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Worst Fighting in Years Edges Toward All-Out War between Israel and Palestinians; U.S., European Allies Stage War Games amid Russia Tensions; Trump Critic Liz Cheney Loses Republican Party Position. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired May 12, 2021 - 10:00   ET

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


[10:00:00]

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BECKY ANDERSON, CNNI HOST (voice-over): Hello. I am Becky Anderson and this is CONNECT THE WORLD.

Something is broken. This hour, the hostilities, the violence and unrest, the worst seen in Israel and the Palestinian Territories in years. We'll

get you up to speed on what is going on on the ground in a moment.

But what is important to note here is the following: the old approaches to resolving the situation, whether through war or negotiations, have failed,

taking us nowhere and to nothing but violence. Something is broken.

We want you to get a look at this view from Tel Aviv overnight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON (voice-over): You are looking at just some of the 130 rockets or more fired from Gaza, directly aimed at Tel Aviv and seeing Israel's

hyperadvanced Iron Dome system taking many of them out. Without that system, the damage would be likely far more catastrophic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Take a listen to how the militant group Hamas speaks about such action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISMAIL HANIYEH, SENIOR HAMAS POLITICAL LEADER (through translator): If Israel wants to escalate, we are ready for it. And if it wants to stop,

we're also ready. If they want to remove their hand over Jerusalem, we are ready.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Israel, of course, responds in turn. Take a listen to the prime minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): Hamas and the Islamic Jihad will pay for this and they will pay a heavy price.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Israel taking out this 13-story building in Gaza, using airstrikes before the rockets were fired on Tel Aviv. The IDF claim it was

used by Hamas.

And then this footage showing what Israel shows a first of its kind operation to kill several commandos in the organization at once. Ben

Wedeman has reported from this region for decades and will help us make sense of exactly what is going on.

Hadas Gold just returned from the Israeli-Gaza border. Both are in Jerusalem for you this how.

Hadas, this is a fast moving story. Let's just step back and describe if you will what has happened over the past 24 hours.

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Becky, the sirens have continued to go off across southern Israel, especially right around the Gaza Strip. And also we

have seen alarms going off in Be'er Sheva and Ashdod, north of where we were yesterday.

And so far the military says 1,000 rockets have been fired into Israel and they are continuing to respond with strikes in Gaza, saying they're

targeting drone launchers, antitank missile squads.

They also announced they killed a number of senior Hamas commanders. Right now, the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza says 53 people, including 13

children, have been killed in Gaza. Israel says they killed at least 20 militants and are investigating civilian casualties.

In Israel, five people have died as a result of rockets. Earlier, there was an anti-tank missile launched from Gaza into Israel. But this situation

continues to escalate. Today has seemed somewhat calmer, just a little bit than yesterday, but we still hear the air raid sirens and still seeing

Israel respond with airstrikes in Gaza.

ANDERSON: Ben, let's zone in on that damage in Gaza.

What do we know about this point?

[10:05:00]

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What we know is that the escalation continues. We received statements from the military wing of

Hamas, that, this afternoon, they launched this series of other rocket barrages as well.

And there doesn't seem to be any indication at this point that the wheels of diplomacy are spinning or getting any traction toward resolving this

problem. If anything, it appears that we are heading, as the U.N. official said, toward full-scale war.

Of course, when war happens, it's not so much the military or the militants who suffer; it is the civilians.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Once more, hell is unleashed in a small, crowded place. As Israel's fire and brimstone rained down on Gaza and Hamas and

Islamic Jihad rockets roar out of Gaza into Israel, a conflict left to fester again has burst into flames.

"We heard an explosion, two rockets, one after another," says this Gaza resident. "I found my 18-year-old granddaughter dead. My son was injured in

the head and his other daughter had a broken leg."

By Wednesday midday, more than 50 people had been killed in Gaza; among them, at least 14 children. Hundreds have been wounded. In Gaza where 80

percent of the population are refugees or descendants, once more, they're made homeless.

"At 6:00 in the morning we were told to leave because they were going to bring down the building in front of us," says this man. "We ran out and

waited in the street for four hours and, in the evening, went back and found everything destroyed. There's nothing left."

Neither the militant factions nor Israel show any signs of backing down. Israel is moving tanks toward Gaza and Hamas put out videos of its rocket

teams, the message clear. Escalation appears inevitable and all the death and suffering that go with it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN: And, Becky, it is sort of hard. You have to think about the history of Gaza to realize how much death and suffering there's been there,

the First and Second Intifada; the wars of 2008, 2012, 2014. And now this.

And they say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Basically, what when you

look at Gaza and West Bank and East Jerusalem, it becomes increasingly clear that the violence, the death, the suffering, the war is a symptom of

a disease.

And for many Palestinians, that disease is the occupation -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Ben, watching that report, it feels like it echoed very sadly what we have seen time and time again. And you rightly point that out. I

want to play a clip of your reporting from 2014 and the Gaza war. I want our viewers just to have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): "There's no escape," he says. "God has sealed our fate. Whether we stay here or leave, there's nowhere safe in Gaza."

A warning call came before this house was obliterated in an Israeli airstrike Friday afternoon. This man had the misfortune of living next

door. Half his house was destroyed.

"When I heard there was a danger, we ran away. We have no bomb shelters. We have nothing. All we can do is escape."

But this is Gaza. And there is no escape.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: That was 2014; just to reinforce your earlier point, seven years on. And we hear almost exactly the same thing being said. In a CNN analysis

piece today, which is a terrific piece, you wrote, and I quote, "This conflict reached a dead end.

[10:10:00]

ANDERSON: "The old approach is to resolving it, whether through war or negotiations have failed. You say neither side can win but all can lose.

Expand if you will.

WEDEMAN: They're losing. What we have seen in the last few days is the ability of both sides to inflict incredible pain on the other without any

sort of opening, without any sort of momentum to resolve the fundamental causes of the violence, of the anger, of the hatred, of the resentment.

And this has gone on for decades. The United States on the one hand tries to be the honest broker; it tries to cajole everyone involved, even though

it doesn't speak to Hamas, to some sort of solution to the problem. But at the same time it provides one of the parties to the conflict Israel more

than $3 billion a year.

And therefore, the messages are mixed, they're confused. The American diplomacy here is all wound up in domestic politics in the United States.

And in a sense -- I can't tell you how many attempts at reviving the peace process I've covered here. And all of them end in the same result, failure

and, oftentimes, war.

And, therefore, one cannot help but reach the conclusion that something is not working here and there needs to be a fundamental reset. Unfortunately,

it's hard to find in the diplomatic landscape any indication that such a reset is in the wings. Becky?

ANDERSON: Well, let's see. Ben, thank you.

Let me get back to Hadas, who has been on the ground, of course.

Israel declaring a state of emergency in Lod as unrest spreads there.

What do we know at this point?

GOLD: Just goes to show you how the tensions have been spreading not only from East Jerusalem and then down, of course, to Gaza, seeing the heaviest

fighting, but also clashes in some of these mixed cities in Israel; for example, in Lod, where Arabs and Jews live in the same areas.

And Lod is ripped apart by violence in recent days. An Arab Israeli man was shot dead by a Jewish man, apparently an incident around that. Two

synagogues burned there and the government declared a state of emergency in Lod related to these clashes that we have been seeing between the residents

there.

We had a CNN crew there earlier, saying, in some areas, it looked like war because there were rocks strewn about, cars burned out. And just goes to

show you how tense the situation is, not only for the communities along the Gaza border but for the communities in Israel and the Palestinian

Territories.

ANDERSON: Hadas Gold, Ben Wedeman, to both of you, thank you.

My next guest is making an urgent plea to both sides: stop the violence. Matthias Schmale is the Gaza director for the United Nations' Relief and

Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees and he is now in Gaza.

He says the people are terrified. He is imploring Israel and Hamas to stop firing at each other, saying it is the civilians who are paying the price.

Matthias joins me now via Skype.

After what was an intense night of military confrontation, as you described, you say people in Gaza are terrified. Describe what it is like

on the ground there.

MATTHIAS SCHMALE, UNITED NATIONS' RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINIAN REFUGEES: Good afternoon from Gaza, Becky. Thank you for reaching out. The

military conflict has continued through the day. You know?

It really feels at times like this place is being pounded to the ground. I saw myself a building being hit yesterday and evaporating basically. But of

course, this is not about building but people.

I just heard this afternoon that the sister of my communications officer was killed in an airstrike. So this hits home closely. I was informed this

morning by an area staff that a young girl going to school was hit by shrapnel and it is stuck in her chest.

[10:15:00]

SCHMALE: And then yesterday or the day before four children were killed as a result of this violence. So it is terrifying. It truly is terrifying.

Through the day, we may hear it. There's been the noise, the ugly sound of war. Rockets from here and then very severe retaliatory strikes from the

Israeli side.

It is a day before the end of Ramadan. The Eid festivals start tomorrow. And I sense, among my Palestinian colleagues, terror and desperation.

Supposedly they have to get ready for one of the most important festivities in their religious calendar. And we worry, when will this end?

ANDERSON: Yes, 54 Palestinians dead, including 14 children. And as you describe, hundreds of civilians wounded. It is an area about twice the size

of Washington, D.C., tiny, packed with 2 million people.

The U.N. called on Israel to respect international humanitarian law, which stipulates airstrikes should only be directed at military objectives.

Is Israel respecting international law or have these airstrikes been indiscriminate, sir?

SCHMALE: Well, my honest view is it's a mixed picture. So I am aware of buildings that have been leveled to the ground, where the Israelis did in

advance notify the residents of the respective building to get out.

So there's clear evidence that they're trying to minimize civilian casualties. But then you have opposite stories. I mentioned the sister of

my colleague killed and the young child that went to a school.

Now these are -- there's just too many people being affected, either through injuries or being killed, to say this is just targeted military

precision. You cannot, in a built-up area, where people are so densely populated, do a military campaign, where you only hit military targets or

operatives.

ANDERSON: Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled he wants to expand Israel's offensive against Hamas. The organization threatened to turn the

Israeli city of Ashkelon into hell. The U.N., the organization you work for, is voicing fears of a full-scale war.

Is that what this feels like?

What are your biggest fears for civilians trapped in Gaza if this conflict continues and escalates?

SCHMALE: There's a couple of worries. I must say I have started saying, today, this feels like war. You know?

There is a heaviness of rockets back and forth, hundreds of rockets fired from here and, really, hundreds of retaliatory strikes. So this is the

beginning of a war. And we can only hope that they will pull back from the brink and hope it's not too late.

Worries on my side include, this morning, 100 people come to the compound next door, of our vocational training center we run because their building

opposite the compound was targeted, two apartments were hit and the people just ran out and ran straight into our compound.

In 2014 we had thousands of people housed in our schools, internally displaced people. So one worry is we will see a repeat of that. We should

not forget that the COVID nightmare is not over so I worry we will have the people crammed into tiny spaces to seek protection and they will be exposed

to something else.

There's also rumors that the airstrikes will, at some point, be followed by on the ground incursion. And that will for sure lead to people moving.

Another thing, if I may, is that the borders are closed so, for the moment, we're not getting supplies in. Fuel will run out on Saturday.

That means that the fuel station, the central power plant here, will not be able to operate and then we don't have electricity, enough. That will have

a knock-on effect on the already stretched hospitals, relying on generators and not being able to deal with the COVID crisis or the casualties that are

coming in now as a result of this war activity.

[10:20:00]

ANDERSON: Sir, the U.N. Security Council will hold its second closed emergency meeting today on the escalating violence. Both sides' actions

being -- at least being accused by their critics as being opportunistic.

What role could -- or perhaps I should say should -- the international community play now to help to de-escalate this conflict?

SCHMALE: I think it's very clear that both sides need to be called to practice the utmost restraint. So that's the first step, that both sides,

Hamas here and the Israeli government, urged to stop violence.

Violence is not a solution. That will not be enough. I think I heard you talk to Ben and others, this seems a never ending crisis. A worry is, I

have heard younger people, moderate people, starting to say, when will we see action?

At least I've heard a colleague saying, I hate the rulers here. I don't at all condone violence but at least they're doing something. Time for talking

is over. So that's a worry.

We need to find a way, as an international community, to, especially, give young children, young people, not just children, young people a

perspective. We should also remember we have just had the elections canceled.

There was here in Gaza until recently a positive momentum. We had over 90 percent registration of voters, many first time voters. And while skeptical

about the outcome, just the practice of democracy, been able to cast a vote was important.

So it's not enough to just end the conflict. The younger people, all generations, in fact, must be given a perspective for a more dignified and

just life and that requires political processes.

ANDERSON: Well, there has been international reaction and I'm going to get to that next, sir. For the time being, thank you very much for your

perspective.

That reaction and we have been bringing to you over the past, what, 24 hours. Let's sort of round up what we have got. This is the very latest.

Let's reset.

Here in the Gulf, for example, let's take a look at what we have got very much focused on, the actions of the Al-Aqsa mosque that sparked the

violence. The UAE saying it condemns the Israeli authorities' storming of the mosque.

A similar condemnation from Kuwait, Qatar calling it a severe violation of human rights, Bahrain asking Israel to stop, quote, "rejected provocations"

of the people of Jerusalem. Saudi Arabia condemning what it calls "blatant attacks" by Israel against the sanctity of the al Aqsa mosque.

Protests around the world. Here are some from Istanbul, London, Washington and New York. Protesters waving Palestinian flags and chanting, "Free

Palestine." Similar demonstrations throughout the Middle East.

Of course CONNECT THE WORLD will have more live coverage and am analysis of this fast-moving story.

Next hour, I'll talk to a physician, president of the Palestinian National Initiative political party. And you'll hear my live interview with the

former defense minister, Naftali Bennett. And I'll be connecting to Washington and the U.S. response with CNN's John Harwood.

Those global protests spread to the world of sport. This Egyptian football player calling on world leaders and he is singling out in particular what

he wants, which is an end to the violence.

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): CNN got rare access to some of the most elite U.S. troops in the world

taking part in a unique training called Trojan Footprint.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Inside the latest war games, sending a signal to the Kremlin. That is all ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[10:25:00]

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ANDERSON: Sending a strong signal and hoping Russian president Vladimir Putin gets the message. NATO's annual war games with the U.S. and its

European allies always had an eye on the Kremlin but this is different.

Moscow is making aggressive moves on land and sea near the Ukraine. And don't forget those suspected cyber attacks. CNN's Alex Marquardt is given

rare access to those troops taking part in the drills.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT (voice-over): At the same time that Russia is ratcheting up tension with Ukraine, the U.S. and its NATO allies have launched large-

scale military exercises all across Europe.

These exercises have been planned for a while now. But this timing is not lost on anyone. Over the past few days, we've covered a number of these

exercises at sea, on land and in the air and got exclusive access to some of the most elite U.S. forces.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): A team of U.S. Navy SEALs, rifles drawn, move quickly through the pitch black of a warehouse on the Black Sea. Laser

sights, invisible to the naked eye, finding and taking out enemy fighters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, two down, two down. All right, let's go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Break up. Break up. Break up.

MARQUARDT: Tonight, the dead wounded and bullets are not real.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hurry up. Hurry up.

MARQUARDT: But part of an elaborate series of NATO military exercises involving almost 30,000 soldiers from 26 countries. MAJOR GENERAL JOE

JARRARD, DEPUTY COMMANDER OF THE U.S. ARMY IN EUROPE AND AFRICA: It's just showing everybody that we have a capability and we can use it when

necessary.

MARQUARDT: CNN got rare access to some of the most elite U.S. troops in the world. Taking part in a unique training called Trojan Footprint that is

across Eastern Europe, working the forces from Spain, Georgia, Romania, Ukraine and more.

It could not come at a more tense time for this region with Russia recently ratcheting up its aggression, sending tens of thousands of troops and a

massive deployment of equipment to the border with Ukraine, prompting fears of an invasion and harsh condemnation from Europe and Washington.

Back in Romania, this display of strength and cooperation clearly hoping to send a powerful message.

DAVID MUNIZ, U.S. EMBASSY IN ROMANIA CHARGE OF AFFAIRES: When we are strong, when we are united, it has a real chilling effect on shall we say

the kinds of things that could happen. And so, in this way, you cut down on the chance for mystery.

MARQUARDT (on-camera): Even as Russia pulls back some of its troops from the land border with Ukraine, they've been stepping up their activities out

here in the Black Sea. Their warships have been carrying out exercises, they've been harassing Ukrainian vessels and closing down parts of the

Black Sea to other foreign ships as well.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): The Navy SEALs lead the training in those waters. While Ukrainian soldiers practice alongside these American Green Berets and

faces we aren't allowed to show.

MARQUARDT (on-camera): When you talk to troops from other countries like the Ukrainians, like the Romanians, how important do you think it is for

them to feel that American support?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's pretty significant. It shows that we're serious working in exercise like carbon footprint. It is important whether

whatever is going on around the world.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): Which is why these massive exercises take place at sea, in the air and on land.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) 05 correction, 50 meters north, over.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): A dynamic display of partnership and firepower.

[10:30:00]

MARQUARDT (voice-over): Punctuating the loud message of a united front in troubling times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 34-1, good hits, target destroyed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: CNN's Alex Marquardt reporting.

Donald Trump was a polarizing figure when he was president. And now that's cost a member of his own party her leadership position. That news is just

ahead.

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ANDERSON: We are tracking developments in Washington where the Republican Party's just voted to remove congresswoman Liz Cheney from her leadership

position in the House.

Cheney had clashed with some of her party over her criticism of former president Donald Trump. She publicly rejected the false claim that the 2020

election was stolen from him. After the vote, she told reporters she will continue to fight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): It is an indication of where the Republican Party is and I think that the party is in a place to bring it back from and we

have to get back to a position where we are a party that can fight for conservative, to fight for substance. We cannot be dragged backward with

the very dangerous lies of a former president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Cheney held the party's third highest ranking post and she will likely be replaced by Elise Stefanik, an outspoken defender of Donald

Trump.

David Gergen has seen this type of infighting in the many years, advising four U.S. presidents.

I say you have seen this infighting. Things were quite unique in the Trump administration but you get my point. Congresswoman Cheney belonged to a

small group of Republicans who had spoken out against Donald Trump for inciting violence at the Capitol on January 6th.

She was, as I said, the most senior Republican to do so and continues to criticize him for propagating the false claims about election fraud.

What does what is happening to her now tell us about the state of Republican Party politics, David?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: I think in the long term, I think history will look kindly on Liz Cheney. She will be a profile in courage,

if you will, drawing from the John Kennedy book, of the many people of courage who served in the House and the Senate.

I think her compatriots have -- they have acted irrationally in the moment by attaching to Donald Trump and the firm grip of Donald Trump. This is an

unsustainable position for Republicans. They'll win this fight but they're going to lose the war.

[10:35:00]

GERGEN: And I think what you will see in the future the base will continue to consolidate. But there are an awful lot of Republicans, moderates,

independents and working class Democrats, who are going to be appalled by what they're watching, to see a party, a major American party, bet its

future on is a lie.

This is a perilous position to be in. And I think it is really going to do long-term damage to the Republican Party. We may get -- I never thought I'd

say this -- but we may get a new Republican Party before this is done in. Parties have come and gone. We had the Whig Party that nobody remembers

now.

The Republican Party --

(CROSSTALK)

GERGEN: -- for a long time but now it is just down in the muck and that is very damaging to the party and I think to the country.

ANDERSON: David, this battle to unseat her is seen as a litmus test for the party's future political direction. You say you're not even sure it

will continue to exist.

But is this concrete evidence that Donald Trump's grip over Republicans and the party's political base is just as tight now as it was when he was

president?

GERGEN: I think it's -- yes. I do think it's just as high, Becky. If anything, it may be higher. This is the only platform on which Republicans

are now running. They're not pushing the traditional agenda of low taxes, of low government spending, non-interference, pro-capitalism. They're

spending all their time wrapping themselves around the ring of Donald Trump.

And that is not only unbecoming, it is, I think, fatal in the end unless they can break out of this. It may take, as a realistic matter parties

change when they lose elections. If they lose a series of elections over time, then they decide they have to change positions and it allows the

other half of the party will exercise more dominance.

I think Republicans are likely to lose a couple more elections and then try to move back to the center but by then may be so tainted it may be

impossible to resurrect this Republican Party. It may be that you will see the beginnings of a new party. Already there's dozens of prominent

Republicans that have signed onto an effort to change the party back to what it was.

ANDERSON: When we talked about the demise of the Republican Party as we knew it and in the run-up to the 2016 election, of course and the rest is

history and Donald Trump spent four years as the party's leader and president of the United States.

So it's not a new story that the Republican Party is fractured by any stretch of the imagination. Cheney has said that she would not sit quietly

while Republicans abandoned the rule of law. She said that in her speech.

GERGEN: Yes.

ANDERSON: There is still a small collection of old guard moderates that continue to speak out. I do wonder what you think will happen to that

movement now that Cheney is out.

GERGEN: I think she'll probably become a part of that movement. They'll -- that movement so far has been led by moderates like a Mitt Romney. But Liz

Cheney is actually a very strong conservative. She is stronger than her successor is likely to be and she's principled.

I worked with her dad and she reminds me of him. This is the Cheney family to a person, believing in principles, the importance of values and

upholding the values and principles. And what they see is a Republican Party that's fleeing from the values and principles that characterize it

back to the days of Lincoln.

ANDERSON: It is always a pleasure to have you on the show. Come back, please.

GERGEN: Any time.

ANDERSON: Thank you.

As violence unfortunately escalates in the Middle East, a plea for peace from the footballer Mo Salah, calling out to one leader in particular.

We'll explain after the break.

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[10:40:00]

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON (voice-over): You are looking at Israel's Iron Dome defense intercepting missiles over Tel Aviv last night. Not talking about a few

rockets here and there. This is an all-out barrage. That was last night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Now the day winding down in Gaza. But the violence there is not.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON (voice-over): Black smoke fills the sky from hundreds of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza as Palestinian militants send rockets to Tel Aviv in

Be'er Sheva. At last check 56 people have been killed in Gaza and six in Israel. It is the heaviest fighting that the region has seen since 2014.

The fear now is that this could escalate into a full-scale war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: A plea for peace coming from the world of sport. Liverpool forward Mo Salah tweeting a plea for world leaders, including prime

minister Boris Johnson, to, in his words, "do everything in their power to make sure the violence and killing of innocent people stops immediately."

The Egyptian footballer adds, "Enough is enough."

Don Riddell joining us now.

I understand that the tweet was prompted by the images of the rockets on both sides. Frankly, no one with an ounce of humanity could condone (sic)

his tweet, specifically at Boris Johnson, who is the prime minister of Britain, a place where Mo has called home for four years and, indeed,

perhaps coincidentally, Johnson has today called for calm.

DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A very interesting tweet. We are seeing the lanes of sport and politics merge so much over the last few years, I

think it's impossible to separate them.

Really interesting, if you look at the text of the tweet, he doesn't mention Palestine. He refers to the killing of innocent people. I think

that speaks to the intense sensitivities around this situation in world affairs.

ANDERSON: It also speaks to the fact that, you know, most of us, including Mo, will have a soft spot for human suffering, Don. More, I know, coming up

in "WORLD SPORT" on the other side of this break.

I'll be back after that.

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