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Fidel Castro Transfers Power to Brother; Israel Expands Ground Operations in Lebanon; Relief Workers Report Problems Delivering Aid
Aired August 01, 2006 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Artillery fire echoes throughout south Lebanon as Israel pounds more villages in a fight to sweep out Hezbollah.
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Expanding the ground war. Fierce clashes break out hours after Israeli officials give the green light for a border offensive.
GORANI: And a president who's defied decades of U.S. attempts to oust him has given up power, at least for now. We'll see what sidelined Cuba's longtime leader.
Hello and welcome. I'm Hala Gorani in Beirut.
SWEENEY: And I'm Fionnuala Sweeney in Haifa, Israel.
Welcome to our extended coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. Let's bring you up to date, first of all, with the very latest developments.
Of course, as diplomatic efforts to end the war continue, the fighting is appearing to be continuing on the ground. Senior Israeli officials saying now that soldiers will go as far as the Litani River. That's some 30 kilometers from the Israeli border. The heaviest fighting so far.
GORANI: Heavy fighting rages in border villages despite mounting casualties. Explosions rocked the village of Aita al-Shaab a short while ago, as huge columns of smoke rose into the air. There's also intense Israeli shelling of other border towns.
The clashes come hours after Israel's cabinet approved a major expansion of its ground offensive and called up more reserve troops. European Union foreign ministers called for an immediate end to hostilities to be followed by a sustainable cease-fire. They met at emergency talks in Brussels.
SWEENEY: Well, Iran's foreign minister criticized the U.N.'s inability to stop the conflict as he met Lebanese leaders in Beirut this day.
GORANI: As Lebanese residents flee north, relief trucks are trying to reach hard-hit areas in the south. One such convoy made it to Qana where an Israeli airstrike on Sunday killed more than 50 civilians.
SWEENEY: Well, we're following another major story this hour, a temporary transfer of power in Cuba.
Back now to Atlanta for more on that with Michael Holmes -- Michael.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Fionnuala, thanks very much.
Well, for the first time ever, the Cuban president, Fidel Castro, has temporarily transferred power. Mr. Castro ceded authority to his brother, Raul, before undergoing intestinal surgery. Many people are now speculating about what this may mean for Cuba and the region.
CNN's Havana producer, Shasta Darlington, joins us now live from Havana with the latest.
Tell us, first of all, how this is being received in Havana, and is there any news about Fidel Castro's condition?
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN HAVANA PRODUCER: Well, Michael, the mood here in Havana is very somber, as you can imagine. Most Cubans are putting a brave face on the situation, going about their daily business, going to work, pretending, or at least assuming that today is just like any other day. However, a few people did rally -- a couple hundred people rallied in the historic center of Havana to show their support for the two brothers and their anger of some of the partying going on in Miami.
At this point, they're waiting for more news about Fidel, and here is what a couple people had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We Cubans are here for no other reason than to support Fidel. We are the right arm, he is the left. We are the body of him. The soul of him is us. We are going forward. We are prepared for anything and whatever he tells us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): He has been a father for the people. And I think that, yes, the people are very pained by that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DARLINGTON: That's right. A lot of people are worried about the state of health of Fidel. But they're also wondering what will come with Raul, who has long stood by his brother but mainly remained in the shadows.
Now he's coming out into the open. People are wondering what to expect.
He's definitely not the charismatic figure that Fidel is. He's considered a pragmatist. He basically has stood up for the greater opening, greater economic opening during economic -- times of economic hardship. He famously said that beans, rather than bullets, would by better for the Cuban revolution during the so-called special period, Michael, when Cubans were going hungry after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
HOLMES: What can we read into how this announcement was delivered? One would normally have imagined Fidel Castro himself to appear in at least part of the message that was delivered to the Cuban people. Does this lead to more speculation about the potential gravity of his condition?
DARLINGTON: Certainly. It's definitely made people concerned.
The fact that it's the first time that he's relinquished power, despite health problems in the recent past, a fainting spell, he fell and shattered his knee a couple of years ago, yes, this is the first time he's relinquished power, even on a provisional basis. So that fact, combined with the fact that we haven't seen him, has -- has made people anxious.
However, they don't want to -- they don't want to send a message that there's this crisis going on in Cuba. They really want to insist, you know, this is just another day like any other day. However, I'm sure most Cubans will be glued to their television sets this evening when a roundtable discussion is supposed to address the current situation -- Michael.
HOLMES: All right. Shasta Darlington, thanks so much.
Well, the news that the president had ceded power to his brother triggered, as Shasta suggested there, a mass euphoria in Florida's Cuban exile community.
Susan Candiotti joins us now from Miami with details.
Certainly the pictures we saw earlier, Susan, would suggest quite a party there last night.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A party last night, and the party continues through this day among blasting car horns driving by all day long so far here in Miami's Little Havana. Talk of the possible permanent demise of President Fidel Castro may be admittedly premature; however, that is not diluting the celebratory mood among a great number of Miami's Cuban exiles here who are void by the news that he for now, anyway, ceded power for the first time, as far as we know, in the nearly 50 years since he took power.
And many are predicting that it's the beginning of the end. Yet, not surprisingly, there are questions and rampant rumors as always.
For example, some people who suggest that the Cuban president may already be dead. And other rumors, people talking, asking the question, "Why haven't we seen his brother, Raul Castro, appear on Cuban television to explain to the Cuban people what is happening?"
I talked with one of many Cuban exiles here whose family left the communist island many years ago about monitoring the events from here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not that I think he's dead yet, or that we know that he's dead yet, but I think -- I think it's time for justice in Cuba. And we don't know what's going to happen afterwards. You can't get too excited that Cuba is going to be free.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: And, you know, there was a U.S. diplomatic study that studied possible transition in Cuba for more than three years and just last month issued its report in Washington and predicted what it said would be an unstable process of succession. Well, of course we don't know if this is the beginning of that process, but no one could be watching it more closely than the Cuban exile community in Miami -- Michael
HOLMES: Susan Candiotti in Miami.
Thanks very much.
This all brings us to the question we're asking viewers today. What do you think will happy in Cuba if Castro remains incapacitated?
Tell us your thoughts, ywt@cnn.com. We'll read some of your answers a little later on the air.
For now, however, let's go back to Hala Gorani, Fionnuala Sweeney. Both standing by to continue our coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
SWEENEY: Indeed, focusing again on the Middle East. As heavy fighting continues, Israel says it has killed 300 Hezbollah fighters during nearly three weeks of combat, and Israel says it will expand ground operations in Lebanon.
Well, correspondent John Roberts joins us now. He's on the Israel-Lebanon border.
John, what's the situation there?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SR. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good day to you, Fionnuala.
We just spent a couple of hours at military outposts overlooking Aita al-Shaab, which is the scene of the latest fighting here in the ground campaign in south Lebanon. We were on top of a couple of hilltops of military outposts looking directly down into the town. We saw repeated artillery fire, barrages that would last for 10, 15 minutes at a time. They would pause for a second while the troops move forward, they would readjust their fire, and then they would open up again.
The Israeli air force also is dropping 500-pound bombs on to Aita al-Shaab. There is a 48-hour cease-fire. It is in name only, because the close air support that they were bringing in to support the ground troops certainly look just as vicious as anything that we had seen before the cease-fire. We could also hear coming up from the city machine-gun fire. You would hear the sound of the Israeli M-4s fire, and then you would hear Hezbollah fire back with AK-47s. Each one of those makes a distinctive sound. The return fire was very close to the outgoing fire, so that would suggest a very close-quarters combat, street to street, house to house.
Hezbollah also claiming that it has exacted a toll on the Israeli army. It is claiming that three Israeli soldiers were killed and a number of them injured. Israel is claiming that it has taken a toll on Hezbollah forces, killing upwards of 20 Hezbollah fighters.
We have no confirmation of any casualties from the Israeli side, though. It's usually at least a period of 12 to 24 hours before we hear about that -- Fionnuala.
SWEENEY: And John, is it fair to say, then, that what had been announced as a 48-hour suspension of at least artillery strikes from the air is now over?
ROBERTS: It's not over. It was a partial cease-fire in the air campaign. And the Israeli officials made that clear right at the outset.
They said that they would continue to bring in what's known as close air support for their ground forces. The ground forces will identify a target that is giving them resistance, their forward air controller will then call up to his liaison at the air force and ask them to drop a bomb on that position.
We've been seeing that happening all day in a number of different positions in the northeast and in Aita al-Shaab. If there is a cease- fire in the air campaign, it is in cities and towns and villages like Qana and Tyre, where they have been going after those Hezbollah rocket launchers, where there are not Israeli ground forces. But anywhere where there are Israeli ground forces operating, they still have the aircraft in the air dropping bombs.
There was word that the Israeli army knew nothing about this cease-fire, and that when they heard about it, they said, you can't take away our close air support. And it's pretty obvious, Fionnuala, from what we've seen that that close air support is still very much in evidence.
SWEENEY: All right.
John Roberts reporting live from the Israel-Lebanon border.
Back to you, Hala, in Beirut.
GORANI: Well, relief workers say despite Israel's partial halt to airstrikes in southern Lebanon, they are still unable to reach some of those who need it most in that part of the country because they are not receiving guarantees of safe passage.
Ben Wedeman is in Tyre in southern Lebanon and joins us now with more on the humanitarian situation.
Ben, what can you tell us?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Hala, actually, today, we were able to get to a village that nobody had reached. That's the village of Aitarun (ph), which is southeast of Bint Jbeil.
There we saw massive destruction throughout the area. And we found that the people of that village were clearly traumatized.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN (voice over): The residents of Aitarun (ph) are leaving as fast as they can. Israel's 48-hour period of relative restraint is almost over. After nearly three weeks in cramped shelters, the young, the old, the infirm are desperate to go.
"Get us out of here," says this woman. "Please, get us out of here."
The first to reach the mainly Shiite village of Aitarun (ph), a group of journalists who do what they can to help.
(on camera): The people in this town have been under bombardment for 20 days. The Red Cross hasn't made it here, the U.N. hasn't made it here.
(voice over): Everyone is fleeing, but for one man, dazed, who stares the rubble of his village. The neighboring village of Ainata (ph) has also been pounded. An unexploded artillery round lies in the main square. The stench of decomposing bodies rises from the ruins.
Hevrid Haraf (ph) says she and her son were pinned down in their house for five days with the body of her dead sister killed in the bombing. Abez Khalil (ph) came to get his sister and found her dead under the rubble of her home.
"It was unbearable, unbearable," is all Ahmed Bassam (ph) can say. He's going straight to Beirut.
Everyone here painfully aware there's little time left.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: And Hala, there indeed is little time left. We hear that at 1:00 a.m. local time, Israel will resume its air bombardment of southern Lebanon -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. Just a little less than six hours from now.
Thanks very much.
Ben Wedeman, in Tyre, Lebanon.
Well, when we come back, the conflict is dividing more than those who are directly involved.
SWEENEY: When YOUR WORLD TODAY returns, European Union ministers come to a head at an emergency meeting before finding a united front.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: You're with CNN's continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
I'm Hala Gorani in Beirut.
SWEENEY: And I'm Fionnuala Sweeney in Haifa, Israel.
You're watching CNN's coverage on YOUR WORLD TODAY.
Well, as fighting in the region rages on, European Union ministers are calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities, followed by a sustainable cease-fire. The statement which follows a four-hour-long crisis meeting waters down original draft demands for an immediate cease-fire. Britain, Germany and Poland were among those refusing to join that call. The statement reportedly says the union is ready to contribute troops to an international force in Lebanon.
GORANI: Well, in the meantime, calls for an immediate cease-fire have also echoed throughout the Arab would, including Saudi Arabia.
Let's get more on the Saudi position. I'm joined by Jamal Khashoggi. He is an advisor to the Saudi government and also an advisor to the Saudi ambassador to Washington, Prince Turkey al- Faisal.
Let me ask you this. First, your ambassador in Washington, Jamal Khashoggi, said, "The United States must play the role of pacifier and lead the world to peace and not be lead by Israel's ambitions."
Is Saudi Arabia breaking diplomatically from its ally, the United States?
JAMAL KHASHOGGI, SAUDI ARABIA MEDIA ADVISOR: Not at all. We are very much engaged with the United States.
Most of the ideas floating right now for a sustainable cease- fire, a sustainable solution for all of Lebanese problems are being floated between Riyadh, Washington and Beirut. And I'm sure when we come out to that level, those ideas will be in total agreement with all of those three parties.
The irony, it seems, that we are almost in total agreement. All what we need is just to get somebody to push for a cease-fire. We cannot move to phase two without a cease-fire.
GORANI: Well, you say you're in total agreement with the United States, but you call for an immediate cease-fire. The United States has not once called for an immediate cease-fire. How are those two positions even remotely close to each other?
KHASHOGGI: Aside from the important issue of the cease-fire, we are in agreement in how we all see the future of Lebanon. We all see an independent Lebanon with a central government, the Lebanese government being more empowered.
We all agree on that. We agree on solving all of Lebanese problems, not only the two kidnapped soldiers issue. It's a much larger issue.
And that's where we agree with the United States, but we cannot move to those points (ph) of agreements while we have this major disagreement over the issue of cease-fire. Without a cease-fire, how can we implement those points (ph) of agreement to fix Lebanon once and for all?
GORANI: Does Saudi Arabia believe that Hezbollah should be disarmed forcibly?
KHASHOGGI: Very much so. Not -- this is for the Lebanese people to decide. And we put it -- we've been talking about that even before this crisis started.
When we make -- when Saudi Arabia makes a mention to the five (ph) agreements, the five (ph) agreements which all Lebanese parties signed for, called for the disarmament of all militias. And Hezbollah is one of those militias.
Hezbollah was using the pretext of resistance, and the Lebanese side was arguing with Hezbollah before the crisis started (INAUDIBLE) resistance, or since the occupation has ended in Lebanon that they must comply with the five (ph) agreements. Saudi Arabia, of course, supports that concept, and we -- and we passed it not only on 1559, but on a more important document which is -- which (INAUDIBLE) the Lebanese side, the five (ph) agreements.
GORANI: Let me ask you this. I asked this of the Syrian ambassador to the United Kingdom yesterday. Why, in Saudi Arabia's opinion, have the efforts to end all this diplomatically, why have they been spearheaded by Europeans and the United States, and not a single Arab nation has called a conference at the Arab League to try to put an end to a conflict in its own back yard?
KHASHOGGI: Right now, the countries which are leading the war for an end to the crisis are Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt. We're all working together with -- in constant consultation with our friends in Europe, in America, and to go for a cease-fire, to go for a solution which will end all of Lebanon's problems.
So Saudi Arabia is very much active at that role. It is spearheading all -- most of the efforts that -- not only in the Arab world, but in the Arab world and Europe and America, too.
GORANI: All right. We're going to have to leave it there.
Jamal Khashoggi, a top advisor to the Saudi ambassador to the United States, as well as an advisor to the Saudi government.
Many thanks for joining us here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.
We're going to have a lot more ahead.
You're with CNN. Our continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East continues after a short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SWEENEY: Welcome back. I'm Fionnuala Sweeney in Haifa. You're watching our extended coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
Now, this afternoon, the European Union has been meeting in Brussels. European Union ministers calling for a cessation of hostilities. This was watered down somewhat from the original draft which called for a cease-fire.
Well, joining me now from Brussels is the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.
Thank you for joining us.
Why was this text changed from the original draft?
JAVIER SOLANA, EU COUNCIL SECRETARY-GENERAL: No, it was not changed for any regional draft. It didn't exist.
We have, during the meeting, started drafting. So it was not a previous draft.
What we have done today is to say clearly that we want an immediate cessation of hostilities that should lead to a permanent cease-fire. Through that period of time, without fighting, we will be able to do the political process and to do even the preparation of the international force. But, as you know, we would like to cooperate with the deployment...
SWEENEY: But as much as ministers, with all due respect, meet in Brussels -- here locally, Israel has already said that it's going to resume its airstrikes in less than five hours from now. And in the meantime, it would seem to many people in the region that EU ministers are arguing about timetables when the fighting is going here locally on the ground?
I mean, do you feel that the EU can be a strong voice in this?
SOLANA: No. Let me say -- be very clear.
Cessation of hostilities, it's to stop the fire, stop shooting. And during that period of time, until we get a permanent cease-fire, we have to do all the political negotiations which are necessary for a permanent cessation of the cease-fire. And that's what we're doing. We want, therefore, the fighting to stop and to stop immediately.
SWEENEY: And how much weight do you think the European Union carries, compared to a body like the United Nations?
SOLANA: Well, I do think that we have a very substantial (ph) way to (INAUDIBLE) international force is going to be a fundamental element for resolution of the problem. And without any doubt, that force will be constructed upon a very important component that will be European.
We don't want to be the only ones. We would like the force that would be a U.N. force. Therefore, with other countries. But a most important component probably will be European. Therefore, we're going to play a very important role.
SWEENEY: And how long do you think it would take to put a multinational force in place? Because, as you know, there has been a lot of debate about whether a cease-fire can happen without a multinational force already in place.
SOLANA: Well, I think that the important thing is that before the end of this week, I hope that there will be discussion about the U.N. Security Council resolution. In that resolution, the elements of the process will have to be approved to security members.
And from that moment, we will have the cease-fire, more or less, prepared by the two sides, and immediately, the beginning of the deployment of the force can take place. Once the political settlement is well done and is finished, and we have the conditions of (INAUDIBLE) deploy the force.
SWEENEY: Well, as we know from the meeting, apparently Germany and Britain, among others, and Poland, I believe, are very against the original draft calling for an immediate cease-fire.
How difficult is it to try and get agreement among all the EU member countries who have different individual foreign policies of their own?
SOLANA: I think you have the wrong information. I have been to (INAUDIBLE), I have been responsible of coordinating the position (ph) of different countries, and I can tell you that today the commonality of thinking, the commonality of position of the 25 members has been total.
SWEENEY: All right. There we must leave it.
Thank you very much, indeed, for joining us.
Javier Solana there live in Brussels.
SOLANA: Thank you.
SWEENEY: Hala, back to you in Beirut.
GORANI: Well, as the world's attention is focused on the current Middle East crisis, there's violence in another part of the Middle East, and that is Iraq. And some bombings have killed dozens and dozens of people, 39 this day in that country. In one of the incidents, a roadside bomb hit a bus carrying Iraqi soldiers, killing 19 of them and wounding 13. An explosion in Baghdad killed at least 10 people. Authorities say a passing police patrol was the target.
All right. We're going to have a lot more ahead here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.
SWEENEY: Indeed, please stay with us for our extended coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Hala Gorani in Beirut, Lebanon.
SWEENEY: And I'm Fionnuala Sweeney in Haifa, Israel.
Now Israel expands its ground offensive as diplomatic efforts to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon falter. Senior Israeli officials say soldiers will go as far as the Litani River, some 30 kilometers from the Israeli border.
Some of the heaviest fighting was at the Hezbollah stronghold of Aita al-Shaab. Clashes coming hours after Israel's cabinet approved a major expansion of its ground offensive, calling up more reserve troops. Israel's prime minister says his country is winning the battle against Hezbollah.
European Union foreign ministers called for an immediate end to hostilities, to be followed by a sustainable cease-fire. Britain and Germany were among the countries that objected to language calling for an cease-fire.
Iran's foreign minister criticized the U.N.'s inability to stop the conflict as he met top Lebanese leaders in Beirut.
And, as Lebanese residents flee north, relief trucks are trying to reach hard-hit areas in the south.
GORANI: Well, Cuban President Fidel Castro has transferred power temporarily to his brother, Raul, while he undergoes intestinal surgery. This is the first time Castro has ever ceded power. Cuban exiles in Miami celebrated well into the night when they heard the news. The U.S. says it's monitoring the situation, and that it will continue to work for the day of Cuba's freedom.
SWEENEY: Let's focus now on Israel's military offensive. Israel says that in nearly three weeks of combat, it has killed 300 Hezbollah fighters. Well, more than 30 Israel troops have been killed, but Israel says it has significantly reduced Hezbollah's capabilities.
Israel has also called up thousands more reservists as it announced it will expand ground operations in Lebanon. Israel says it will secure a Hezbollah-free zone several kilometers deep into Lebanon. Politically, Israel says it will not accept a cease-fire until an international force deploys in southern Lebanon.
Well, for a first-hand account of the Israeli military, I'm joined by former IDF paratrooper Adam Harmon.
Thank you for joining us. First of all, what is your experience of fighting Hezbollah?
ADAM HARMON, FORMER IDF PARATROOPER: Well, back in the '90s, when I served with the paratroopers, Israel controlled a swathe of Southern Lebanon, which Israel is now trying to reassert control of now. And I conducted daily ambushes and other types of operations against them.
SWEENEY: And, in terms of an enemy, Israel consistently saying over the last couple of weeks that it hasn't underestimated Hezbollah, but obviously, it still has capability to send rockets across into northern Israel, albeit not, perhaps, over the last 24 hours or so.
HARMON: Without question. You know, Hezbollah is a determined, well-trained, well-financed force. And since Israel left Lebanon six years ago, it has continued to receive training and material from Iran and Syria over the last six years. So Israel knew going into this that they were going after a well-trained military force.
And even though the Air Force -- the Israeli military -- believes it has degraded over two-thirds of the Hezbollah rockets, that is out of a total of what is approximated at 12,000. So that still leaves many thousand rockets that can target Israeli border towns.
SWEENEY: And can you compare and contrast the strengths of the Israeli military and the strengths and comparable weaknesses of Hezbollah?
HARMON: Well, what we're seeing now really is what American military experts call a hybrid war, where you have terrorist organizations that are -- use guerrilla tactics that limit the ability of a large military force to act against them on the one hand. But at the same time, these hybrid forces also have the same level of discipline, and also the best weapons that money can buy. And that clearly makes it very difficult for Israel to be able to force Hezbollah out of these entrenched positions.
SWEENEY: But Israel, too, isn't exactly short on weaponry, either.
HARMON: Right, but you have to keep in mind that a military force is -- like the Israeli military -- is designed to defeat, you know, tank-on-tank, plane-on-plane. Large battalions against other large battalions of states. So therefore, what Israel is doing, actually, now in Lebanon, is what it has been doing successfully in the West Bank against terror organizations that exist there.
But unlike in the West Bank, Hezbollah has military training in weaponry far in advance of organizations like Fatah and Al-Aqsa. And that's what makes it difficult. It's still house-to-house fighting in the same way that it is in the West Bank, but Israel -- the Israeli military is going against a more formidable foe.
SWEENEY: Now, as you know, there has been a cease-fire of sorts over the last, 24, 36 hours. We're hearing that, on the Israeli side, it's about to end in the next five hours or so. What has taken place on the part of the Israeli military over the last few weeks that you think that they could have done better. And what do you think we're about to see now as we see the end of this particular cease-fire, quote, unquote, coming to a close?
HARMON: Yes, the Israeli government leaders, from the very outset, as a -- in an attempt to limit the civilian casualties that would be on the Lebanese side, decided to have surgical strikes in very limited amount of ground forces in Lebanon. You know, really at the unit level, and so, what I would have -- what we're going to start seeing now, at the end of this cease-fire, is the Israeli military bringing up much larger amounts of ground forces that are going to enable them to take control of the territory.
I certainly understand and applaud the strategy of the government leaders to limit the civilian casualties. But certainly, if Israel had deployed a larger amount of troops at the outset of the operation, we would have been much further ahead.
SWEENEY: We have to leave it there. Adam Harmon, former IDF soldier, thank you very much indeed for joining us.
HARMON: Thank you.
GORANI: Well, Iran, which has long been by the United States of supporting Hezbollah financially and militarily, is weighing in now on the conflict. Its foreign minister was in Beiruit yesterday, and he slammed international bodies, including the United Nations.
Manouchehr Mottaki called the international body "useless and ineffective." He also calls the U.S. and Israel, quote, "partners in these brutal crimes," referring to the death of Lebanese civilians. Mottaki had just met with Lebanon President Emile Lahoud, who is closely allied with Syria.
SWEENEY: Well, straight ahead, we'll have much more on the conflict in the Middle East. The U.N. security forces are caught in a crossfire. We'll spend a day at the Israel-Lebanon border with a group of frustrated and outgunned peacekeepers.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Welcome back from Beirut. I'm Hala Gorani.
SWEENEY: And I'm Fionnuala Sweeney. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN.
Now we understand, of course, having heard from the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, in the last couple of days, that he is preparing his troops for readiness, at least that's what he's told them.
Aneesh Raman is in the Syrian capital and has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Calling the war one of Israel aggression and genocide, Syria's president, Bashar Assad, in a statement to the country's armed forces, raised their readiness, essentially telling them to train harder and prepare for whatever might come next. But there was no mention of increasing troop numbers or any movement of military assets. Instead, it seems, it was a reminder of Syria's regional importance.
Amid the fury in the Muslim world following the Israeli attack on Qana, Lebanon, amid increasing international calls for an end to the conflict, Syria is posturing at an opportune moment.
(on camera): Across Damascus at cafes like this, TVs are locked onto Arabic news channels that are constantly showing images of the children killed in the Qana attack. It is, in part, why the Syrian government feels the tide is turning its way, as Arab opinion hardens against Israel and its ally, the United States.
(voice-over): One top official here says it's Washington that's out of step, not Damascus.
BUTHAYNA SHA'ABN, SYRIAN MINISTER OF EXPATRIATE AFFAIRS: Well, yesterday, the foreign minister of Egypt was here. Nine foreign ministers called our foreign minister and talked to him. So we don't feel lonely at all. Syria is not isolated. I think it's only in the minds of the U.S. administration that Syria is isolated. I think at this crisis, the U.S. is isolated in the Middle East and the U.S. has shown itself not to have any vision or any credibility in the Middle East.
RAMAN: Syria says the U.S. must directly engage both Damascus and Iran if a permanent solution to the crisis is to be achieved. And they say Hezbollah must agree to any international peacekeeping force planned for Southern Lebanon.
SHA'ABN: Of course, we will see international troops are occupying, of course, because they are not consulting with the resistance.
RAMAN: The resistance is how many here label Hezbollah, seen by Israel and the U.S. as a terrorist group. And as a diplomatic solution to the current crisis is being debated in capitals around the world, Syria's president has his own message -- his is a country essential to sustainable peace in the Middle East.
Aneesh Raman, CNN, Damascus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SWEENEY: Well, help is arriving for some Lebanese displaced and wounded. United Nations trucks have rode through dangerous terrain into Qana. That's the Lebanese village where at least 54 civilians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Sunday. The task of counting the dead goes on as well, with workers fanning out to work for bodies in the rubble.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED MAKI, RED CROSS (through translator): Today we will begin with recovering bodies from under the rubble. Yesterday we recovered bodies from vehicles in the streets. Today we have 10 locations, with 10 Red Cross ambulances and 10 civil-defense vehicles and bulldozer at each site. We were told that there are 89 martyrs trapped under the rubble at the 10 locations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Now some aid agencies say they're caught in the middle and have not been able to get aid to those who need it most.
On the border, we now join our Beirut border chief, Brent Sadler, with more.
First, Brent, if I could ask you, about these really military operations in the southern part of the country. What can you tell us about those?
BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF: Well, it seems that the Israelis, Hala, are continuing with phase one, if you'd like, assuming there are other phases, of carving out a security strip along the border about two miles, three kilometers wide.
The big question is, whether or not the decisions that have now been taken by the Israeli cabinet will eventually lead to a phase two and a strike northwards as far as the Letarne (ph) River. Now that's something we have to keep a very close eye on.
Now, I'm in the location close to the Israeli border, in the western sector of the frontline. It's deathly quiet right here now, but across the front line, in other areas where the fighting is intense, there's still many, many thousands, it's understood, of Lebanese civilians who've made the life-and-death decision to stay behind.
Earlier this day, I went out to try and find out why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SADLER (voice-over): A hazardous car journey to the sharp end of war in Lebanon, traveling along a road that has been pounded by Israeli jets. Bomb craters are deep enough to swallow a small truck. Abandoned cars litter the way.
As Israel plans its next military action, stranded Lebanese are taking drastic action to help themselves.
These volunteers plan to drop desperately needed supplies to a frontline village. Moussa Saleh knows they are taking a huge risk.
MOUSSA SALEH, LEBANESE VILLAGE: I have my family over there. I have a lot of people they stay over there.
SADLER (on camera): Tell me what you're bringing, can you? Just show me what you're carrying onboard here. Some rice.
Aren't you afraid the Israelis might think you're Hezbollah fighters?
SALEH: I don't know.
SADLER (voice-over): There's a relative lull in airstrikes, so it's now or never.
A telephone call urges Moussa to hurry.
(on camera): United Nations officials are saying that the Israelis have given a shell warning, which means that an imminent expectation of some more strikes in this area.
(voice-over): But soon there's word of a temporary all-clear and the journey resumes. They move closer to the Israeli border, deep inside Hezbollah land. It's impossible to assess the numbers of noncombatants trapped by fighting, but it is possible to understand reasons why civilians are still here.
Milad Aide (ph) comes from a Christian village further up the road. They don't support Hezbollah, he says, but they do resist possibility of a new Israeli occupation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want our land. If we go from here, maybe we will not come back. Every day, they said there is solution. There is something will be good, but we don't think so.
SADLER: And soon, there is renewed danger. The war shifting closer to Milad's village of Almar Al-Shad (ph).
(on camera): That's the unnerving sound of outgoing Israeli cannon and artillery fire. Yet, amid all this noise, 150 Lebanese civilians refuse to leave this front-line village.
(voice-over): The shell fire stops Moussa Saleh's mission. His supplies ending up here, to be shared among Christians and Shia Muslims from a nearby village. All of them are awaiting an unknown fate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SADLER: Now it's difficult enough to get along the border to the village earlier this day, but Hala, in a few hours from now, we do expect Israel's partial stoppage of air strikes to resume. And tomorrow, certainly in those village areas, it could be a very different day to the one we saw today. Hala? GORANI: Brent, you have a great vantage point from where you are to answer this question. Let's take a step back a couple weeks or more. What were the initial Israeli military objectives there in that part of the country? And what are your sources telling you about how much they've come toward meeting them?
SADLER: Well, in terms of military objectives achieved on the ground so far, the Israelis are trying to effectively create a free- fire zone along the border, which is why they're carving out a two- mile, three-kilometer security strip. But if they go to a bigger phase, then some analysts do expect that.
Then you could see the Israelis pushing eastwards along one side of the flank of Hezbollah. And then westwards, possibly bringing them along this road behind me. That is quite possible if the Israelis go for an all-out ground offensive, to trap and force Hezbollah further north, therefore making it much more difficult for Hezbollah to hit deep inside Israel -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. All of that of course as the humanitarian situation reaches crisis point, according to many aid agencies. We'll be following this story from all angles and all sides. A lot more of YOUR WORLD TODAY after this. Do stay with us.
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GORANI: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY. We're going to go to Michael Holmes at the CNN Center with a special inbox question today. Michael?
HOLMES: All right, Hala, Fionnuala, thanks very much. Continuing to cover the Middle East for us from there.
But we're going to remind you too to go to the Web site, interactive elements, video footage, CNN.com/Mideast. You can get all of the latest information there.
But our question of the day is what we're going to discuss now. It is different to what is happening in the Middle East. It is this. What will happen in Cuba if Fidel Castro remains incapacitated? Let's have some of your answers, your thoughts now.
Luis in Paris says: "Raul will continue stifling freedom." Raul of course is Fidel Castro's brother and is apparently in charge in Cuba. "Continue stifling freedom, arresting and having Cubans living in poverty just as his brother Fidel has."
Chris in Thailand says: "Ballys, Sands, Starbucks, Visa, McDonald's and the rest will be one step closer to Cuban shores."
And Greg in California thinks: "Someone else will eventually rise up into power and keep the country in the same deplorable state because of his own selfish agenda."
We do still want to hear from you. Send your responses to us right here at CNN.com. That is it for this hour. "LIVE FROM" is up next for our viewers in the United States. For viewers elsewhere, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a short break. I'm Mike Holmes. For Hala Gorani and Fionnuala Sweeney, thanks for watching.
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