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Israel Strikes Leave Dozens Dead In Gaza; Hezbollah Drone Strike Bypasses Critical Alarms; U.S. To Send THAAD Anti-Missile System To Israel. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired October 14, 2024 - 10:00:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:01:46]

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dahbi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to our second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi. Now a deadly few days in Gaza,

Israeli air strikes hitting Al-Mufti school and the courtyard of Al Aqsa hospital, killing dozens, including 13 children.

And in Israel, the Minister of Defense visiting a military base where four soldiers were killed after Hezbollah drone attack that happened without

setting off alarms.

Meanwhile, polls tightening between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris just three weeks from the U.S. election.

The war between Israel and Hezbollah is taking a new turn as a mostly Christian village north of Beirut was hit by an Israeli strike just a short

time ago. The Lebanese health ministry says nine people were killed. This as a Hezbollah drone strike killed four IDF soldiers deep inside Israel and

after a new incident Sunday, the United Nations warns Israeli attacks on its peacekeepers in Lebanon could amount to war crimes.

We are live on both sides of the border. We've got CNN's Jeremy Diamond with us from Jerusalem. And we've also got Ben Wedeman standing by in

Beirut. Ben, I want to start off with you and this attack on a village about 100 kilometers north of Beirut. Can you give us some perspective on

the village and why the strike is so significant?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTENATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the village of aitou which is in this area of northern Lebanon, an area with majority

Christian population where according to the Ministry of Health, the preliminary death toll in this Israeli air strike is nine. Apparently, many

of the hospital -- the ambulances from the city of Tripoli, which is just north of there, headed to that area.

And there's still rescue efforts ongoing. It's significant because even though there have been airstrikes further north, this is an area really

considered the Christian heartland of Lebanon. We now -- it's important to add, however, that with more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon displaced

from the south of Lebanon, Southern Beirut, the area behind me, as well as the Beqaa Valley many people are looking for safe haven elsewhere in the

country.

So, we don't know at this point who might have been the potential target for this Israeli air strike, but what we're seeing is that in the south,

the Israelis have yet again, issued a number another list of villages for people to evacuate from. More than 20 villages in this particular warning

actually including a city, the city of Nabatieh which normally under normal circumstances. Has a population of well over 100,000.

[10:05:03]

And although the Israelis say they are conducting limited localized targeted raids in the south of the country we are seeing pictures on social

media of Israeli troops raising an Israeli flag at a Lebanese army position. So, it does appear that when you take into account these massive

number of evacuation orders that have been issued which really cover a huge about a quarter of the country, in addition to what we're seeing going on

the -- on the border area.

It certainly does start to suggest that with the massive displacement of people from the South, continuing military operations, air strikes, that we

could be seeing the beginning of the gasification of South Lebanon. Depopulation destruction and continued Israeli moves inside Lebanon. Eleni?

GIOKOS: Very concerning prospect there, Ben. Jeremy, I want to talk about this drone strike in to Israeli territory that was able to evade air

defenses, not setting off an alarm. I want you to give me a sense of how significant this is right now, and whether it's showing potential

vulnerabilities on the Israeli side.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it really is quite significant for a few reasons. I mean, the first of which is that this is

one of the highest casualty attacks inside of Israel since October 7th of last year with four Israeli soldiers confirmed killed, at least 61 others

injured, eight of whom are in serious condition. But beyond the casualties, of course, it also comes at a time where Israel has felt on the front foot

in its offensive against Hezbollah, where it feels like Hezbollah is in disarray.

Most of its senior leaders have been killed in airstrikes over the course of the last couple of months. And in addition to that, Israel also feels

like it has destroyed a significant share of Hezbollah's operational capabilities. And yet, we see with this attack, a coordinated attack of

rockets and drones fired at the same time, according to Hezbollah, that Hezbollah has actually been able to pull something off quite significant

here.

Hitting an Israeli base some 40 miles or about 60 kilometers south of the Lebanese border, striking this Israeli base at dinner time, resulting in

high casualties, and in particular, being able to fire this drone and not have it trigger any alarms in Israel. Indeed, this drone not only was it

not intercepted before hitting its target, but it also didn't set off any of those air raid sirens that Israelis have grown so used to over the

course of the last year.

The Israeli military says that it is going to investigate why this drone was not detected, nor was it intercepted, and that they're going to carry

those lessons forward. But make no mistake, a very significant event, one for which we expect the Israeli military will deal some kind of a

significant retaliatory strike against Hezbollah. Eleni?

GIOKOS: Jeremy Diamond for us and Ben Wedeman, thank you so much. Meantime, in Gaza, an Israeli airstrike hits the courtyard of Al Aqsa hospital,

killing four people and wounding dozens more. CNN's Nada Bashir has a story for us but we must warn you, her report contains graphic and disturbing

images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL REPORTER (voice-over): What once was a shelter for the displaced now ablaze after a deadly airstrike by the

Israeli military targeting a hospital complex in central Gaza. Desperate attempts to quell the fire seemingly hopeless. Some of the footage from

this devastating night is simply too harrowing to show. Displaced civilians still alive, engulfed in flames.

These smoldering structures are all that remain of the tents which have occupied the grounds of the Al Aqsa martyrs hospital throughout this past

year of relentless war. Several people were killed and dozens more badly injured. As dawn breaks, the severity of this latest nightmare becomes

clear. Little has been left untouched by the blaze. Many of those who survived the night were spared only by a matter of meters.

It was extremely difficult. The fire consumed people before it consumed anything else, Abu Yusuf (ph) says. There were people in the midst of the

fire that we couldn't pull out. Nearby, Muhammad gathers whatever belongings were not destroyed in the fire.

The shoes of her daughter and granddaughter both injured overnight, she says.

I quickly woke my daughters up. I kept chatting, wake up. Wake up. The fire is above us, she says. We ran to the hospital. I saw people injured with

shrapnel wounds, people who were completely burnt. My neighbors were killed, all burnt alive while they were sleeping.

[10:10:08]

The Israeli military has acknowledged responsibility for the strike, saying its forces were targeting a Hamas command and control center they say was

embedded within the hospital complex, adding that steps were taken to limit civilian harm. But no evidence has been provided by the Israeli military to

support these claims. It was, however, known to the military that civilians had been sheltering on the grounds of the hospital complex for months. At

least 5000 people, according to hospital officials.

Inside the hospital another gut-wrenching scene. These are the victims of a different strike which targeted the Al Mufti school in Nuseirat on Sunday.

Among the bodies little Yaman (ph), his grandmother overcome with grief as she cradles her grandchild.

Yaman is one of at least 22 people who were killed after Israeli forces struck the U.N.-run school, which had become a shelter for many. Another,

sanctuary targeted in a war which has shown no mercy for so called safe zones. Another name added to the growing list of more than 42,000 killed in

just over a year. Another reminder that it is civilians who continue to pay the highest price in Gaza.

Nada, Bashir, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Meantime, a source tells CNN that Israeli strikes on Beirut have paused in recent days. Thanks to understandings that have been reached

between U.S. and Israeli officials. We are told these understandings include the U.S. deploying one of its most powerful anti-missile defense

systems to Israel. According to the Pentagon, the U.S. will also send about 100 of its own troops to Israel to operate it.

CNN's Oren Liebermann is at the Pentagon for us to give us an update on the THAAD system, pretty powerful. It's the most powerful the U.S. has in terms

of anti-missile systems. Give us a sense of how this is going to help bolster Israeli defenses.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Israel already has a very capable anti-missile defense system. Short range, it has the Iron Dome.

Medium Range, has David's Sling, and then we've seen its long-range interceptors, the arrow, three missiles operate against the October 1st

barrage from Iran. But it's not just a question of quality. It is also a question of quantity. And we saw Iran launch 180-plus ballistic missiles on

October 1st.

So, the THAAD system, which stands for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense will add to that layered defense. In addition, THAAD can communicate with

the Navy destroyers and ships that are right off the coast of Israel or somewhat off the coast of Israel, to bolster defense from that perspective

as well. So, it's an incredibly capable system that adds to Israel's already capable systems and that's why it's important here.

Israel, from the prime minister to the defense minister and more, have vowed to retaliate for the October 1st barrage. And Iran has said it would

respond to any further attack on its own country. So, the U.S. is preparing for that possibility of an incoming attack, and this will add to that,

simply because of the quantity of missiles Iran has at its disposal to fire. And that's why this THAAD deployment is so significant.

The U.S. doesn't have many of these batteries. So it's not very easy to move them around. And it's essentially a bit of a cost benefit analysis on

the military's part, likely on the defense secretary's part on whether it's more needed in one spot or another. Clearly, the perspective from the

Pentagon is that it's needed in Israel as the U.S. watches the rhetoric and the threats going back and forth between Israel and Iran.

THAAD has been in Israel before. It was there in 2019 for an exercise with the Israelis, and it was also used for the first time operationally in the

Middle East. In January 2022, a THAAD battery in the UAE intercepted two Houthi ballistic missiles and it may very well be called on again in the

mid -- in the Middle East intercept ballistic missiles one more time. Eleni?

GIOKOS: Yes. Oren Liebermann for us. Thank you. Well, Iran and the world are waiting to see how Israel will respond to Iran's missile attack earlier

this month. Tehran has warned the U.S. and countries in the Middle East that it will retaliate against any new Israeli attack. The source has told

CNN those warnings come amid a diplomatic push by Iran to try and limit the severity of Israel's response.

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is in Tehran for us. Look, Fred, we know that Iran's foreign minister has been traveling around the region. Could you

give us a sense of whether we know that this could be, perhaps solved diplomatically, what the outcomes could potentially be?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think right now, Eleni, for the Iranians, deterrence and diplomacy are both the

name of the game. In fact, that foreign minister right now is actually in Muscat Oman or at least he was today.

[10:15:07]

And there Abbas Araghchi said that right now mediated talks, indirect talks, between the United States and Iran are completely on hold. There's

no communication that's going on that track at the moment, and the Iranians are saying that will continue as long as this crisis continues as well,

over the Iranians certainly have made clear that any sort of attack launched by the Israelis will be met by retaliation coming from Iran.

And the other big message that the Iranians are also trying to send as well is that they are going to continue to stand by Lebanon and also their ally,

Hezbollah. And we're seeing that on the ground here with some charities also trying to give support to the Hezbollah organization. Here's what we

saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN (voiceover): He will rise up like a storm. The children's choir sings at a Tehran donation drive for Lebanon and for Iran's ally,

Hezbollah. Nargis Tekye (ph) gave several pieces of jewelry to support what she calls an existential battle.

This is the duty of a human being in this critical situation, she says, in the fight of truth versus falsehood. And this is the command of my supreme

leader.

Death to Israel chants, transcending the event named Golden Empathy, aimed at raising funds to help civilians in Lebanon. But also, the organizer

says, to beat Israel.

Women love their gold jewelry, he says, but they are here to donate their necklaces to break the neck of the enemy.

As Israel continues to pound Lebanon with missile strikes, going after Hezbollah fighters and leaders, Iran is vowing not to back down.

The speaker of Iran's parliament, even piloting an Iranian government jet into Beirut before touring areas heavily damaged by Israeli strikes.

I'm hearing a message from the supreme leader to the Lebanese people, he said. With assurances that in these difficult conditions, the Islamic

Republic of Iran shall stand with Lebanon's nation and the resistance in all areas.

This as Iran braces for Israel's possible retaliation for Tehran's massive ballistic missile attack on October 1st. Iran's foreign minister warning

the U.S. against deploying missile interceptor systems to Israel and the threat of a major regional war.

We're prepared for any kind of circumstances, he said. We're ready for war, but we're also ready for peace. This is the definitive stance of the

Islamic Republic.

A stance they want to show that also involves mobilizing resources from Iran's population.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: So, as you can see there, Eleni, there's quite a lot going on here on the ground in Iran, but also with that diplomacy going on in the

greater Middle Eastern region, of course, not just by the Iranian side, but by other countries as well.

At the same time, the head of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Forces says that Iran is ready, as he puts it, for any mishap, as

he also stated that Israel might commit, obviously meaning that possible strike by the Israelis, which the Iranians said, will be met by

retaliation, Eleni.

GIOKOS: All right. Frederik Pleitgen for us in Tehran. Thank you so much. Good to see you.

Still to come on CNN, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are locked in a dead

heat with 22 days to go until the election according to new polling. We'll take a close look at how both campaigns are responding and why, most

economists say Americans could pay a higher price if they hand Donald Trump the keys to the White House.

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[10:20:57]

GIOKOS: With just 22 days to go until the U.S. presidential election, there is still no clear front runner between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in

CNN latest poll of polls. The survey, which finds the average of nationwide polls shows Harris with 50 percent support among likely voters, and Trump

on around 47 percent with everyone expecting a tight race, both Harris and Trump are pitching to voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania

today, with 19 votes in the Electoral College.

Pennsylvania is the biggest single prize of the seven most closely fought states in this year's election. CNN's senior White House reporter Kevin

Liptak joining us now from Washington. Hopefully to shed more light on this. So, Kevin, what more can you tell us about the CNN poll of polls and

how are the Trump and Harris campaigns responding to such a tight race?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. It is a margin of error race by all accounts. Certainly, the polls nationwide show that. And in fact,

some polls over the last week or so have shown Trump eroding some of the advantage that Harris had in the entire country in the nationwide polls. Of

course, this race is going to be won or lost in those seven battleground states, and even in those states as well, every single one of them is

within the margin of error.

And I think strategically, practically for these candidates, what that means is that there is no place, there is no state on the battleground map

where they're not competing. You know, this is ordinarily the point in the race when the campaigns look very hard at the battleground map and say, you

know, this is where we have our chance. This is where, you know, we're just going to cut bait and sort of seed advantage to the competitor.

There is no state on either of these candidates maps where they think that they can give up, and that means, practically, that they're spending

resources in more places than any candidate would ordinarily be at this point in the race. So, this is an expensive part of the contest. It's very

bitterly fought and it's the reason why you see these candidates heading to Pennsylvania specifically, that is sort of considered the linchpin to both

of their electoral strategy.

What we'll see Harris doing there today is speaking in Erie, which is one of those Bellwether counties, you know, as goes Erie, as goes Pennsylvania,

she'll be talking specifically to black men trying to shore up support. She has this new economic plan where she is rolling out policies specifically

meant to advantage that voting bloc. The real fear among Democrats is that, you know, not that she's going to lose black men, but that she's

underperforming in this group compared to previous Democratic candidates.

And it just shows in a race this close, any kind of erosion in the Democratic coalition could have a real effect and the final result.

GIOKOS: Absolutely. I mean, it's such -- it's such a tight race, as you say, the margin of error. But the question is, what is going to tip the

scale? So, I guess we'll find out in a few weeks' time. Good to see you, Kevin, thank you.

Well, the economy has been a key voting issue in the 2024 U.S. election. A new survey from the Wall Street Journal has found that most economists

think inflation, interest rates and deficits would be higher under Donald Trump. These results echo a similar survey taken in July before Joe Biden

dropped out of the race. Of the 50 economists in the survey, 68 percent thought prices would rise higher under Trump compared to Harris, which

they're expecting around 12 percent.

Joining us now from New York, we've got Matt Egan again to break down these numbers. Good to see you again, Matt. It's all about policy and how

economists, I guess, are projecting what the U.S. economy would look like under various policy. So, what has got economists worried about Donald

Trump?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Eleni, the biggest concern from the perspective of economists is Trump's trade plan. He has vowed to impose

massive tariffs. 60 percent tariffs on everything coming out of China into the United States.

[10:25:06]

And he wants 10 to 20 percent tariffs on all U.S. imports. And there's a lot of economists out there who are worried that this is going to backfire,

right? Trump says that this would be a way to bring back jobs from overseas, particularly manufacturing jobs. He says that he would make

prices plunge and he'd speed up the economy. But a lot of economists think that actually the opposite would happen.

And so, this Wall Street Journal poll of economists, I mean, it's not even close, right? More than two thirds, 68 percent of the economist poll said

that they think that prices would rise faster under Trump than Harris. Just 12 percent said the opposite. Just 12 percent said the prices would be

going up higher, faster under Harris than under Trump. And the remainder saw no material difference between the candidates.

And that's just because of the way the tariffs work. They are charged by the government, by the U.S. government, on everything that gets brought in.

And ultimately, the U.S. importers have to pay that tariff. And they have the option to either pass it along to consumers or to eat that cost. But in

the end, economists say that that is going to raise prices for consumers on everything that is brought in from overseas.

But, you know, it's not just Trump's trade platform that I think has economists concerned. There's other elements too. I mean, he's also called

for massive deportations, deporting millions of undocumented people, many of whom are working in the United States right now, and that's despite the

fact that a lot of businesses need those workers right now. They need more workers, not fewer.

And so again, the concern is that if there were these massive deportations, then a lot of businesses would have to raise wages, and they would pass

those costs along to consumers as well. So, at the end of the day, voters say that they -- Trump -- they trust Trump over Harris on the economy. But

the ironic thing is that a lot of the experts, when they really dig into what his policies actually mean, they fear that they would backfire.

And they wouldn't just saw -- wouldn't just fail to solve inflation that it would actually make things worse. Eleni?

GIOKOS: Matt Egan, thank you so much. And still to come. The Israeli military takes aim at a school in Gaza where an emergency polio vaccination

campaign. We'll set you roll out. We'll speak with a guest inside Gaza. That's coming up next. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:30:01]

GIOKOS: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Eleni Giokos. Now, as you might know, I am Greek and, in my culture, olives are a staple. The

foundation of everything I cook is olive oil. I love making things like spanakopita. It's a crispy pastry of spinach and cheese, and importantly,

olive oil is very much part of that process. But climate change is putting olive trees at risk, as I found out back in 2021.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: This is what they're trying to save, olive plantations, whatever is left of Avia. One firefighter told us that there -- we still have months to

go before the fire is actually put out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Now it's not only Greece that has extreme temperatures and that's damaging olive harvest. One farmer from Spain is taking his seeds and

heading north.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS (voice-over): Farther and farther north in Europe, olive trees are taking root.

Around 40 percent of the world's olive oil typically comes from Spain, but for two years, heat waves and prolonged droughts in the country have hurt

harvests and doubled olive oil prices. One glaring effects of climate change on the world's fastest warming continent.

JOAN SALA, SPOKESPERSON, ACCIO ECOLOGIST-AGRO (through translator): Last year in leaders, we had less than half the average rainfall of a normal

year. This year, we barely have 10 percent precipitation. If, with climate change, it's going to get worse, hotter, less rain, then we are already

entering a climate emergency.

GIOKOS (voice-over): Farther north, this farmer is planting the seed for alternative olive growing. The 55-year-old finding a home for his trees in

the southern slopes of Hungary. There, the winters are mild, the soil is rich, and the rain is plenty for his 200 or so Spanish olive trees.

CSABA TOROK, WINE MAKER AND OLIVE GROWER (through translator): We increasingly tend to belong to a climate where the trees can find a home on

better slopes. For me, it's not about wanting a decorative tree. I see the trees as an integral part of the landscape here in the future.

GIOKOS (voice-over): As the climate warms up and olive groves seem to shift northward, some farmers have planted their feet in Austria and Croatia. In

Slovakia, homeowners are buying their own Spanish olive trees, looking to get that Mediterranean feeling all the way in Central Europe.

ISTVAN VASS, GARDEN CENTER OWNER (through translator): We are seeing it in practice, that there are lots of olive trees planted outside in the

gardens, and they cope really well, so no need to worry about them.

GIOKOS (voice-over): Things are looking up for Spain's olive industry. For now, the Spanish farm ministry says it estimates a recovery in olive oil

production in the country this year. But as climate change elicits more heat waves and droughts farther south, olive farmers must continue to adapt

to Europe's changing climate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: All right. We're going to a short break. We'll be back right after this. Stay with CNN.

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[10:35:16]

GIOKOS: Today, the United Nations begins the second phase of its emergency polio vaccination campaign in Gaza. It was due to administer some

vaccinations at a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp. But the video we are about to show you, which we warn you, is disturbing, shows relatives

heartbreak and horror after that school was hit by an Israeli air strike Sunday. Hospital officials say at least 22 people were killed, some of them

children.

The U.N. says it had to cancel its plan to start administering vaccinations at the school as a result of this devastating attack. UNRWA's director of

planning, Sam Rose joins us now live from Gaza to give us an update on the polio vaccination rollout. And importantly, the impact that this strike on

the school has had.

Sam, good to see you. Thank you for taking the time. We've seen two deadly airstrikes in Gaza, importantly, the one on the school, which was an

important point for rolling out polio vaccinations. Give us a sense of the impact of the strike on your plans.

SAM ROSE, DIRECTOR OF PLANNING, UNRWA: Absolutely. Thanks for having me on. I mean, this school was one of 29 points that we were going to use sensors

that we were going to use for the first day of the polio vaccination campaign today in four health centers across central Gaza and 25 schools.

And of course, given the horrific, tragic, harrowing events of what happened overnight, with reports of 22 people killed while they slept,

majority women and children.

We've not been able to administer the polio campaign at that school in circumstances like this. And, you know, we've had hundreds of occasions and

hundreds of incidents over the past 12 months when our schools have hit. We've got a very kind of routine mechanism for providing immediate care for

those who've been affected, whilst the emergency services also tend to the high numbers of casualties.

So immediate human impact, obviously, we just had to reorient and readjust the polio campaign, which is coming to the end of its first day today.

GIOKOS: Give us a sense of how the rest of the polio vaccination campaign is going on right now. How successful it'll be and now that you've lost one

of the sites, what that means overall for ensuring absolute immunity in Gaza.

ROSE: I mean, it makes an already more difficult effort, more difficult, but we are confident that we will be able to administer the remainder of

the campaign successfully in central Gaza and southern Gaza. During the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. pauses have been agreed, pauses in

fighting, pauses in the issuance of evacuation orders, forcing people to move. In the first round of the polio campaign, those pauses held.

But what we saw during that campaign, and what we saw so horrifically overnight, both in the school in Nuseirat and in a hospital courtyard in

Deir el-Balah just a few kilometers away where, again, tragically, civilians died and were smothered and asphyxiated underneath plastic sheets

as a result of military operations is that we can vaccinate children against polio, but we can't keep them safe from everything else that's

killing them right now in Gaza.

That's the real tragedy of all this. Tragedy that we even have to be administering a polio campaign. But thanks to professionalism of our staff

of ministry, staff of other staff from U.N. agencies and NGOs. We are confident that the campaign in Southern and central Gaza will be a success.

The north of the Gaza Strip. Unfortunately, that remains too early to tell certainly, if the conditions that obtain right now in northern Gaza are

those that we're faced with next week, when we're about to start, it will be nigh on impossible to administer a successful campaign up there.

And as you rightly said, if we're not able to administer vaccines to enough children, we don't only impact on those children, but the overall success

of the campaign is compromised, increased risk of a reemergence of the spread of the disease inside Gaza and unfortunately, elsewhere.

[10:40:03]

GIOKOS: Sam, you highlighted something really important. You said that you can vaccinate against polio, but you can't protect the children and the

civilian population against other externalities and the reality of these air strikes. You mentioned the hospital strike. We've heard from so many

people on the ground and some witnesses that describe absolutely harrowing aftermath and just the conditions.

So, what is required by hospitals right now medically, because there isn't enough to treat some of the wounded after these very deadly strikes in the

matter of a day?

ROSE: First of all, what's required is for these hospitals to be protected, for their civilian character, to be honored, to be adhered to by all

parties to the conflict. More than half of Gaza's hospitals right now are out of commission. Those that are working are only working partially.

Hospital workers over the past 12 months, as well as having to deal with the most horrific of injuries that they're tending to have also had to

evacuate.

Have had to pack up time and time again as a result of evacuation orders, as a result of fighting in and around where they are -- they are working

and where they are situated. That's the first thing that that we need. Hospitals also need equipment. They need supplies. They need fuel to power

the generators that keep the ventilation units going and the intensive care units running so that people do not die.

There was an evacuation of children from one hospital in northern Gaza to another in Gaza City a couple of days ago. And those children had to be

transported in ambulances using manual ventilators. Ventilators pumped by hand in the 21st century. So ultimately, we need protection of these

facilities. We need supplies. We need the workers to be protected as well. And all this is only really going to come with a lasting and comprehensive

ceasefire.

GIOKOS: Sam, last week, the U.N. Commission released a report saying that it found war crimes and crimes against humanity and Israeli attacks on

health facilities. And I wonder, from your perspective, being in Gaza doing the work on the ground dealing with the realities of this war, whether you

think the international community is going to step up to alleviate some of the harsh realities that can be fixed by supplying more resources and,

frankly, more food into Gaza.

ROSE: I mean, I'd certainly like to think so, the pressures that I'm under, that my staff, my colleagues, that health workers, humanitarian aid workers

across Gaza are under -- are absolutely unimaginable. If reports such as this, if commissions of inquiries such as this, by some of the most

respected bodies in the world are not respected, are not listened to seriously, then that has impacts, not just on how we work here as

humanitarian workers, but how we work anywhere in any conflict around the world.

If incidents can continue to occur with impunity, they will just provoke and prompt further escalations on both sides, with consequences right now

for the -- for the people of Gaza, but as I say, broader consequences anywhere in the world. It's these frameworks, these international

frameworks and legal frameworks that govern how we work, that govern the responsibility of member states of the United Nations to take action when

there are allegations and concerns that they have been broken, if those aren't working, then -- I mean, we start to lose hope, and hope is the one

thing we really can't afford to lose in Gaza right now.

We've lost a lot of it, but people are continuing and will continue and we are confident and adamant that this polio campaign has to be a success.

GIOKOS: Well, Sam, we wish you all the best. You and your team on this polio vaccine rollout, and you're doing incredible work on the ground.

Thank you so much for your time today. Sam Rose there for us from UNRWA.

I want to get you up to speed now on some other stories on our radar right now. Three economists are sharing the Nobel Prize for their research into

why some nations prosper while others remain poor. They contend better off countries had stronger political and economic institutions like democracy

traced all the way back to colonization.

In Florida, many people are dealing with historic levels of flooding after rivers and lakes were swollen by two hurricanes less than two weeks apart.

Hurricane Milton dumped 16 inches or more than 40 centimeters of rain in some areas. Some officials are urging residents to seek Higher Ground.

[10:45:07]

Taiwan has condemned the latest round of Chinese military drills around the island as an unreasonable provocation. After Beijing deployed warships and

fighter jets as "stern warning." The drills came after Taiwan's President gave a speech Thursday, saying the island is not subordinate to China.

Ahead on the show. Countdown to liftoff again, we'll speak with former astronaut as SpaceX prepares for another launch. This launch sending a

probe on a five-year journey to Jupiter. We'll be right back.

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GIOKOS: Welcome back. Now, countries have argued over the origins and final burial place a 15th century explorer Christopher Columbus. For centuries

now, a new scientific study is debunking the traditional theory that Columbus was from Genoa, a northwestern part of Italy. Now, Spanish

scientists analyze the DNA of remains buried in Seville cathedral long theorized to be those of Columbus.

They compared the samples to those of his known family, and they found that Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe, and that his remains are

indeed at the Cathedral. Columbus died in 1506 in Spain where 300,000 Jews once lived.

And from one explorer to another type of exploration, we are just over an hour away from the launch of a NASA mission to explore Jupiter's icy moon

Europa. It is a historic collaboration between NASA and SpaceX, with a Europa Clipper riding on top of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. This is busy

few days for SpaceX. The company successfully tested its massive starship rocket on Sunday.

Its super heavy booster was gently caught by a giant mechanical arm that as it returned to Earth. It was really incredible to see.

So, for much more, we're joined by former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao. He is a member of the Safety Advisory Panel for SpaceX. Leroy, great to see you.

Incredible feats in space actually, I have to say, watching this all playing out. I want you to give me a sense of what the most exciting and

inspiring parts about today's launches.

LEROY CHIAO, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Sure. Well, today's launch is very exciting because, as you stated, Europa Clipper is finally on its way, or

going to be on its way. Originally conceived in 2013, it's been a long time coming. It's going to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy. That'll get it

up into space, but it'll take 5-1/2 years to actually get to the Jupiter's moon, Europa. And this is a very exciting mission, because some years ago,

Galileo flew through a water plume that exploded through the liquid ocean, from the liquid ocean through the solid ice covering.

And it flew through the water plume and it found the presence of ammonia -- I'm sorry, of methane and hydrogen. So those are some of the basic building

blocks of life. So, the question is, could there be some kind of extremophile life deep in those oceans? Hard to know, but Europa Clipper

will help to look for some more of those building blocks.

GIOKOS: I don't want you to hypothesize. But do you think that there is any life on Europa? What's your sense?

[10:50:05]

CHIAO: Well, I think that it was very exciting to find the presence of methane. Now, there are a number of natural reasons there could be methane

in the water, but one possibility, just like the methane they found embedded in rocks, sedimentary rock on Mars that had been there for

billions of years is that it could have been left by some kind of microbial life, you know, some kind of simple life.

So, we've seen in our own ocean, scientists used to believe in our own oceans and the depths that it was too dark, too cold, too high a pressure

for any kind of life to exist. But then we saw the volcanic activity in some of these areas that do blow the water up, you know, over, you know,

over the ocean that the temperature there is warmer, and we had the -- found these extremophile life forms.

So, it's certainly possible. Hard to speculate, but, uh, I'm really excited by finding these basic building blocks in our own cosmic backyard.

GIOKOS: It is very exciting, I have to say. Another really exciting thing that I witnessed I think a lot of people were watching on T.V. was of

course this exciting taste of the most powerful rocket booster ever built. And of course, it was considered a success. And of course, you're part of

the safety advisory panel. I want you to give me a sense of whether -- this is going to be safe enough for future missions using this technology.

CHIAO: Sure. And I should clarify that the safety advisory panel was disbanded a little bit earlier this year. Our primary goal, our mission,

was to help SpaceX get the Crew Dragon flying to fly astronauts to and from the ISS. So, I didn't have anything to do personally with the Starship. Oh,

fantastic. Yesterday was historic. That was history in the making. I think a lot of people don't really understand what it really means because this

rocket is the largest rocket ever launched.

It's more powerful than the Artemis or the Space Launch System rocket that NASA flew about two years ago. It's much more powerful than the Saturn V

moon rockets that brought the Apollo missions to the moon. And yet it came down, barreling down lit its engines and landed. I mean, it actually came

in to the launch pad, hovered over it while this mechanical system that they affectionately call Mechazilla or nicknamed the Chopsticks, gently

grabbed the rocket and then shut its engines down.

That shows that they can do it, and that means they can refurbish and reuse this huge booster, these boosters that used to be thrown away on prior

large rocket programs and it's going to dramatically bring down the cost of launching things. Similarly, the ship Starship, you know, could have gone

into orbit, but it was planned to be a suborbital flight. It came back through the heat shield on flight four was not robust enough.

This time, it looked like it did very well. Uh, but there did look like some hot spots, potential burn throughs on some of the control surfaces.

So, we'll have to look at that, but it came back down, did exactly what it was supposed to. It did a simulated hover maneuver showing that it too can

be recovered. And so, very exciting day for SpaceX. When Starship becomes operational, it'll be a real game changer.

GIOKOS: It's really -- it's -- it was incredible to see. And of course, everyone very jubilant that was watching on. Leroy, good to see you. Enjoy

the launch, which of course is going to happen in about an hour or so. We'll all be watching. Thank you so much.

All right. Preparation is underway for two giant pandas to move from southwestern China to Washington, D.C. A team from the Smithsonian's

National Zoo is on the ground in Szechuan province to help with the transition.

CNN is the only U.S. media there and our David Culver got an exclusive firsthand look at the bilateral effort to keep panda diplomacy alive.

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DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've traveled here to Szechuan China for a rare look at preparing these pandas for their very long journey. We're in

and around the city of Chengdu. It's known for spicy hot pot, its mountainous landscape, and giant pandas.

We're actually going to go meet now with some of the folks from the Smithsonian National Zoo from D.C. who have flown here and are part of the

transition team to bring Baoli and Qingbao back to the U.S.

We can't go back there but that's where Baoli and Qingbao are. They're in quarantine. And those you saw there were the zookeepers from the national

zoo, as well as some caretakers from China.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, they both have pretty different personalities. Baoli has a huge personality, so he's very vocal. He's very energetic and

he's always kind of like up doing something. Qingbao is the polar opposite. She can be almost always found in a tree or sleeping on her climbing

structure.

[10:55:01]

CULVER: The panda pair will fill a void at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C. For the past 11 months, the panda exhibit has sat

empty. Now, as part of the terms of the Smithsonian's exchange program with China, late last year, the zoo's three pandas were sent back here to

Chengdu.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think people realize how attached you get.

CULVER: When you're here, I mean, in this setting, what has stood out to you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here are the sheer number of pandas.

CULVER: It's crazy, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is crazy.

CULVER: You turn here and you're like, oh wait, you can go there, you can go there. Nowhere else do we have something like this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nowhere else, and the scenery is obviously beautiful, and the commitment.

CULVER: Pandas were on the brink of extinction, but in recent years they've moved from endangered to vulnerable. But there's still more work to go.

The Panda Exchange, also called Panda Diplomacy dates back more than 50 years now, when China gifted two pandas to the U.S. following President

Nixon's historic visit. Today, they're given on loan, and they are a strategic diplomatic tool, serving as ambassadors of hope and spreading

global goodwill. Somehow pandas were able to unite nations. Something we could use about right now.

David Culver, CNN, Chengdu, China.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Well, if only pandas could solve all geopolitical issues, wouldn't that be great? Thanks to David Culver there.

Well, that is it for CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Eleni Giokos. Stay with CNN. "NEWSROOM" is up next.

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