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Trump Vows to Sue Wall Street Journal Over Epstein Birthday Letter Report; Truce Between Syrian Government and Druze Seems to Be Holding; Former Hostage Speaks After 491 Days in Hamas Captivity; Former Brazilian President Bolsonaro Ordered to Wear Ankle Tag; CBS to End "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" in May 2026. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired July 18, 2025 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:18]
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, welcome to the second hour of the hour from our Middle East programming headquarters in Abu Dhabi. I'm
Becky Anderson. Time here is just after 6:00 in the evening, just after 10:00 in the morning in Washington.
And this morning, President Donald Trump and his allies lashing out at the "Wall Street Journal" and threatening to sue its owner, Rupert Murdoch. The
paper reported on a note bearing Mr. Trump's name on a letter to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein back in 2003 for his 50th birthday, sparking
much scrutiny.
Leaders from the Catholic and Greek Orthodox Church visited Gaza's only Catholic Church, where on Thursday three people were killed in an Israeli
airstrike. The visit is highly unusual given Israel's tight control over access in and out of the Palestinian territory.
Police in Brazil swooped in on the home of -- and the political headquarters of former president Jair Bolsonaro early Friday, searching the
properties, ordering him to wear an electronic ankle tag and barring him from speaking to foreign officials. Bolsonaro is on trial over an alleged
plot to overturn the results of the 2022 presidential election and remain in power.
We are following two major developments for you in the investigation surrounding the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. A story U.S.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly tried to downplay. This is what we know. New scrutiny being sparked by a "Wall Street Journal" report about a
note to Epstein back in 2003 bearing Donald Trump's name. The letter reportedly contained a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman signed, "Happy
birthday and may every day be another wonderful secret."
President Trump says, "This is not me. This is a fake thing. It's a fake 'Wall Street Journal' story. I never wrote a picture in my life. I don't
draw pictures of women," he said. "It's not my language. It's not my words." He's also vowing to sue the "Wall Street Journal."
Well, just hours after that report, the president also directed his attorney general to seek the release of grand jury documents in the Epstein
sex trafficking case.
CNN's Paula Reid brings us the latest.
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: So now, Attorney General Pam Bondi is expected to make this longshot appeal to a judge to release
grand jury material. Now, a grand jury material is by default confidential. This would be the kind of evidence that was presented to a grand jury when
they were seeking to indict Jeffrey Epstein.
Now, getting an indictment is nowhere near as hard as getting a conviction. It's a lower standard. So you don't necessarily share everything you have
with the grand jury, just enough to get that indictment. So we're talking about just a portion of the total evidence that the Justice Department has
related to the Epstein investigation.
It's unclear what the attorney general is going to argue to this judge to convince the judge to release this material. Nothing is going to happen
immediately while the Justice Department has signaled they will make this appeal on Friday. The judge will then likely want to get buy-in from other
stakeholders. Victims, accusers, people who could be impacted if this information is released.
But even if the judge agrees, which we're not sure that's going to happen, to release this, it does not resolve the question of the millions of pages
of evidence that the Justice Department has well beyond the grand jury material, the stuff that Pam Bondi said that she was reviewing and signaled
initially that she would release and then sort of backtracked on that.
So you see clearly the strategy that they've been using, which is telling everyone we're moving along, come with us now, that's not working. So
they're going down these other options that they have, they're not looking to release, it appears, any additional information that they have. So
instead now they're looking at the grand jury information that that tiny portion of evidence, they're going to ask a judge to release that.
Look, if the judge does release it, doesn't release it, it's not going to resolve the larger questions here. The other option they have on the table
that some influencers have called for is a special counsel. So it's unlikely this would be like a Robert Mueller special counsel or Jack Smith.
It's more likely they would tap a U.S. attorney, a Trump, a hand-picked U.S. attorney to review this matter.
They also have failed U.S. attorney nominee Ed Martin inside the Justice Department. He's been looking at some of these larger questions about
former President Biden's use of an autopen, January 6th prosecutions, other cases to see if they need further review. That's another place to stash
this.
[10:05:00]
But no matter where you try to put this, it's going to come back until people are satisfied that they have been transparent, at least to the
extent that they have promised to be. And that is the problem here. And that's why I think we haven't seen an independent or special counsel.
That's really going to haunt them, though, even if the judge agrees to release some of the grand jury material.
People who follow this closely and care about this, they know there is a ton of evidence within Pam Bondi's power to release. And so, look, this is
not going away any time soon.
Back to you.
ANDERSON: Well, my next guest writes, quote, "While there are much more important things going on in the world today, the issue over the Epstein
files points to a bigger problem for Donald Trump. His stronghold on the MAGA loyalists who now have to decide, did he lie to get their vote, or is
he covering something up?"
Well, I want to bring in Maura Gillespie, former press adviser to the former House Speaker John Boehner.
Nice to have you. Thank you for joining us. What's your take on which one it is?
MAURA GILLESPIE, FORMER PRESS ADVISER, HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER: You know, I think that what we're seeing right now is what Donald Trump does
really well. He throws a lot of things at the wall and hopes that one of them will stick. And I think when it comes to MAGA, his base has been
largely, you know, undyingly loyal to him. But the problem now is that this Epstein issue, because they campaigned so heavily, because Pam Bondi held
up those binders, and so many in the, we'll call them MAGA influencers, said they saw this list. They saw the files and we're excited to share it
and to blow the lid off this thing as they said.
But now where are they? Their silence is deafening. And a lot of their silence over the past week and a half has been orchestrated by the
president himself. He reached out to people like Charlie Kirk and others and said, stop talking about this. Well, what's interesting about the "Wall
Street Journal" most recent developments last night, I don't think to, you know, I don't think that it's going to go away anytime soon, I do agree,
but I also think that there are questions that you're also seeing in the MAGA space.
You know, because the president was with Rupert Murdoch over the weekend at the FIFA World Cup games, so was there a conversation? You know, he saw it
was not going away. He saw that he had to play his hand differently. This news from the "Wall Street Journal" has actually galvanized the MAGA base
around him because they have a shared enemy going after the media. So there's a lot more questions, unfortunately, than there are answers here.
And the orchestrating that's going on is just something so entertainment value but so distracting to the political issues that we have at hand. But
this is again, unfortunately, what we've come to know and come to see from Donald Trump.
ANDERSON: Yes. No, you're making a very good point. Look, let's be quite clear about this. We've got a really strong denial from Donald Trump. But
like it or not, certainly this "Wall Street Journal" reporting has highlighted his ties to Epstein that went way back, of course. No
suggestion of anything sort of, you know, bad here from this. I guess, you know, I guess there is some suggestion. But, you know, this is very much
highlighting his ties to Epstein.
I just wonder from your point of view what the White House and President Trump do next to control this because this is -- this is, you know, this is
uncomfortable at best for a White House which is very controlling of its narrative.
GILLESPIE: Absolutely. And they normally have an answer. And in this situation they don't because the real crux of this problem is that they
campaigned so heavily on it, and so did they lie to us then that they had something that wasn't there, or are they actively covering something up?
And by covering this up, are they finding all the other distractions to throw at us, to throw some red meat at their MAGA base, hoping that will
satiate them enough to drop this?
And I don't think that it will because they don't have an answer. In so many other cases, and let's also remember, Trump tried, you know, he tried
denial. He said we have more important things to talk about. That's true. But they've made this an issue so here we are. He then went on to rant
about -- he went to denial. He went to blame shifting, right? He said that it was Comey and Obama and Hillary Clinton.
And then he really went to anyone who believes this stuff is stupid. And I don't want your support. You're stupid people. I mean, it really has
devolved. And then now you see this latest story trying to get MAGA back to his side. And so I think the White House must be scrambling, just like
Republican staffers. I was a Republican staffer, and I can imagine waking up to news like this and just having another headache because you're trying
to figure out how do we navigate around this and talk about things that matter to our constituents, but also we can't avoid this.
They can try. But this story is going to continue to live on and I will say, too, because Republicans are talking about it.
[10:10:03]
If Republicans weren't talking about it at all, and if MAGA wasn't so upset about it, it would probably die out because it would just be Democrats
talking about it, which benefits the president. But because Republicans are talking about it, because so many of his supporters specifically are
talking about this, it creates a real problem for the president that he has not experienced. And I worry about what else he'll come out with to try and
distract us with.
ANDERSON: Yes.
GILLESPIE: You know, we're seeing Pam Bondi now is talking about Alcatraz and talking about that, you know, they're trying to talk about other
things, but at the end of the day, they haven't given the transparency that they promised. And I don't think MAGA is going to forget as easily as they
hoped.
ANDERSON: Well, there is an attempt here, isn't there? So leaning into your experience, your, you know, your deep experience in, you know, how you run
a strategy here. And this is crisis comms at this point, right? And what we've seen is Donald Trump at least asking Pam Bondi to produce any
pertinent grand jury testimony. So if that is, you know, an effort to provide some sort of headline transparency, is this likely to backfire?
After all, there's way more to this story than that. There's witness interviews. There's photographs, there's videos. Is that likely to cut it
then for the MAGA world? What's your sense?
GILLESPIE: I don't think it's going to be enough. And I also think that he tailored that message to say pertinent information. Well, what's deemed
pertinent and what's deemed, you know, accessible and allowed by the courts? You know, we have unfortunately watched as the Trump administration
has really put a heavy hand on the courts. And again, a lot of this, you said, Pam Bondi has the power to do this.
And the fact that she's not, it's not about protecting victims. That's not what MAGA world is asking for. They're asking for what was promised to
them, and they're not getting it delivered. And I think that that's going to open up a can of worms problem for the White House if more things start
to irritate their base and pointing out that they're not feeling the promises kept, you know, promises made, promises kept, that the White
House, you know, Trump administration said we will make sure your grocery prices are lower.
We'll make sure your gas is lower. Eggs won't be as expensive. You know, all these things. Housing costs are going to go down. And so if you start
to tick the boxes and for those who are conspiracy theorists, and I don't say that as a negative slight, I'm just saying that this is going to be
number one, that they feel as though the Trump White House has hid from them. And in this term, you know, they talked about the DOJ, they talked
about the Department of Justice being weaponized in past administrations.
Well, then what would you say is happening now if they're doing only pertinent? Well, pertinent to who? And then it's all under Pam Bondi's
discretion about what she does release and what she asks the court for. And so I do think that that will only add more questions and will not quiet as
many of the MAGA base as perhaps the president hopes he will. And I think that, you know, those who are in the MAGA space, who have the megaphones,
who are on the podcast and speak to them, they're going to feel that pull first and foremost.
ANDERSON: Maura, it's good to have you. You're the former press adviser to former House speaker John Boehner. Apologies for mispronouncing his name. I
was going to ask you whether you miss the job, but on a day like this, I think I know the answer. It's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed.
GILLESPIE: Thank you.
ANDERSON: President Trump has a medical condition that affects blood flow in his legs. Thank you. It's called chronic venous insufficiency. The White
House says the 79-year-old president recently noticed swelling in his lower legs and was diagnosed after an extensive exam. Doctors say it is a normal
part of aging, especially if someone has been overweight a long time. The president's doctor called it a benign and common condition.
Well, ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson, CNN speaks for the first time to a hostage who spent more than a year captive in Gaza. And
following Thursday's deadly strike on Gaza's Catholic Church, a visit in solidarity from church leaders.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:16:24]
ANDERSON: Well, we are keeping a close eye right now on the tenuous ceasefire in southern Syria. It does appear to be holding, even though
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa says that militant groups keep violating it. Well, this week's truce follows interventions by the U.S. and other
Arab countries trying to end the deadly violence there.
Well, CNN's Ben Wedeman is following the story for us, and he joins us now.
And, of course, there's been not just intervention, but bombing by Israel on Damascus this week. The recent escalation, Ben, underscores just how
fragile Syria's transition remains. And I wonder, given your wealth of experience of the country and of this region, how much of a challenge do
you see this being for President al-Sharaa trying to consolidate his power and navigate this current instability?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly it's a massive challenge and it's not altogether clear, Becky, if he's up to that
challenge. And basically, in order to bring some sort of order back to Suwayda, what you need is a strong central government. But at the moment,
what we're seeing is that the Syrian army, to the extent that it exists, is perhaps not powerful enough to reimpose central authority in Suwayda.
Keeping in mind, of course, that since the fall of the Assad regime last December, Damascus has not had control of the area around Suwayda, this,
the province of Suwayda, because it is controlled by Druze militias, and therefore for the Syrian central government to impose control is going to
be a challenge.
Keeping in mind, of course, that the Syrian army, as it's composed today, includes members of approximately 130 pre-collapse of the previous regime
militias, and it simply doesn't perhaps have the power. And of course, at the same time they're having to deal with a neighbor Israel that seems to
feel that it has the freedom and the ability to do what it likes in Syria, in addition to occupying additional areas in addition to the Golan Heights.
We've seen them conduct hundreds of air raids on Syrian military targets, on, for instance, earlier this week, the Defense Ministry in Damascus, they
dropped ordnance near the presidential palace in Damascus. So it doesn't appear that much is being done to bolster the ability of the central
government to impose some sort of control, some sort of order on the situation in Suwayda at the moment -- Becky.
ANDERSON: And we've heard some pretty tough words from al-Sharaa directed at Israel's leadership. Israel, for its part, says its intentions were very
specifically to protect the Druze minority in Syria. Then, as you rightly point out, they attacked Damascus and there are many people who will
suggest that this sort of, you know, the protection of the Druze, whilst applauding that, many people see this as simply cover for an extension of
territory by Israel in the south of Syria.
[10:20:01]
What do you make of the Israeli involvement?
WEDEMAN: Well, I think the Israelis don't know how to deal with this new Syria. Now, on the one hand, you see, the Trump administration seems to
want to engage with the government of Ahmed al-Sharaa. We saw President Trump actually met with him a few months ago. The Israelis blow hot and
cold. Sometimes they're calling it an extremist government. They're harking back to Ahmed al-Sharaa's past as a jihadist in northern Syria.
But the Israelis, I think, may have overstepped themselves, thinking that they can just go in and either by air or by ground, protect the Druze of
Suwayda. First of all, the Druze are by no means united. There are about three different main groups that make up the Druze. Some of them, one group
led by Hikmat al-Hajari, who seems to be the one behind much of the fighting in Suwayda, appears to be leaning in the direction of Israel.
The others are very wary of any sort of close relationship with Israel, so the Israelis don't know quite how to deal with this. But it does appear
that their first inclination, their first impulse, is to bomb, as they've been doing in Gaza, thinking that that perhaps is a solution to this
problem -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Ben Wedeman, on the story. Ben, thank you.
And a little later this hour, we're going to speak to a Syrian Druze in exile. Political analyst Sarah Hunaidi has some strong words for both
Israel and the current Syrian government. And those are strong words against both.
Well, a new CNN poll reveals a growing wave of skepticism amongst Americans towards Israel's actions in Gaza. Just 23 percent say that the Israeli
military response to Hamas attacks is fully justified. That's a sharp drop from October 2023, just after the October 7th attacks. 22 percent of
Americans polled now say Israel's actions are not justified at all, reflecting a significant shift in public opinion.
Well, church leaders visiting Gaza to show solidarity today after three people were killed in a strike on Gaza's only Catholic Church. The visiting
clerics include the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, who said the strike was a direct hit by a tank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said
that the incident is under investigation, but blamed stray ammunition. And Pope Leo has offered his support and sympathy to Gaza's Catholic community.
Many from Gaza's small Christian community have been sheltering inside the church.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FOUAD AYAD, GAZA RESIDENT (through translator): For more than three weeks, we've been under constant bombing and destruction. The Israeli occupation
makes no distinction between Christians and Muslims. Now, both mosques and churches are being targeted. Christians and Muslims alike are under attack.
This is the enemy. The Israeli occupation. This is what they now consider their target bank. Houses of worship, without differentiating between
Christian or Muslim sites.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, for every day that the talks around a ceasefire and hostage deal remains stalled, more anguish, of course. A former Hamas hostage has
given his first international media interview since being released in February. CNN spoke to Or Levy about the more than 16 months that he spent
held captive in Gaza.
Jeremy Diamond has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Five months ago, these images of Or Levy shocked the world. His emaciated body a testament
to the 491 days he was held hostage by Hamas.
OR LEVY, FORMER HAMAS HOSTAGE: And I must say after three weeks of a lot of food that got into like that we got.
DIAMOND: Meaning, had you been released three weeks earlier, you would've looked a lot worse?
LEVY: For sure.
DIAMOND: That's hard to imagine.
LEVY: It's hard to understand how difficult it is to live on one pita a day for 491 days. It's something that no human should live like that. And for
the people that are still there, I know those days were even worse than what I've been through, and it's scary.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Just as difficult as the physical toll was the emotional burden of captivity, being ripped away from his then two-year-old
son, Almog.
[10:25:00]
LEVY: When his birthday came and I was there, it was my worst day of my life.
DIAMOND: What did you do on that day?
LEVY: So I sing to him and crying most of the day, thinking and telling stories about him, about what we went through, promising that I will do
whatever it takes to go back and doing his next birthday together.
DIAMOND (voice-over): That wish came true two weeks ago, a birthday that came five months after Or was reunited with his family and with Almog.
LEVY: I remember seeing him, I hugging him, hearing his voice, crazy.
DIAMOND: But he says that day was also the hardest of his life. It was the day he learned that his wife, Einav, had been killed on October 7th.
LEVY: I met this woman from the army and I asked her about my wife. I told her that I think I know, but I'm not 100 percent certain and that I want to
know, and then she told me.
DIAMOND: Or and Einav were huddling inside this bomb shelter when Hamas militants began throwing grenades and opening fire.
LEVY: And the last picture that I remember seeing is the Hamas terrorist shooting inside the bomb shelter.
DIAMOND: Hersh Goldberg-Pollin, an American Israeli later executed by Hamas in captivity, was also kidnapped from that shelter. They would spend three
defining days together in Gaza's tunnels.
LEVY: He said to me he who has a why can bear any harm. And for me, when I was in captivity, I understood that I have a why and this can help me
survive any harm.
DIAMOND: When he got back from Gaza, he got the mantra tattooed on his arm.
What or who was your why?
LEVY: Almog. Every rough day that, you know, you're about to crack, I was to touch here, right where I did my tattoo and talking to Almog and saying
to him, yes, you are my why and I will go back for you. And I remember on rough days, I would like to do like this, feeling stronger, feeling
stronger, and not wanting to die.
DIAMOND: The thought of dying crossed your mind?
LEVY: Every day, every day. But, for me, I didn't accept that because I knew that people are waiting for me. My kid is waiting for me. And I don't
want him to grow up without mom and dad.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Or is home, but he must now answer his son's questions alone.
LEVY: Just the other day, he asked me, why I didn't take him to this far place I was in.
DIAMOND: That's how you describe it to him, you were in a faraway place?
LEVY: Yes. So, yes, he asked about his mom, about what happened to her, about who caused it.
DIAMOND: What do you tell him about her and how do you carry on her memory?
LEVY: So, first of all, I explain to him every time that his mom didn't want to go, that his mom loved him from the bottom of her heart. I'm
showing him pictures of her every day, of us three, telling the story behind this photo. This is something that I promised to myself, even when
it's hard to get him to know her because it's harder for him.
DIAMOND (voice-over): But Or's ordeal won't be over until all the hostages are home.
LEVY: The fact that people are still there haunts me in the night, for sure. I think that nothing is worth more than getting those people home. I
know that we need to push on to get a deal that gets everyone home and finish everything.
DIAMOND: Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Givatayim, Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson.
Going to take a short break. After that, the very latest developments in the trial against the former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. That is
after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:32:34]
ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson on CNN. Your headlines this hour.
And U.S. President Donald Trump is directing his attorney general to seek the release of grand jury documents in the Jeffrey Epstein's sex-
trafficking case. The president is also vowing to sue the "Wall Street Journal" over a report on what it called a bawdy letter from Mr. Trump to
Epstein back in 2003. The president has denied the reporting.
Well, following the deadly strike on Gaza's only Catholic Church that killed three people on Thursday morning. Church cardinals have made a rare
trip into Gaza in a show of solidarity. Israel's prime minister says there are ongoing investigations into the strike.
Well, a new CNN poll has found that Americans are increasingly skeptical of Israeli actions in Gaza. Only 23 percent of Americans think Israel's
military actions are fully justified. This is down from 50 percent in October 2023, following the Hamas attacks.
Brazilian police have been bearing down on former president Jair Bolsonaro, raiding his properties today and ordering him to wear an electronic ankle
monitor. This comes as Bolsonaro faces a trial over an alleged plot to overturn the 2022 presidential election. If found guilty, he could face
more than four decades behind bars. He has denied any wrongdoing.
CNN's Stefano Pozzebon joins me live from Bogota -- Stefano.
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, a lot has happened since the last hour when we spoke. Just in the last few minutes the former
president Jair Bolsonaro addressed reporters at least twice in Brazilian, denying all of these charges and calling the imposition to wear an ankle
tag, an electronic ankle bracelet, to prevent him from fleeing the country. A supreme humiliation.
But actually we need to say that these rumors, the supposition that he might flee the country, has been around for quite some time. Just on
Wednesday, Bolsonaro was asked exactly the same, and he once again denied all the charges. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAIR BOLSONARO, FORMER BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I'm not considering doing anything. Absolutely nothing. I am not a criminal. The
criminal is the one prosecuting me. I'll face the process. Let's see where they get to. They're accelerating the process. The term is five days. The
term is 15 days. The term is five days now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[10:35:05]
POZZEBON: And Becky, it's worth pointing out that all over these ugly mess in Brazil, there is the big shadow of the U.S. president, Donald Trump, who
is a strong supporter of Bolsonaro, a very strong ally directly linked to the family who is currently threatening a 50 percent commercial tariff on
all of the Brazilian exports towards the United States in retaliation for this trial.
And among the provisions that Bolsonaro has been imposed on today is also the fact that he cannot speak with his son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, who is
currently in the United States and lobbying the president of the United States to take even stronger action against the Brazilian judiciary.
And so you can see that these -- one office putting the -- the two largest democracies in the Western hemisphere, the two largest economies in the
Western hemisphere, at odds with each other, Brazil and the United States. And you can imagine how this situation could escalate even much further if
Bolsonaro is found guilty. We're hearing from Brasilia that the verdict could come at any time. And definitely what is happening in front of our
eyes in this developing story today, well, that is a sign for escalation -- Becky.
ANDERSON: And stay with CNN for more on that. Of course, we will get that result as soon as -- as soon as it's out. Thank you.
Let's take a break at this point. After that, one of our top stories this hour. Syria's president calls for restraint amid a fragile ceasefire in the
country. I'll be speaking with a Syrian Druze in exile for her thoughts on the recent violence.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, at a United Nations meeting earlier this week, Tom Fletcher, who is the U.N. relief chief, made an impassioned and emotional
plea about the war in Gaza, holding all parties to the standards of international law. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM FLETCHER, U.N. UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS: Mr. President, let me remind this council that the International Court of
Justice has demanded that Israel take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian
assistance.
With these facts before you, I ask you as a council to assess whether Israel is meeting its international legal obligations and whether we
humanitarians can fulfill our mandate. Is this allowing and facilitating rapid, unimpeded passage of impartial humanitarian relief as the rules of
war demand? Or is it obstruction? You will draw your own conclusions.
Mr. President, weeks ago, an Israeli minister called allowing aid into Gaza a disastrous decision while another implied that starvation might be
justified and moral until hostages are freed, and they must be freed.
[10:40:09]
Intentionally using the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare would of course be a war crime. Most recently, Israel's defense minister
talked openly about moving Palestinians into what he called a humanitarian city. We understand that the proposal is to forcibly displace Palestinians
to a designated zone near Rafah. Now, I don't know how to describe this, but it is not humanitarian.
Mr. President, states and armed groups must uphold the rules forged because of the horrors of conflict and hatred that protect civilians in war. Today,
across the world, we watch these rules being corroded and degraded. Again, it is, of course, for you to decide how you act to ensure that all parties
respect international humanitarian law. But I agree with some members of the Israeli Cabinet that you have consistently overestimated your powers of
quiet persuasion.
We hold all parties to the standards of international law in this conflict. We don't have to choose, and in fact, we must not choose between demanding
the end to the starvation of civilians in Gaza and demanding the unconditional release of all the hostages, and we must reject antisemitism.
We must fight it with every fiber of our DNA. But we must also hold Israel to the same principles and laws of all other states.
So civilians must be protected wherever they are. Hostages must be released, I say it again. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to enter at
scale, and humanitarian workers must be protected. You owe that to Israeli and Palestinian civilians. To the last hopes of a sustainable peace and to
the U.N. charter. All members of this council have been unequivocal. Ceasefire, ceasefire, ceasefire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Tom fletcher speaking earlier this week at the U.N.
Well, at this hour, Syria's fragile ceasefire appears to be holding just. But the Syrian president says militant groups do keep violating it. And
Israel won't rule out further strikes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country, quote, "will act and continue to act as
necessary," claiming Wednesday's attacks on the Syrian capital were in defense of the Druze Arab minority group.
Well, my next guest has a few opinions about that. She is a Syrian Druze in exile. She writes, and I quote, "Israel must stop bombing Syria. All it
does is fuel sectarian rage against the Druze, who it claims to care about. As a Druze, I say, no thanks. A genocidal state won't protect us. Get the
hell out of our sky."
Sarah Hunaidi joins us now from Boston, Massachusetts.
It's good to have you. I must just start by asking you how your friends and your family are back at home. Have they been caught up in all of this?
Sarah, I've got a technical issue. I can't hear you and nor can our viewers. So we will take a break, see if we can fix it, and get back to
you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:45:38]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(BOOING)
STEPHEN COLBERT, LATE-NIGHT HOST: Yes, I share your feelings. It's not just the end of our show, but it's the end of "The Late Show" on CBS. I'm not
being replaced. This is all just going away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And that was Stephen Colbert last night announcing CBS canceling "The Late Night Show" that he has hosted since 2015. He's been one of the
most vocal critics of Donald Trump on U.S. TV, and the cancellation comes just two weeks after CBS parent company Paramount settled a lawsuit lodged
by the U.S. president.
CNN media correspondent Hadas Gold with more on that.
HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Becky, this isn't just the end of a show. It's the end of an institution. "The Late Night" has been on the air
for 32 years. David Letterman was the man who hosted it before Stephen Colbert. And though CBS is taking pains to say that this decision was made
because of financial decisions and had nothing to do with, they say, of the content of the show or other matters happening at Paramount, it is so hard
to ignore what is happening around Paramount, what is happening around CBS.
Paramount is trying to finish a merger with Skydance, an $8 billion merger that needs approval by the Trump administration. The Trump administration,
of course, President Trump just recently settling a lawsuit with CBS, which is -- which airs Stephen Colbert's show, which is part of Paramount. They
settled this $16 million lawsuit, which most legal scholars called bogus, because it was about how "60 Minutes," the show on CBS, edited an interview
with then Vice President Kamala Harris that President Trump claimed made her somehow look better.
Stephen Colbert recently himself even calling that settlement a big, fat bribe. So it's very hard to ignore that element. Of course, the political
element of it. But then when they're talking about the finances, it is true that the money just isn't what it used to be when it comes to late-night
TV. And a source telling our colleague Brian Stelter that the Stephen Colbert show was just not profitable anymore.
But just look at the ratings. Stephen Colbert does better than the other late-night shows. He has 2.4 million average viewers for the second quarter
of 2025, compared to Jimmy Kimmel on ABC 1.7 million, and Jimmy Fallon on NBC $1.2 million. And what's interesting is it doesn't seem as though there
was any sort of opportunity for Stephen Colbert to maybe cut down how frequently his show was on air, maybe just going once or twice a week,
cutting down the size of his staff, changing the theaters, any sort of cost saving measures. It was just an immediate you're off the air May of next
year.
Now, there have been some calls for investigations. Already Senator Warren, Senator Schiff, who ironically was on the show the day that Stephen Colbert
announced that it was going to be canceled, have said America -- Senator Warren saying America deserves to know if his show was canceled for
political reasons, saying there should be some sort of investigation into this.
One person, though, who is celebrating is President Trump, who posted on Truth Social this morning, "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired,"
saying his talent was even less than his ratings. We are hearing, though, lots of support for Stephen Colbert as well, not only from the fans, but
from his fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, posting in support of Stephen Colbert on his Instagram page as well -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Well, that's Hadas Gold.
Now I want to return to one of our top stories today, and that is Syria's fragile ceasefire. Let me say that again. Syria's fragile ceasefire. The
Syrian president says militant groups do keep violating it, and Israel won't rule out further strikes. In fact, the Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu has said his country will continue to act as necessary, claiming Israel's attacks on the Syrian capital on Wednesday were in defense of the
Druze Arab minority group.
Well, I want to reintroduce my next guest who has a few opinions about that. She is a Syrian Druze in exile, and she writes, and I quote, "Israel
must stop bombing Syria. All it does," she says, "is fuel sectarian rage against the Druze, who it claims to care about. As a Druze, I say, no
thanks. A genocidal state won't protect us. Get the hell out of our sky," says Sarah.
Well, she joins me now from Boston, Massachusetts.
It's good to have you. Apologies. I think we had a technical issue a couple of minutes ago. It's good to have you. I want to just start by asking how
your family and friends are back home in Suwayda in Syria?
[10:50:01]
SARAH HUNAIDI, EXILED SYRIAN WRITER: Thank you for having me, Becky. No one is OK. My -- half of my family is displaced and they are all staying in a
small place right now, and they're afraid for their lives. But the general, not just my family, I'm losing friends. We're losing loved ones every day
just for, like, chaos, killings.
Syria and especially, I mean, Suwayda has been through a horrible siege right now. All the roads to Suwayda are blocked. No food is allowed to
enter right now. All roads, like I said, are closed. The food supplies are running out. So people are really scared. There's no electricity for days.
Hospitals are out of service. It's really, really a horrible situation right now.
ANDERSON: Right. And you talk about chaos killings. And we've heard many reports of brutal slaughter. Can you just describe some of what you are
hearing going on on the ground?
HUNAIDI: Well, as you may know, it started with someone who brings food supplies three or four days ago, actually, from Damascus to Suwayda. And
people started, you know, kidnaping each other from different factions. And now we see every time there is a call on social media of brutal killing,
it's photographed, it's photographed and then people are using this to kind of use the sectarian divides that we already have within, you know, our
community and against each other.
So right now we are seeing local factions are retaliating because the Bedouins, who also have lived with us for millennia, they are also scared
for their lives because people who belong to them are the ones who kidnaped someone from the Druze and then the Druze factions are retaliating against
the innocent Bedouin people. So this is just, you know, escalating every day.
Now we are seeing huge numbers of Muslim tribes, Sunni tribes coming in to Suwayda from all around Syria to kind of avenge the Bedouins who were
displaced, forcibly displaced from their homes inside Suwayda. So -- and we see no cooperation. We see nothing really stopping this killing.
ANDERSON: So, Sarah, when we talk about a sort of fragile ceasefire, which is being sort of applauded and lauded by the U.S., by the Syrian
government, Israel says, you know, they sort of almost retain the right to attack again. I mean, what do you say to those who are speaking out loud
and saying, you know, we've got a lid on this at the moment?
HUNAIDI: Well, if that will make them feel better, good for them. It's not the reality on the ground. Reality right now is that OK, the ceasefire,
yes, the government is currently, you know, they took their -- after they entered the city, maybe trying to take advantage of what is happening and
take over Suwayda even though mostly a lot of factions and Suwayda refuse to be under the current government.
So it's -- I don't think anyone has this, you know, covered right now. It's actually escalating quickly. And --
ANDERSON: Yes.
HUNAIDI: This ceasefire is just a word that's been used and it's kind of lost its meaning, especially, you know, in Gaza and everywhere else. I
don't think this is really under control right now. It's the opposite.
ANDERSON: I spoke last night to an Israeli Druze, a professor and former ambassador. He said the Druze community in Israel wanted the government,
wanted the Israeli government to protect their Druze brothers in Syria. Just take a listen to what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REDA MANSOUR, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO BRAZIL, PANAMA AND ECUADOR: I want you to know that the images that we -- we've been seeing in the last
three days here in Israel, in the Druze community and in the general Israeli public, are images of a Druze genocide, not less than that. We are
watching groups of jihadis shouting that they want to convert the Druze.
They want to exterminate the heretics burning holy places, going into the central hospital of Suwayda, killing the doctors, the nurses and the sick
people on the hospital. Everybody was slaughtered. This is the kind of images that we are seeing from Israel here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: What are your thoughts to, when you hear that that Israeli Druze speaking there.
HUNAIDI: You know, even though I do belong to the Druze sect, I am not only moved when my own people are, you know, being genocided.
[10:55:00]
They should have said the same thing about Gaza. Why haven't they said anything about it? I appreciate their fear. What he said is true. Yes, we
have -- we are seeing a lot of sectarian hate right now, and most of the movement against the Druze right now is actually because Israel keeps
meddling in Syrian politics on behalf of the Druze. So it's only driving the rest of Syria to be hateful and to use sectarian language against the
Druze.
So I say stay out of it to protect us. If you want to protect your brothers and sisters in Suwayda, if you want to protect the Druze, who you
apparently only feel a humanitarian call to protect other people if they are from your own sect, then just stay out of it. Stay out of it. That's
all I have to say.
ANDERSON: So I just want to close with our viewers getting a sense of what you wrote recently. I thank you for joining us tonight. Apologies again for
the slight technical errors that we had at the top. You wrote this, "Make no mistake, this is Assad's remnant hate. But the interim government is
also failing. No real power sharing, no political dialogue, no accountability for its crimes on the coast. It's losing peoples trust one
day at a time."
We'll leave you with that. That is CONNECT THE WORLD this evening. I'm Becky Anderson, from the team working with me here in Abu Dhabi and those
working with us around the world. We thank you for joining us. See you same place, same time, same place next week. But for now, have a good week.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
