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Quest Means Business

Freed Hostage Speaks About Kidnapping and Captivity; Hostage released By Hamas Said, "I Went Through Hell"; Relentless Strikes On Gaza Overnight; Inside Gaza: Civilians Caught In Aftermath Of Strikes; UNRWA Says Lack Of Fuel Jeopardizing Relief Efforts; Efforts Underway To Release More Hostages; Israel Drops Leaflets Asking For Info On Remaining Hostages; Netanyahu Adviser: Israel Will Not Allow Fuel Into Gaza; Israel: Preparing For "Multilateral Operation" Against Hamas; Tom Emmer's Speaker Bid On Verge Of Collapse; Trump Former Fixer Implicates Trump In Inflating Assets; Jordan's Queen States Silence From Western World Is Deafening; Deadly Violence And Tension Growing In The West Bank; Five Britons Still Missing; BlackRock CEO Warns Of More Economic Instability. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired October 24, 2023 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:35]

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: And 85-year-old grandmother recounts her harrowing experience as a hostage, and a major human agency

says it will have to give up working in Gaza if no fuel is allowed in by Wednesday night.

Hello, I'm Julia Chatterley in New York, and welcome to our continuing coverage of the war in Israel.

Tonight, one of the hostages freed by Hamas is offering a dramatic account of her time in captivity. Yocheved Lifshitz, pictured here on the left,

spoke Tuesday in Tel Aviv, less than 24 hours after she and Nurit Cooper were released.

Lifshitz described her violent kidnapping on October 7th. She was taken to Gaza and forced into underground network of tunnels. She said her guards

made sure that she was fed, however, and she received medical care.

Now during the news conference, she also criticized the Israeli government for failing to protect her community.

Bianca Nobilo has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIFSHITZ (through translator): "It was a hell I could not have known."

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): An 85- year-old grandmother, one of the two Israeli hostages released by Hamas Monday night, expressed anger towards her government for not taking the

Hamas threat seriously in the weeks leading up to the horror of October the 7th.

LIFSHITZ (through translator): "The lack of awareness by Shin Bet and IDF hurt us a lot. They were warned three weeks beforehand. They burnt fields.

They sent fire balloons, and the IDF did not treat it seriously."

NOBILO (voice over): Safely reunited with her daughter, Yocheved Lifshitz detailed the horror that unfolded in her home in southern Israel.

LIFSHITZ (through translator): All of a sudden on Saturday morning, everything was very quiet. There was a hard pounding on the settlement.

I was kidnapped on a motorbike on my side while they were driving towards Gaza in the field.

NOBILO (voice over): The ensuing two weeks, she was held hostage in Hamas' secretive network of underground tunnels. Upon her release, her testimony

of the traumatic ordeal extraordinary, from horror to displays of humanity from her captors.

LIFSHITZ (through translator): When we got there, they told us they believed in the Quran and would not harm us, and that they would give us

the same conditions that they had inside the tunnels.

For each of us, there was a guard. They took care of every detail. There were a lot of women and they knew about feminine hygiene, and they took

care of everything there.

NOBILO (voice over): She was released alongside her female neighbor, but her husband remains held in Gaza. Her freedom, a relief from Yocheved's

daughter and a glimmer of hope for the families whose loved ones who remain as hostages under Hamas.

Her experience now a potentially critical insight into a Hamas' spiderweb of tunnels and their behaviors, planning, and objectives of a group, which

shocked the world with their capabilities, preparedness, and brutality on October the 7th.

Bianca Nobilo, CNN London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHATTERLEY: Sara Sidner has injuries (inaudible) for us tonight, too, and she'll be with us throughout this hour.

Sara, great to have you with us. It is further proof that the diplomacy is working. Another couple of hostages released.

It's also seemingly continuing to provide a delay in that incursion into Gaza by Israeli forces as well. We're continuing to watch the humanitarian

aid, of course. But the challenges is that those raids are still continuing and people are still dying.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: There are such enormous challenges that can't even be overstated at this fort, not just the getting aid into Gaza, but once it

gets there, getting it to the people who needed the most.

We have been talking to aid groups, we have been talking to doctors who are there, who are saying that they are so close to running out of fuel. And if

that happens, basically, the hospitals are going to be turned into morgues.

They will not be able to do their work. They will not be able to save babies who are in incubators, but it is this issue of trying to get the

humanitarian aid where it needs to go and as quickly as it needs to get there.

In the meantime, there is still an airstrike campaign going on by Israel which has still in the midst, and still in the midst, of it's official war,

really, really difficult situation for all of the civilians in Gaza at the moment.

[15:05:01]

More than 700 people have actually been killed in Gaza over just a 24-hour period, ending Tuesday. That is according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

That would be the highest deadly death toll so far this month since the campaign by Israel began. Israel says the latest rounds of strikes killed

dozens of Hamas gunmen and several of its commanders.

Civilians are also paying an extremely heavy price as CNN's Salma Abdelaziz shows us in her report.

And we want to warn you, the images you are going to see are extremely disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Moments after an overnight strike in Gaza, stunned survivors stumble out. People

nearby rush to help.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

ABDELAZIZ (voice over): "There's no ambulance. We have to get people out," a man shouts.

Men dig with bare hands. It is dark, dusty.

The screams are jarring.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

ABDELAZIZ (voice over): "Look at the children, look at the children," he says. It is sheer chaos, and carnage.

This is the aftermath of just one of the hundreds of bombings a day that batter the Gaza Strip. The scene captured by a journalist.

Israel says it is targeting Hamas and aims to wipe out the group. But Palestinians and aid agencies say it is civilians that are dying by the

hundreds.

Drone footage shows entire neighborhoods already leveled by the near constant bombardment. Nothing is spared. Schools, mosque, shelters, medical

centers all struck, according to the United Nations.

Gaza is all too familiar with war, but has never seen it on this scale.

And for survivors, there is little life left here. Baby Sanad Al Halabi is now an orphan, but he's far too young to understand that.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

ABDELAZIZ (voice over): "What did this little boy do? An airstrike hit his house while he was sleeping," his uncle says. "His whole family is killed.

"He's the only survivor. Stop this. Stop the suffering."

There are calls for Israel to pause hostilities, but the IDF is only ramping up its attacks and preparing for what's expected to be a full on-

ground invasion of the enclave. But Gazans say they can endure no more.

Amar Al Batah says nearly 50 members of his extended family were killed after they followed Israel's evacuation instructions.

(AMAR AL BATAH speaking in foreign language.)

ABDELAZIZ (voice over) "We were hosting our family from the north, 50 to 70 people, because it was supposed to be safe," he says. "But at dawn, our

home was bombed. We don't know what to do. We've lost our minds."

Gaza is praying for relief. But the cries of anguish here are so far unheard. The bloodshed won't stop.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: Horrible scenes there in Gaza that just keep coming. UNRWA, the UN agency in charge of providing aid to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, said it

will have to halt operations in Gaza if fuel is not delivered by Wednesday night. That is tomorrow night here in this time zone.

Dominic Allen is the UN Population Fund Representative for the state of the Palestinian state. He joins me now. Thank you so much.

DOMINIC ALLEN, UN POPULATION FUND REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE STATE OF THE PALESTINIAN STATE: Thank you.

SIDNER: Dominic, can you tell us first what exactly you can describe? We have seen some of the pictures. We have heard from some of the doctors that

is happening in hospitals, that is happening in areas where civilians are gathered in very large numbers.

ALLEN: Yes, thank you. I mean, it's simply, in a word, horrific.

This crisis, which is unfolding, is catastrophic. Our concern from the UN Population Fund is for the over one million women and girls in Gaza.

And specifically, I think your pictures demonstrate this. Our concern is for the 50,000 pregnant women. And there are over 150 Gazan women giving

birth every single day that can't access basic maternal health services.

So these pictures of the hospitals and the primary health care facilities that have been destroyed are overwhelmed. Over two-thirds of the health

care centers are not working right now in Gaza.

These pregnant women are facing a double nightmare. And we're seeing this health system, which was already majorly crippled from a 16-year blockade,

and it's now on the brink of absolute collapse.

[15:10:05]

So for us, my concern is that pregnant women have nowhere to go and are really facing unthinkable challenges.

SIDNER: You know, you're talking about something that is an everyday occurrence across the world, women having babies.

But now in this situation where the war is underway and there are airstrikes from above, there's also a blockade below, can you give us some

sense also of the babies themselves? Because we have been hearing that the issue and hospitals is also about the incubators for premature babies who

need help.

What are you hearing and learning about what is happening on that front?

ALLEN: Yes, and let me be clear. The UN is calling for humanitarian ceasefire and further to this, the urgent need for water, food, medical

supplies, and fuel for electricity.

Exactly to this point, hospitals are hours away of running out of electricity, which provide life-sustaining systems for newborns and for

health care emergencies to be performed.

Now, what are we hearing on the ground? We're hearing -- we've heard testimonies from pregnant women in Gaza. Let me share one with you.

A pregnant woman who was displaced four times from her home and the very shelters in which she was walking between, every step she is taking as

moving between these places with vast insecurity, she is saying, quote, "Each step felt like a race against death."

Now when she -- when we've heard from another testimony of another pregnant woman who managed to make those dreadful journeys and managed to find her

way to Al-Shifa Medical Hospital, which features on a number of these reports, the biggest health care facility in Gaza.

And what she described was after being able to get there and be able to summon that strength to get to Al-Shifa Medical Hospital, after three hours

after giving birth, she had to be discharged and had to make way for another pregnant women who had to come in, as well as the huge amounts of

wounded people.

So the challenges that not only the pregnant women, but the Gazan population are facing is huge, including the medical staff because we also

hear from medical staff, midwives that Al-Shifa Hospital as well describing the dire, dire conditions.

And this comes back to your earlier point. You asked about fuel and how important fuel is to be able to sustain these life-sustaining systems.

But it's not only about water, pregnant women need more water than a regular person. And the conditions there are deeply, deeply worrying.

Usually, on a regular day, it's recommended 15 liters of water for hygiene and consumption purposes. Usually, about three liters per day that a human

should drink.

Pregnant women needs more, needs another 300 milliliters.

Lactating women, so one of these pregnant women who gives birth, has to sustain the life of her child through breastfeeding, requires even more.

And so the challenges right now are ensuring a safe and steady flow of aid can come in with food, water, medical products, and fuel being a key issue

at the moment.

SIDNER: The last -- a couple of days ago I spoke with the Palestinian Red Crescent director general. And he described something to me about those

people who are caretakers, the nurses, the doctors, the women who are taking care of the pregnant population, but also the doctors taking care of

the injured as well, and said that there wasn't even enough food for them at some point in time.

Can you give us any update of how the medical teams are doing and how they are operating under such enormously dire conditions?

ALLEN: Yes, and I think that this is a really important point that you are coming to hear, which is these are the carers who are meant to take care

for the vulnerable. They are becoming vulnerable themselves.

They have been -- from the UN side, our colleagues, I salute our colleagues in UNRWA, who you referenced in the -- as a runup to this report. They've

lost 35 colleagues, and we can only salute their work over the bombardments in Gaza over the last two weeks.

The health care workers, there is over -- I understand over 10 health care workers who have died whilst in service. And they themselves need to be

protected.

Their protection of civilians is critical and paramount at any armed conflict, including right now, and health -- protection of health care

facilities and health care personnel.

Underneath that, as you said, those health care workers are also in need of water, food, as well as fuel.

They're also caring about their family. They're away from their families. The midwives that we've spoken to as well, they're performing these -- what

should be a very life-affirming process with helping these women give birth, whilst they themselves are really worried about their own situation

and their own families back home.

[15:15:10]

And also, not having enough water to drink and enough food to eat. So it's critical that this humanitarian bridge opens so that the civilian

population can be completely supported, but also right now, those health care workers, those UN people on the ground who are helping sustain those

critical services.

SIDNER: Dominic Allen, thank you for going over that. I know it is terribly troubling even to talk about it and to think about it, but it is necessary

for the world to know what exactly is going on there. I appreciate you and your colleagues' work. And we'll be right back.

Coming up, diplomatic efforts are underway to free a larger group of hostages. There have been furious phone calls back and forth as they're

trying to make this happen.

We'll speak to a former hostage negotiator next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ERIN BURNETT, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Welcome back. Israel is asking Palestinians in Gaza for information about the remaining hostages following the release

of two Israeli women on Monday. The IDF says it dropped leaflets in Gaza offering protection and compensation in exchange for information.

Meanwhile, a number of countries are still working to get a larger number of hostages released. Talks are ongoing between the United States, Israel,

Qatar, Egypt, and Hamas. Still major obstacles remain, of course.

Nic Robertson is in Sderot and joins us now. Nic, it does however ratchet up the pressure on Israel to provide more time to allow these negotiations

to take place. Someone has to presume that's exactly as Hamas intended.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It does seem to be that is playing out exactly how Israel expected Hamas to play out the hostage

situation to use that as a deterrent against a ground incursion that Hamas would have naturally expected to follow on from their attacks on October

the 7th.

We seem to be getting to quite a sort of tipping point, if you will, within the negotiation about those hostages because it does seem to come down to

the humanitarian access and specifically, the fuel issue, the fuel that's required to run generators and hospitals, the fuel that's required for the

UN agencies in Gaza to be able to deliver the humanitarian supplies when they come into Gaza.

[15:20:10]

And at the moment, the principal UN agency says that it's on the verge of shutting down tomorrow, that it won't be able to deliver any other

humanitarian supplies that come in. And we know that according to health officials in Gaza, several hospitals have already been forced to shut

because there's a lack of fuel.

What the IDF is saying here is that Hamas wants to use the fuel for its military aims, that Hamas actually has fuel available at the moment. And

while we were hearing late last night from Prime Minister Netanyahu's spokesman Mark Regev saying, "We are not going to allow any fuel to go into

Gaza," there appears to have been a slight softening in nuance and tone from the head of the IDF, General Halevi.

And he said that, "Look, we're not going to allow any civilians to go without treatment for -- because of a lack of fuel," which seems to

indicate that they are willing to let some fuel in.

The modalities of that, you know, is that part of the negotiations? How is it progressing? We just don't know.

But if fuel is one of the central issues, and it's on the verge of running out, then it does seem to be a moment where a crisis point in the

negotiations is coming. One side is -- or the other is going to have to blink.

But I think that we've already seen Israel try to sort of reject the drip by drip hostage release that Hamas has been offering. They refused to

engage over the weekend when Hamas said, "We have two Israeli hostages to release," the two elderly ladies who were released late last night.

They didn't want to engage. And when these -- and they said because they felt this was propaganda by Hamas, and when the two elderly Israeli

hostages were released, it was across the border into Egypt, not as it would seem across the border into Israel when the two American hostages --

the mother and daughter -- were released on Friday night.

So we can already see the tensions in the hostage situation playing out in that way. So this is a really down-to-the-wire negotiation, and we have no

idea which way it's going to go.

And Israel does seem intent on that ground incursion still, although there's a huge growing amount of international pressure to have more detail

on it, to have more visibility, to have Israel explain exactly what it wants to achieve.

But for the moment, the impasse does seem to be around the hostages and possibly fuel at the crux of it on the other side of the equation.

BURNETT: Brilliant insight. Thank you, Nic, is always. Nic Robertson there.

Let's talk more about a number of these points. Scott Walker is a former hostage negotiator, and he joins us now.

Scott, great to have you with us. Let's just start with the hostages themselves.

Does the release of the four hostages that we've had so far in the manner upon which they've been released change the calculus for the negotiators

here over the prospect of getting more out and perhaps in larger size?

SCOTT WALKER, FORMER HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR AND UN COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISOR: I think what it does demonstrate is that the channels that are in place,

those open channels of communication are working. That is clear to see. And so this is a significant development.

Let's just hope that we can build on that, and the Qataris and the Egyptians and others can utilize those relationships they have with Hamas

leadership and keep those lines of dialogue open to get more hostages out.

BURNETT: It's been reported, and Nic was alluding to this, that Hamas is saying, "Look, give us fuel in Gaza," perhaps an exchange for the hostages,

the Israelis, up to now. But as Nic was saying, that's perhaps soft and slightly no.

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, an IDF spokesperson, told CNN yesterday, look, Hamas does have fuel. He twitted here, look, Hamas has one

million liters of fuel in Gaza.

In your mind, Scott, is this the right negotiating point? Is this the right leverage if Hamas has fuel and if indeed that the Israelis are right,

they're choosing not to give it up, they're choosing to take more instead?

WALKER: Well, I don't think that it's really my place, let's say, comment on -- about the fuel issue per se. But what I can comment on in a

negotiation, it doesn't mean that you necessarily have to agree to the demands of the other side.

And we've seen that in a lot of the conflicts around the world and here in the UK and Northern Ireland, for example, where, you know, you don't have

to agree or condone or acquiesce to what the other side is demanding. But at some point, you do need to find something that you can agree on that can

then be implemented without any further drama.

BURNETT: Once hostages are released?

WALKER: Well, as part of the negotiation to get them out, that is for sure.

BURNETT: If the intention .

WALKER: It can be like a phased implementation.

BURNETT: I understand. If the intention is to delay some form of ground offensive in response to what happened to October 7th, what incentive do

Hamas have to release more hostages in size, indeed release all of the hostages if that's the leverage that they hold to prevent or definitely

delay that ground offensive? How do you negotiate that with someone like Hamas?

[15:25:17]

WALKER: I think necessarily the pressure from some of Hamas' allies or supporters around the world to perhaps release some of the babies, the

elderly, women, for example. And I can certainly see they'll be releasing more of those over the coming days and weeks.

As for perhaps the military hostages, that is a separate challenge. And as we've seen in the past, that could even take months or years. But Israel

have got a track record of looking to bring back all of their hostages wherever possible.

BURNETT: Yes, so you release the ones that perhaps are more difficult to handle then provide ammunition to negotiate with and you keep the

remaining, which I think makes unfortunate sense in this case.

Can I ask about the hostages' recovery? It was a Hamas video that was released, admittedly, but it did show one of the Israeli hostages shaking

hands, it seemed, with her captors.

And she said actually they were given medical care. They were -- I think the quote was "gentle treatment." How and to what degree can you take what

hostages in these situations say at face value given that we know in her circumstance they're still holding her husband?

WALKER: Usually, hostages are pretty well treated because it is in the hostage takers' interest to look after them as much as possible, to feed

and water them, to give the medical treatment if required.

And I think that what we saw today and yesterday rather is just the resilience in the character of the hostages when they came out. They were

able to almost thank their captors for looking after them whilst they were held.

BURNETT: Yes, I think some people would call it grace and dignity in the face of .

WALKER: I agree.

BURNETT: . awful, awful situation.

Scott, good to get your insights. Thank you. Scott Walker, former hostage negotiator there. So thank you.

Okay. When we come back, House Republicans have picked Congressman Tom Emmer as their latest candidate for Speaker. Lawmakers say, "He does not

and will not have the votes to win the gavel on the House floor." So what next we'll discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:31:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CHATTERLEY: Welcome back.

Minnesota congressman Tom Emmer's bid to be House speaker is on the verge of collapse just hours after he was nominated. The chamber's third ranking

Republican beat six other candidates in a secret ballot after two hopefuls dropped out before voting began.

But lawmakers said that Emmer does not have the support to win a vote in the House. A group of Republican hardliners say they will not back him and

are calling for a new candidate to take his place. Stephen Collinson is in Washington for us.

Stephen, I will refrain from putting my head in my hands here. I can see that our Manu Raju is reporting that there were 26 votes against him.

That's even worse than the vote count for Jim Jordan against him. So we are going nowhere fast. In fact, we are going backwards.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is an absolute mess. No one in Washington, including the Republicans that are involved in

this debacle, have any idea how they're going to get out of it.

The problem is that if Tom Emmer cannot win the 217 votes in the House that he needs with almost all of the Republican lawmakers, who can?

He just beat all of the viable candidates in the GOP in rounds of secret balloting earlier today. And again, he has come up against this bunch of

hard right Freedom Caucus lawmakers, who say he is too conservative.

And we understand that Donald Trump's team has been calling lawmakers to lobby against Emmer, principally because Emmer voted to certify the

election of President Joe Biden after the 2020 election.

So it is an absolute and complete mess. And you are right, we are going backwards. We are getting further away from a speaker, not closer. Even

though we're three weeks into this and the deadline for the closing of the government, if it cannot be funded, is looming in the middle of November.

CHATTERLEY: I mean, the truth is, you could only lose four votes, so they have to, at some point, get real.

And when does the embarrassment over the repetitive attempts to find somebody get outweighed by the prospect and the distaste perhaps of turning

to the Democrats and saying, look, we are going to have to get your help and we have to choose a moderate in order to do so?

COLLINSON: There was every sign that, after lawmakers went home on the weekend and then came back to Washington, a lot of them were feeling that

pressure that you are talking about.

Disgust within their districts, frustration that what they had been sent to do, to implement a conservative agenda in Washington, has been derailed by

these extremists. You know, look. I think that the real sticking point here is -- will come when there is a real danger of the government shutting

down.

That may make some more moderate Republicans try to initiate some kind of action with Democrats to get the temporary speaker, who is currently in

place, the powers to pass legislation.

Tom McHenry is the name of the temporary speaker. But that is probably going to be subject to legal challenges. There are many Republicans who

cannot stomach the idea that their majority will effectively be handed over to Democrats, who are in the majority -- in the minority and their minority

-- the majority that they won in the midterm elections will basically be completely inoperable.

But as you say, that may be the only way out. It may require an even greater crisis to push them toward that precipice. Right now, no one seems

to know what to do and putting heads in hands seems to be the only logical response.

CHATTERLEY: Yes, I will refrain. But to your point, a shutdown is required. Looking ridiculous is not enough. I will quote you, a debacle. Yes. Stephen

Collinson there, thank you.

COLLINSON: Thanks.

CHATTERLEY: Donald Trump's former attorney has directly implicated his ex boss in inflating the value of his assets to reflect a higher net worth.

Speaking at the former president's civil fraud trial, Michael Cohen said he and the former Trump Organization CFO would reverse engineer asset

valuations to generate whatever net worth Trump demanded.

[15:35:00]

CHATTERLEY: It comes as Trump's former campaign leader pleaded guilty in another trial, looking at allegations of election subversion in Georgia.

Jenna Ellis is the third person to enter a guilty plea in the last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNA ELLIS, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN LAWYER: I endeavored to represent my client to the best of my ability. I relied on others, including lawyers

with many more years of experience than I had, to provide me with true and reliable information.

What I did not do or should have done, Your Honor, was to make sure that the facts the other lawyers alleged to be true were, in fact, true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHATTERLEY: OK. Coming up, shocked and disappointed. Queen Rania of Jordan sharing her thoughts on the world's reaction to the situation in Gaza, a

CNN exclusive, next.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

SIDNER: It is 10:37 pm here in Jerusalem. The Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry now says more than 5,700 people have been killed in Gaza since the

war began. It says 704 were killed in just a 24 hour period, ending today.

The Israeli military said it struck more than 400 Hamas targets in Gaza in the past day. Neighboring Jordan is home to 40 percent of the total

registered Palestinian refugees in the Middle East. That is according to the U.N.

Jordan's Queen Rania is herself of Palestinian descent. Her name is Queen Rania -- excuse me. She spoke to Christiane Amanpour in a exclusive

interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL HOST: Can I ask you first, as an Arab, as a Palestinian, as a human being, a mother, how you are feeling

ever since October 7th?

RANIA AL ABDULLAH, QUEEN OF JORDAN: Well, Christiane, I cannot begin to describe to you the depth of the grief, the pain and the shock that we are

feeling here in Jordan. All of us are united in this grief, regardless of our origin.

We just cannot believe the images that we are seeing every single day coming out of Gaza (ph). We are going to bed seeing those images and waking

up to them.

You know, I don't know how to -- as a mom, we have seen Palestinian mothers, who have had to write the names of their children on their hands

because the chances of them being shot to death --

[15:40:00]

QUEEN RANIA: -- of their bodies turning into corpses are so high. I just want to remind the world that Palestinian mothers love their children just

as much as any other mother in the world. And for them to have to go through this is just unbelievable.

And equally I think that people all around the Middle East, including in Jordan, we are just shocked and disappointed by the world's reaction to

this catastrophe that is unfolding.

In the last couple of weeks we have seen a glaring double standard in the world.

When October 7th happened, the world immediately and unequivocally stood by Israel and tried to defend itself and condemned the attack that happened.

But what we're seeing the last couple of weeks, we're seeing silence in the world. Countries have stopped just expressing concern or acknowledging the

casualties but always with a preface of a declaration of support for Israel.

Are we being told that it is wrong to kill a family, an entire family at gunpoint, but it's OK to shell them to death?

I mean, there is a glaring double standard here. And it is just shocking to the Arab world. This is the first time in modern history that there is such

human suffering and the world is not even calling for a cease-fire. So the silence is deafening.

And to many in our region, it makes the Western world complicit through their support and through the cover that they give Israel, that it's just -

- it's right to defend itself. Many in the Arab world are looking at the Western world not just tolerating this but aiding and abetting it.

And this is just horrendous and deeply, deeply disappointing to all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: All right.

Violence has been escalating as well in the occupied West Bank since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7th. Dozens of Palestinians have been

killed and hundreds injured, according to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

I visited one of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, accused as they watch what's happening and are in fear themselves. But other settlers have

been accused of deadly violence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER (voice-over): Armed and on high alert, Yossi Dagan oversees 40 Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Since Hamas' terror attack on Israel,

he considers them Nazis

YOSSI DAGAN, GOVERNOR, SHOMRON REGION (through translator): We are standing against a Nazi enemy, as cruel as the cave men from 3,000 years ago who

carried a massacre on our brothers in the south.

SIDNER (voice-over): Jewish settler presence here has always been fraught, deemed illegal by international law. The events of October 7th have put

these settlements on a war footing.

CNN gained rare access to one of the hundreds of settlements dotted throughout the Palestinian Territories. Armed patrols are now everyday

occurrences in Kiryat Netafim.

Fortified perimeters segregate Jewish communities from Palestinian. Local husbands, fathers and some volunteers keep the unwanted out at all times.

Natan Douek has stopped going to work and called his local draft office in the days after the attack.

NATAN DOUEK, RESIDENT, KIRYAT NETAFIM: We need to protect ourselves because we are surrounded by people who don't necessarily like us. I didn't feel

like I have to go fight but definitely defend my home.

He has had enough.

SIDNER (voice-over): And the situation is no child's play, he says. Their world was turned upside down on October 7th.

DOUEK: That day, October the 7th, was Shabbat. At the end of Shabbat we say a prayer and-- sorry --

SIDNER: That's OK.

DOUEK: -- some of it is --

SIDNER: That's the prayer?

DOUEK: -- you know, asking God to help us and to keep our children safe and to keep our soldiers safe. And some of these words, I just couldn't say

them because, you know -- we weren't safe on October 7th.

SIDNER (voice-over): Palestinians say they weren't safe from some settlers long before October 7th and it has only gotten more violent since.

Hanan Ashrawi is a Palestinian activist and a former Palestinian Liberation Organization official in the West Bank.

HANAN ASHRAWI, PALESTINIAN ACTIVIST, FORMER PLO OFFICIAL: They tell you they're afraid.

Why are you committing a war crime?

What are you living on Palestinian land illegally?

Just because Israel tells you you can?

This is occupied territory.

SIDNER (voice-over): She says the Palestinian Territories are shrinking beyond recognition because of all of the illegal settlements. And then,

there is the growing settler Palestinian violence.

[15:45:00]

SIDNER (voice-over): Much of the violence has been caught on camera. Here, Jewish settlers throw rocks and fire guns at Palestinian homes. In another

incident after a confrontation, a Jewish settler shoots an apparently unarmed Palestinian in the stomach.

We asked Yossi Dagan about this incident.

SIDNER: How do you defend the Palestinians who have been killed by settlers?

DAGAN (through translator): Am I supposed to explain to CNN why terrorists that tried to kill civilians or soldiers who were shot by security forces,

the police or the army?

With all due respect, I don't really understand the question.

SIDNER (voice-over): But we clarified in English and Hebrew, showing him a video.

DAGAN (through translator): What you are showing me now is an edited tendentious video of attempted terrorists to hurt and kill Jews that are

protecting themselves. This happens a lot and, unfortunately, there aren't two equal sides.

SIDNER: The video that you are seeing is not edited but Palestinians agree with one thing he says, the sides are not equal. They are the overwhelming

victims in this, they say.

ASHRAWI: They are on a rampage. They gave them weapons and they encourage them and they gave them support and protection by the Israeli occupation

army.

SIDNER (voice-over): Ashrawi is referring to Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's hardline national security minister. Days after Hamas' attack, he announced

the purchase of 10,000 guns to arm civilian security teams. He himself began passing them out.

Gun ownership used to be heavily restricted in Israel. But those laws have changed and now settlers are getting a huge amount of weapons.

Back in settlement Kiryat Netafim, Liat Har-Tov takes us to the home where she raised her five children. She says here they have had a peaceful

coexistence with their Palestinian neighbors.

LIAT HAR-TOV, RESIDENT, KIRYAT NETAFIM: I lived here for 24 years. I never feared.

SIDNER: And now?

HAR-TOV: Something has quit (ph). I think every mother in Israel these days feels the same, that something is not the same anymore.

SIDNER (voice-over): Har-Tov says she moved here in part because land was cheap. But most settlers also come because of religious reasons.

Jews consider the settlement part of their Biblical homeland and refer to them by their Biblical names, Judea and Samaria. But international law says

that settlers are illegally occupying Palestinian land meant for a Palestinian state one day.

ASHRAWI: We say, we are the people of the land. We will stay here. We are the Indigenous people and we are going to stay here, no matter what Israel

tries to do.

SIDNER (voice-over): In this moment, in the decades-long conflict, no one here can see how anyone will be able to live in peace anytime soon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHATTERLEY: (INAUDIBLE) reporting there.

Coming up the, British government says some U.K. nationals are still missing after the attacks by Hamas in Israel. The U.K. deputy prime

minister discussed the negotiations and more with Richard Quest, who will join us from Riyadh, next.

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[15:50:43]

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CHATTERLEY: Welcome back.

The British government says five of its nationals are still missing after the Hamas attacks in Israel early this month. They couldn't specify how

many of them have been captured. The deputy prime minister told Richard Quest, it is a, quote, "very difficult situation." They spoke at the Future

Investment Initiative summit in Saudi Arabia.

That's exactly where we find Richard now.

Richard, welcome. What I loved about this interview, you were asking the ultimate and the impossible question.

How do you free hostages, protect innocents, wage a war on Hamas and, all at the same time, keep within the confines of international law?

It's an impossible ask.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: Because there is a rubric and a phrase that is now used by leaders. Israel has a right to defend itself it but it must do so

within international law. But nobody has quite understood or realized the difficulty of doing that in a place like Gaza.

Which begs the question, whether you have to widen the interpretation of what international law would allow. There's a question I asked Oliver

Dowden, the deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom.

How do you fight a war like that?

OLIVER DOWDEN, THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: We are continuing to work with the Israelis, the Americans and others sharing intelligence,

to understand the exact numbers, trying to establish locations and so on.

But this is a very, very difficult situation. Remember, these people have been taken into a highly dense urban area, where Hamas is actively trying

to conceal their weapons' fighting ability amongst the civilian population.

QUEST: As we head toward what will likely be the ground action by the Israelis, there is a rubric now from leaders-- the prime minister is one of

them.

We recognize Israel's right to defend itself and we remind Israel of its international obligations to conduct its activities in conjunction with

international law. But I put it to you as pretty much impossible to do that, bearing in mind the nature of Gaza and the battle that's ahead.

DOWDEN: What I would say to start with on, this is there is a fundamental difference between Hamas and Israel. You look at how Hamas conducted

themselves. They actively sought to murder men, women and children.

Israel is seeking, through warnings and so on, to minimize the impacts on civilians and to act within international law. But this is against an enemy

that is seeking to hide its capability amongst a civilian population.

So this is going to be a difficult conflict. What the prime minister said in his meeting with prime minister Netanyahu and, indeed, with the

president of Israel, is that Israel should seek to abide by international law.

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: Is that possible?

DOWDEN: We are confident that Israel will seek to do so against that very difficult backdrop. This is not an easy enemy to right, given the way in

which they've conducted themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: And that, of course, is the entire problem that is being faced. However, here in Saudi Arabia, there hasn't been much discussion at the

Future Investment Initiative, direct discussion about the effect of geopolitics, instability, war, if you will, in the Middle East.

However, today, it did come onto the agenda, at the changemakers' debate, when Larry Fink of BlackRock was quite clear about what he saw as the

economic risks, not just of the Middle East, of Ukraine, of the entire geopolitical crisis we're facing at the moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY FINK, CEO, BLACKROCK: If these things are not resolved, it probably means more global terrorism, which means more insecurity, which means more

society is going to be fearful, less hope. And when there's less hope, we see contractions in our economies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:55:00]

QUEST: And so Julia, I would say it's not quite the elephant in the living room here. Everybody is well aware of the awfulness of humanity that's

going on at the moment. And they're also very aware of the delicate economic situation and the risks that now everybody is facing.

The problem, of course, is how you translate that further.

So whilst nobody here is going around about how much money can you make here, what will they do for the market there, there is deep concern that

already long-standing economic issues, problems, crises will get worse.

CHATTERLEY: Yes, it doesn't even need to be a lack of hope, just the sheer uncertainty, Richard, as we well know, plays into it. Great job on that.

Sir, thank you, great to have you with us.

Richard Quest there. We'll be back after this.

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CHATTERLEY: Welcome back.

Israel's foreign minister now says the country's one mission is to bring hostages home. Perhaps an interesting calibration to watch.

This, of course, just as one of the Hamas captives released Monday's is publicly recounting her experiences; 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz,

pictured on the, left was freed along with her neighbor, Nurit Cooper. Lifshitz described her brutal capture to reporters in Tel Aviv.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOCHEVED LIFSHITZ, LIBERATED HAMAS HOSTAGE (through translator): It was a painful act. They brought us into a hatsheba (ph) tunnel. On the way, I was

lying on the side on a motorbike, legs to one side, body to the other. The Shabaab were hitting me, so they didn't break my ribs.

But it was very painful and made it difficult for me to breathe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHATTERLEY: Meanwhile, conditions for civilians inside Gaza appear increasingly dire, too. UNRWA is the agency in charge of providing aid to

Palestinian refugees. It says it will have to halt operations in Gaza if fuel is not delivered by Wednesday night.

The Palestinian health minister in the West Bank says the fuel shortage has forced three hospitals in Gaza to close.

That's it for this hour. I'm Julia Chatterley in New York. Our coverage of Israel's war on Hamas continues. "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts now.

END