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CNN Live Saturday

Israeli Troops Prepare for Possible Ground Invasion; Casualties Mount on Both Sides; An Inside Look at Hezbollah

Aired July 22, 2006 - 16:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN center in Atlanta. It is 4:00 p.m. here.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And I'm John Roberts in Haifa, Israel.

It is 11:00 p.m. in Haifa and in Beirut, where it has been another day of air raid sirens, rocket attacks and fierce fighting along the border. We'll have complete coverage for you from the Middle East. But, first, let's get the headlines of the day from Fredricka up in Atlanta -- Fred?

WHITFEILD: All right, John, well, let's bring you up to date on the crisis in the Middle East. Here's what we know right now.

Israeli troops gain a foothold in southern Lebanon today, taking control of the town of Maroun al-Ras. Israel says troops ran Hezbollah fighters out in an effort to create a security buffer.

More rockets and shelling on both sides of the border for the 11th day. Hezbollah hit targets in the Israeli towns of Nahariya and Karmiel. More that a dozen people were injured.

Israeli warplanes launched another round of air strikes in Lebanon. They're also dropping more leaflets, urging civilians in the south to flee -- John?

ROBERTS: Fred, it's been quiet here for the last few hours, ever since the sun went down. But it was a busy day as usual here in Haifa. Intense fighting coming from the Lebanese side of the border as Hezbollah fires off the Katyusha rockets to try to frighten, really, more than anything the Israeli people into giving up their fight. The air raid sirens went off about nine times in Haifa, some nine Katyushas coming in, though there was no damage, no, casualties, no injuries here, because all of the rockets fell in an open area.

It was a different story toward the Lebanese border along the coast in Nahariya. Some 22 Katyusha rockets fell there -- three of them hit homes, two people were injured there.

Also a little further inland, in the towns of Karmiel and Kiryat Shimona, up against the border also in the town of Safet, more rockets fell in Karmiel. They got 21 today, another two people injured there. In total, we're told by local authorities, 20 people were injured, three of them seriously. But as much as the rocket attacks have really affected the Israeli psyche and frightened a lot of people into leaving the northern towns for the south, the most intense fighting has been across the Israeli/Lebanon border around the town of Avivim. That's where Christiane Amanpour has spent the past few days, and she joins us now with the latest on the cross-border fighting -- Christiane?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, that's right. As you say, all of these days of Israeli air bombardment and tank bombardment and what they call the limited incursions on the ground have not yet fully stopped, or all stopped, the Katyushas, which rained down in high and heavy numbers.

But, on the other side of Avivim, which is the border town on the Israel side where Israeli ground forces have been engaged with Hezbollah guerrillas, we're told, for the last several days, Israeli sources, Israeli military now says it's in control of that town, that village, on the other town called Maroun al-Ras.

It was heavy fighting, though, they say and they say that six of their own commandos, Israeli commandos, were killed. They also claimed that they killed and ran out Hezbollah fighters.

They also, at a briefing today, near the northern front, showed us a cache of weapons, ammunition, anti-tank rockets and the like, which they say they captured from Hezbollah militants on the ground during their battle.

Now, as you know, much has been made, and much speculation has centered, on what Israel's military will do next; whether it will get an order to mount a full-scale land invasion. Today, all the military leaders from the top on down are stepping back from that, saying, that their ground incursions which are underway are only limited in scope, are not designed to hold territory, are not designed to take any buffer zones and hold them themselves, just to try to force Hezbollah back and to, as they say, separate Hezbollah from their military capability.

We also have heard separately from diplomatic sources that this is potentially going to go on for another couple of weeks, maybe two to three weeks. After which they hope they might be able to put a cease-fire in place, based on a political solution, which we're told would center on the fact that the Lebanese government would have its army come down to southern Lebanon. Bolstered, in fact, by a robust, new international force. Not a unified force which is there already, monitoring and observing, but a robust, new international force. These considerations' still under way, John.

ROBERTS: Christiane, this strategy by the IDF to go in in these pinpoint attacks as they did in the town of Maroun al ras, clear out Hezbollah, and then retreat back across the border, not hold the ground. Many analysts say that was one of the problems with the Iraq war, was that the military would go, they would clear the Ba'athists out of a town, they would move on, and after the military had left, the Ba'athists would move back in. Is the Israeli not concerned that if they clear Hezbollah out of those areas and then they leave that Hezbollah will come back again?

AMANPOUR: They were asked that repeatedly: how do you get rid of Hezbollah's threat if you don't hold the ground? And they keep insisting that they can do it by consistently going in in small groups, they say. But they won't tell us how many forces they have inside. But they say they have plenty to do the job, and as we know, and we've seen, there are other units who have been called up to back up, now we're being told, to back up and reinforce those who are already inside.

But what they're trying to do is separate, also, the Hezbollah militants, as I say, from their military equipment, and what they're saying is in some instances, for instance, they're seeing, you know that there are these battles, but when they sort of fire, when they go against the Hezbollah militants, in some instances, they get into vehicles and run off, leaving a lot of their weaponry, which then the Israelis cart off, or destroy, or whatever, and bring back, anyway, at least some of it, to show us.

But what they're trying to do, they say, because they're mindful of how difficult and painful an occupation they had over 18 years, which, as you know, Hezbollah was instrumental in basically creating the conditions for them to unilaterally withdraw six years ago, they don't want to go there again. And they're not interested, they say in holding territory.

And they say, also, that they could do a lot more heavy bombing, heavy gunfire, heavy tank fire, but they insist that they're concerned about civilian casualties, and, to that end, they are trying to get the civilians to move back, John.

ROBERTS: All right, Christiane Amanpour in the town of Betula (ph) right there along the Israeli/Lebanese border.

In fact, in terms of trying to protect civilians from the attacks on these towns, the Israeli military over the last couple of days has been broadcasting messages using local media and also contacting local officials on the Lebanese side of the border to say "Get those people out of the towns, get them moving north, because we're coming in our heavy artillery, we're coming in with our guns and tanks on the ground, and we don't want them to be there."

Obviously, Israel becoming ever more sensitive to the growing international outcry about the number of civilian casualties in Lebanon, now standing at about 263.

We'll get news from the other side in the border up there in Beirut in just a couple of minutes. But, first, let's go back to Atlanta and Fred --Fred?

WHITFIELD: Well, John, we're going to a little bit more about the military strategy. What does Israel hope to accomplish by moving into southern Lebanon? Joining us by phone now, CNN military analyst, Brigadier General James "Spider" Marks. And, general, can Israel really secure or occupy enough of southern Lebanon to cripple Hezbollah?

BRIG GENERAL JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET), U.S. ARMY: Well, they certainly want to do sufficient damage to Hezbollah that they feel that they have neutered them enough, reduced their capabilities enough, so that Israel can withdraw across the border, and then resort to what has been established over the course of the last quarter century, of what would be called creeping normalcy.

Clearly Hezbollah and Israel will never get along. Hezbollah exists exclusively to destroy the state of Israel. However, if you can reduce the forces within Hezbollah sufficiently, you can achieve some degree of normalcy in a relationship, if not completely have them gone.

And, frankly, recruiting in Hezbollah is occurring today. The fact that Hezbollah in many cases is, quote, being martyred today is creating and growing new recruits. So, it's certainly a very long engagement.

And what Israel is doing on the ground in southern Lebanon right now, immediately, with a couple of battalions across the border, is they're securing passage points, and they're making it -- they're giving themselves an option to put more forces across with these initial forces securing key pieces of terrain and reducing the Hezbollah fighters.

WHITFIELD: And for now, these initial forces, or the strategy, as Israel is saying, it's carrying out these pinpoint operations, primarily targeting these Hezbollah bunkers. But what are the challenges?

MARKS: Very, very manifold. A whole bunch of challenges exist. Hezbollah owns the terrain. They've had six years since the Israeli forces have withdrawn back to Israel to improve their fighting positions, to increase the labyrinth of tunnels, certainly that exist among a number of facilities.

They have -- they execute guerrilla tactics. They live with the people. This is where they live. This is where they fight, this is where they train. They know this terrain very, very well. So, Israel, coming across the border, certainly is familiar with the terrain, but there has been sufficient changes in the last six years to make it difficult for Israel, as they come across.

WHITFIELD: So, if perhaps Hezbollah has the advantage because of terrain, how about arsenal-wise? Have we seen Hezbollah's best already in action?

MARKS: The best you're going to see from Hezbollah is going to be the ground fighter, the guy on the ground who knows the terrain very, very well, and he's going to fight as aggressively as he can, and they certainly have sufficient numbers of that. They have additional rocket arsenals. They may pull those out. But the fact that they haven't unleashed the Zelzal rockets yet may indicate that Israel had a very good campaign of striking from the air and through the use of artillery, the launchers that the Zelzal is needed in order to be effective.

WHITFIELD: Now, when you talked about the recruiting that is likely already under way, might that be why Israeli strikes did target TV and phone towers, to perhaps make an impact on that? Why is it so vital to cut out communications with the ordinary citizens?

MARKS: Well, the primary means of communication for the Hezbollah fighter is probably cell phones, and some form of landline communications. So, by going after the telecommunications and the media infrastructure, certainly is going to cripple the ability of the normal civilian to use those lines, but it is definitely going to deny that capability to the Hezbollah fighters.

WHITFIELD: Israel says, through its diplomats, telling CNN, that this could last for a few weeks. Do you think that is modest?

MARKS: Um, probably. I tell you, Fred, in order to get across, and in order to achieve the objectives that Israel has stated for itself, they will be there for a while, or somebody's going to be there for a while.

WHITFIELD: All right, military analyst Brigadier General James "Spider" Marks. Thanks so much for your time.

MARKS: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: More on CNN in our continuing coverage of the crisis in Middle East with John Roberts in Haifa.

ROBERTS: Fred, an Israeli army spokesman told me today that the Israeli military has targeted 80 sites in Lebanon today for artillery barrages from the south across the border on the ground as well as from the sea as well -- missile attacks a little bit further to the north.

They said that they were targeting Hezbollah outposts, but also infrastructure and communication systems, which means that they were hitting had much further north that in the southern area that Hezbollah has its stronghold, and that means Beirut. Let's go to Beirut now for the latest on the situation there. Here's CNN's Ben Wedeman --Ben?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John. There's been a lot of action in the south, and that's where I was today. We watched as Israeli aircraft bombed roads. It's in an area where many of the refugees are trying to get out of the south. Basically, what the Israelis have done is, by taking out bridges and roads, they're channeling people into one very narrow road, and it's very difficult for them to get through there.

So, something of a contradiction. The Israelis are telling the civilians in southern Lebanon they have to get out. But they're not making it very easy for them to leave the area.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Hurry, hurry, hurry, shouts a Lebanese soldier, trying to break a bottleneck at the Litani River, 20 miles from the border with Israel.

The Israeli army has warned that Lebanese civilians should get out and go north. Lebanese officials say nearly one million people have been made homeless by the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

"There's bombing, we're afraid," says Hannah Hejaji (ph), "We haven't seen any fighters, they, the Israelis, are bombing our homes."

And they're bombing in the hills above the road, hunting for Hezbollah's elusive target.

In better times, the drive from Tyre to Beirut would take an hour and a half. Now, it takes up to five hours, if you're lucky.

Israeli missiles and bombs have cratered roads and destroyed bridges, forcing traffic onto dusty, congested tracks.

Despite it all, some are still defiant.

"We're with the resistance," shouts this refugee, referring to Hezbollah's militia, who are nowhere to be seen in this mess.

Cars are going out, but now cars are going into the south, many of them to pick up relatives in villages in the south that are under bombardment.

This around-the-clock fighting drove this family out of their home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because of that, because it's not the war or nothing we left.

WEDEMAN: Where are you going now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. I don't know. I don't know where I go.

WEDEMAN: No time to talk, time to go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And, John, one of the problems with all these people coming north is that it's putting a real strain on the facilities that have been laid out for the refugees. For instance in the town of Sidon, we're told, that there are as many as 75,000 refugees who filled that city. They're running out of supplies quickly and the supplies are not coming in fast enough to meet their needs -- John?

ROBERTS: Ben, the United Nations and France have been talking about opening up a humanitarian corridor through the port of Beirut to try to get tons and tons of supplies in. Where does that stand right now?

WEDEMAN: Well, obviously they need a green light from the Israelis, since they maintain a naval blockade on all the ports of Lebanon. And indications are that Israel is willing, maybe willing, to do exactly that, because otherwise the situation simply isn't tenable.

Let's not forget, the airport's closed, because it's been bombed. The roads into Syria have been severely bombed as well, so, without some sort of humanitarian corridor, you could have a really serious problem on top of all the other problems that Lebanon is facing -- John?

ROBERTS: And many people say it's going to get worse before it gets better. Ben Wedeman in Beirut, thanks.

As Lebanese continue to flood out of the south towards those towns along the coast, into the north, as Ben was telling us about, they are stuck in Lebanon.

Meantime, the United States and other countries still struggle to get their nationals out of the country. We'll take you to where they are being taken, next on CNN. Stay with us.

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WHITFIELD: U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan says he fears a major humanitarian disaster in the making. He says over 700,000 people have been displaced, 500,000 internally, in Lebanon, about 150,000 across the border into Syria. The others, mostly westerners, have fled the country.

American evacuees finally coming home after a harrowing ordeal. This group arrived a short while ago at Baltimore International Airport. Exhausted, tired, sleepy, but glad to be back home on American soil.

For more on those evacuations, let's go back to John Roberts in Haifa.

ROBERTS: Fred, thanks.

Thousands of Americans have been evacuated so far from Lebanon, but there are thousands more still waiting to go, whether they're evacuated by helicopter, by ferry boat, or by ship. They're all being taken to Cyprus. And the number of refugees that are end up on Cyprus, the number of evacuees that are ending up there, is putting a strain on the facilities. Let's go to Lemusal (ph) in Cyprus right now, and CNN correspondent Chris Burns is there. Hello, Chris.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John.

That's the big question, there were about 25,000 Americans in Lebanon at the start of the conflict, and thousands more on vacation. How many are going to leave is the big question. At first people thought that 4,000 would be leaving now. That's as many as could be leaving just today alone.

Over my shoulder is the Rammah (ph). That is a U.S. commissioned ferry boat that has rived with some 800 people, 700 of them Americans and 100 Canadians and a few dozen Lebanese. It had engine trouble as it was on its way, so it was delayed.

We talked to one of the travelers who said that it took them 36 hours to get here, along with the wait, along with the trip, saying it's not over yet. He's got to go -- he went through some of this processing.

Let's give you an idea, this is the ferry building where people come through, both the departure lounge and the arrival lounge are being used, that by Americans, and over here by other nationalities. There's the arrival lounge, and of course it's empty at this point. They have processed some 800 people in about two hours, lightning speed

And, as we speak, on the other side of this port, is where the British are operating. They are expected a ship in, oh, about 45 minutes with several hundred more. And this is a constant process throughout the night. We're going to see from now until dawn, some ten ships arriving both here and in Larnaca, bringing thousands more people as we see every night.

And this is the reason why people are getting concerned that there could be a humanitarian situation here, and another reason, that's a new reason why the Americans have now set up another, an additional operation in Turkey at a port over there, and also they are setting up military planes to fly out of the Incirlik airbase in Turkey to take people back to the states.

That is the growing concern with, as this conflict deepens, as people see this getting worse in Lebanon, that they are going to be heading for the exits, and people here have to be ready to deal with those people --John?

ROBERTS: Chris, any idea on how much longer it's going to take to evacuate all the Americans out of Lebanon and then to get them from Cyprus or either this new location in Turkey, back home?

BURNS: John, it's a moving target. Because at the beginning they thought 4,000 people would leave, then they said 5,000, then they said 6,000, 7,000, 8,000 people. And now more than -- at least 8,000 have left, and there could be thousands more. That's why they really can't tell.

I talked a Marine captain just a while ago and he said they're ready for thousands upon thousands more, they really don't know. And that's why it's an unpredictable target. That's why they've opened up the extra operation in Turkey, that's why they've opened up this fairgrounds in Nakasia (ph) nearby here to take about 2,500 people they could keep on cots over there until they can find charter planes to take them out. There are six charter planes. That's not nearly enough to move these several thousands that are arriving overnight. They are going to have to stay over at least another 24, 36 hours here --John?

ROBERTS: All right, Chris Burns for us in Lemusal (ph) where, obviously, the evacuations are going to be taking at least another few days --Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, John, thanks so much.

Well, not everyone in Lebanon is fleeing the devastation. Many are Lebanese citizens unable or unwilling to abandon their homeland. Joining me by phone is Joyce Kassatly, she's in the mountains outside of Beirut. You have headed for the hills, Joyce. Do you feel safe now?

JOYSE KASSATLY, LEBANESE REFUGEE: Yes, we are safe now in the mountains, because we left Beirut. We felt that it was really dangerous to stay. So we went fleeing the sounds of the bombs. And we couldn't support anymore.

WHITFIELD: You and who else moved to the hills?

KASSATLY: With my family.

WHITFIELD: And, now that you are in the hills there outside of Beirut, how much longer do you feel you need to stay there?

KASSATLY: Well, really we don't know. We are really -- we don't know what to do, and we are really lost. We have to wait until the situation will be over. So I cannot -- I cannot say. So, we have to wait.

WHITFIELD: Joyce, tell me what your journey to the hills was like. How frightening (sic) were you and your family members?

KASSATLY: Well, we -- we left -- we left Beirut. It was in the morning, when there was no bombs. So, we felt like we were safe for a while to leave Beirut and to come to the mountains. And now we are here in the mountain, and we are not intending to leave unless the situation and this whole thing will be over.

WHITFIELD: Now, do you feel like you have enough food, supplies, or even communication with anyone outside of that area, no problem?

KASSATLY: Yes, yes, we have no problems here. We are living safely. No problem at all. We have everything, food, everything, so we are really safe here.

WHITFIELD: Along the way, did you come across or did you see a lot of other people who were doing the same thing as you?

KASSATLY: Yep. Lot, a lot of people.

WHITFIELD: Do most people have friends and family to stay with once they get there?

KASSATLY: The people who have -- who has friends, who has families in the mountains, and they escaped, all of them, they escaped from Beirut, because really the very reason it's very dangerous to stay there. Not in all Beirut. Well, we have -- we have some -- some of the regions in Beirut, that they are really attacked by the bombs.

WHITFIELD: Now, what are your concerns about what's happening in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces are saying that they have ground troops in place in certain cities and villages throughout southern Lebanon to help weed out, as they say, Hezbollah? What are your thoughts on that?

KASSATLY: Well, now we are talking about politics, listen, I don't have many things to talk about concerning politics. But all we can do is that we are really suffering a lot. And we want just this war to be over. Because we are really enjoying (ph) and this is too much for us. This is really too much for us.

So, concerning Hezbollah and the Israeli forces, what can I say? After all, I'm a citizen, and I hope the best for this country. And just for the war to be over.

WHITFIELD: And are you anticipating that over the next few weeks it would be over, or do you expect that it's going to be much longer than that?

KASSATLY: Well, believe me, I don't know. Because when you hear people talking, everyone has his opinion. So, people are thinking maybe it will take a few days, maybe a few weeks, a few months. And maybe -- and even maybe one or two years. So, nobody knows, after all. So when the war starts, we don't know when it will finish, when it will be over.

WHITFIELD: Joyce Kassatly joining us from the hills just north of the capital city of Beirut, Lebanon. Thank you so much for your time, and we wish you and your family the best as you continue to try to find safety there while the crisis is ongoing.

And we'll have much more of our coverage of the crisis in the Middle East right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's 4:30 on the U.S. East Coast, 11:30 p.m. in Jerusalem and Beirut. And here's what we know at this hour.

On the 11th day of the Middle East fight, Israel warns people in southern Lebanon to evacuate. This as Israeli Defense Forces confirm they have taken control of the southern Lebanese border village of Maroun Al-Ras. Northern Israel continues to be targeted by Hezbollah missiles. Israeli ambulance services report two people injured by rocket fire in Israeli town of Safad.

Well, what is Hezbollah's point of view? When we come back, John Roberts, with that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: You're watching continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East on CNN. I'm John Roberts in Haifa, Israel. Hezbollah was formed back in 1982 as a response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. After that time, it was responsible for a number of attacks on American targets, including the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Beirut and the Marine barracks in Beirut, which resulted in the loss of 241 American lives. The United States has branded Hezbollah a terrorist organization. But on the ground in Lebanon, many people see it very differently. Here's CNN's Nic Robertson to explain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Where are we going now?

HUSSEIN NABULSI, HEZBOLLAH PRESS OFFICER: Now we are moving to where Israeli jet fighters bombed what it called Hezbollah headquarters. I'm going to show you on the ground that this is -- these are buildings inhabited by civilian. Innocent civilians. There is now jet fighters in the sky.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): These are Beirut's southern suburbs, predominantly Shiite and a Hezbollah stronghold. These days it's a dangerous place. And this, Hezbollah spokesman is clearly rattled by the prospect of more Israeli bombs.

(on camera): How dangerous is it in this area at the moment?

NABULSI: It is very, very dangerous. We are now the most dangerous place in the most dangerous moment.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Israeli warplanes have hit this area hard because it's the political capital of Hezbollah, a state within a state. Its influence is everywhere. Before the bombing began, you could find Hezbollah hospitals, schools, and charities, supporting Lebanon's traditionally poor and dispossessed Shiite community.

MALIKAH SROOR, HEZBOLLAH SUPPORTER: I said to Hezbollah, god bless you.

ROBERTSON: For Malikah Sroor and her family, Hezbollah provides water, when no one else can or will. Even now, when so many are displaced.

SROOR: My sister had some to go beg water from them. There are cans, very big cans. They put water in it. And all Lebanon.

ROBERTSON: In her old neighborhood, near Beirut's airport, the one she fled after Israel began bombing, and the one she hopes to return to, Hezbollah picked up the garbage, paid for medical care, and helped run the schools, stepping in and overshadowing the Lebanese government.

SROOR: Hezbollah is doing all the things for the people.

ROBERTSON: On a practical level, Hezbollah paid half the costs for her daughter Zeinab's school, and Zeinab says that was just the beginning of the help. ZEINAB SROOR, DAUGHTER: If something is broken in my school, Hezbollah helps them to make it, and to correct it again.

ROBERTSON: Now, Zeinab is on her way to becoming the next generation of Hezbollah.

Z. SROOR: I hope that, too, when I big, big and adult, I want to be a doctor for Hezbollah. If someone has a hurt, I will help him.

ROBERTSON: Both mother and daughter say they appreciate all that Hezbollah does for them. But the most important thing to them is still the resistance.

Z. SROOR: I like them more when they kill the Israelis from our land, because this land is our, us only.

M. SROOR: They need all my life, all my life for my family, to my family and to my husband, to my sisters, to all the world.

ROBERTSON: And in return for all that it's given her, Hezbollah's won Malikah's unconditional support. When the family is finally able to return to their home, they believe that Hezbollah will help them rebuild.

M. SROOR: They promised that they will help the people to continue, yes, their life again.

ROBERTSON: Hezbollah has a track record of doing just that. In 1996, after an Israeli military assault destroyed numerous buildings in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah was quick to help its supporters rebuild.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hezbollah has a very interesting outfit called the Jihad Construction Company. They load their trucks with windows and all kind of construction equipment, and all these young guys with their t-shirts saying Jihad is not here, they will go from house to house and offer the people, do you want us fix your windows, do you want to us fix your doors?

ROBERTSON: Even now as its buildings are being destroyed, Hezbollah is organizing refugees, and relief services, proof its ability to provide social service has survived.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a lot of damage here.

ROBERTSON: The rebuilding of south Beirut won't come until the bombs stop falling. But when it does, Hezbollah will be there for its followers, as it has so many times before. For now, it's more about surviving.

NABULSI: Our action is always reaction. It's never an action.

ROBERTSON: They say you are killing civilians.

NABULSI: Now there's jet fighters, we have to move.

ROBERTSON: You are really worried about another strike here right now.

NABULSI: Of course, of course.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Go inside Hezbollah tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern as Anderson Cooper hosts a special edition of "CNN PRESENTS." "Inside Hezbollah" airs tonight at 8:00 p.m., and then an encore presentation at 11:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

The crisis in the Middle East began about a week and a half ago with a cross-border incursion by Hezbollah guerrillas and the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers. You'll hear from the family members of those soldiers when CNN comes back. This is CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: CNN's coverage of the Middle East crisis continues throughout the evening. Don't miss "THIS WEEK AT WAR" with John Roberts tonight at 7:00 Eastern, right here on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

Israel has been targeting the facilities of the television network al Manar. It hit television offices in Beirut earlier this week and damaged a broadcasting tower today. Al Manar denies the description, but the state department calls it Hezbollah TV. Gary Nuremberg has more on a network watched by an estimated ten million viewers a day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY NUREMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Israeli military said this weekend it targeted antennas north of Beirut used by the television network Al Manar.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This network is all bad, all the time.

NUREMBERG: Al Manar has been broadcasting since shortly after the first Gulf War in 1991.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a terrorist organization masquerading as a media outlet. This is owned and operated by Hezbollah.

NUREMBERG: Mark Dubowitz is with the Coalition Against Terrorist Media and has lobbied satellite systems to drop the network and American corporations to stop advertising there. Dubowitz cites this video showing images of suicide bombers.

MARK DUBOWITZ, COALITION AGAINST TERRORIST MEDIA: It glorifies suicide bombing. It calls for murder. In a sense it's done more than just yell fire in a crowded movie theater, it provides the match, the gasoline and the arsonist.

NUREMBERG: The United States government has officially branded al Manar a terrorist organization. IMRAHIM MOUSAWI, CHIEF FOREIGN NEWS EDITOR, AL MANAR: While it is like that for the Americans, for tens of millions of Arabs they give support and they believe this is the media outlet that supports the cause of resistance over freedom of liberation.

NUREMBERG: When Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah survived a bombing attack earlier this week, he chose al Manar to show the world he was alive and in charge, but the network denies it is Hezbollah TV.

MOUSAWI: Absolutely wrong. Absolutely wrong. Al Manar has been associated with Hezbollah, because it supports the resistance against the occupation in south Lebanon. It's no way, it's the media outlet or the media war propaganda of Hezbollah.

NUREMBERG: But the State Department has its own description of al Manar television.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which is Hezbollah TV.

NUREMBERG: Saturday's damage to the tower didn't knock al Manar off the air completely. It's still being seen on some satellite systems. Gary Nuremberg, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And much more on our coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. Carol Lin is here to carry it on into the evening.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We'll be talking about the humanitarian crisis that seems to be developing on the ground. We have people all over the region, as you know. John Roberts is in Haifa, and he'll be joining me live from there to talk about the latest rocket attacks and what happens next, whether there is going to be a ground invasion and for how long.

And over the next couple of hours I'll be talking with General Spider Marks about that and about some intelligence that Christiane Amanpour is gathering on the Lebanese/Israeli border. So, an exciting two hours. A lot of developments. Fred, you've been incredibly busy today.

WHITFIELD: Yes, lots of developments. It all changes by the minute and it will continue. Thanks so much Carol.

Well, her husband captured by militants. Now she doesn't know if he's alive or dead. Coming up, a wife looks beyond her personal pain.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want him to be back. I want the killing from both sides of the fence to be stopped. I want to raise children. I want to continue living my life in peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: I think there's no doubt that the provocation and the acts of Hezbollah kidnapping the Israeli soldiers started off all this. It was unnecessary. It has provoked an onslaught on the people and the government and the nation of Lebanon. It has really set back peace prospects for the region. But I still also believe that the Israeli response has been excessive and disproportionate.

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ROBERTS: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan speaking with Larry King last night, talking about the crisis in the Middle East, as well as those two kidnapped Israeli soldiers, the incident a week and a half ago that touched off this crisis. Since that time some families in Israel have been watching and waiting, trying to fill the hours, wondering if their loved ones, those two soldiers, are still alive. Our Fionnuala Sweeney sat down with one family in Nahariya.

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FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Karnit Goldwasser married her husband Udi just ten months ago.

KARNIT GOLDWASSER, HUSBAND CAPTURED BY HEZBOLLAH: He's the love of my life. We want to be married and want to have family and children, and I want them to dream.

SWEENEY: Udi was serving his last day of annual month-long military duty when he was captured more than a week ago. Nothing has been heard from him since.

GOLDWASSER: It will be hard for him, but he will manage, because he know that when he will be back, he will have me.

SWEENEY: Udi's parents spend every waking hour trying to find out whether their son is dead or alive.

SHLOMO GOLDWASSER, SON CAPTURED BY HEZBOLLAH: Everyone trying to get any information about his condition. And they have nothing.

MICKEY GOLDWASSER, SON CAPTURED BY HEZBOLLAH: I know only one thing, as a mother, I know that all mothers are suffering, all mothers want their sons back home.

SWEENEY: The Goldwassers say they don't know what kind of impact Israel's fierce military action in Lebanon will have on Udi's fate.

S. GOLDWASSER: Maybe if you will hit them more, they will be more willing to negotiate. Maybe the opposite. But we don't know. We don't know. We are not expert. We are just a family, a father and mother and a wife. We don't know.

K. GOLDWASSER: We know that we are waiting here and working here in Nahariya, seven miles from the border. And we are suffering, too. We are suffering here, in the hearts, because we are waiting for Udi. We are waiting to find a, prove that he's alive, maybe phone call, I don't know, a message, a signature. And we are suffering also because we are under a bomb attack.

SWEENEY: Not five minutes away from here, this apartment block was damaged by a Hezbollah missile strike a week ago. And now after a series of rocket attacks Nahariya is a ghost town. Its residents ordered to stay indoors. The beaches are deserted. The shops, closed. Nahariya looks and feels like a film set, without a camp. Not much is normal about Karnit's season either.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was taken when?

K. GOLDWASSER: In the military reserves. 2003, November.

SWEENEY: July 2006 sees Karnit putting on a brave face before heading out to do another television interview.

K. GOLDWASSER: I want to be back. I want the killing from both side of the fence to be stopped. I want to raise children. I want to continue living my life in peace.

SWEENEY: Fionnuala Sweeney, CNN, Nahariya, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Worry and tragedy here in Israel, where the Israeli government reports some 15 civilians have been killed, 19 soldiers killed since this crisis began. And, of course, on the Lebanese side of the border, it's just the same, except more people have died, some 263, with more than 600 people injured.

Coming up in a couple of hours, we'll take a look at this crisis in the Middle East and show you how it all fits together with what is going on in Iran, Iraq, and the greater Middle East and the war on terror. Join me for "THIS WEEK AT WAR" coming up at 7:00 Eastern, here on CNN.

We'll continue with our coverage of the crisis in the Middle East coming up next hour, but right now let's go back to Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much John. Well across the border, tending to the wounded. Lebanese sources say more than 630 people have been wounded in the fighting. With roads, bridges and many essential services knocked out, it's difficult getting medical care to the injured. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta is in Beirut.

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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We are hearing stories, I mean, dramatic ones, of doctors being unable to practice medicine in the hospital itself, actually having to go underground, being unable to do the operations they normally perform, again only being able to do small operations, underground. (voice-over): We arrived at Mount Lebanon Hospital in an area close to heavy Israeli airstrikes. And that's where I met 36-year-old Zagot Melam (ph). He had been taking an early-morning walk south of Beirut.

In a flash, he became another victim of an Israeli bombing, thrown 30 feet through the air, with shrapnel piercing his feet, hands, and his intestines. He will live.

Things look more grim for 27-year-old Lebanese soldier Lahud Lahud (ph), also the victim of an airstrike. He lost his right leg. He may lose the left one as well, a mangled face concealed behind tight bandages.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A very deep wound here.

GUPTA: If he does survive, Lahud (ph), like many others here, have Dr. Nazi Garios (ph) to thank. He is the leader of Mount Lebanon Hospital.

(on camera): I mean, you have had explosions all around this hospital.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

GUPTA: You have a bridge over there which is a target. You have had actual explosions over there. We are two kilometers from Hezbollah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

GUPTA: We're a target here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, of course. We are a target. And we are very afraid. It is like Russian roulette. You -- you don't know if you will arrive safe at the hospital, or you will have some -- some airstrike or, I don't know.

GUPTA (voice-over): Just standing on that roof made me nervous, but Dr. Garios (ph) made sure his hospital stayed open when every other business around had been shut down.

(on camera): Why do it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think -- I am a doctor. I have a responsibility. I run this hospital. And I -- I think people need me. Patients need me.

GUPTA: Let me give you a sense of how a hospital works during a war.

First of all, we have come two levels below the ground. That's where all the patients need to be. And everything changes once you get down here. First of all, that is the radiology waiting area. Now it is a maternity ward. You have pregnant women can actually deliver their babies. The babies are here as well. (voice-over): Babies arriving in a troubled homeland.

(on camera): So, I guess this really makes it hit home. You see a baby. She was actually born June 8. She weighed less than a pound. And, in the middle of her already very short life, she had to be transported in the middle of a bomb raid to the basement, to the cath lab, which is now her new home.

(voice-over): Both staff and patients feel safer in this improvised subterranean ward, away from the all-too-familiar whine of sirens and the thuds of missiles.

Doctor Garios (ph) said that his hospital can cope for a few weeks, at most. Supplies are running short. Some of his staff are starting to leave, concerned for their own families.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Incredible images there from Dr. Sanjay Gupta's reporting.

For John Roberts, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, thanks so much for joining us this past hour. Coming up in the next hour, blogging about battle, one Lebanese blogger captures his own pictures of the devastation, the incredible images and sounds coming up.

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