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Israeli Security Cabinet Approves Plan To Control Gaza City; Condemnation Grows For Israeli Plan To Control Gaza City; Riding Along On Jordanian Aid Drop Flight Over Gaza; Trump Says No Need For Putin To Meet With Zelenskyy for Summit; Maersk CEO Sees Opportunity Despite Tariff Disruptions; United Nations Plea For Peace In Gaza; Deadline Today For Texas Lawmakers To Return To State Capitol; World Food Programme Warns Of Starvation Amid Ongoing Conflict In Sudan. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired August 08, 2025 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:31]
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN London, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome to the second hour of the show. I'm Christina MacFarlane in London.
Hamas says Israel's plan to take over Gaza City will come at a high cost. This has also sparked strong condemnations from its international allies.
President Trump says he's ready to meet with Russian President Putin, even if Mr. Putin won't talk to Ukraine's president. We'll see what Moscow is
saying about this. And the growing violence in Sudan has displaced thousands of people. We speak to the World Food Programme about the dire
humanitarian crisis in the country.
The Israeli Security Cabinet's plan to take control of Gaza City is drawing global condemnation. The decision announced after a meeting that lasted
some 10 hours. Ahead of the meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told FOX News Israel's ultimate goal is for the total takeover of Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL HEMMER, FOX NEWS HOST: Will Israel take control of all of Gaza?
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We intend to. In order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free
of Gaza and to pass it to civilian governance that is not Hamas and not anyone advocating the destruction of Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: The Security Cabinet's plan is sparking outrage and protests in Israel. Hostage families say expanding operations in Gaza would amount to a
death sentence for their loved ones. Hamas today said a military occupation of Gaza City would be a fully-fledged war crime and would lead to the
sacrifices of the hostages.
Palestinians in Gaza, who have endured 22 months of war and a catastrophic hunger crisis, say it's hard to imagine how things could get any worse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMOUD AL-QURASHI, DISPLACED PALESTINIAN (through translator): Netanyahu's decision to occupy Gaza, it's like there's nothing left to occupy in the
first place. We're already dying. At this point for the people, there's no difference anymore whether he occupies it or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, European nations, Russia and China are joining the Arab world in condemning the Israeli plan to take control of Gaza City. Germany
is taking concrete action, announcing its halting arms exports to Israel for use in Gaza.
Melissa Bell has more on the international reaction. But first, Oren Liebermann has the view from inside Israel.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: The Israeli military put out a statement just a short time ago, a couple of hours ago, saying it will
advance plans for what will be the beginning of this operation. It doesn't start with military attack, which we've seen so many of over the course of
the past 22 months. Instead, it starts with forcing the evacuation of Gaza City. Up to a million Palestinians who live there will be pushed to the
south of the besieged territory.
At the same time, Israel will build up and expand the humanitarian aid distribution effort. But Israel has made clear that will only be outside
Gaza City as a means, essentially, of moving Palestinians who want to get food, who want to get aid, leave Gaza City and potentially stay out. Israel
will then begin the military part of operation sometime on October 7th or afterward. That's the deadline for the evacuation of the city.
The military operation will involve declaring Gaza City a closed military zone, and then it's potentially an intrusion into Gaza City itself.
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Remember that Germany really has been Israel's staunchest ally certainly here in the European
Union over the course of this war, ever since October 7th, in its beginning, really very firm in its commitments to how far it is willing to
go in backing Israel, even as others have sort of peeled off some of their support and measured some of their support that they were bringing to
Israel as the war has progressed, and the devastation of Gaza has continued.
So Germany making this announcement, this was Friedrich Merz, its chancellor, saying that it would take this pretty big step. I know that
there's been a lot of anger expressed in Israel as a result. So I think it's an important strong signal. But there has been universal condemnation.
If you put aside Donald Trump's -- President Trump's, what he had to say a couple of days ago about the fact that Israel could pretty well do what it
wanted, the rest of the world is fairly united on the very other side of that, from Beijing through Ankara, through the European Union, and up to
the U.N., as you say, in the shape of its human rights chief.
[10:05:04]
It is time that this stop immediately, he suggested, Volker Turk, because it is not in line with international law and in fact international law is
about making this two-state solution happen. This, he suggested, was contrary to that and needed to cease immediately. So fairly universal
condemnation with many countries really looking to see how they can go further to bring pressure on Israel, that it should rethink this plan --
Christina.
MACFARLANE: Well, Nimrod Novik was a foreign policy adviser to late Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres. He's the author of a letter signed by some 600
former Israeli security officials urging U.S. President Donald Trump to end the war. He is joining me now live from Israel.
Thank you so much for your time. We have seen in just a matter of weeks, we've gone from talk of ending the war in Gaza or possible ceasefire to now
escalating it to the point where this could continue for months, if not years. Your reaction, please, to this announcement from the Israeli
government?
NIMROD NOVIK, FORMER FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER TO SHIMON PERES: Pretty much in line with the evolution of the war beyond its justified and purposeful
phase, which ended roughly just over a year ago. Pretty much in line with that domestic politics, Trump national security considerations. The
decision of the cabinet last night is, very bad, for Israel, for Israelis, for Palestinians, for regional stability.
It's unfortunate that it was provided free hand from Washington. Unlike the Europeans who are reacting very differently. But, yes, the decision last
night had two parts, one about the next phase and the other one, the terms for ending the war and about the next phase. The only -- I don't know how
to define it. It's not the good thing but the less bad thing is that at the last minute, the prime minister seems to have paused, given the warning
from our security establishment of the devastating consequences of his initial intent to occupy the entire Gaza Strip. And he is confined the
decision to occupying the Gaza City bad enough.
MACFARLANE: Yes, because there was a distinct shift, wasn't there? We just heard the prime minister there speaking to FOX News ahead of that meeting
saying his intention was to occupy the whole strip. So you believe he has now potentially walked that back under pressure from that 10-hour meeting
and perhaps also from the international condemnation we're hearing to restrict this now to just Gaza City?
NOVIK: I think it is primarily as a result of the presentation of the security establishment of the consequences. Risking the lives of hostages,
of Israeli troops. Massive casualties among Palestinians. Accelerated humanitarian catastrophe. And as you noted the diplomatic tsunami coming to
our shores. So, yes, I think he walked back from the more ambitious objective. You know, Israeli prime ministers, ministers, members of Cabinet
know that if things go bad and they overruled the recommendation of the security establishment they will stand to public trial one day for the --
for the consequences.
MACFARLANE: That's interesting because from the very beginning Israel has acted in the belief that more and more military power is going to be the
only thing to destroy Hamas, but that has not happened. I mean, and to the point of your letter, there's been the obliteration of an entire leadership
of Hamas. They are depleted and are now more of an insurgency than anything. So why do the Israeli government persist in believing this
strategy is going to work?
NOVIK: I think that what we saw last night was a typical compromise between a more experienced prime minister and the very extreme security ignorant,
ideologically driven, extreme elements that he brought into his coalition. They were the only ones who provided him with the ruling majority, and
therefore they are the ones who can deprive him of one. So he is now beholden to the most extreme elements in Israeli society.
[10:10:03]
So he is trying to walk the fine line between rational decision-making and ideologically driven crazy idea of fully occupying, depopulating and
depopulating Gaza from its Palestinian -- two million Palestinian residents, and bringing in Jewish settlements. He's not going for the
extreme version. But he's accommodating them far too much.
MACFARLANE: Yes. Aside from what this will spell for the Palestinian population, will the hostages survive this, or are they being sacrificed
here for the bigger goal of securing, you know, Israel's long-term security?
NOVIK: First, I don't think that this operation will add to our security. I'm afraid that it will do the opposite. But as to the hostages, I believe
that one -- a primary reason why the decision was to go for Gaza City only, as I said, bad enough, and not to other areas of Gaza yet to be occupied by
the IDF is because it is in the other areas that our intelligence and otherwise assume that that's where the hostages are, not in Gaza City.
MACFARLANE: Interesting.
Nimrod Novik, very important to have your thoughts at this time, as we consider what may come. Thank you so much for joining us.
NOVIK: My pleasure.
MACFARLANE: Jordan is strongly condemning Israel's plan for Gaza, calling the use of aid blockades a weapon against Palestinian people. Jordan is
among several countries airdropping aid into Gaza, but not everyone agrees on the safety or effectiveness of it.
CNN's chief global affairs correspondent Matthew Chance went on board and brings us this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the pristine skies over Gaza, a clear view of the destruction below.
Journalists are still blocked by Israel from freely entering this devastated strip of land. But CNN flew over with the Jordanian military in
a cargo plane loaded with aid, an effort to meet acute shortages amid a partial land blockade.
Well, there's been criticism of these international humanitarian aid flights and drops into Gaza. People say they are insufficient. They don't
deliver enough aid, that they're dangerous to people on the ground, and that they're purely symbolic and don't meet any practical need. All of that
may be true, but amid an intense starvation crisis in Gaza, the six and a half tons of milk powder, canned food that we'll be dropping out the back
of this Jordanian plane shortly may be the difference for some people, between the life and death.
(Voice-over): But viewed from the ground, these aid drops are also a mixed blessing. Sending desperate Palestinians scrambling, even fighting each
other for food.
"It's a humiliation, an injustice," says this man.
"All I got was a ripped bag of lentils and this carton of tomato paste," says another amidst the rubble. "It's just not enough," he adds.
From 2,000 feet those individual hardships are impossible to see. But you do get a sweeping view of what nearly two years of Israeli bombardment has
done.
Well, I've spent this flight as much as I can looking out the window at the Gaza Strip below, and I can tell you from the air you get a stunning view
of the complete devastation in the Gaza Strip. We've been flying over neighborhoods that I reported from over many years of going in and out of
Gaza. And I can tell you those places were bustling areas teeming with life, people, children, cars, other traffic, bustling street markets.
And you look at the map from above and it's just utter devastation across vast areas of the Gaza Strip. It's shocking.
(Voice-over): Shocking desert of ruins where so many are now struggling to survive.
Matthew Chance, CNN, in the skies over Gaza.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[10:15:07]
MACFARLANE: Well, right now in Gaza, nearly 12,000 children under the age of five are acutely malnourished. That's according to the U.N., which notes
it is the highest monthly figure ever recorded. The famous children's star Ms. Rachel has been especially vocal about the need for action on the Gaza
hunger crisis. She told CNN's Christiane Amanpour why she feels speaking up is so important.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Were you ever worried because even before you spoke up, it was a hornet's nest of controversy?
The idea of speaking up for, let's face it, Palestinian children after October 7th.
MS. RACHEL, CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINER AND EDUCATOR: Yes, I was worried and I was worried that I'm not an expert in that area, but I knew that I'm an
expert in child development. I have two masters in education. I've worked with children my whole life for 20 years. So I knew that what I was seeing
was wrong. Zero to three, the brain it's such a critical time.
If you're exposing children to trauma and malnutrition during that time, it can have effects for a lifetime. And I'm thinking about all those little
ones who aren't getting that chance. And don't we, as grown-ups in this world, have a responsibility to give all children that chance? I don't
believe that that deep care and that responsibility ends at our own children.
AMANPOUR: I want to play a little video. It's a video of the brothers. I know you know this well. Maher and Malik, you posted this video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, Ms. Rachel, how are you? Sending you love from Gaza.
MS. RACHEL: Thank you for the love. I really appreciate that. I'm sending you love back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell our story?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: OK, Ms. Rachel, this obviously still brings you to tears.
MS. RACHEL: Yes. I see them like I see my son. And the fact that they could have everything they need and it's miles away. It's so frustrating. And I
just wish we could wrap them all up in love and give them everything they need. And we could. That's what's so painful.
It moves me beyond words that I could bring a little bit of joy in the midst of unimaginable suffering, that I could be there for them during a
genocide.
AMANPOUR: There has been a backlash to you, and of course, you've spoken out about the Israeli children, the infants and the toddlers who were
wounded, who were kidnaped even on October 7th. And that doesn't seem to satisfy the critics.
MS. RACHEL: I have so much empathy for an Israeli mom waiting for her child to come home, and I have so much empathy for the people of Gaza losing
their families. I feel, feel, feel for everyone. And I know who I am. And I think the backlash, it's painful. But then you have to be like, I know who
I am and I know what's right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Well, Ms. Rachel says, in addition to the criticism, she has also had people approaching her and thanking her for her advocacy.
Coming up, the U.S. president appears to be making some concessions to Moscow ahead of his proposed meeting with Vladimir Putin next week. Plus,
Donald Trump's tariffs have fueled fear and uncertainty across the global business landscape. So why are we seeing optimism from the world's second
largest shipping company.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:20:40]
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. The Kremlin and the White House are moving forward with preparations for a presidential summit that could potentially
happen as soon as next week, but it already looks like the U.S. president may not be getting everything he was hoping for. Mr. Trump told CNN that a
Putin-Zelenskyy meeting is not a precondition for his own meeting with Putin, a proposal that was put forward by the Americans earlier this week.
The Russians are so far non-committal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I have been repeatedly saying that I, in general, have nothing against it. This is
possible. But before that, certain conditions should be created and unfortunately we are still far from creating such conditions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Moscow for us.
So, Fred, is there a feeling that this trilateral with Ukraine will ever materialize, or was this simply a carrot dangled by the Russians in order
to get to the table with Donald Trump?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I'm not even sure that it was the Russians who dangled that carrot. And certainly
the Russians are completely non-committal to a trilateral meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump as well. We just heard
there from the Russian president saying that the conditions for that need to be put in place first and that things are still pretty far away from
that.
But if you listen to the Russians and how they recollect that meeting of Steve Witkoff, the special presidential envoy, with Vladimir Putin they say
that Witkoff floated the idea, it was the American side that floated the idea of that trilateral meeting and that the Russians did not react to that
at all. In other words, they didn't say yes or no. They just didn't even pick up on that idea at all. So it's very much up in the air whether or not
that trilateral summit could take place.
But there's other things that are also quite fundamental about this upcoming summit that certainly seem to be difficult as well. One of the
things that we know, Christina, is that the president, President Trump, what he wants out of the summit, is a ceasefire for Ukraine, an immediate
ceasefire in Ukraine for at least 30 days. But the Russians, of course, keep saying that they want a longer process, at the end of which there
should be a larger peace agreement, even as the fighting still continues there on the ground in Ukraine.
Now, Yury Ushakov, a senior Kremlin aide, he said after the meeting with Witkoff, and also yesterday when it was announced that the summit was
supposed to take place between President Trump and Vladimir Putin, that the Russians have fundamentally not changed their stance on the Ukraine
conflict, which means that they still want Ukraine to cede large parts of its territory to Russia.
They still want Ukraine to all but disarm, and they still want Ukraine to not become a member of NATO. Of course, all of which the Ukrainians say are
complete nonstarters for them. So certainly things seem to be difficult. But of course, things were always going to be difficult. Nevertheless, it
seems as though President Trump and President Putin both saying they want this summit to happen.
The Russians certainly say that preparations for the summit are well underway. It's unclear when exactly the summit is going to take place. The
Russians are saying they're aiming for next week. And where exactly it's going to take place. Those are certainly still things that no doubt are
being speculated in Washington. But of course, here in Moscow as well, Christina.
MACFARLANE: Yes. And as we look ahead to that summit, Fred, the deadline for those secondary sanctions against Russia expires today. And we have
been hearing that President Putin has been making calls with the leaders of India and China. What more do you know?
PLEITGEN: Yes, diplomatic marathon on the phone that seems to be going on by Vladimir Putin. He also spoke to Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus to
inform him about what happened in that meeting with Steve Witkoff. But of course, the two main phone calls that everybody is talking about, one of
them is one with Xi Jinping of China and the other one with Narendra Modi of India.
Of course, those so very important because both China and India are pretty much the largest customers right now of Russian oil. And the main ones that
are threatened by those secondary sanctions that President Trump has said that he's going to put in place and has already put in place, for instance,
or will soon come into action against India. He says that that's something that's going to happen.
And I think right now for the Russians, it's extremely important to show that that solidarity between Russia and India is still there, that that
solidarity between China and Russia is still there, of course, especially the Russians and Chinese and specifically Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin
have very close personal relations that have been built over the last almost decades, as these two men have been so prominent in their respective
countries.
[10:25:01]
It's very hard to see that anything would come between them. And certainly if we look at the readout from the Xi Jinping call with Vladimir Putin, it
was reiterated that the bilateral ties will only grow stronger. And Xi Jinping also said that he was happy that things were moving in a diplomatic
direction between the United States and Russia, and that possibly relations between those two countries could be improved as well -- Christina.
MACFARLANE: All right. Fred Pleitgen in Moscow there. Thanks very much, Fred.
Donald Trump has been using tariffs to try and achieve two very different types of results, as we've been hearing there, foreign policy goals as with
Russia and to correct what he sees as an unfair system when it comes to trade. The president's global trade war has upended the status quo, to say
the least. But the CEO of the Danish shipping giant Maersk says he is not too concerned. He told CNN's Anna Cooban that despite the disruption, he
sees opportunity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VINCENT CLERC, CEO, MAERSK: In the rest of the world, we seem to have entered a new phase of globalization pushed by China. And what is going to
be interesting to see in the coming quarters or years is whether there is a response to that from some of the countries in terms of protectionism, or
whether this is going to continue and be a major trend for the industry for the years to come.
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS CORRESPONDENT: And so it's interesting what you said about a new era of globalization. I think many
people would be surprised to hear that. Do you see the U.S. playing any part of that?
CLERC: No. I think that the U.S. actually have taken the view that this second phase of globalization was happening and that in many sectors this
was posing a danger to their ability to guarantee the national security, to have the amount of manufacturing and skill within the country and strategic
independence that they have ambition to have. And you see this materializing into some of the trading policies and trading views that are
coming from the United States.
This has been a step, actually, to counter this new phase of globalization, whereas the rest of the world so far has mostly accepted it or had
discussions which at least have not managed to either stem it or slow it down. To the contrary, we're seeing an incredible resilience in volumes out
of -- out of Asia. It's been a trend for quite a while. And as we are well into the third quarter, it just shows no signs of abating.
COOBAN: So I just want to come back to the issue around U.S. protectionism and the U.S. trying to bring manufacturing back to its own shores. We have
seen this investment pledged by Apple in the past few days. Do you think that if the U.S. successfully brings back manufacturing into the U.S., that
this is something that will help or harm you as a company?
CLERC: We look at the coming decades, even assuming a rise of protectionism and a new -- a new different phase of trading order and so on as being a
long term opportunity for us. For almost eight years now, we have been diversifying away from purely a shipping play into a full logistics and
supply chain play, which means that as the global supply chain gets rewritten or rejigged and rebuilt with a different structure with either
nearshoring or friend shoring or reshoring or a combination of those, there's going to be a lot of need for a lot of companies for the type of
solutions and products that we bring, and it's going to be a vector of growth for us in in the long run.
It will create some volatility for our shipping business, there is no doubt about it, because of these changes. But these changes will take time to
materialize. Supply chains are long. They have many tiers of suppliers. And to move all of this is likely to actually create more growth in the short
term rather than shrinkage. And while this may come later on and create some turbulence, I think that in the short run we see a continued pretty
strong growth opportunities and more opportunities for growth and creating value for our customers within the logistics field.
COOBAN: So what would you say your biggest concerns at the moment?
CLERC: I think, you know, right now we have two I would say main concerns if you think about the macro part. The first thing is that you have a world
right now that seems to be dichotomizing in a sense, where you have the U.S. that has implemented and which is the largest world economy that has
implemented a pretty stringent tariff regime. Tariffs are about as high as we've seen them since the 1930s.
This will have consequences that will need to be unfolded in the quarters and years to come. It's easy to make all of these commitments. But after
that to actually get them realized in the world and how they're going to be realized and how much more volatility there is going to be, all the
uncertainty that there is still, and let's just remember that there is no trade deals with the two main trading -- two of the three main trading
partners of the U.S., China and Mexico are still in negotiation. So there's still a lot of unknowns.
[10:30:00]
And so as this will play out, we'll have to see how this gets redrawn and how this plays out. So that's the first thing. And the longer this
uncertainty is the higher the risk that so much of the investments gets postponed, that you start to see some type of slowdown. So far, there is a
lot of wait and see from a lot of companies to see how the dust settles and what is the new playing field that they have to deal with.
But this period of uncertainty, I think it's time for it to come to an end so that people can dispose and make the investment decisions that they need
to make to support what is going to make them successful in the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Anna Cooban there.
All right, still to come, Israel's plan to seize control of Gaza City triggering growing international condemnation, includes calls from the U.N.
to immediately halt a military offensive.
Plus, we're keeping a close eye on a political standoff in Texas that could impact the balance of power in Washington.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Christina MacFarlane. Here are your headlines this hour.
Israel's Security Cabinet has approved a plan for the military to control Gaza City. Ahead of the Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
said the goal is a full military takeover of Gaza. Hamas says the Israeli plan amounts to a war crime and would mean sacrificing the remaining
hostages in Gaza.
The U.S. president says a Zelenskyy-Putin meeting is not a requirement for his own meeting with the Russian president. The Americans proposed a
trilateral meeting earlier this week, but the Russian president says certain conditions must be met for him to sit down with Zelenskyy.
Today is the deadline for Democratic lawmakers who fled the U.S. state of Texas to return to the statehouse in Austin. The state's attorney general
plans to declare their seats vacant, and he's threatening aggressive legal action if they don't return. The Democrats fled to block a vote on
redrawing the congressional maps that favor the Republican Party.
Now, the U.N. Human Rights chief says Israel's planned takeover of Gaza must be halted immediately. For weeks now, U.N. officials have been
sounding alarm bells about the growing hunger crisis and overall catastrophic conditions inside Gaza. Gaza's health officials say some 200
Palestinians there have died of starvation, about half of them children. UNICEF calls the surge of child malnutrition in Gaza staggering.
My next guest is the head of the United Nations Human Rights Office for the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Ajith Sunghay joins me now live from Amman,
Jordan.
Thank you so much for your time. As we've been saying --
[10:35:03]
AJITH SUNGHAY, HEAD, UNITED NATIONS OHCHR, OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY: Thank you for having me.
MACFARLANE: Thank you. As we've been saying, though, Gazans have endured so much misery up to now, and now they are facing the prospect of a complete
takeover by Israel, which we understand will begin with a siege and a ground offensive of Gaza City. What will this mean for the what we
understand to be almost one million Palestinians sheltering there in Gaza City?
SUNGHAY: This is going to be terrible. I mean, like you've rightly said, Gazans have seen this for the last 22 months. They've suffered a lot.
They've been displaced numerous occasions. They are facing starvation. We are struggling to contain that people are dying because of starvation.
There's lack of every requirement of humanitarian aid at this point in time. And if we are talking about incursion into Gaza City, which hosts
about a million people, we are staring at another massive displacement.
Where to go? Because there is no place in Gaza for them to go. And some of these people are living in some kind of building that is still, you know,
standing in Gaza City. But if they are destroyed, they'll all be put in again tent camps. There is no place in Gaza. There have been squeezed.
There's no proper food, there's no proper health system, there's no clean water. We will see people die in large numbers. And of course, also
injuries and destruction.
MACFARLANE: On that point, there is no place for them to go. I mean, I've heard it said that perhaps the strip of land, you know, alongside the sea
might be the only place for them to retreat to. And if this forced displacement happens, we're hearing it will be through the use of
starvation, which, if true, would certainly be a war crime.
SUNGHAY: Absolutely. I mean, look, I mean, we have raised alarms as the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights on numerous incidents, which
we believe may amount to war crimes or even crimes against humanity. Now you're talking about a small strip of place within Gaza Strip. It's called
Al-Mawasi. Most likely people in Gaza City will be pushed further down into this place.
This place have been many, many times before, is already packed with people. There is no place there for people to live. You know, diseases will
spread. You know there's community violence there. We are struggling to make sure that the trucks that get in reach people. There'll be more
looting, there'll be more chaos. There is no, you know, fabric of society left in Gaza anymore. And we're going to see massive deterioration in
security and life.
MACFARLANE: What do you make of Israel's stated goals that this will lead to the defeat of Hamas and the release of the hostages?
SUNGHAY: Look, there is a massive danger also for the, you know, the lives of hostages. When the hostages were released in the past, they were
released as an outcome of a ceasefire, as an outcome of discussions and negotiations. And this is what we've been calling. And that's the right
path and the right way to go forward. We want the international community to put pressure, end this war, enter into negotiations, release the
hostages, release Palestinians who have been arbitrarily detained, and rebuilt Gaza.
Further destruction is going to be a massive problem. And perhaps, like you rightly said, many of these will be war crimes and crimes against humanity.
MACFARLANE: What sort of pressure, though, do you want to see from the international community? Because we have had strong statements of
condemnation coming from foreign governments this morning. In fact, the German chancellor has moved to restrict the sharing of arms with Israel as
a result of this. What can be done to force Israel to reverse course while there's still time left?
SUNGHAY: Look, I mean, member states know exactly what they can do. You know, countries that have very good relationship with Israel can use their
leverage. You mentioned Germany taking some steps in containing or stopping supply of weapons. Statements like you rightly said are helpful but not
sufficient. We can make strong statement after strong statements and they have been made, but without proper action, for instance, the one that
Germany took and others can do as well, this is not going to change because Israel knows a statement is not going to change much.
MACFARLANE: All right, Ajith Sunghay, we appreciate you being with us to discuss this today. I'm sure there'll be more to come. Thank you for your
time.
SUNGHAY: Thanks a lot. Thank you for having me.
MACFARLANE: Well, let's get you up to speed on some other stories that are on our radar right now.
New leadership has been appointed in Haiti. Wealthy businessman Laurent Saint-Cyr now leads the Transitional Presidential Council tasked with
restoring order in the troubled country. But hours before his appointment, a powerful gang threatened to overthrow the government with gunfire
erupting in the capital.
The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan are set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House today.
[10:40:05]
They're expected to sign a peace deal, which was agreed back in March. Both sides have been fighting over the contested territory of Nagorno-Karabakh
for decades, with the most recent conflict flaring in 2023.
And in Texas, a deadline is looming for Democratic lawmakers. They must return to the state capitol today or Texas's attorney general says their
seats will be declared vacant and he'll pursue legal action against them. Democrats say they fled Texas on Sunday in order to block a crucial vote on
congressional redistricting that could favor the Republicans.
Well, this is a story with potential national repercussions.
CNN's Arlette Saenz is joining us from Washington.
So, Arlette, any sense of what could happen today for these lawmakers once that deadline passes?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there really will be a major test for whether Republicans can make quorum at around 2:00 p.m. Eastern, 1:00
p.m. Central Time in Austin, Texas. But so far, these Texas house Democrats say that they remain undeterred, that they do not plan on going back to the
Texas state capitol. Just a few moments ago, State Congressman James Talarico told our colleague Wolf Blitzer that they have a commitment from
the Democrats in the state of Texas to remain out of the state for the next two weeks until the end of the special session.
But then there are major questions about what will happen going forward if they do not show up today by that 1:00 p.m. deadline. There have been
threats of legal action against these lawmakers and Texas Governor Greg Abbott has said that he is intent on calling special session after special
session until this redistricting is passed.
Take a listen to a bit of what both the Republican and Democratic sides have said going into today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R), TEXAS: We do expect a quorum to be coming sometime soon. But listen, if it's not, we're not afraid because a special session
lasts 30 days and I will be calling special session after special session, and we are going to get these maps passed regardless of how long the
Democrats hold out in these leftist states like Illinois and New York and others.
JAMES TALARICO (D), TEXAS STATE HOUSE: They are literally threatening to remove the people's representatives from office. And so this is a page out
of an authoritarian playbook we've seen in other countries. They may be coming for Texas Democrats now, but if this continues, they eventually come
for all of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: Now, there are a few options that are being taken in court right now. Earlier in the week, the Texas House speaker had signed civil arrest
warrants for these lawmakers who had decamped to other states. And just last night, the Texas attorney general filed an emergency petition in a
court in Illinois asking them to enforce those warrants that were issued by the state of Texas in Illinois.
So far, there really hasn't been the ability for the Texas Department of Safety to try to reach these lawmakers who are in other states. So we will
see whether this court in Illinois decides to act. You've also heard from Ken Paxton, the attorney general in Texas, saying that he plans to pursue
aggressive legal action if these lawmakers don't return by 1:00 p.m. this afternoon, saying that he will take steps to try to declare their seats
vacant.
There has also been a bid by the Texas governor, who has gone to the Texas Supreme Court asking specifically for the chair of the Democratic caucus in
Texas to have his seat vacated if he continues to stay out of state. That lawmaker is facing a deadline of today to reply to the court. So there's a
lot of legal challenges that are playing out right now. But at the same time, Democrats are continuing their messaging push. Several House
Democrats are actually traveling to the state of California, where they will be meeting with California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Newsom has urged lawmakers in his state to start considering options about redistricting there if Texas moves forward with their plan. So there is a
lot up in the air in this moment, but at this time, it does appear that these Texas House Democrats remain undeterred, and it's unlikely that
they're going to show up at the Texas state capitol to meet the quorum so that the Republicans can move forward with this plan.
MACFARLANE: Yes, a lot to come in the hours ahead. Keep us posted. Arlette Saenz, appreciate it. Thank you.
Still to come, starvation looms for many in Sudan's El Fasher in North Darfur. Can any aid get through in time? One year after Sudan's first
confirmed famine, the U.N. World Food Programme is sounding the alarm, this time for El Fasher in North Darfur, where over half a million people are
trapped by conflict and cut off from aid. One mother described the dire situation.
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[10:46:59]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We don't have any work and since we came, we cannot find anything, not even a hundred Sudanese pounds for
daily income. We are just staying. There's nothing we can do. We built a hut with straw. We don't have a shade or tents for the rain or anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: As one mother describing the situation in Sudan, where over half a million people are trapped by conflict and cut off from aid, the
World Food Programme is warning starvation is imminent. If fighting doesn't stop and humanitarian access is not restored immediately.
Well, Leni Kinzli is the head of communications and a spokesperson for the World Food Programme, and joins us now from Port Sudan.
I know you have been in Sudan for some five years now, and I have to say, the numbers we are seeing about the spiraling of this conflict are quite
head spinning in terms of the scale of it. What can you tell us about what you're seeing there and what people are facing, particularly in regard to
mass starvation?
LENI KINZLI, SPOKESPERSON, WFP SUDAN: So the situation in Sudan is absolutely catastrophic. Half the population, 25 million people, are facing
acute hunger, and many of them in extreme levels of hunger, like what we're seeing in El Fasher, where we are extremely concerned that people are on
the brink of starvation. And as WFP, we have been assisting around four million people per month across the country, including in some of the
hardest hit areas. But that is just a fraction of the needs compared to the scale of this crisis.
MACFARLANE: Yes. The city of El Fasher in North Darfur has been under siege now by the RSF forces for over a year. As you say, reports that hundreds of
thousands of civilians are trapped and starving. Have the WFP been able to do anything to get in there to help? What are you hearing about the
conditions?
KINZLI: So the conditions are extremely dire. People are resorting to really extreme measures to survive, eating animal fodder food waste. It's a
thing called umbaz in Sudan, which is the leftover waste of creating peanut oil. So it's basically crushed up used peanut shells that people are now
eating to survive. And even that is starting to run out. However, in the meantime, we had been assisting people in El Fasher around 250,000 people
with digital cash transfers, which really has been a lifeline given that the road access to deliver supplies has been cut off.
But now with this food supplies inside the city dwindling and markets on the verge of collapse, that's simply not going to be enough. And that's why
we urgently need to get convoys of aid in there as quickly as possible. And as WFP and other humanitarian organizations, we have the assistance ready.
[10:50:02]
We have food, we have trucks. We really just need safe passage and guarantees of safe passage to be able to get in there and save lives. We
currently estimate that around 300,000 people, families, women, children are trapped inside the city with very limited access to basic goods and we
can save lives. We can do it.
MACFARLANE: And we're also hearing that, you know, we're in the midst of a rainy season now, that there's concern of a of a cholera outbreak
happening, too.
KINZLI: Indeed. I mean, in this situation, in the rainy season, diseases do spread more quickly. But it's not just that that we're concerned about. The
road conditions also become impassable. Roads here are dirt roads, very limited road infrastructure. And in the rainy season, many of these become
impassable. So that's the other impact of the rainy season that we're really worried about which is why, again, we're pushing for humanitarian
access into the city.
And also to help the people that are struggling from diseases because that just exacerbates. If they're hungry, they're sick. It's really just a dire
situation. But there is hope if we can get in there and there's so much we can do.
MACFARLANE: Leni, we talk about Sudan as this forgotten crisis. You know, it's overtaken by attention on other international crises at the moment.
You know, Ukraine, Gaza. Did the Sudanese people feel forgotten? How do they -- how are they feeling in this moment? How much hope do they still
have?
KINZLI: It is largely an ignored crisis. I wouldn't call it forgotten because it is very well known the scale of the humanitarian crisis that is
in Sudan. So first of all, I would say it is ignored. And when I'm in some of these IDP camps and speaking with families on the ground, they do feel
forgotten. However, the international community or at least the United Nations and WFP specifically, we've been in Sudan since 1963 and also since
the beginning of this conflict two and a half years ago, and on the ground.
And when we do reach communities, when access has opened up, we see what immense hope that can bring to communities. And it's really life-changing
for them. It's life-saving and life-changing. And me personally, I was in Khartoum at the beginning of June and it was amazing to see how people
reacted to us being in the city again, being present for them, receiving assistance again, and how much hope that it brought to them that they can
recover and overcome these harrowing two years that they've survived and that they've been strong and resilient enough to overcome on their own so
far.
And that's why WFP and for me especially working here for five years, it's so important that we step up for the Sudanese people because we see what a
major difference it can make in their lives and how much it means to them.
MACFARLANE: Well, and it is so important that you are able to provide comfort in these moments through the work that you are doing.
So, Leni Kinzli, we appreciate you joining us there from Port Sudan. Thank you.
We will be right back. We'll be right back after this quick break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:55:00]
MACFARLANE: A private Welsh island with a 19th Century fort is now on the market for upwards of $4 million. Thorne Island is around two and a half
acres of land located three nautical miles off the coast of Western Wales. The fort you're seeing there was built in the mid-1800s to prevent a
possible invasion by Napoleon's forces. Certainly looks like it. The modern day version included a helipad, covered rooftop bar and a game room, so
possibly worth it.
And for tonight's "Parting Shot," summer just isn't summer without a fresh mango to enjoy on a hot August Friday. Is it? The Egyptian city of Ismailia
is known to all, and it takes this sort of event to the next level. Today the city comes together for its annual mango festival. From bustling mango
markets and parades to themed bazaars and eating contests, the golden fruit really takes center stage.
And if you're a true mango maniac like I am, actually, you might want to book a ticket to the juiciest festival in Egypt. I could think of no better
way of spending a Friday afternoon.
And that is it for us here at CONNECT THE WORLD. "CNN ONE WORLD" is up after this quick break.
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END
