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Quest Means Business

Mob Violence Sweeps Through Israeli Cities After Days of Hamas Rocket Attacks And Israeli Airstrikes; Several Global Airlines Stop Flying to Israel As Tensions Continue to Mount Between Israelis and Palestinians; CDC: No More Social Distancing for Fully Vaccinated in the U.S.; Mob Attacks Amid More Israeli Airstrikes, Hamas Rocket Fire; Israeli Army: Three Rockets Fired Toward Israel From Lebanon. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired May 13, 2021 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS HOST: Good evening, a special extended edition of QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tonight, I'll have the full day's business agenda

in just a moment after I've updated you with what's happening in the Middle East. On the day Eid al Fitr when Muslims mark the end of Ramadan,

hostilities between Palestinians and Israelis tonight seem to be spiraling to alarming levels. In cities across Israel, there are reports of both Arab

and Jewish mobs attacking defenseless people, lynching as Israeli Prime Minister is calling it. These images are from Lod, an Israeli city, that's

home to both Jews and Muslims, a person is being described as being rounded on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDEN MALTZUR, ISRAELI CITIZEN (through translator): Some 100 Arabs came up to me and asked me if I'm a Jew or an Arab. I told them Arab, they heard

that my accent was not Arab, run up to my car and they started throwing stones. I was lucky that there were no cars behind me, so I reversed. I

drove full gas in reverse, I almost run into people and cars, I didn't see anything. I saw death. Do you know what death is? People jumping me with

stones. Throwing stones at me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Airstrikes on Gaza have continued as have rocket strikes on Israel by Hamas militants. The Israeli military says its troops are now gathering

on the border of Gaza in case they are ordered to invade. Ben Wedeman is in Lod. The latest position and the latest situation in the last few moments,

Ben?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the last few moments actually, just minutes after I spoke to you in the previous hour,

we saw two rockets come up from the horizon and were intercepted just above our heads by the Iron Dome anti-missile system. Now, what we saw when that

happened was indicative of the divisions between Arab and Jewish Israelis. The Palestinian Israelis who were in front of the grand mosque behind me in

Lid(ph) or Lod cheered as the missiles went overhead, and we heard celebratory gunfire not far away as well.

Others let off fireworks in celebration while the Israeli soldiers around here tried to take cover. And we're in a city that for the last two nights

has seen severe violence, communal violence of the sort that Israel has not seen in decades. We've seen that the Israeli border police normally in the

West Bank have really been redeployed to towns like this to try to maintain or restore order and also to impose this 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. curfew.

Now, beyond this situation, which has been replicated in many other Israeli towns and cities, the situation, as far as Gaza goes, remains grave. Almost

2,000 rockets have been fired out of Gaza since Monday.

And the Israeli military, a spokesman told the Israeli "Channel 12" that more infantry and armor is being sent to the Gaza border. And so all these

pieces are being put in place for what could be a serious ground incursion, not immediately, but in the coming days or weeks. In the meantime, you have

had this additional element to this crisis, three rockets were fired from southern Lebanon. They landed in the sea, not in Israel. It's believed that

perhaps the source of those rockets was a Palestinian refugee camp outside of Tyre in southern Israel, but certainly that front has been relatively

quiet for many years.

If Lebanon specifically, Hezbollah becomes involved, this conflict could become much more complicated. That was just, I think a firework --

QUEST: Right --

WEDEMAN: In the background.

[16:05:00]

QUEST: Ben, this idea of an Israeli incursion which the massing is just -- I mean, that would be a dramatic escalation. What is the sort of -- what

would you suggest has to be the precursor before the Prime Minster of Israel would order such an incursion?

WEDEMAN: Well, it would have to be more civilian casualties within Israel. I believe the latest tally is that -- the death toll is eight. It would be

more civilian casualties, and of course, what we've seen in the last 24 hours is somewhat less in terms of the number of rockets being fired out of

Gaza. It's not clear how many rockets they actually have to fire, but certainly what we've seen in the past is that if there's any major increase

in the death toll within Israel, that will be sort of the trigger for a serious ground incursion. Richard?

QUEST: Ben Wedeman in Lod, as the evening develops, Ben, of course, we are here. And if something is to report, come back immediately. And so the

Israeli army that says in a 12-hour period today, on Thursday, around 160 rockets were launched from Gaza towards Israel. Now, according to the IDF,

30 of them fell in Gaza, dozens more were intercepted by air defense fighters. An Israeli hospital near Gaza moved its patients and operations

into the basement as a precaution against incoming rockets. The Barzilai Medical Center at Ashkelon is located 10 kilometers from the Gaza border.

Dr. Gili Givaty is its deputy director joins me now. So, the -- you obviously prepared for this sort of thing. You are aware and have been

aware in the past. But how is this different this time round?

GILI GIVATY, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, BARZILAI MEDICAL CENTER: Good evening, Richard. We're quite ready. We have more than a decade of fire in the area.

So in the hospital, we have a sheltered area in the basement, which is an underground hospital. We have almost 300 beds in that hospital. The entire

E.R., the entire operation room are sheltered, so we can continue working with no disturbances I think this time it's very intensive. In the last --

in the last rounds, missiles once in a few hours, but now it's very intensive and it's in a very large area.

QUEST: Right --

GIVATY: We see -- on houses, on apartments. In the last three days, we received more than 200 casualties, most of them injured, not severe

injuries, mild injuries, but we still have a lot of patients.

QUEST: Now, in the last hour, we spoke to the red crescent on the -- Ramallah, who were reporting many injuries and deaths on that side and

talking about the shortages that they were suffering from in terms of medical supplies. From your hospital and your point of view, the numbers

that you're getting the sort of injuries that you're treating, how are you coping?

GIVATY: I would say that the Israeli citizens really listened to the instructions. They go to the shelter in their house or to a safe place.

They don't go out a lot. Just people that needs to go out. The kids don't have schools or kindergarten, so we see less casualty, and it's -- we hope

that nobody will be hurt. It's very hard to operate a hospital like that, because even when the physician and the nurses need to come to the

hospital, they need to drive here under fire.

QUEST: Right --

GIVATY: And sometimes the entire -- few times that they need to stop because of a siren.

QUEST: And this could go on for some time. I mean, no one is forecasting or wishes to forecast 2014 again. However, I mean, are you prepared -- are you

able for this level of intensity that you describe the difference for, say, days or weeks?

GIVATY: You know, for staff, we're working in a safe place, they can continue working and they're doing their best. You need to understand that

the kids -- my older son is 16, and he's born into this reality. So, we are -- you can never get used to that, but it's -- you understand that.

[16:10:00]

QUEST: Doctor, it is good of you to take time, and what I know is busy time for you, I appreciate it. And as the days and weeks wear on, we will talk

more to you. Thank you, ma'am, for joining us. As a result of all of what we've been talking about, the airlines around the world are canceling

flights to Israel. Delta, American, United, Lufthansa and BA announced cancellations over the next couple of days. There are various measures in

place for waiving change in fees and the like. Delta Airlines' Chief Executive Ed Bastian told me Israel indeed is the only place with bombs

going off, they would even consider flying to. In fact, they've suspended flight says a lot. I asked Bastian about that decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED BASTIAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, DELTA AIRLINES: We're monitoring it, you know, by the day and making those decisions as we go. We've given

customers the opportunity to change their plans over the next few weeks, realizing that there's risk to -- risks to those flights, but we're going

to watch it very carefully.

QUEST: The Israel flight is not a stranger. A few years ago, in '14 and every so often, when there is -- there's military activity, there is this

issue.

BASTIAN: Yes.

QUEST: Is this worse?

BASTIAN: Hard to say it's worse. Don't know yet. I think it's too new at the moment. I can tell you that there's probably the only air space in the

world where there's bombs going off that we'd even consider flying into because of the quality of the intelligence and the quality of the

navigation systems that the Israelis use.

QUEST: So no indication of how long then?

BASTIAN: Let's say -- we're just -- it's day-to-day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: U.S. travel this Summer, and then Europe next year, Asia next year even after that. That's how Delta's CEO Ed Bastian thinks international

travel will restart, in my exclusive interview next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: The chief executive of Delta Airlines tells me this Summer will be gangbusters for domestic flying within the United States. The post-pandemic

international travel boom, he believes will likely have to wait until 2022. I spoke exclusively to Ed Bastian at Delta's flight museum in Atlanta from

where the program comes tonight in the CNN center. Now, Ed Bastian wants a U.S.-U.K. travel corridor up and running as soon as possible.

[16:15:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASTIAN: Hopefully we can get that corridor open for the Summer. We know the medical evidence and the documentation with respect to where the

vaccination rates are for both our countries in the U.S. and the U.K. with the infection rates of our countries indicate that it's extraordinarily low

risk to travel between the U.S., the U.K., provided you're vaccinated, or you can produce a test to show that you're clean on board that flight. In

fact, the Mayo Clinic who we've worked with has put that risk at 1 in 5 million.

QUEST: So how important is it? Because the domestic market is opening up at a fair old pace.

BASTIAN: Yes.

QUEST: How important is it to open up the U.K. market?

BASTIAN: Well, the U.K. is the most important market for travel between the U.S. -- in terms of the U.K. travelers come to the U.S. and U.S. demand

wanting to go into the U.K. So, obviously, the financial benefits, the commercial benefits, the jobs, there's probably 300, it's not just the

airlines, remember. It's the hotels, the service economy, is all, you know, trying to get its business going again. New York, it would be a big boom

for New York City getting New York up and running. So it's really important strategically, but the other benefit, Richard, is that we're going to also

then show other countries the avenue on how to do this.

QUEST: And how do you do it?

BASTIAN: Well, you do it through making certain, you've got a good testing protocol, that you're monitoring the results. And we've been doing that.

And you can then start to give people confidence to travel.

QUEST: How confident are you, you know, with experience, how confident are you that this can be put in place? And the same for the EU, where no

negotiations are taking place. How confident are you it can be put in place to rescue something of the Summer?

BASTIAN: I'm not sure we're going to rescue something of the Summer, but we need to get started this Summer. Because the longer it takes to get

started, the longer it's going to take at full pull up, and there's lost jobs, lost opportunity, and there's impact to real lives and livelihoods

here.

QUEST: In Ed Bastian's world, where is re-opening international in terms of importance?

BASTIAN: It's -- this is all important, but pragmatically, I realize that the goal for us here is to have a good Summer to get -- in the U.S., to get

to travel, get our business back, get U.S. travelers comfortable with traveling again. We're going to learn about how to re-open borders

internationally through corridors and the U.K., through maybe some markets in Europe, certainly along the Mediterranean. There's a lot of interest in

the U.S. travelers coming to visit. Asia on the other hand is probably next year.

QUEST: Really?

BASTIAN: Yes, I think so. I think so. I hope I'm wrong, but I think it's going to take quite a while. When you think about the vaccination rates in

many of the Asian countries are in the low single digits, and the size of the population and the confidence to open up borders to travel, I think

it's going to take some time. My view, Richard, is, you're going to see the Summer of domestic travel in the U.S. is going to be gangbusters. People

are just dying to get somewhere. But I don't think they're dying to go to Europe. I think they're just dying to go anywhere.

And they're going to go some place they feel confident getting to and easy to get to. Summer of '22, I think you're going to see the same phenomenon

in international travel.

QUEST: As you spool up and as you get ready, what's your big concern?

BASTIAN: Biggest concern right now is getting all the employees, not just of our company, because we have our employees there, but on the service

contractors. The service workers in the hospitality sector in the U.S. are straining for workers. But we're doing what we have to do. We're having to

pay bonuses to bring people in. We're making certain that we've got -- because we're going to serve the Summer travel. And the second thing to the

-- to the challenge is, we've been down for about a year now. As you start to turn this big machine on, it takes some time. And it's going to take --

it's going to get a little -- it's going to be a little creaky for a while to go from load factors of 40 percent to 50 percent to 80 percent to 90

percent almost overnight.

QUEST: Do you -- from your experience, do you think that the various unemployment measures put in place, insurance measures put in place has had

an effect in the sense of the argument, it's better to stay -- you can earn as much by staying unemployed as you can by getting back to work at the

moment.

BASTIAN: It's had an impact on some people. I wouldn't go so far to say --

QUEST: Do you think it's overstated?

BASTIAN: I think it's overstated. I think people have moved. I think people are not sitting here waiting for a job they don't know what's going to

return to. It's going to take some time. It's really only been about 60 days that we have seen vaccination rates occur, and it's going to take some

time. So, I think it's unfair to criticize people. You know, there's almost implications that people are lazy, they're taking them -- I don't believe

that at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Bastian makes a strong point that it is only about 60 to 80 days, even in a country like the United States which has really got on with its

vaccinations since the beginning of the year.

[16:20:00]

Since vaccinations has picked up full steam. Well, now, U.S. health officials say the moment that everybody's been waiting for in the sense of

the head of the CDC says fully-vaccinated people in the United States need no longer wear masks or practice social distancing indoors or outdoors. The

move follows three studies which show that vaccines categorically work. Now, there are a handful of exceptions including people who are immune

compromised and can't. Pete Muntean joins me from Alexandria in Virginia. Well, I guess -- nice you don't have a mask on and for good reason,

vaccinations have been taking place.

But Pete, I mean, this will create a welcome environment, but one in which people will shuck off the masks, and we really won't know who's vaccinated

and who's not, and who's just saying that they are vaccinated.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is an interesting rub, Richard, and it's a huge development. What I'm finding is that not all agencies in the

TSA or in the Biden administration are really hip to the plan here. The Transportation Security Administration says its mask mandate on all forms

of transportation will stay in place until September 13th. That is a big difference compared to the CDC's new guidelines. And those I'm talking to

say they're concerned that there will be a number of fights on board planes and in terminals because the rules are different for transportation than

the general rules laid out by the CDC.

The FAA says there's been about 1,300 reports of people being unruly on planes and in terminals. Only in the last few months, and it's a

significant uptick, the agency says, so this could be a big problem, Richard.

QUEST: All right, now, one other area to look at tonight, energy company Colonial that was hit by Ransomware says substantial progress, that's their

words in getting the East Coast pipeline fully back online, whilst the U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm says gas supply should be back to normal

by the end of the weekend. The president says the U.S. does not blame Colonial on the Russian government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We do not believe, and I emphasize, we do not believe the Russian government was involved in this

attack. But we do have strong reason to believe that the criminals who did the attack are living in Russia. That's where it came from. Were from

Russia. We have been in direct communications with Moscow about the imperative for responsible countries to take decisive action against these

Ransomware networks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now, Pete Muntean is with me. Pete, this shortages at gas stations that have been reported, particularly in the southeast, entirely self-

inflicted. Although there were some shortages, it never got that desperate.

MUNTEAN: It never got that desperate, Richard, although gas experts tell me that it was really more of a supply crunch rather than a supply problem or

a shortage issue that was more widespread. You know, it was really panic induced --

QUEST: Yes --

MUNTEAN: And it seems that Colonial says it's making some progress and turning on this pipeline. And that things will get back to normal,

according to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm by this weekend, although there will be a bit of a delay. The issue is that once gas begins pumping

through the Colonial Pipeline, it has to get the terminals along the ramp, then it has to get into tracks which brings gas into stations like this one

here in Alexandria, Virginia. So, there's a bit of a bottleneck that still needs to be sorted out.

QUEST: Pete Muntean in Virginia, thank you sir. The stocks, the market closed a good 20 minutes ago, and they were higher. Now, it was a case of

buy on the dip, the Dow gained more than 430 points after heavy days of losses. Stocks were battered by concerns over rising inflation. Paul La

Monica is with me. And this was a bounce or was it more? This was buy on the dips or I mean, we know it was the inflation number that got the

market's attention, but that's not going to change any time soon.

PAUL LA MONICA, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: No, I think inflation will remain a concern for the foreseeable future as the economy re-opens, people go back

to work, we start to see wage pressures. There still are lots of shortages in various key supplies that will drive prices higher, but I think one of

those supplies, oil, we did get good news there because that Colonial Pipeline, the news that you talked about, having that resume more normal

activity by the end of the week, that should lead to lower oil prices, fewer concerns about gas shortages and people having to wait online for,

you know, gas in the -- in the south. That's obviously --

QUEST: Right --

LA MONICA: Is a good thing, but we clearly at the re-opening trade taking place again. You look at a company like Live Nation, concert promoter,

their stock was one of the bigger gainers in the S&P 500 today.

[16:25:00]

I think a lot of people who like live music are happy that they may not have to wear masks when they go to concerts anymore.

QUEST: So, we have this undercurrent in the market where there's a direct conflict, if you like, between the optimism of re-opening and the fears of

inflation, and it seems to me that on any given Thursday in May, you really don't know which is going to be the dominant driving force of the market.

LA MONICA: Yes, I think there is this sort of flip-flopping that is going on. One day people are excited about the economy re-opening, and you have

stocks surging like they did today. But who knows? It could be yet again people starting to realize that one of the necessary by-products of the

economy rebounding is that prices will probably climb, inflation will head higher, and the Fed can't keep rates near zero forever. And obviously, the

big question is, will the Fed need to raise rates a lot sooner than people feared, or can they keep them near zero for a couple of more years? Because

the economy still remains fragile --

QUEST: All right --

LA MONICA: Or probably errs on the side of caution with regards to where the job market is.

QUEST: Elon Musk's decision not to say that they won't accept bitcoin for Tesla, as payment for Tesla, because of the environmental effects. I mean,

this is pretty -- I don't know, how would you describe it? The man has -- the man has promoted bitcoin. He has invested Tesla's money in bitcoin, and

now turns around and says, oh, by the way, mining bitcoin is environmentally unfriendly.

LA MONICA: It is curious to put it mildly, that it took Musk this long to recognize that there are concerns about the environmental impact of

bitcoin, especially as he continues to tout, as a joke or not, dogecoin and some of the other goopy cryptocurrencies out there, but yes, I think it's

interesting to see that, you know, obviously all of the cryptos --

QUEST: Right --

LA MONICA: Got hit today with the exception of one name Cardano, which a lot of people tout as a more environmentally friendly cryptocurrency that

you don't have as much mining capacity in. That one was up about 10 percent at last check.

QUEST: Paul La Monica, with bitcoin down 10 percent as well. Thank you very much sir. As we continue tonight on this extended edition of QUEST MEANS

BUSINESS, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is now spilling across borders. Israel says rockets have been fired from Lebanon. We'll be

in Beirut after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. THOMAS ZURBUCHEN, ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR, NASA: -- it was even 20 years ago. Remember, what we learned from missions that are there is that

Mars was a lot more similar to the Earth 3 billion years ago with flowing water on the surface with an atmosphere, all that we really proved in the

last two decades or so. So because of that, there's a tremendous international interest and really exploring our kind of near Earth neighbor

here, Mars, right? And doing so right now with robotic means, but of course, having an eye on to human exploration.

So I just -- I mean, I just would say that Mars Exploration has never been more exciting than it is right now. And I think that's what we're seeing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Israel's military says it's a massing troops on the border with Gaza in case they're ordered to make a ground incursion. The idea says 7,000

reservists have been called up. 17,000 rockets have been fired from Gaza towards Israel, according to the Israelis since Monday. This is the

aftermath of one strike in the central city of Petah Tikva, near Israel.

While, in cities across Israel, there have been reports of both Arab and Jewish mobs attacking defenseless people. These images from Lod, home to

both Jews and Muslims and CNN's team has just reported a barrage of rockets was fired from Gaza onto the city.

At the White House. President Biden said he did not believe Israel had overreacted in its responses. However, it was time for both sides to

ratchet down the violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There has not been a significant overreaction. The question is how we get to a point where they get to a

point where there is a significant reduction in the attacks, particularly the rocket attacks that are indiscriminately fired into population centers.

But I expect I'll be having some more discussions. And it wasn't -- we haven't just spoken with the Israelis, with the Egyptians, the Saudi and

others. So we're -- it's a work in progress right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: In the past couple of hours, Israeli army says three rockets have been fired from Lebanon towards Israel. The army says rockets landed in the

Mediterranean Sea. Salma Abdelaziz joins me from Beirut. So, who done it?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: That is absolutely the question, Richard, who done it and what's going to happen about it? So let's start with what

the Israeli military is saying. They're saying three rockets fired into the Mediterranean Sea. Now, the language is important here, because the

question is, what is the target? Was it intended to enter the sea? We don't yet know that yet. We know there was another witness there that also saw

those three rockets explode off the coast of northern Israel.

What do we know from here, from Beirut? Well, we know that a senior security source spoke to our producer here, a Lebanese security source,

they confirmed that those three rockets were indeed fired from southern Lebanon. They say that the Lebanese military is now acting to try to

surround the area where that rocket was fired from and find a suspect. No more details on that because that source would not be named because it's

still a very sensitive matter.

Of course, Richard, we've also reached out to the U.N. group that operates here. Young fellow (ph), they say that they are in touch with both sides,

they are calling on both parties to deescalate to not bring this any further. Now, of course, the question is, where is Hezbollah in all of

this? They have not put out a statement so far. We do not know where they sit on this. We are tuning in, and we are looking for more on them. But

they are not the only faction that operate in southern Lebanon. There's other factions there so they are not the only potential suspect.

And the question is, is this an isolated incident or is this something larger?

QUEST: Right. OK.

ABDELAZIZ: People here will be thinking about 2006, of course, Richard, when there was a war, and that is a potential concern that this could

escalate further, Richard.

QUEST: The Lebanese government, such as it is, with all its own domestic issues and problems and barely functioning, and they don't surely have any

interest in a wider battle, leading to possible war with Israel at the moment, surely, and not just Hamas, or do they?

ABDELAZIZ: I'm going to expand that further, Richard. It's not just about the Lebanese government. This is about the Lebanese people who absolutely

right now are mired in poverty and corruption in their own issues. That's not just true of Lebanon, quite frankly, that's true of all of the Middle

East.

[16:35:09]

Many countries now turning inwards, they simply don't want to see a conflict. They can't even handle another conflict at a time like this. And

yes, people will think about 2006, and of course, cross border attacks led to a war between Lebanon and Israel, and so many civilians died in that.

But I was also thinking of 2015 when two Israeli soldiers were killed, and across border attacks. And what actually happened was deescalation with

Hezbollah came out and said, we do not want a war.

So it's really a matter of what the factions on the ground, with the parties on the ground are going to do. How Israel will respond to this.

QUEST: OK.

ABDELAZIZ: Again, this was off the coast, so no civilian damage, no infrastructure damage, but how will they respond, Richard, that's the

question.

QUEST: So Salma, and since we have you from Beirut, what is the situation there in terms of the functioning of the city? How are you finding it,

bearing in mind what we've heard about just the difficulties, the economic problems, the sort of rioting that continues? What's the situation?

ABDELAZIZ: Well, Richard, you can see behind me, so many of the lights are closed. This country is dealing with constant power outages, with

overwhelming crushing poverty. We're right now in eve (ph). This is supposed to be the holiest time of the month. Of course, the country is

under lockdown because of COVID restrictions. So that's also combining the difficulties here, the economic struggle of the pandemic on top of

everything else. What we've seen here and what our team has seen here is that local communities are rebuilding in the wake of that port blast last

year, rather than waiting on the bureaucracy of government, rather than waiting on officials to come and help.

It's really everybody stretching for their own, helping their own. This is a city that is really struggling under the economic conditions under the

pandemic, it's turning to a leadership that is weak, that is not present, that is not there and now you have this happening on the doorstep? This is

worrying. This is scary. And for it to happen during one of the most important celebrations of the year for Muslims in Lebanon, that makes it

much more difficult to swallow, Richard.

QUEST: Thank you, Salma Abdelaziz.

And so back to the latest position in the Middle East. Hadas Gold is reporting with us on the developments and her report contains images. Let

me warn you, her report contains images that you may find disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Hamas and the Israeli military wage battle in the skies over Israel and Gaza, an alarming

level of rage spilling into the streets beyond Jerusalem. Mob violence spreading through mixed Arab and Jewish cities like Lod, Akko, and Bat Yam.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I saw death, death. You know what death is? People jumping in me with stones, throwing stones at me.

GOLD (voice-over): Arab citizens attacking a man they think is Jewish. Jewish citizens attacking someone they believe is Arab. The communal

violence reaching such a fevered pitch. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu angrily warning rogue vigilantes to stop or face dire

consequences.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translation): I do not care at all if your blood is boiling, it's boiling. It's not interesting.

You cannot take the law into your own hands. You cannot come and take a simple Arab citizen and try to lynch him. Just as we cannot see Arab

citizens doing this to Jewish citizens, this will not stand.

GOLD (voice-over): Police getting reinforcements on horseback in riot gear and cities like Lod to quell the unrest. A sirens ring constantly, a

warning from above of incoming rocket fire. The Iron Dome stopping 90 percent of the more than 1,800 rockets fired into Israel thus far,

according to the Israeli military.

With the Israeli airstrikes targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza, the casualty count arising with each exchange. The displaced in Gaza

growing with every building reduced to rubble. The threat in the sky is so grave that many Western Airlines have canceled flights to Tel Aviv. And

that a new front, Hamas releasing a slick propaganda video launching what it says our suicide drones. Drones that Israeli forces say they have shut

down.

Diplomatic efforts underway overseas with nations weighing in on the conflict and urging calm, while in Tel Aviv and elsewhere, signs popping up

urging peaceful coexistence.

SUBHI TALAIB, ARAB RESIDENT OF LOD (through translation): We need to live here together coexistence. We need to be together partners to be partners

to each other.

GOLD (voice-over): But the Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesperson telling CNN --

LIOR HAIAT, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN: We don't think this is the right time for a ceasefire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: The British Prime Minister on the diplomatic front says he's deeply concerned by the growing violence and he's urging both sides to take a step

back. Boris Johnson has called for an end to the attacks and the retribution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[16:40:01]

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We in the U.K. are very sad to see what is happening and the cycle of violence that now seems to be taking

place. And I think it's important we break that cycle and we end this idea of reprisals. And I think that what everybody wants to see is urgent,

urgent deescalation. And that's what Dom Raab (ph) has been saying to his counterparts, both in Israel and in the Palestinian authority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: So as the United States CDC says, get rid of the masks for fully vaccinated Americans, it's a slightly different tale in Europe. After the

break, Europe CDC boss tells me, there's still one big challenge standing in the way of getting rid of masks and reopening, and that's getting enough

people vaccinated, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: U.S. officials say fully vaccinated Americans don't need to wear masks or practice social distancing in most cases, even when indoors. The

head of the CDC calls the new guidelines, an exciting and powerful moment. She also warns the agency might change its recommendations if things get

worse. In Europe, the head of the European version of the CDC, Center for Disease Prevention and Control, says the continent isn't yet ready to

reopen. Director Andrea Ammon told me earlier this week that getting people vaccinated is still a critical issue. Until it's resolved, she says,

measures like social distancing will have to continue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREA AMMON, DIRECTOR, EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL: We have increasing vaccination, but there's still a large part of the

population that is not vaccinated. And while we assume that the persons that are fully vaccinated have a good protection. We also have to take care

of the protection of those that are not vaccinated, meaning, that for those people and for their sake, we have to continue for a limited time with the

non-pharmaceutical measures.

QUEST: And what point do you think the rest of us are entitled to say to those people who won't get vaccinated, well, I'm sorry but, you know,

that's up to you now. You know, we are lifting restrictions. If you fall ill, that's a matter for you.

[16:45:10]

AMMON: I mean, we are aiming in Europe at a coverage of 70 percent of the population to be vaccinated during the summer. And we have then to see what

is this -- hat kind of transmission is still ongoing, when such a part of the population has been vaccinated and take the measures from there.

QUEST: At 70 percent, if we take the U.S. example, the U.S. is now seriously concerned it won't meet 70 percent. The number of vaccinations

are down by 40 percent in some cases, and that just sort of -- states aren't even taking their allocation. Do you fear the same is going to

happen in the E.U.?

AMMON: Yes. At the moment, we still have more people get -- wanting to get vaccinated than we have doses available. But, of course, there will be a

point where we have the situation where we have more doses than people who are willing to get vaccinated. So what we have seen in our member states is

that they're putting in place communication campaigns, to, a, make sure that they get the second dose and to, b, to motivate everybody to get

vaccinated.

QUEST: But that tipping point of doses to be -- to willing vaccinees, if you will, that tipping point, do you fear it will happen under 70 percent

in Europe?

AMMON: It could be. In some countries, it could be below 70 percent.

QUEST: And you don't really know what the epidemiological effect is going to be, do you, in that sense?

AMMON: I mean, we would assume that it still will require the presence of some of these non-pharmaceutical interventions, at least to some degree, in

order to prevent arising cases and the health systems being overwhelmed.

QUEST: Is there a reality that we're never going to get over 70 percent. And the reality is that in many places, we will just settle into a low

level of transmission and infection and deaths, like the flu in a sense, and we'll just get used to it. Those who was vaccinated will be boosted

every now and every year or two, but they'll just be so many hundred, thousands a year to get it and so many thousands who die.

AMMON: I think this is a very likely scenario that we will go to a phase where we have a certain vaccine coverage and endemic transmission still.

And what we have to see now is what the acceptable level of vaccination coverage is, in order to say, well, OK, now there will be no measures and

we let it go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: The European Director of the CDC.

Let's see in Europe where markets were mostly higher, except for London, that half a percent. The rest there were up, the Dax, the CAC and Zurich,

all have not huge moves, but they'd seen what happened in the U.S., they knew about the inflation problems, and that's the sort of market reaction

that you get.

Still to come as we continue on this extended Quest Means Business. Initially, U.S. jobless claims at a pandemic low inflation at recent high.

The course of the recovery to be discussed at Quest Means Business.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:51:35]

QUEST: Initial of U.S. jobless claims are at their lowest level of the pandemic 473,000 people filed for new unemployment benefit last week,

nearly half the number that it was four months ago. As more businesses are opening up, companies are looking for fresh way to work. As Amazon adding

75,000, yes, you hear that right, 75,000 new jobs in the U.S. and Canada. It's also signing bonuses in certain locations.

McDonald's and Chipotle are raising wages to basically meet the demand. And at the same time, of course, that's having a fall on their stock price.

Vanessa Yurkevich has more from a jobs fair in New Jersey.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Richard. Well, we've already seen several people get job offers on the spot. We're expecting 180 candidates

here at American Dream to fill 150 jobs at their entertainment and retail complex. These are jobs from ride operator to lifeguard at their waterpark,

to retail associate. These are jobs that have been lost over the course of the pandemic. And now the live entertainment industry and retail industry

is hiring aggressively again.

We caught up with two people in line. One gentleman who said because of the reopening, he can now apply to become a lifeguard again. Another gentleman

who's been out of work for seven months, who's desperate for a job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm trying to find a job that was for my skill, switches lifeguarding. And not many places have been open, but since Governor Murphy

has said like open limits for the lifeguarding, I can finally have a job with my skill that's open like all year round.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm out of the job since last summer. And it's been very difficult trying to get a job, very difficult as COVID-19 hit back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH: Now we've been hearing that other industries have been facing labor shortages, having a tough time finding people for roles. But here at

American Dream, they say that they haven't seen that, they've actually already hired 80 people over the last several weeks, and they're expecting

big demand this summer as more and more people get vaccinated and kids are out of school. They think that will help boost the economy. And that's why

they're hiring so many people over these next several weeks. Richard?

QUEST: Vanessa reporting there.

And a quick recap on the day's trading on Wall Street where markets managed to rebound from yesterday's inflation fears. The Dow crossed 34,000 held

its gains. About 33 points and 1.25 percent higher. No records on that bearing in mind the (INAUDIBLE) loss over the last few days. And the Dow

30, so it's mostly green but it's interesting. Home Depot, Travelers, 3M and Honeywell at the top. Disney, Chevron, Nike at the lower end. But you

can see the overweight of the greens in terms of the gains on the greens -- the gains on the greens are larger than those two losses on the red. So the

market wanted to rise brilliantly so, but they weren't exactly huge gains for most of them.

That's what the market looks the same for the NASDAQ and the S&P both have triples, all in the triple stack showed good gains. I will have a

profitable moment after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:57:39]

QUEST: Tonight's profitable moment from the CNN Center in Atlanta. We're in the right place today, because not only were we talking to the Delta Chief

Executive Ed Bastian, but also of course today was the day that the CDC said that those of us who have been fully vaccinated can shuck off our

masks in most scenarios. Now, I happen to think, by the way, that's going to lead to a lot of people who aren't vaccinated. Also, perhaps shucking

off masks and you won't be able to tell who is what, what, which is why I think it's probably a good idea that when we're traveling on planes,

trains, buses, and in airports, we do still have to have our masks, because that means that the safety is maintained.

As for Delta, a gangbuster stunner (ph) in the United States, Delta CEO Ed Bastian was forthright about the fact that his attention will be on the

U.S. domestic market and getting that up and opening. There's a lot of unrealistic talk about summers in Europe, opening up corridors, people

being able to travel here, there and everywhere. I think Ed Bastian got it right, the opening up of a transatlantic corridor between the U.K. and the

U.S., the E.U. and the U.S., that is going to be a tester.

These are sophisticated markets that can manage to come together and create this new corridor. But it is a tester that will only be followed elsewhere

with bilateral deals. There's no chance of a multilateral deal, I just can't see it anytime soon. And the idea of Asia joining in, that's some way

off, even the Singapore-Hong Kong and the Australia-New Zealand bubbles are in danger.

So there is much to be optimistic about as we look forward to the summer. But we must be realistic as what Ed Bastian was saying. The gains that we

will see will be incremental. Bearing in mind what Boris Johnson said in Britain about the Indian virus and the Indian virus in the U.K., will they

make their June of 21st deadline?

A lot more still to talk, a lot more still to do, but optimism, there is.

And that's Quest Means Business for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in Atlanta at the CNN Center. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it's

profitable. Jake with The Lead is next.

END