drone footage and radio intercepts, appearing to show Russian troops executing a group of
Ukrainian soldiers, even though they had just surrendered. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has the story -- and I have to warn you, some of the images in his
report are graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator from captions): Arta, listen to me. Ask who the commander is. Take the commander and kill everyone else.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Before even this moment of surrender, the fate of these six
Ukrainian troops were sealed.
Ukrainian drone images from the southern front last November show the horror that comes after defeat. A Russian hiding in the bushes shoots one
Ukrainian in the head.
Ukrainian officials gave CNN intercepts of Russian radio orders from their commanders to their troops here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator from captions): Take them to the road.
WALSH (voice-over): We can't verify them independently but they help paint a chilling picture of what appeared to be executions to order of a plan to
kill prisoners given from above.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator from captions): Get the fuck out. Take the senior one. And get rid of the others.
WALSH (voice-over): The Russian in the bushes seems to fit a mask and then emerge. He's joined by another Russian. They talk. There's no visible
threat from their prisoners and one captive Ukrainian seems to gesture at them. But nothing changes his fate, shot in the head calmly.
Another Ukrainian gets up, presumably the commander, and takes off his armor. But the voice on the radio is impatient.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator from captions): Did you take them down?
That's a question.
WALSH (voice-over): The commander is led away. In total, six times, the order to kill was given, according to the intercepts.
WALSH: A forensic study for CNN "The Files," an audio found no reason they weren't authentic and a Western intelligent official described them to us
as, quote, "credible." We've geolocated the footage of the killing to this tree line just outside of Novodarivka in Zaporizhzhya region where fierce
fighting raged late last year.
Ukrainian prosecutors say the executions of surrendering Ukrainian troops by Russians are increasing. They say they opened eight cases in all of
2023; 39 for all of last year and, in just the first four months of this year, 20.
YURII BIELOUSOV, OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTOR-GENERAL OF UKRAINE: It's a well- coordinated and well-planned policy and the execution of prisoners of well
-- as well as other war crimes which have been committed in Ukraine, well, I think that goes up to the president of Russian Federation.
Who, for example, when it was the example of Kursk area, when there were -- when he conducted like a military meeting or something and when he said
that we should treat them as terrorists, and everyone knows how Putin treats people who they call terrorists. So for -- it's almost synonym for
us to execute.
WALSH (voice-over): The U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial killing told CNN the executions would not happen in such numbers and frequency
without orders or, at the very least, consent from highest military commanders, which, in Russia, means the presidency.
Another video supplied to CNN by a Western intelligence official shows a similar scene also from Zaporizhzhya. Ukrainians are surrounded and
surrendering to Russians with red tape on their helmets.
But two others join them, white tape on their helmets. They appear to use their radios. And then a white helmet opens fire. As the smoke clears, a
red reloads his weapon and shoots another Ukrainian in the head.
There's no radio intercept here but a Western intelligence official told CNN the order to kill likely came from the white to the red. Killings aimed
at hitting Ukrainian morale but also cynically just at easing Russian logistics.
"This affects the morale and psychological state of our guys," he says.
"We have facts when the Russian military and political leadership directly gave verbal instructions not to take prisoners and to shoot those captured
on the spot, because it complicates military logistics from their point of view."
A stark window into Moscow's mindset. Surrender means nothing and mercy is not an option -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, after mounting international pressure, Israel has said it will allow more aid into Gaza. Next, CNN's interview with a doctor in Khan
Yunis on the dire situation there.
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[10:30:00]
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ANDERSON (voice-over): Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. The headlines this hour.
And next hour at the White House, U.S. president Donald Trump will meet with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. The two administrations have
had a rocky start, with Mr. Trump and his ally, Elon Musk, fueling claims that a white genocide is happening in South Africa.
Well, a Spanish police source says a former Ukrainian politician has been shot dead outside a school in a suburb just west of Madrid. Andriy Portnov
previously worked as a senior aide to pro-Russian former president Viktor Yanukovych before his administration was ousted in Ukraine's 2014 pro-
democracy uprising.
UNICEF tells CNN that Gaza is now at, quote, "a point of absolute catastrophe," with the enclave facing impending famine. The U.N. says that,
even though Israel gave permission for 100 aid trucks to enter Gaza on Tuesday, only five of those got through and none of that aid has been
distributed.
To its part, Israel says 93 trucks crossed into Gaza on Tuesday but officials would not confirm if any aid was handed out.
ANDERSON: I spoke with Tom Potokar. He is a doctor, working with IDEALS Charity, currently in a Gaza hospital, and has compared the situation there
to, quote, "a slaughterhouse."
Well, I spoke to him just before this show started and asked him what he is seeing in his hospital right now and what is needed to, frankly, keep what
he is doing and operations there going.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. TOM POTOKAR, PLASTIC SURGEON: This situation is, it's -- yes. It's just -- it's -- it really has reached the point of utter inhumanity. And
you know, this is not against a few individuals or even a few hundred or a few thousand.
This is the whole population of Gaza that is being, absolutely, you know. The suffering they're going through, the stories that we see on a daily
basis, of whole families wiped out, children being stuck under rubble, crying for help. And the rescuers can't even get to them because they're
getting shot at trying to get to them.
People evacuating 5-10 times to different places. People starving. I mean, looking around the table this morning of my clinical colleagues was like
looking at images that we're more used to seeing from other parts of the world.
You know, gaunt, hollow faces. The cases we're treating, the wounds aren't healing. They're all getting infected because people can't -- their immune
systems aren't functioning properly because of months of stress and months of the lack of food. So it really is a catastrophic situation.
ANDERSON: Just walk us through a little more on what you are very specifically dealing with then and what have you seen.
And what sort of cases are you trying to help?
POTOKAR: In the last week or so, I've dealt with a young man who had his right hip disarticulated. So that means, no, not even a hip joint; a whole
leg gone.
But on the same patient, he also had an amputation below the knee on the left side. But his thigh was covered in open wounds, shrapnel wounds, that
were filthy and maggots in them, exposed bone.
[10:35:04]
He will probably need a higher amputation. He was also missing his left hand. All of these from blast injury.
Now he was at the European Gaza hospital before we had to evacuate there. I don't even know where he is now, which hospital he's gone to, what care he
might be getting. We're dealing with burns patients, you know, young children with significant burns. We've had patients with traumatic brain
injury.
I had a colleague we were operating on the other day. His brother was one of the orthopedic surgeons. And he'd been in a cafe last week with some
friends, having finished some work on his computer because he didn't have internet at home.
And he'd gone to this cafe and it was struck. His three close friends were killed at the scene. He's left with hemiplegic, so he can't move the right
side of his body. He can't talk. Currently, he's lost the vision in one eye.
You know, it's just endless; pregnant women requiring extensive surgery for shrapnel wounds to the -- to the abdomen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POTOKAR (voice-over): We're dealing with cases that were already in here, that need specific plastic surgery skills. But as well, I mean, you would
be -- it sounds crazy but this shows, to an extent, the resilience of the Palestinians and the fact that they are trying to carry on with their
lives.
They're still doing, you know, some standard routine operations as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POTOKAR: Because people still get sick, people still have hernias, people still have cancer, people still give birth. You know, they did 3-4 cesarean
sections in this hospital yesterday. So you know, it varies.
We're trying to get more patients transferred from other hospitals to free them up a bit. But transferring patients is by no means easy. Again,
there's a massive lack of fuel for ambulances but also because of the dangers of just driving around on the streets.
ANDERSON: Organizations including World Central Kitchen and the World Food Programme have said that they've got no more food stocks available in Gaza.
Most community kitchens and bakeries have closed.
How many malnutrition cases are you seeing at this point?
POTOKAR: It's is extremely widespread, extremely widespread. And the results of that are that people are very tired. They're anemic, they don't
produce enough blood. They are -- they're, psychologically, you know, stressed, because being hungry all the time is an immense stressor.
As I say, their immune system doesn't function nearly as well, so are much more prone to infections. Their wounds don't heal because they don't have
the capacity for the wounds to heal.
And then on a sort of separate note as well, the dangers, because of people trying to get food. So our driver last week, you know, he was talking to
his son-in-law, who was in Gaza City, you know, pleading with him not to go out.
And his son-in-law said, I can't. I have to go and get food. We have no food. He went out to get food and he was killed.
ANDERSON: What's your message to the world?
I mean, what do you -- what are you personally, as you -- as you are there in Khan Yunis doing what you can, you know, what do you want people to hear
from you?
POTOKAR: Well, frankly, I want to stop having to give these interviews, you know, about what's going on here, because not just myself; many of my
colleagues who are here have been doing this, trying to get the story out.
Because, as you know, there's no international journalists allowed in here. And too, on a daily basis, have to be telling the world, you know, children
being killed, being trapped under rubble, patient -- whole families being wiped out, people being displaced multiple times; constant bombardment,
total destruction.
And you add to this the actual rhetoric which is coming out, not through social media or all sorts of -- no, directly from the Israeli government
through press conferences about what their plans are and what they want to do.
And it seems that the world is still watching and the Palestinians here are, you know, as I say, some of them now have got the point where they're
just saying, well, we're waiting for death.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: That was Tom Potokar, who I spoke to slightly earlier.
[10:40:00]
Well, Jordan evacuated six child cancer patients and their parents from Gaza yesterday. The kids range from 17 years old to just 7 months old. And
they have been stuck without medical treatment, given Israel has virtually decimated all of the hospitals there.
The initiative to get them out is part of a pledge Jordanian King Abdullah made when he visited the White House earlier this year. They have managed
to get nearly 40 kids out so far.
The Hashemite kingdom says it has the capacity to take many more. But officials tell CNN Israel continues to put up hurdles.
And right now, around 100 trucks' worth of aid is sitting in a warehouse in the capital, Amman. U.N. officials say it could reach Gaza's starving
population in a matter of hours if it was allowed in.
Well, still to come, U.S. president Trump lays out his plans for a golden dome missile defense system. How much it will cost taxpayers.
And will it even work?
All that is up next.
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All right, you're back with me. I'm Becky Anderson. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
And we are following breaking news. Gunfire came near a diplomatic delegation in the occupied West Bank. The large delegation of European and
Arab diplomats was on an official visit to the Jenin refugee camp. Let's get you more on this. Jeremy Diamond standing by in Jerusalem -- Jeremy.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, the Israeli military did indeed fire warning shots toward a large delegation of
diplomats from the European and Arab countries.
They were on an official visit to the Jenin refugee camp to assess the humanitarian situation there with their own eyes, when, at some point,
Israeli soldiers in that area fired warning shots in the air in the direction of those diplomats.
There were diplomats from more than 20 countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Canada and others who were in that area. Video from the
incident shows that Israeli troops fired at least four shots in their direction.
One member of the delegation then tells the group to stay close to the wall, presumably because of those shots that were being fired. The
Palestinian foreign ministry has condemned this incident, calling it a criminal assault and says that there will be and must be accountability.
The Israeli military, for its part, acknowledged that this delegation was coordinated with them in advance. But then they say that the delegation,
quote, "deviated" from the approved route and entered an area where they were not authorized to be.
They then acknowledged that Israeli troops did indeed fire warning shots, to distance them, is what they say. The military does say that they regret
the inconvenience caused by this.
[10:45:03]
And that they are carrying out an inquiry into this matter.
In terms of the diplomatic fallout from this so far, the European Union's foreign affairs chief said that any threats to diplomats' lives are
unacceptable and calling on Israel to investigate this incident. We also understand that the Italian foreign minister has indeed summoned Israel's
ambassador to Rome for a formal and official clarification -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Jeremy's on the story. More as we get it. Thank you, Jeremy.
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ANDERSON: Well, authorities have seized a motorcycle and vehicle they believe could be linked to the deadly attack on two Mexico City officials
yesterday.
The private secretary and an adviser to the mayor of the Mexican capital were both shot dead by gunmen on a motorcycle while on their way to work.
Mayor Clara Brugada said her government was deeply saddened by the loss of their colleagues. Political violence is, of course, common in Mexico, with
661 such attacks just last year.
Well, in Washington, president Trump has unveiled plans for a golden dome missile defense system. He did that Tuesday. Inspired by Israel's Iron
Dome, Trump said it will cost a total of $175 billion to build, with a completion date for the end of his term. He defended his plan, saying it is
all about protecting the United States.
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TRUMP: Once fully constructed, the golden dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the
world and even if they are launched from space.
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ANDERSON: Well, the cost and timeline estimates he provided are contrary to what CNN has been told by military officials, just so that you know.
Well, joining us now is CNN's national security reporter, Zach Cohen.
And you and I did talk about this yesterday at this time. Now we know that the Congressional Budget Office has estimated the cost as more than $500
billion, $0.5 trillion. And it is over a period of two decades.
So how does that square with what we heard from Donald Trump yesterday?
And what is actually realistic at this point?
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, it's fair to say that president Trump's figures that he presented yesterday, as far
as cost and timeline, are significantly more optimistic, maybe, than what the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has already said.
Donald Trump, as you mentioned, has said the estimated cost of a golden dome defense system would be about $175 billion. That's about five times
less than what the Congressional Budget Office estimates.
And as far as timeline goes, Donald Trump's claim that he expects this to be completed in full by the time he leaves office in three years really
runs contrary to everything we've heard from defense officials, from industry experts and from sources actually involved in the planning process
for golden dome.
Sources in Congress and within the administration, who have said this could take really anywhere from a decade to two decades before it's fully
completed. And a lot of this really does depend on what golden dome will ultimately end up looking like.
Donald Trump did not really present many details as far as what this will look like and what components will go into it. He did say, though, that
this will include a space-based component, sensors and satellites that are going to talk to each other in order to intercept these missiles that, he
says, would be coming from a long way away.
That's expensive and that's the most expensive part of this process, because it's technology that's never really been put into practice yet as
of now.
So as we know, multiple defense contractors, including SpaceX, which is owned by Elon Musk, have been working behind the scenes to try to cobble
together some sort of an architecture for the system.
It remains to be seen, though, if, as Donald Trump claimed, the cost and the timeline will be closer to $175 billion and three years or $500 billion
and 20 years.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, sir. Thank you.
Well, next hour we expect Donald Trump to welcome the South African president to the White House. And South African-born Elon Musk likely to
have an impact on that meeting, even as he, for his conversations, even if he's not there, he has declared his intention to, of course, step further
back from politics.
He's already reduced his work in the Trump administration. And now the world's richest man has told the Qatar economic forum he plans to reduce
his political spending, too. Have a listen.
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ELON MUSK, PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: In terms of political spending, I'm going to do a lot less in the future.
QUESTION: And why is that?
MUSK: I think I've done enough.
QUESTION: Is it -- is it because of blowback?
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MUSK: Well, if I see a reason to political spending in the future, I will do it. I do not currently see a reason.
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ANDERSON: Well, let's bring in CNN's chief data analyst, Harry Enten.
His wide-ranging interview, I have to say, a lot of stuff came out of that interview. But let's just be very specific and targeted here. We ran the
sound there about him saying he would be pulling back from political spending.
Why might he be doing this, Harry?
HARRY ENTEN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Because there was tremendous blowback, as you know, as the question asked. I mean, my goodness gracious, we could
just take a look at the numbers here in terms of Musk popularity in the United States of America.
I mean, look at his net favorability rating before he got involved in any of the political stuff. He was at +24 points. He was a pretty popular guy.
Look at where he is now. Whoa! Way underwater, -19 points among Democrats.
His net favorability rating went from +35 points, quite popular among Democrats, to, get this, -91 points. You can barely get lower than that. I
guess it could be -100 points but greatly, greatly, greatly unpopular. Of course, it's not just that Elon Musk politically wanted to step back.
It was, who was he tangling with?
He was tangling with Donald Trump.
And how did Donald Trump feel about him?
Well, let's take a look here. Trump posts about Musk on Truth Social. Of course, that's where Trump a lot puts his daily diatribes on there, right.
From January 20th inauguration here in the States to April 4th, he posted about Elon Musk about 40 times.
Guess what?
Over the last month and change, the number of posts about Elon Musk from Donald Trump on Truth Social, 000. A dramatic fall. That's, of course, an
100 percent drop. Now we're talking about politics here.
But, of course, I think Elon Musk is best known as the guy who runs Tesla. And I think this is a big reason why Elon Musk also decided to step back,
because there was this whole question, OK, are folks going to be able to separate Elon Musk from the brand that he runs, the car company that he
runs, Tesla?
No, were not able to do so. Take a look at these net favorable ratings. OK. General Motors, which I think is sort of the stalwart here in the States in
terms of its net favorability rating +23 points.
Compare it to Tesla. Hello. Look at that, -20 points. So the bottom line here, Elon Musk is stepping back because he's an unpopular guy. Trump
didn't want him and he was hurting the Tesla brand -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Harry Enten in the house.
Thank you, Harry.
ENTEN: Thank you.
ANDERSON: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'll be right back.
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ANDERSON: Well, happening this hour on Capitol Hill, president Donald Trump's second term agenda hanging in the balance, with Republican
lawmakers negotiating around the clock. The latest debate over what president Trump himself calls his "big, beautiful bill."
Well, that began at 1 am and they are still at it. The time here, of course, is just before 11 am now. House Speaker Mike Johnson says he hopes
for a full House vote later today. There's no guarantee, though.
Here's why we should care about this bill. Well, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, it would increase the U.S.
budget deficit by a whopping $3.8 trillion in about eight years. It would also impact programs for the poor, including deep reductions to Medicaid.
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Well, attorneys for Vietnamese and Burmese migrants are accusing the Trump administration of violating a court order by deporting them to South Sudan.
At least a dozen migrants were sent to South Sudan this week. Their attorneys say some of the migrants didn't receive proper notice of the
opportunity to contest their deportation to a third country.
That is in violation of a previous order issued earlier this year. The Department of Homeland Security has not publicly confirmed the
deportations. The U.S. currently has a "do not travel" advisory for South Sudan, amid what is the ongoing conflict there.
Well, I'm Becky Anderson, you've been watching CONNECT THE WORLD. From the team working with me here in Abu Dhabi, of course, and those working with
us around the world, it is a very good evening. Stay with CNN, though. "ONE WORLD" is up next.
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