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The Situation Room
Lebanon Will Send Troops South if Israel Withdraws; Arab League Delegates Will Discuss Middle East Peace Plan; Israeli Strikes Virtually Cut Off Tyre from Surrounding Areas
Aired August 07, 2006 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Lou. And to our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Standing by CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you tonight's top stories.
Happening now, new marching orders in the Middle East conflict. Lebanon making a major decision about sending troops to the border and Israel's prime minister telling his forces -- quote -- "We are not stopping."
It's 2:00 a.m. Tuesday here in Jerusalem. We're watching all the new developments in the war and the quest for peace. On the front lines, bloody new attacks and dramatic new images of a region at war.
Tonight, we're taking you inside the fighting and the strategy behind the strikes and high drama on the diplomatic front, the Lebanese prime minister tearing up and President Bush standing firm. Is there any hope tonight that a U.N. peace plan will be approved?
I'm Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Tonight, growing urgency in the Middle East crisis, on the battlefield and in the diplomat arena. The Lebanese government is taking new action to try to move toward a cease-fire. It's now fledging to send 15,000 Lebanese troops to the southern combat zone near the Israeli border if and when Israel withdraws. Lebanon's prime minister choked back tears today in a meeting with Arab ministers in Beirut. Arab League delegates are due at the United Nations tomorrow.
And they're seeking some major changes to the U.N. draft resolution because it does not call for an immediate Israeli cease- fire or a pullout from Lebanon. Israel is vowing to press on with its punishing air strikes and ground combat with Hezbollah fighters. At least 49 people were killed in attacks around Lebanon today. And Israel is warning residents of south Lebanon to stay off the roads after 10:00 p.m. local time.
But Hezbollah keeps firing back, lobbing another 140 rockets into northern Israel today. Let's go to Beirut, the target of yet more deadly new Israeli bombing raids and the scene of some desperate appeals by Arab leaders today. Here's our Beirut bureau chief Brent Sadler -- Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF: Wolf, it's been a day of intense fighting, heavy Israeli air strikes and knife-edge diplomacy, but diplomacy that might make or break the international efforts to stop the war.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SADLER (voice-over): First light in Beirut and Israel strikes at the southern suburbs. Last light, more bombs fall in the area but hitting a new neighborhood that was thought to be relatively safe. Residents used bare hands to rescue survivors, recover the dead. Joint condemnation and outrage from the Arab world. Visiting foreign ministers offer support and sympathy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
SADLER: They hear impassioned comments from Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
FOUAD SINIORA, LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
SADLER: We do not want the Lebanese state and its people to remain the punch bag of Israel, he says, or anyone else. Siniora appeals to Arab capitals for urgent help at the United Nations to push for a peace deal Lebanon could accept free from Israeli troops in the south. Choking back tears, Siniora says Lebanon's arguments are based on the nation's sorrows of the widows, dead children, the wounded and the homeless.
(APPLAUSE)
RAMI KHOURY, POLITICAL ANALYST: This is the historic turning point that we're at right now. Israel has overplayed its hand militarily, has met its match to a certain extent, and must return to the diplomat and the political offering.
SADLER: But many Lebanese are not so sure. They must now wait hours for dwindling supplies of rationed gas.
(CROSSTALK)
SADLER: Frustration boils into anger at one filling station.
(CROSSTALK)
SADLER (on camera): Israel has rigorously enforced land and sea blockade (ph) is really starting to bite here at street level. This squeeze on essential fuel supplies has already reached danger levels with little hope of an early end to the siege.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not going to stop.
SADLER: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't believe the U.N. We don't believe all of the Arab world. We don't believe anyone. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm afraid from an American plan to rebuild a Middle East, which would be obedient to America. And in such a plan Israel would be the armed hand of America in the Middle East.
SADLER (voice-over): Many Lebanese fearful that despite 11th (ph) hour diplomacy, they may have to face more war than peace.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SADLER: Lebanon's southern port city of Tyre is now cut off by road, stranding countless Lebanese, blocking humanitarian aide. Time for diplomacy to succeed may soon run out -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brent Sadler in Beirut. Thank you. Let's go to northern Israel right now for an up-close look at the latest cross border fighting. Our senior international correspondent Matthew Chance once again on the scene in the war zone for us. Matthew, update our viewers on today's developments.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Wolf, what the Israeli military officials and political officials that we have spoken to are saying is that if the diplomatic solution doesn't bear any fruit, there's a military option that they're very prepared to use. That would involve obviously expanding the already extensive ground operations on the way in south Lebanon with more troops, more tanks joining the 10 to 12,000 soldiers already on the ground and battling Hezbollah fighters in south Lebanon.
It's not an easy thing for them to be doing. The Hezbollah have been dug in very well over the past several years. They're well armed. They're well trained. Only today, the Israeli forces lost another three soldiers around the town of Bint Jbeil, which was meant to be in the hands of Israeli forces since last week. And so the Hezbollah are infiltrating back and using guerrilla tactics to strike at Israeli soldiers.
They are also using what many Israelis would consider a new weapon, according to Israeli defense officials, an unmanned aerial vehicle from Hezbollah, a drone was intercepted by the Israeli Air Force and crashed into the sea off Israel's coast. It may have been laden with explosives, they say and may have been destined for an Israeli city. But it's the other missiles; it's the other rockets that are the most threat to the Israeli people. More than 140 Hezbollah rockets crashing into north Israel over the course of this day -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Matthew, you're on the front lines, what are troops, what are military officers, as well as political, Israeli political leaders saying about this Lebanese proposal, the Lebanese cabinet offering to send thousands of Lebanese army forces into southern Lebanon to work with the United Nations and try to bring stability there if Israel agrees to withdraw.
CHANCE: Well in principle this is something that the Israeli government has welcomed. This is what they have wanted all along, the Lebanese army to be in south Lebanon instead of the Hezbollah militia. But what the concern is amongst the Israelis is will the Lebanese force be robust enough. Will it be able to you know, clip the wings of Hezbollah, will it able to prevent that militia from disarming or rather rearming if there's a cease-fire? These are the concerns that Israel has. If it's a force that can do that, then Israel I think will be much more amenable to sort of making concessions and pulling away for that Lebanese to take -- Lebanese army to take control -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Matthew, thank you and the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert toured northern Israel today to assess the situation on the ground. He was accompanied by the defense minister, Amir Peretz. The two met with army commanders and reservists before the defense minister briefed Parliament's foreign affairs and defense committees.
Meanwhile, President Bush says everyone recognizes that the violence in the Middle East must stop. He and the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insist a U.N. Security Council draft resolution is the way to reach a lasting peace. They spoke to reporters earlier today in Crawford, Texas.
Let's bring in our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, really high stakes diplomacy at the Crawford ranch. Over the last three days we saw president, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the national security adviser Stephen Hadley all trying to work out a U.N. Security Council resolution to try to get an end or even a breakthrough in this Middle East conflict, working on a resolution that may have very little effect if Israel, as well as Hezbollah do not cooperate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): For a president on vacation, the suit and tie tried to convey the seriousness and urgency that critics say was lacking during the first three weeks of the Middle East crisis.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Everyone wants the violence to stop.
MALVEAUX: At a rare formal press conference at his ranch, President Bush explained his plan. Two U.N. Security Council resolutions, the first drafted with the French over the weekend calls for a halt to the fighting.
BUSH: Hezbollah will be required to immediately stop all attacks. Israel will be required to immediately stop all offensive military operations.
MALVEAUX: It is not a formal cease-fire as the Lebanese and key Arab allies have been calling for, but rather a so-called cessation of hostilities, which allows Israel to continue to fight in self-defense.
HISHAM MELHEM, LEBANESE JOURNALIST: The cessation of hostilities is a loose term. It means that Israelis have the right quote, unquote, "to defend themselves." A cease-fire is probably more implemental and more serious.
MALVEAUX: And harder to achieve. The Lebanese government and Hezbollah also object to the fact that there's no call for Israeli troops to immediately withdraw. Mr. Bush says the fear is if they pull out before the international force arrives, Hezbollah will be able to regain strength and rearm.
BUSH: Whatever happens in the U.N., we must not create a vacuum into which Hezbollah and its sponsors are able to move more weapons.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Now the second resolution, they're going to try to set up some sort of political situation where they say will provide for a sustainable cease-fire, also of course getting together a multinational force to go into the region. Late today, Wolf, the Lebanese government offering its own language to the U.N. Security Council resolution, a proposal to put 15,000 of their own troops along that southern border and essentially requiring that the Israelis leave at the same time. It is far from clear whether or not that's going to actually go through. We do know that Secretary Rice and Hadley are back in Washington now. There are no plans to travel to New York until a final draft of course of that resolution has been greed upon. The earliest that we're looking at is perhaps Wednesday -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right Suzanne Thank you. Jack Cafferty is off today, but coming up, Tyre in Lebanon, a city cut off and under siege. CNN's Karl Penhaul is there. He's going to show us the increasingly desperate situation on the ground.
And we'll get an update from CNN's John Roberts. He's been embedded with Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, watching their advance on the ground while rockets soaring overhead.
Plus, a first for Israel, shooting down an unmanned Hezbollah drone, we're going to have details.
Live from Jerusalem, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting tonight from Jerusalem. There are major new developments we're following in the crisis here in the Middle East. The Lebanese government late tonight announcing its intention to deploy up to 15,000 troops to southern Lebanon as soon as Israeli troops start withdrawing from that combat zone.
Meanwhile, today has been one of the bloodiest in the war so far as Israel continues to pound southern Lebanon and Beirut. Some 50 Lebanese were killed today.
And there is some news coming into CNN right now. Let's go to CNN Zain Verjee. She's in Washington -- Zain. ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, CNN has just learned the U.S. Geological Survey is reporting a strong earthquake off the coast of Vanuatu with a magnitude of 6.7. Now the island chain is located in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean, east of Australia. It's best known best at the setting for the reality show "Survivor". We're going to bring you more details when we get them. But for now, though, Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: All right Zain, we will get some more news on that and come back and update our viewers. Hopefully it's not going to result in huge destruction or damage.
Let's move on now to the crisis here in the Middle East, the Lebanese city of Tyre has been under an awful, awful pounding over these past several weeks since the war began nearly four weeks ago. And now there are fears the worst may soon even come. CNN's Karl Penhaul has more from Tyre -- Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Israeli warplanes and artillery guns have now been bombarding an area just south of Tyre for about 36 hours. Warplanes in the course of the day have struck a series of apartment buildings inside the city itself and as night started to the fall, artillery shells began falling right on Tyre's southern outskirts. Humanitarian aid organizations and city officials believe this is the prelude to an Israeli ground attack on the city itself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PENHAUL (voice-over): Smoke rises as Israeli warplanes and artillery guns pound suspected Hezbollah positions south of Tyre. Airplane, gun-camera video released by the Israeli military shows explosions hitting targets. But that's not enough to stop Hezbollah firing more Katyusha rockets off to Israel. Humanitarian aid workers say they fear a two-day Israeli bombardment six miles or 10 kilometers south of Tyre may be the prelude to a ground attack on the port city.
(on camera): A Lebanese military officer has told me that Israeli ground troops did reach the outskirts of a Lebanese village on high ground just south of here, but he says they were repelled by Hezbollah fighters.
(voice-over): And to the north, bridges along the highway to Beirut have been bombed, destroying the only route in for humanitarian supplies.
ROLAND HUGUENIN, RED CROSS: The roads from Tyre to Sadr (ph) has been damaged by bombing last night. So Tyre is beginning to look like a city under siege.
PENHAUL: No way out either for aid workers to help the thousands of civilians thought to be stranded in outlying villages.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) getting red lights on all security clearances. We aren't able to move out of Tyre. PENHAUL: In the old quarter, the Doctors Without Borders aid group is preparing in case of an all-out ground attack on central Tyre.
DR. MARTIEL MEDECO, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
PENHAUL: What we fear over the next few days is that Tyre is a high stakes target and this could be the theater of a larger military operation, he says. The (INAUDIBLE) and his team are rushing to refit this operating theater in Bashir (ph) hospital, it's not been used for the last year. He says a potential Israeli assault could split Tyre into, cutting off this hospital in the west of the city from three others in the east.
MEDECO: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
PENHAUL: We're preparing for the worst in the event the fighting spreads into downtown Tyre so we can tend to the wounded from street battles, he says. With the bridge on the approach to Tyre blown up, Doctors Without Borders volunteers have no choice but to wade into the Litani River Monday. They say they desperately need these boxes of medical supplies for their clinic.
As they stepped up the humanitarian effort, Israel was ratcheting up the war effort. Planes flattened six apartment blocks in the north of Tyre with bombs and missiles, leaving smoking ruins. Israeli commando stormed these buildings before dawn Saturday, killing a handful of Hezbollah commanders.
By late Monday, shells were exploding on the city outskirts but no sign yet of Israeli ground troops at Tyre's gates.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PENHAUL: City officials have said that an extended artillery strike on downtown Tyre or an Israeli ground assault would be a nightmare scenario. They estimate that 20,000 civilians are still trapped in the city -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Karl, thank you and still to come tonight in THE SITUATION ROOM we're following all the late-breaking developments in the Middle East crisis. At least 15 people killed in a new round of Israeli air strikes on Beirut suburbs, we're going to go back live to the Lebanese capital.
And we're also going to go live in the Israeli/Lebanese border. CNN's John Roberts over these past several days has been embedded with elite Israeli forces as they battle Hezbollah on the ground. John has been with them. We're going to go live and get his full update.
Live from Jerusalem, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. We're following all of the late- breaking developments in the crisis in the Middle East. The Lebanese government today proposing that 15,000 Lebanese troops would be sent to southern Lebanon to try to deal with the situation there if Israeli troops withdraw and now there's reaction coming in from the Israeli government. We're going to speak to a representative from the Israeli Foreign Ministry and to a Lebanese cabinet minister. That's coming up, but there's other important news happening as well.
Let's go to CNN's Zain Verjee. She's in Washington with a complete wrap -- Zain.
VERJEE: Wolf, the military relationship between the U.S. and South Korea is getting an overhaul. A senior U.S. defense official says Washington will now give Seoul the lead in any wartime operation. The shift reportedly is based on U.S. assessments of South Korea's improved military capability and the potential threat posed by North Korea. U.S. officials say this could reduce the number of U.S. troops in South Korea, about 30,000 are there now.
Texas Republicans reportedly have abandoned their legal fight to replace Tom DeLay on the November ballot. This comes after Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia today rejected the Texas GOP's emergency request to let the former House majority leader be taken off the ballot in DeLay's old district. Last week a federal appeals court ruled that Delay who is facing money laundering charges could not be replaced because he's still his party's official nominee.
Gas prices are skyrocketing and they could keep rising even higher after the nation's largest oil field shut down today. A gallon of regular unleaded is at $3.04 on average, just three cents short of September's record high when Hurricane Katrina disrupted supplies. This comes as British Petroleum announced it's closing an Alaska oil field indefinitely to fix its pipeline corrosion problems.
And at least nine people were killed when an SUV carrying suspected illegal immigrants rolled over during a border chase today. The driver was trying to outrun border patrol agents at a checkpoint on U.S. 95 near Yuma, Arizona. As many as 22 people were inside the vehicle, at least 12 of them were hurt. Authorities say the driver just tried to make a U-turn to avoid the checkpoint -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you, Zain. And just ahead, Beirut suburbs (INAUDIBLE) buildings reduced to rubble and neighbors trying to rescue neighbors with their bare hands. CNN's Jim Clancy is in Beirut. He'll be joining us live with details of Israel's latest air strikes.
Plus, CNN's John Roberts on a very dangerous mission with elite Israeli troops as they push into Lebanon. John has just come back from across the border. He was embedded with those troops. He's standing by to join us live with his exclusive report.
Live from Jerusalem, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: To our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Happening now, the Lebanese government is pledging to send 15,000 troops to southern Lebanon once Israeli troops withdraw. It's a move aimed at moving peace efforts forward on a day when the fighting moved Lebanon's prime minister to tears.
Israel, meanwhile, is vowing to keep hammering Hezbollah targets until the militia group holds its fire. At least 49 people were killed in Lebanon today. Hezbollah fired another 140 rocket attacks into northern Israel.
And President Bush is promoting a United Nations Security Council draft resolution as the right basis for bringing peace to Lebanon. But Arab League delegates are heading to the United Nations right now to voice their serious complaints.
I'm Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
CNN's Jim Clancy is standing by in Beirut. But first, we want to go to northern Israel, along the border. CNN senior national correspondent John Roberts has been embedded with Israeli forces. Spent the last several days marching through south Lebanon with those Israeli troops. John is joining us now with some details.
John, an incredible adventure for you. A very dangerous, risky assignment. Give our viewers a little sense of what you saw and what you heard.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SR. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it really was an extraordinary 48 hours that we spent with this reserve, this elite reserve unit in southern Lebanon. To the best of my knowledge, it is the very first time that the Israeli army has allowed a foreign journalist to travel with, to sleep with to -- or at least to live with those troops right on the very front lines. We were eating, living, sleeping with them in extraordinarily difficult conditions.
We walked all night, about seven miles into southern Lebanon -- without giving out the exact location -- it was a little bit west of Ayt al-Shahab, which is the scene of very, very heavy fighting. That area is still very much the hot zone. It's the new area in which the Israeli army is trying to push north, to push Hezbollah out of that area.
I will tell you, Wolf, as much, if not more emphasis and effort was put on force protection on that area as it was hunting those Hezbollah guerrillas. An extremely dangerous area with potential Hezbollah attacks at every turn. The snipers that were with our unit were always at the ready, looking at the windows, they were looking at the hilltops with thermal imaging and other technology, just trying to make sure that Hezbollah wasn't creeping up on their position to launch a counterstrike or some sort of an ambush.
The task of the unit that we were with was to find Hezbollah positions, to try to scout out areas where Hezbollah could be, in order to call in air strikes and air power as well. There were a lot of tanks that were brought in to knock down areas that were identified as potential targets for Hezbollah activity, and it is a very, very difficult operation, because Hezbollah is so well entrenched in those towns and villages, that it's so dangerous for the troops to go in there on foot.
That was proven again today in Bint Jbeil, where two Israeli soldiers were killed, another Israeli soldier was killed early this morning in another town in that area. So rather that going in there with ground troops, going house to house, they prefer to take high points for observation and use the technology that they have to try to scout out positions and bring in what's called indirect fire -- that's the artillery, the air force bombing -- to try to root out Hezbollah positions.
But the soldiers that I was with described the campaign against Hezbollah as very difficult, frustrating at some points, because you just don't know where the Hezbollah guerrillas are fighting.
And that was proven yesterday, when after an entire day of trying to pinpoint those locations and bringing fire on them, about six or seven Katyusha rockets flew right over our heads, heading for southern Israel.
One of the commanders in the unit that I was with said you shouldn't underestimate Hezbollah. There was also a sense from these soldiers, which are civilians -- they have jobs, some of them are accountants, others are doctors, some are real estate brokers. The guy who was leading the unit was a graduate student in civil engineering. It's difficult for them to be up there, to drop their lives, to leave their family and be on the front lines. But they say everybody in Israel has to be a soldier. It's difficult not being in the fight when you're an Israeli citizen, and so they were up there doing their duty, Wolf. But it is a very, very difficult operation, and that was really impressed upon us in the last 48 hours.
BLITZER: Are we hearing that artillery fire, the shelling behind you as we usually do, John?
ROBERTS: Wolf, it's a little further away than it was just about an hour ago. There was a hilltop position not far from here which is the site of that famous al-Khayyam prison, infamous prison during the Israeli occupation of Lebanon. That hill has been hit repeatedly over the last week or so, and when they come in with the artillery that close -- it's less than a half a mile away -- just tremendous thundering, crushing sounds. There are also big, bright busts of light that light up the night sky. It really is -- it would be incredibly frightening for you if you didn't know what it was. But we have grown quite used to it, that it's outgoing artillery fire, it's not directed toward us. But as anybody who has been in these operations before, military or otherwise, knows, when you hear the artillery, the bombs that loudly, no area is safe, Wolf. So we just hope that they have got a pretty good aim on that position.
BLITZER: And one final question, John. I know it's been a very, very hectic few days. You were embedded with U.S. forces as they moved towards Baghdad at the start of the war in Iraq. Now you've been embedded with Israeli forces as they march through south Lebanon. Give us a little flavor of the differences, the similarities.
ROBERTS: Well, first of all, Wolf, when I went into Iraq, I was embedded with the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion out of Camp Lejeune, which is a mobile unit. They used those eight-wheeled LAVs. They also had logistics trains following them. There were plenty of vehicles to ride in.
This was going in, trudging on foot, up hills, down the other, very rocky, sandy terrain. You're traveling in the middle of the night when there is literally no light. The night has closed in around you. It's slipping and sliding. It's a long, hard, arduous task to get to where you are. And once you get there, the conditions that you're living in were very, very difficult. They were in a house that had -- was under construction. It was...
BLITZER: John, let me interrupt. Let me interrupt, John, because those blasts are getting louder and louder. I just -- I want to make sure that they're not getting too close to you.
ROBERTS: No, we're fine, Wolf. It's still outgoing fire. It is hitting the hilltop again very close to us now, but it is outgoing fire, so I think we're pretty much OK.
But I think that the trek into Iraq was easier from a physical standpoint, because we were traveling in vehicles. We did have a lot more distance to cover. The distances here in southern Lebanon and northern Israel are much closer together. You know, it's the difference between United States and Europe, where in the United States they think 100 years is a long time, and in Europe they believe 100 miles is a long way. Everything very close together, but still, getting up and down that terrain is very, very difficult, and that's what gives Hezbollah such an advantage, is there are so many places for them to take cover, so many deep ravines for them to travel in to try to line up a position and ambush Israeli forces, Wolf. It is an extremely dangerous area. I think it was more dangerous than Iraq was during the Iraq war.
BLITZER: These reservists, these Israeli reservists, elite forces, give us a little sense, John, were they -- their morale. Were they depressed? Were they excited? Were they confident? What was the feel that you found from them?
ROBERTS: They had a job to do, Wolf, and the job is to try to protect their homeland, which has been under attack now since 1948. And they know that they have to go into that job with as much enthusiasm and dedication as possible. But almost to a man, none of them wanted to be there. These are people who put in military service. Many of them are veterans of the previous campaign in Lebanon.
An attorney who I talked to said it is very difficult to leave your family and be up here, but what can you do, because everybody in Israel is a soldier. Another one is an actor, who went through a three-year theater course, was supposed to graduate yesterday. Was feeling somewhat down about the fact that all of his fellow students graduated, and he didn't.
There is a sense among just about everybody I talked to in that unit, Wolf, that they would like this to be over today, but they know that the conditions do not exist on the ground for it to be over, and they do think that they are going to be there for quite a while to come, particularly with this idea now of the Lebanese military perhaps moving into the area. There's not a lot of trust here in Israel about with the Lebanese army could do against Hezbollah. There is even less trust about what a United Nations force could do. So they believe that they will be there for some time to come, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, bear with me for a moment, John. I want to bring Jim Clancy, our veteran correspondent. He's now in Beirut, on the scene for us.
Jim, there was some dramatic moves by the Lebanese government today, offering to dispatch, what, 15,000 troops toward the Israeli border and deal with the security situation. Give our viewers a sense, a perspective of what this could mean in this war.
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a very important move, and a bold move, you must say, by the Lebanese government. This took some time for them to fashion, and they're pushing it forward. They want to put the Lebanese army south of the Litani River there to replace Hezbollah, remove those fighters, have the army in there with existing U.N. forces to monitor the area.
It depends on an Israeli withdrawal. There is pluses and minuses to all of this.
Let's look at the minuses first, and John just brought it up. There's no trust of the Lebanese army, its capabilities. Even the Lebanese say it takes them an entire day to get authorization to fire a single bullet.
On the other hand, as John also pointed out, there's even less trust of the United Nations.
Now, Mark Regev, you're going to talk to him in a couple of minutes, made a good point earlier, and that is there's no history of the Lebanese army ever stopping a single attack by Hezbollah. At the same time, there's no record of the United Nations ever stopping a single attack by Hezbollah.
So putting the Lebanese army in there, though, creates a political atmosphere that has Hezbollah in a different position. That's one of the pluses here. Israel has wanted the Lebanese government to take control of that border area, because that then gives the Lebanese government responsibility for the area. Before today, you know well that they have simply been saying, well, Hezbollah is in control down there. That's not the government. Want to end all of that -- Wolf.
BLITZER: You know, Jim, we're desperate, obviously a lot of people in this part of the world desperate for some return of peace to this area between Israel and Lebanon. Let me bring back John Roberts for a moment. John, you were there, you were with Israeli troops. Is this proposal if in fact the Lebanese army can do it, as we hear Israeli shelling going out from behind you, is this something that you think the Israeli military is going to be able to rely on. They will pull out of south Lebanon as Lebanese forces, together with United Nations military personnel, move in to try to deal with this Hezbollah threat to northern Israel?
ROBERTS: I should also point out, Wolf, hearing machine gun fire now coming from that hill point. So it would sound like they're attacking what they believe is a Hezbollah stronghold up there in that area. But from the Israeli army standpoint and it also runs through the political leadership here, there is very little trust in the Lebanese army. As Jim Clancy pointed out, they have not been able to control Hezbollah before. They also believe that the Lebanese army is either subservient to or maybe sympathetic to Hezbollah.
So, if they put the Lebanese army down there, they have no guarantee, if they pull back and allow the Lebanese army to take over, they have no guarantee that they're going to get tough with Hezbollah, stop those rockets from being launched, stop Hezbollah from reconstituting itself in positions that it was just pushed out of. So almost to a person, Wolf, among the leadership of the Israeli army, the commanders of the unit that we were with, who have a sense of this, they believe that there's no way that the Israeli army could leave south Lebanon until that international stabilization force can come in. And that could really create a big diplomatic problem because, for nations like France and others nations on the Security Council, if Lebanon is saying, yes, we will put our army down there, very difficult for them to support the idea of the Israeli army holding on to the positions that they have fought for for the last couple of weeks.
So we're going to see a very difficult diplomatic dance here in the coming days, Wolf. Who will do what, what will be allowed and what the Israeli army would do. But, it would appear, given everything I have heard, that the Israeli army is not going to give up ground until it has reasonable assurances that that zone will stay safe and fairly free of Hezbollah fighters. Though to say it's free of Hezbollah fighters now, certainly is not the case because, as a pointed out just a little while ago, as much fire as the Israeli army and the Israeli Air Force has rained down on those Hezbollah fighters, they shot six Katyusha rockets up right in front of unit that I was with, Wolf. So that's why this fight is very frustrating.
BLITZER: I remember hearing over the weekend that report, that eye witness account. It was pretty frightening to all of us who were listening when those Katyushas were going literally right over your head, John. I want you to stand by. Jim Clancy, in Beirut, stand by as well. We have to take today quick break. As we continue to monitor all of the late-breaking developments in this Middle East war. We're hearing machine gun fire near John Roberts as well as Israeli shelling, the pounding of Hezbollah targets continuing. We will take a quick break. We're live in Jerusalem and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
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BLITZER: Israelis continue to pound targets in south Lebanon from northern Israel. We just heard the shelling. We heard the machine gun fire. John Roberts on the scene there. Jim Clancy in Beirut reporting on a peace offer today from the Lebanese government. The government saying it will send 15,000 troops into southern Lebanon as part of an effort to try to resolve this situation if Israeli forces leave. The question now, will Israel accept that offer?
And joining us here in Jerusalem is the spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Mark Regev. Thanks for coming in.
MARK REGEV, SPOKESMAN, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY: My pleasure, Wolf.
BLITZER: Fifteen thousand Lebanese forces. The Lebanese government says it's ready to deploy those troops in South Lebanon, assuming you, the Israeli forces, get out. This is what you wanted, right?
REGEV: We've been calling for quite sometime now, for years now, for the Lebanese government to put its army in the south. You know, up until now, Wolf, when you went to the northern part of Israel and you looked north, you didn't see Lebanese army, you didn't see Lebanese flags, you saw Hezbollah flags and Hezbollah military formations.
So this, in principle, is something, of course, we embrace and we support. The proof of the pudding, though, is in the eating. And I'd want to know the rules of engagement. Is the Lebanese army now finally going to follow through on its commitments and start to disarm Hezbollah?
BLITZER: This was a unanimous decision of the Lebanese cabinet. And, as you know, there are two Hezbollah ministers in that cabinet. So presumably, they agreed to it. And, at least on the surface, it means that the Lebanese forces come in, backed up by an expanded, more robust UNIFIL, the temporary United Nations force there, and the Israeli forces pull out.
REGEV: It's difficult for me to believe, as an Israeli, that Hezbollah is going to voluntarily disarm. I mean, Hezbollah is a very extremist organization, a very radical agenda; supported, as you know, Wolf, by Iran and Syria. And if those Hezbollah members of the Lebanese government supported this, it makes me wonder if they're not being a bit disingenuous.
So this will come to the table, I'm sure, in New York in the next couple of days. The principle, of course, we accept, but I want to know and I repeat my point, what are the rules of engagement? Up until now, the Lebanese army has done nothing to stop Hezbollah terrorist activity. Are they going to start?
BLITZER: Let's move on and talk about some of the latest Israeli airstrikes. Today, in a predominantly Christian part of Beirut, what's going on? Because a lot of people around the world are shaking their heads. They're wondering what Israel is doing.
REGEV: No, there's logic behind our behavior. I understand that in that particular strike, there was a target of opportunity worthy of trying to hit. And I can't go into more details at this stage. I apologize.
BLITZER: Did you hit the target you were looking for? Was it a successful mission?
REGEV: No more details at this stage. I apologize.
BLITZER: Because you understand that you run the risk of not only alienating the Muslims -- certainly the Shia, Sunni; but the Christians, at least historically, they've been the most receptive in Lebanon to dealing with Israel.
REGEV: Well, I think most Lebanese do understand -- the Christians, the Sunnis, the majority of the Lebanese population understand that Israel has no hostile intention whatsoever towards Lebanon. And if it wasn't for Hezbollah orchestrating this crisis that we're currently in, that we'd have a peaceful relationship with Lebanon.
Ultimately, Israel -- we have no hostile intention whatsoever toward Lebanon. We don't want an inch of Lebanese territory. We don't want a gallon of their water. We'd like to live in peace with Lebanon, and I think most Lebanese know that.
BLITZER: Right now, if you listen to all the reports coming out of Lebanon, they don't know that, because the destruction of the infrastructure has been so severe, and the civilian casualties that have resulted as a result of the Israeli airstrikes have been so significant. You understand the anger that is felt in so much of Lebanon and the Arab world?
REGEV: But I think if you listen carefully to what people are saying in Lebanon, that anger is focused at Hezbollah that orchestrated this crisis. This Iranian proxy that took a quiet and stable border, that took a situation where people in Lebanon and people in Israel were looking forward to a prosperous, peaceful Summer and they turned everything upside down.
And I think everyone understands in Lebanon that you have to take the guns away from this extremist group because this Iranian proxy, this militia, this armed organization that is the tool of the Iranians, and the most extreme elements in the region, as long as they are armed they will have the capacity to orchestrate this sort of violence that no one wants to see.
BLITZER: Let me read to you what the Arab League ambassador to the United Nations says. He says "the presence of Israeli soldiers on the Lebanese soil means this is an army of occupation and therefore we are back to square one. To resolve this issue, the Israelis must withdraw behind the blue line." That's the line that existed before July 12th, when those two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped and brought into Lebanon. Under what circumstances will Israel completely withdraw from Lebanon?
REGEV: We are committed to that withdrawal. We don't want a single inch of Lebanese territory. And all we say is when we pull out, there can't be a vacuum. Because if there is a vacuum, Hezbollah will move into there and they'll redeploy and we'll be back to square one.
That's not good for Israel, that's not good for Lebanon, that's not good for anyone. We have, as we pull out, we have to see the Lebanese army and those international forces that people are talking about moving in there, making sure there's not a vacuum.
BLITZER: Mark Regev, thanks for coming in.
REGEV: My pleasure.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And up ahead, the dramatic moment today on the battlefield. Israel shooting down a Hezbollah drone. But its mission, they already have been accomplished. CNN's Brian Todd has some inside information from Israeli forces. We'll get to that right after this.
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BLITZER: As you saw and heard live here in THE SITUATION ROOM only moments ago, Israeli forces in northern part of Israel continuing a serious barrage of shelling into south Lebanon going against Hezbollah targets and machine gun fire as well. We're watching this story very, very carefully.
At the same time, Israel did something today it hasn't done before. CNN's Brian Todd is in Washington with details -- Brian?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the Israeli military says it shot down an unmanned Hezbollah drone, a vehicle which Israeli sources and outside experts tell us could have potentially done damage itself or could have been used to guide other Hezbollah weapons.
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TODD (voice-over): Dramatic video from the nose cone of an Israeli fighter jet. The Israeli military says this shows an unmanned Hezbollah drone being shot down over the Mediterranean. A senior Israeli military official tells CNN the drone shot down similar to this one Hezbollah launched in 2004, is the third unmanned Hezbollah drone launched over northern Israel over the past few years and the first to be shot down.
The Iranian made drone, according to Israeli sources, has a wingspan of just a few feet, but may have carried explosives. Experts say Hezbollah does not have drones the size of the U.S. predator capable of firing longer-range missiles.
MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INST. Hezbollah probably has relatively simple drones that may be numerous, but will be relatively easy to shoot down. It doesn't mean that none of them will get through. Some could get through, and some of them could be steered quite accurately to a target.
TODD: Hezbollah could easily weaponize its drones with warheads, according to experts, but the drones themselves would have to fly low, get very close to Israel's major cities to hit them, and would likely be intercepted before they reach the target. But one key tactical use, analysts say, is to find Israeli military positions and send pictures of them back to Hezbollah command posts.
JOHN PIKE, GLOBAL SECURITY ORG.: You send out this UAV with a TV camera to look for convoys, people who have not taken shelter. As soon as this thing spots them, the TV sends back the target location, you fire your rockets.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: This deployment has other uses for as well for Hezbollah. According to Israeli officials and other experts, propaganda, sending a message to Hezbollah's supporters and its enemies that the group is still capable of tactical surprises -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right Brian, thank you. The Internet meanwhile is giving us some striking new glimpses into the widespread gas shortages along gas lines throughout Lebanon right now. Here with some of the latest images is our Internet reporter Abbi Tatton -- Abbi?
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORT: Wolf, this is described as the daily routine in one gas station just north of Beirut. This is shot by 23-year-old Natalie Saman (ph), who lives right above this gas station. She reports long lines of vehicles arriving early in the morning, waiting for hours. She's even seen fighting down there below her apartment. She says some days the fuel runs out by noon. Other days there's just no fuel at all.
Now this video was sent into CNN via I-Report. We're also see evidence of the shortages elsewhere on the Internet. This is the blog Beirut Live from the Lebanese capital. Photos there of gas stations closed. The ones that are open, the blog describes hundreds of vehicles outside them and a feeling of hysteria as people cue for the rationed gas, worried that the supplies might soon dry up entirely -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Abbi, thank you. Let's check in with Paula Zahn to find out what's coming up right at the top of the hour. Hi, Paula.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN HOST: Hi Wolf, thanks. Coming up in just about three minutes, we'll not only have the latest news from the front lines, we're going to take you inside the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah thanks to our embedded CNN crews. And then with the fighting pushing gas prices through the roof, maybe you've been tempted to buy some products that promise you miraculous many improvements in gas mileage. Are they worth the money or are they an outright rip-off in some cases? Coming up at the top of the hour, the results of an investigation by our very own consumer reporter Greg Hunter. Wolf?
BLITZER: Paula, thank you. And still ahead, our hot shots, pictures often worth 1,000 words. Through the lens of war, stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
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BLITZER: Here are a look at some of the hot shots coming in from our friends over at the "Associated Press." South of Beirut, a woman looks up at a building on fire after it was targeted by an Israeli air strike. In the sky above northern Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert travels by chopper to visit the Israeli army's northern command. On the Israeli/Lebanese border, Israeli soldiers smoke cigarettes after battling Hezbollah. And just north of Tyre in south Lebanon, workers from the aid organization Doctors Without Borders move much needed medical supplies across the Litani River by hand. Some of today's hot shots.
That's it for us, we're back here in the Middle East tomorrow. Let's go to Paula in New York -- Paula?
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