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CNN Live Saturday

Israeli Troops Mass on Border with Lebanon; Condoleezza Rice Heads to Region; Bush says Road Map to Peace must Continue; Rice to focus resolving the crisis Israel's offensive against Hezbollah; Litani River Bottleneck as Civilians Evacuate; Mercy Corps in Beirut; Evacuating Americans

Aired July 22, 2006 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Northern Israel continues to be targeted by Hezbollah rockets. Ambulance services report two people were injured in the town of Safed.
Let's check in with Randy Kaye who has got the latest developments now in that region --Randy?

RANDY KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, CNN is confirming here at the international desk that Israeli troops have ousted Hezbollah guerillas from the key southern Lebanese town of Maroun al-Ras. This is a Lebanese border village just across the border from the Israeli town of Avivim. It has ousted the Hezbollah guerillas there, this is word that we are getting confirmation from Major General Bennie Gants.

We are told that, we're quoting from him, that the area of Maroun al-Ras that had served as a Hezbollah vantage point over Avivim, now serves as an Israeli vantage point. This is a very big deal, a key town. We've been watching the video come in today, throughout the day, the tanks that have rolled in there. We've been watching the shelling, we've been watching the fire.

We're also told that Hezbollah has been using their Katyusha rockets in response to the Israeli invasion here. It's not a full- scale ground invasion, we're being told, but certainly enough to oust the guerillas from that area.

Why is it a big deal? Its because it's a key town; it's on top of the hill. And from this vantage point, the Hezbollah guerillas could see Israelis in the bunkers below. According to spokesman from the Israeli government, they've already withdrawn from this area. They just wanted to oust the guerillas from it. Certainly, no intention to occupy. So, that is one town that we've received confirmation of, one village on the border there between Israel and Lebanon, confirmation coming that Israel has now ousted Hezbollah from that area, Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right Randy, thank you so much.

Well, Israel's third largest city is Haifa which remains under siege. Sirens are wailing again today after a new barrage of Hezbollah rockets.

John Roberts is there. John, what are seeing and experiencing right now?

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Fred.

It was quite busy day here in Haifa, but it's been quiet ever since the sun went down. As many as nine times air raid sirens went off today as Hezbollah fired Katyusha rockets into this area. It wasn't the scene of the greatest amount of damage, or consternation or concern, today, that was further north in the towns of Nahariya, Karmiel, Kiryat Shimona, and Safed, they took some rocket fire as well today.

But the heavy fighting, a Randy Kaye was saying, is really across the Lebanese-Israeli border, between the town of Avivim and Maroun al- Ras. The Israeli Defense forces pushed in there with troops, armored vehicles, and tanks, trying to clear Hezbollah guerillas out of what was being used as a stronghold to fire Katyusha rockets down into the town of Avivim, and down on Israeli forces.

You'll remember, that over the last couple of days, that's been a scene of some pretty intense border clashes, with the Israeli Defense Forces losing a number of personnel.

This is all part of a greater operation, an Israeli army spokesman told me today, to try to clear Hezbollah out of some of those strongholds, not to create a permanent buffer zone, at this point, but just to get a lot of the outposts.

They have been dropping leaflets in the northern part of Lebanon for the last week or so, telling people, as you remember, to get out of neighborhoods. During the last 24 hours, they've been using media broadcasts, as well as contacting local officials in some of those Lebanese towns to tell people to move out and move further north, because they are going to engage in heavy bombardment and ground attacks against those towns to try to clear out the Hezbollah guerillas.

The Israeli army admits that while air power is have some effect at degrading Hezbollah's capabilities, it is not enough. And they do have to go in on the ground. But they're going in with what they call these pinpoint attacks. Still, there's no attempt on the part of the Israeli army to invade Lebanon on a wide ranging basis or to occupy the southern part of the country.

Now, as Israeli Defense Forces lob artillery shells from the ground and from sea and hit Lebanese targets with missiles, on the other side of the border, Hezbollah continues to fire those Katyusha rockets. One-hundred-and-twenty rockets came across the border today, nine of them land here in Haifa, though they hit in an open area. There were no casualties.

Nahariya and Karmiel took the brunt. They took 22 missiles in Nahariya, 3 of those hit home. There were a couple of people who were injured in Karmiel, 21 missiles hit the ground. There were a couple people injured there. We know of 20 people injured across the northern part of Israel today. Three of those injuries are said to be serious. But, as I said, Fred, ever since the sun has gone down, it has been quiet here. No air raid sirens. And the pattern has been that they'll attack during daylight hours. Don't know if it's because their targeting isn't quite as accurate during the evening hours. But, it is fairly quiet here now --Fred?

WHITFIELD: And, so John, are Israeli officials being at all forthright in the kinds of numbers of Israeli soldiers that they're trying to assemble for other pinpoint operation, ground operations?

ROBERTS: The roads into Avivim are clogged with men and material from the Israeli Defense Forces right now. They're saying there are 5,000 soldiers who are poised on the border to go in.

If they had to engage in a wider invasion of southern Lebanon, they probably could. So you might want as many as a division to go in there. That would be 20,000 soldiers. Right now, they say those soldiers are just there for these pinpoint attacks on these southern Lebanese towns within about five kill kilometers of the border. They're just trying to clear Hezbollah out of there so that they can stop them from firing on the Israelis.

And what the strategy from the Israeli standpoint is, is to keep Hezbollah off the border, to keep pounding its installations and outposts, to weaken it militarily, so that in the event that negotiations bear some fruit, an international force could move along that border without a whole lot of resistance and take control of that area.

WHITFIELD: All right, John Roberts, thanks so much from Haifa.

New explosions reported in Tyre, Lebanon in the past couple of hours as well. CNN's Karl Penhaul is there.

Karl, what are you experiencing there?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, in the course of the afternoon, Israeli war planes have once again been pounding, especially on the southern suburbs of Tyre, and on the hilly regions towards the east. Shortly before dusk, Israeli war planes dropped at least three bombs, we believe those were 500-pound bombs because of the size of the blast. And then, about a half-an-hour after that, just after dusk had fallen, a fourth bomb was dropped.

Now, those appear to have been in an area which, throughout the course of the day, has been the scene of a number of launches of what we are told are Hezbollah missiles, missiles obviously heading south, about, you know, towards the Israeli border, and beyond.

Unclear at this stage, though, whether those Israeli air strikes hit the Hezbollah position, or if they hit, as has been over the last few days, hit any civilian positions. Unclear at this state, because it's just too dangerous go out there.

But this is really part and parcel of what's been going on around the clock for the last four or five days, and that is round the clock air strikes on this city that has caused people to flee, civilians. And we've seen more of an exodus in the course of the day, but the city mayor still says there are 40,000 people here.

In addition to those that are fleeing, large numbers of casualties here. Yesterday, we had a mass burial for at least 87 people killed so far here entire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

There are no mourners, no memorial service, just the stench of corpses on this hot Friday afternoon.

Israeli war planes have stopped bombing for a few moments. The sound now is of Lebanese soldiers, carrying the dead to their grave. Backhoes (ph) stand ready to cover the coffins.

City Mayor Musa al-Husseini tells me all these victims from days of Israeli bombardment were civilians. More dead lie uncollected.

There are hundreds, 200 or 300 more bodies lying in the villages; but we can't get them because Israeli planes are bombing, he tells me.

Husseini says he has no exact tally of casualties in and around this port city.

"How do you think I feel?" he asks me, as he walks away to weep in private.

Many are now fleeing after nine days of Israeli air attacks, against what Israel says are Hezbollah's positions in residential neighborhoods.

Israel is massing ground forces less than ten miles to the south, and this town is well within the zone, Israel warns, civilians must evacuate.

These people are heading north.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw death with my own eyes.

PENHAUL: But they have no time to share more details.

Heading south, an international Red Cross aide convoy arrives. Volunteers and unload blankets and rations for 500 people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have enough insurance about the security to come.

PENHAUL: It's their first Red Cross mission here. and the clerk says he has no clear picture yet of the humanitarian situation in south Lebanon.

Inside the school that's now an aide center and shelter, I find 2-month-old baby Mohammed covered in blisters and burns. With hand signs, his father, Ismael Ibrahim, says the family were home a week ago three miles south of here, when an Israeli helicopter filed a missile.

He says Mohammed's burns were caused by a shower of scorching phosphorus. His wife, Bousie (ph) is still too upset to talk.

The Red Cross Medic says he can't tell what caused the burns.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. I have no idea.

PENHAUL: Across the city, the backhoes get to work, scraping earth over the shadows of the living, and the remains of the dead.

And then the air attacks crank up again. Israeli jets pound entire suburbs.

Many people here predict this may only be the beginning of mass burials.

I counted 87 coffins here, and, as you can see, the bulldozers are now moving in to cover them with earth. Each coffin labeled with a name and a number. In one case, I counted 22 people from a single family. Perhaps that's why there aren't many relatives here to say their last good-byes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

It's worth noting that alongside that trench, that was prepared as a mass grave, there's also another trench of dead. That's seems to be a clear indication that civilian authorities are expecting the civilian casualty toll to rise.

And that, as I say, because there are still at least 40,000 civilians here in Tyre and surrounding regions, according to city officials. And many of them simply don't have the fuel to power their cars to leave and head north to Beirut, or many simply don't have the money to pay for taxi service or public transport to get them out of here. They're going to have to sit and wait this one out, whether Israeli ground troops invade or not, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Karl Penhaul in Tyre, Lebanon. Thank you so much.

Outside Beirut, Lebanon, TV and telephone transmission towers have been the targets, also causing casualties. Our Becky Anderson is in Beirut with the very latest.

And so, Becky, this kind of strategy has impacted people talking to one another how?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, it's just disastrous.

I want to give you a sense of what's going on in Beirut tonight. And, there's a real, a heightened state of fear and anxiety. I want my cameraman just to pan around. What you're going to see over to my right is, effectively, a six-lane highway on a Saturday that will be absolutely aglow with lights. Normally there is nobody here. A real sense of fear in this city.

I spoke to the Lebanese health minister earlier on, he was confirmed 1500 seriously wounded. 750,000 people now displaced in this country. That's something like 20 percent of the population.

We've seen, as you've suggested, no attacks in central Beirut, where we are. But just kilometers away these transmission towers which take the cell phone and the TV network's power, effectively bombed out tonight by the Israelis. One worker there killed, two were wounded.

We got down to the docks in Beirut, to the port there, today, where we saw what is the last of the foreign nationals being evacuated. Certainly, the British now have said that the evacuations are over. They are confirming that at 4:00 p.m. local time today, they were stopping the foreign national evacuations from that port. We saw a boat there, a Greek ferry, a roll-on roll-off ferry, sponsored by the Danish and the British, taking German Lebanese nationals out of this country, 600 of them. It was the last ferry to leave that dock.

While we were there, interestingly enough, we met up with one of the junior foreign ministers from Britain. He was at the port to thank some of the British sailors who had been working on these evacuations, 25,000 foreign nationals are now being evacuated to Cyprus from Lebanon.

This is a humanitarian corridor which has been opened, effectively. The Israelis saying that it's safe passage. It is the only humanitarian corridor that has been opened by it Israelis. Safe passage.

Of course, we've seen foreign nationals getting out. Those who wanted to go, effectively have left the country today.

While we're there, I spoke to the junior foreign minister, Kim Howells. This on the eve of Condoleezza Rice's visit to the region, of course. Now, this is interesting. I put to him, I asked him what the message from the British government was to Condoleezza Rice when she gets to this region. Obviously, coming to this region on a diplomatic mission, we know she'll be here within the next 48 hours. And, this is what he said to me. Just have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM HOWELLS, BRITISH FOREIGN OFFICE MINISTER: Well, I very much hope that the Americans understand what's happening to Lebanon. The destruction of the infrastructure, the death of so many children, and so many people. These have not been surgical strikes. And it's very, very difficult, I think, to understand the kind of military tactics that are being used. You know, if they're chasing Hezbollah, well, go for Hezbollah. You don't go for the entire Lebanese nation. And that's the difference.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ANDERSON: Now, this, of course, is a junior foreign minister, but he will be speaking on behalf of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Margaret Beckett.

Now, of course, we've seen the States and Britain standing shoulder to shoulder as far as the diplomatic efforts are concerned. Condoleezza Rice coming to the region, she's says she' not looking for a temporary ceasefire. She says she doesn't want the region to go back to its status quo.

Are we now seeing a crack in that relationship? Perhaps Britain, now, not standing shoulder to shoulder with the Americans. It's going to be tough if that is the case when Condoleezza Rice gets here. She's meeting Mahmoud Abbas, of course, and indeed Olmert in Israel -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right. Becky Anderson from Beirut. Thank you so much.

When we come back, we'll be talking about military strategy, both on the Israeli and Hezbollah side, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Chaos at the borders because of the conflict of the Middle East.

More now on the strategy of Israeli troops in southern Lebanon from CNN's international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Israeli war planes are dropping bombs and messages. The latest flurry of leaflets tells residents of southern Lebanon to move back. About 25 miles back from the border with Israel.

The Israeli generals wants the battlefield, quote, "free of civilian restrictions."

After days of artillery fire, war from the air, and a limited number of troops on the ground, Israel is preparing now for a possible large-scale ground invasion, mobilizing all of its forces, even reserves.

GEN SHUKI SHACHAR, DEP. COMMANDER, NORTHERN COMMAND: Some of the forces are active coming from different sectors of the country, reinforcing the active forces in Lebanon. The reserve units, some of them are going to the northern border with Lebanon. All the enforcement is going to the direction of Lebanon.

AMANPOUR: A senior military source said Israel already has several battalions on the ground in southern Lebanon. That's more than a thousand troops.

But General Shuki Shachar would only confirm he does have force there.

SHACHAR: We entered with armored forces, and engineer forces, and we started systematically to destroy the Hezbollah positions along the border.

AMANPOUR: Israeli infantry, he says, have crossed anywhere between a mile and a few miles into Lebanon, and some special forces are even deeper in, because they can't get some of the targets from the air.

SHACHAR: We identified bunkers in the open area that, without entering to the place itself, and looking on the ground for these camouflaged bunkers, we would never have found them.

AMANPOUR: General Shachar won't say whether these tanks and troops moving towards the border means that a ground invasion has been authorized. Just that the army is ready, and evaluating the need minute by minute.

With troops and armor being redeployed from all over the country to the northern battle front, Israelis are watching to see what happens next with concern. As one former tank commander told me, Israel going back into Lebanon is like United States going back into Vietnam.

For now though, the Israeli people overwhelmingly back the strong military response, according to the first poll taken since the war began ten days ago. Will that change if Hezbollah guerillas mount stiff resistance?

At a ground battle still going on near Avivim, Hezbollah has already killed several Israeli soldiers, injured others, and taken out a tank. And promises more.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Metula, northern Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Israeli diplomats tell CNN its current operation against Hezbollah could last a few more weeks. What could be expected of the Hezbollah strategy and arsenal, we're joined on the phone buy CNN military analyst Brigadier General James "Spider" Marks.

All right, general, if Hezbollah has used only about a third of its arsenal in terms of missiles, then what can we expect in terms of their staying power?

BRIG. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, their staying power, Fred, is primarily based on the fact that they have what's called intimacy with the terrain. They own the terrain. This is where they live, this is where they fight. And they know the terrain like the proverbial back of their hand.

So, they can achieve some sustainment that the Israelis are going to have to really fight through. They, the Hezbollah, will be able to do some damage against Israeli forces when they come across simply because this is territory that Israel has not been in for six years. And frankly it looks a little different than when they were there before, because of some work, I'm sure, that Hezbollah has done in terms of obstacles to deny routes and to make it more difficult for the IDF to come across.

WHITFIELD: So, point blank, it sounds like you're saying Hezbollah has the advantage, even though Israeli ground troops are now on the ground in certain parts of southern Lebanon?

MARKS: Oh, the advantage always goes to the defender, absolutely. I mean they've got what's called internal lines of communication. They know the ground. They know where the stockpiles are. They have this freedom of movement that the attacker does not enjoy. So, there always is an advantage to a defender in this particular case.

WHITFIELD: In a case like this, are there rules of engagement? Or I guess the better question is, is it to be expected that in an engagement like this, the Israeli strikes should be more surgical, as we heard criticism coming from the British minister of state, saying that the Israeli strikes were not surgical enough, and thereby leading to a number of casualty involves civilians?

MARKS: Fred, that is the fundamental question. I mean whenever you have warfare, it's the clash of what's known as the moral and physical domains. There will always be collateral damage. And warring armies always want to try to minimize that collateral damage, the death of civilians.

The population that lives, unfortunately, in this area. That's why the Israelis dropped the leaflets and certainly made announcements and said, "Hey, guys, you need to clear out, because we're coming in, and we mean business, and we're going to do harm to the Hezbollah."

So there always will be considerations of collateral damage, and, certainly, you want to be as precise as possible.

WHITFIELD: Well, the engagement right now involves Hezbollah, as well as Israeli forces.

You can't go but notice at that the U.S. military has a significant presence there in the sea, namely, carrying out evacuations of Americans. Do you think simply because of the naval and marine presence that there is still potential that U.S. forces could in some way be engaged or involved military?

MARKS: Well, I think it's fair to acknowledge, just up front, that the U.S. is engaged through the conduct of its noncombatant evacuation operations, to take the American citizens out of Lebanon. So, the U.S. is involved and it has considerable military power in the region.

It is very unlikely that U.S. forces would be involved in any sort of ground combat. I could imagine that other forms of enablers would be used, logistic support if necessary, intelligence passage, if necessary. But until Israel asks for that, it won't happen. WHITFIELD: Would, in any way, Israel ever ask that U.S. military presence for enabling of weapons?

MARKS: Most likely not, it's pretty certain that they would not. They certainly are handling Hezbollah right now. They have freedom of movement. Their actions are not resisted considerably. They will take increasing casualties, and they know that.

But Israel has created an incredibly professional military force. And they have a lot of scar tissue. They have been a country at arms since their existence. They know how to fight. They know how to be victorious. I don't think they're going to ask for U.S. ground support.

WHITFIELD: As a precaution, would you say that the U.S. military would remove those ships, or even Marines from the area once the evacuations have been completed just to err on the side of caution not being engaged in any kind of warfare?

MARKS: Well, you certainly don't want them sucked in, that's exactly right. You don't want a missile racing across the Mediterranean and trying to slam into the broadside of an American fighting ship, and that likely would not happen at all.

But, the United States will remain present. I mean, they always are. They are a physical presence in this part of the world. And they'll provide overwatch, if you will, in other words, they'll have their eye on this particular engagement very, very closely.

But I doubt that they would be asked to join in. And certainly, they would want to achieve, as you suggest, that a little bit of standoff to reduce the likelihood of them being dragged into this conflict.

WHITFIELD: All right, General "Spider" Marks, thanks so much.

MARKS: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And when we come back, more on the evacuations currently under way, namely many of the Americans who have been in Lebanon making their way to Cyprus. We'll have a live report from Cyprus, where they go from there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It is 3:30 p.m. here on the East Coast, 10:30 p.m. in Jerusalem and Beirut. Here's what we know right now.

The Israeli military is again warning people in southern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of air strikes.

This as Israeli troops confirm they have taken control of the Lebanese border village of Maroun al-Ras.

Northern Israel continues to be targeted by Hezbollah rockets. Ambulance services report two people were injured in the town of Safed.

The island of Cyprus, a crowded, but safe haven for thousands of people felling the conflict in the Middle East. Evacuees from Lebanon are still pouring in.

CNN's Chris Burns is live from the port city of Lemusal (ph).

And what are you seeing there, Chris?

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, 24,000 people have been moved over here from Lebanon since the beginning of the week, and thousands more today alone.

Over my shoulder is the Rammah. That is a ferry boat that has been commissioned by the United States to bring some 800 people, included some 100 Canadians and 700 American. That is just unloaded; they've put some more supplies they're going to take back to Beirut.

It had some engine trouble. It was actually headed toward Turkey where the United States has expanded its operation to bring more refugees -- sorry, more evacuees out and because they're anticipating even more people coming.

Over my shoulder, that's where they go. That is the departure lounge, that's actually being used to process the Americans as they come in. It's still full of some several score of people as they process them through. They'll put them on buses on the other end. Some of them going to the airport, but quite awe few going, also, are going to be going to fair grounds. They are air conditioned, some large hallways with cots. But of course, it's not A-1 conditions. That's where they're going to have to stay -- stay 24, 36 hours we're told, until they can actually take one of these planes out back to the states.

Over my shoulder is the arrival lounge, and that's also being used. That was used for the Canadians as they were processed through, so both side of this ferry boat terminal are being used to process people, waves and waves of people, this was 800 people that came through here. There are also two more U.S. ships, the Whidbey Island, which a U.S. warship, that is coming in with some 1,000 people, overnight, as well as a cruise liner, the Orient Queen which is going to be arriving sometime later tonight, as well. That will be unloading sometime around dawn.

So, it it's a constant round the clock process. It is happening here in Limassol at the port, the largest port in Cyprus and also where we were eararlier today, and in Larnaca where we were earlier today. Thousands more coming through there from various countries. Around 10 ships coming here through today and overnight. That is just typical over the last few days and it is continuing and that is why the Americans, as of today, have expanded their operation now in Turkey, not only at a port over there, but also at Incirlik Air Base where they're going to be having some U.S. military planes that will be transporting people from there, back to the states.

It is expanding, they are expecting, as this crisis is deepening in Lebanon, they're afraid that more and more people are heading for the exits -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so, Chris, Cyprus can only handle but so much. I understand a lot of hotels are booked, accommodations are very limited. So when people do get there from Lebanon, are many of them trying to turn around quickly to get out? Are there means by which to do so?

BURNS: Well, you can imagine they're tired, they're relieved, but they're tired and exhausted and they're desperate to get home. And some of them are getting hotels, hotels, though here are absolutely booked solid. And this is, of course, a holiday season. So, the problem is, where do they go? Now, some countries are arranging various quarters, as the United States is setting up this fair grounds area in these large hallways were people are going to have to stay. But it is very difficult.

Now, we don't see people sleeping on the ground, but it is also very difficult. And what we're told is that if this influx increases and accelerates, then they're going to have a problem. That's what they're looking ahead for and that's why the Americans have set up this operation in Turkey to take over some of that overflow.

WHITFIELD: And it's gotten expensive. A lot of folks having to pay top dollar for any little space they can get to put their head down for the night. All right, thanks so much, Chris Burns.

United Nations secretary-general, Kofi Annan, says he fears the current Middle East crisis could spark a major humanitarian disaster. In an exclusive interview with CNN's Larry King, Annan said the conflict in Lebanon is taking a serious toll on the people.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

I think Israel has made it clear that its target is Hezbollah. It has also stated that it has no quarrel with the Lebanese people or the Lebanese government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: In these circumstances, if it had focused its targeting narrowly on Hezbollah and Hezbollah targets, it would be understandable. But the extensive bombing of Lebanese civilian infrastructure, of bridges, of the airports and the blockade imposed on Lebanon, both sea and land, and the destruction of the bridges making it very difficult for people to move around...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Our extensive coverage of the Middle East coverage continues all day. And then tonight beginning at 8:00 Eastern, "CNN presents," Anderson Cooper hosts this special look at "Inside Hezbollah," then Larry King is live at 9:00, followed by a special edition "Anderson Cooper 360" live from Beirut at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

And now more on the humanitarian concerns, let's go to Carol Lin.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Interesting what Kofi Annan talked to Larry King about. We want to find out more about the situation on the ground right now, Fredricka.

On the telephone with me from Beirut is Cassandra Nelson, she's with Mercy Corps, which has been trying to get food and supplies, actually live from Beirut, there.

Cassandra, good to have you.

Kofi Annan, U.N. secretary-general is predicting a humanitarian crisis, some 700,000 people displaced as we speak. What are we seeing on the ground?

CASSANDRA NELSON, MERCY CORPS: We're seeing absolute evidence to back that up. We're seeing small villages that are outside of the south of Beirut that right now are absorbing a massive population shift as these people are seeking refuge in safer ground. A number of villages that we're working in have populations that have increased by over 10 times the size they were two weeks ago. Villages had 5,000 people now have 50,000 people. They don't have enough water. In many cases, the city reservoir has run dry. That means they can't flush their toilets, they can't bathe. We're look at a possibility of a real sanitation and health problems in just a few days...

(CROSSTALK)

LIN: You have been able to get basic supplies, though, Cassandra. basic supplies, though, you've been able to get to at least some of the people out there. Can you tell us what you're able to deliver and how difficult was it to get to that village?

NELSON: Well, getting there has not been an issue, it's about a 40-minute drive outside of Beirut. And again, we're addressing the needs of people that have moved out of the bombing areas into safe areas. So we're working with displaced populations. So getting to them has not been so difficult, because we've targeted areas that are considered safe areas. What we have not been able to do is get to people who are still stuck in these areas that are bombarded. Those are the areas that are unreachable, that the bridges are out and that the bombing is still going on, so we cannot safely move into those areas.

But the areas that we have been able to reach, we've been delivering food supplies initially. Because those are one of the most requested things. People have come into these areas without money, without resources. And in most cases, the shops don't have anything on the shelves even for them to buy even if they had money.

So, we're brining in basic food items for about -- for the populations that we can serve anything from pastas and rices and just, your basic food items that they can eat for the, basically the next week to get them through the initial period. And then we'll expand our operations as the situation evolves.

LIN: Israel has said that it is allowing safe passage for aide organizations to get to the most remote areas, but you're finding that not to be true?

NELSON: No, we have not received any word in terms of moving internally within Lebanon about how we can move about safely. There is the corridor that has been established for boats to bring into the Sedan Port. But the question remains, is once it gets to that port, how does it get to the people that are in need? And that is something that we've not been able to get a clarity on yet.

LIN: Cassandra, we're showing some of the pictures that Mercy Corps has shared with us of the distribution site, and it is so heartening to see even smiles on these children's faces even as their parents worry about them. We can only hope that the resiliency of these people can hold out for at least a few more weeks.

Cassandra, thank you very much.

NELSON: (INAUDIBLE)

LIN: Cassandra Nelson. Appreciate it. Cassandra is with Mercy Corp on the ground in Beirut trying to help hundreds of thousands of people who are without food, water, or medicine. More of CNN LIVE SATURDAY after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The expected Israeli ground invasion of Southern Lebanon has its residents heading north and that's making for quite a jam of the evacuees along the Litani River. CNN's Ben Wedeman is live with the very latest.

Ben, what are you seeing?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I was down by the Litani River today, watching as hundreds, possibly thousands of people were on the road. They've decided with the impending Israeli offensive, it's time to get out while they can.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): 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 that nearly a million people have been made homeless between the fighting and Hezbollah.

"This bomombing, we're afraid" says Hanna Hijasi (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 targets. 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 on to 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.

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

(voice-over): Round the clock fighting drove this family out of their home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because of that, because there's nor food or water, nothing there left.

WEDEMAN (on camera): Where are you going now?

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

WEDEMAN (voice-over): No time to talk, time to go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And of course, what has happened as a result of this exodus of people from the south and other parts of Lebanon is that now there's a real crisis of where these people are going to stay, how they're going to be fed, how they're going to be taken care of. And the authorities are really having a hard time dealing that -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And across the border, then what is in place for the influx of people when they first get there?

WEDEMAN: Well, once they get out of southern Lebanon, we have seen that they're being put up in schools, in hospitals, in some areas, in empty hotels. By and large, nobody's starving or anything like that, but it's really sort of putting a strain on all of the sort of infrastructure.

For instance, Fredricka, I was in a town just outside of Beirut where the population has basically grown by ten, and as a result of all of these refugees, the local water reservoir has gone dry. So they are to truck the water in from elsewhere. So this sort of complication is making the situation all more difficult, in addition, of course, to the war that's going on in this country.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ben Wedeman, thanks so much for that update.

Israel's offensive against Hezbollah in South Lebanon could last at least a few more weeks. That's what diplomatic sources are telling CNN. Mari Eisen is a spokeswoman for the Israeli government, she is also a retired colonel for the Israeli military intelligence. I talked to her just a short time ago.

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MARI EISEN, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESWOMAN: It's not just in the town of Maroun al Ras, it's in all of the towns of southern Lebanon and that's exactly what Hezbollah did. They took over all of southern Lebanon after we withdrew in 2000. We withdrew hoping for peace. And what happened is that Hezbollah terrorists came into all of the towns, all of the villages, all along our northern border, coming into there, bringing in the rockets, building up that buildup that I heard your military commentators talking about before. For six years, Israel stood when they fired rockets at us, when they tried to cross the border. This time, they crossed the border, they kidnapped two servicemen, firing rockets all over the place and enough is enough. We can't go back to the situation where we have these terrorists along the northern border.

WHITFIELD: So when you say there's no intention to occupy, like Israel occupied southern Lebanon for many years, 18 years once before, how is this incursion not to be confused with starting that all over again?

EISEN: I think that Israelis are both more mature and understanding, with all of the difficulties that we're in right now. When we went into Lebanon in 1982, we also wanted to have rocket fire far away from northern Israel. But this time, we actually have a terrorist organization, which is part of the Lebanese government, taking the Lebanese government hostage, taking the Lebanese people hostage, using them as shields while they fire into the civilian population of Israel.

We really hope this time to be sure that we don't return to that situation. Hezbollah, Nesrala (ph) they are puppets of the Iranians, they're supplied by Iran, they get all of their weapons from Iran. And we really feel that we can't continue as we've waited over the last six years to diplomacy to work. We can't continue having these rockets on our northern border.

WHITFIELD: Where is the Israeli government on the plea for some sort of cease-fire for at least humanitarian aid? Because, whether civilians were initially targeted or not, it's very clear that a number have been killed in this conflict.

EISEN: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert together with the Israeli defense minister has already declared that we opened what we're calling a humanitarian naval passageway from Cyprus to Lebanon to alleviate this problem. Israel has no desire to make any of a humanitarian disaster. At least to try help both the international communities, supplies, and to help the Lebanese out. This has started two days ago and we will continue quietly to help this humanitarian corridor bring supplies and bring people out of the Lebanon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Mari Eisen, spokesperson for the Israeli government. More of the crisis in the Middle East, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: U.S. secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice is preparing to head to the Middle East, she leaves tomorrow after a White House meeting with Saudi officials. Fist stop Israel and the West Bank. Rice will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. Then it's on to Rome to talk to Arab and European officials.

President Bush says Rice will focus on ways to best resolve the crisis, including putting pressure on Hamas and Hezbollah and their supporters. In his weekly radio address, the president again stressed that Israel has a right to defend herself and he said the road map to peace must continue.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: America remains committed to lasting peace in the Middle East. The United States and our partners will continue to seek a return to the road map for peace in the Middle East which sets out the pathway to establishing a viable democratic Palestinian state that will live in peace with Israel. We'll continue to support moderate leaders, like Palestinian authority, President Abbas. We will continue to call on Hamas to end its acts of terror. And now more than every, Palestinian need leaders who are not compromised by terror and who will help the Palestinian people provide a future for their children based on regional piece and security.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Most Americans apparently favor Israel in its fight with Hezbollah. But in a recent CNN poll shows most are also opposed to joining the battle. Our CNN political analyst, Bill Schneider has the numbers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Do Americans want the United States to play an active role in trying to resolve the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah? The answer is clear, no. The public wants to stay out of it. What about sending U.S. troops as part of an international peacekeeping force? That sounds better, But the public is still divided and worried.

BUSH: The world must deal with Hezbollah, with Syria, and to continue to work with isolate Iran.

SCHNEIDER: Only 38 percent of the public approves of the way President Bush is handling the Israeli-Hezbollah crisis. Do Americans believe Israel has gone too far in its military response? No. Fewer than a third of Americans feel that way. Nearly half say Israel's response has been about right or hasn't gone far enough.

Does the public think Israel should continue to take military action until Hezbollah can no longer launch attacks or strike a cease- fire as soon as possible? They're split by party, in fact. Most republicans say Israel should continue to attack until the threat is eliminated. Most democrats want a cease-fire.

What about the evacuation of Americans in Lebanon? Fifty-three percent think the government is handling it well. Some critics have made a comparison to another evacuation.

REP. JOHN DINGELL (D), MICHIGAN: It seems to manifest some of the same things that we saw when this administration handled Katrina.

SCHNEIDER: But the public sees a big difference. Last September, 63 percent thought the Katrina evacuation was handled poorly. Only 29 percent feel that way about the Lebanon evacuation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: More on the crisis in the Middle East right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Pictures of the conflict and the chaos. With explosions going off, you may think a celebration would be the last thing on the minds of people in the Middle East. But one Israeli couple decided they weren't going to let rocket fire stand in the way of their wedding plans, so they slashed the guest list and moved the ceremony to a new and more appropriate location, a bomb shelter.

Well, CNN's coverage of the Middle East coverage continues live throughout the day and into primetime. Be sure to catch "This Week at War" hosted by CNN's John Roberts that at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Then at 8:00, Anderson Cooper takes you inside Hezbollah, that's on a special "CNN Presents," at 9:00 Eastern, join "Larry King Live" with the very latest on the Middle East crisis, then a special edition of "Anderson 360" live from Beirut Lebanon comes your way at 10:00.

And at the top of the hour, more of our continuing coverage of crisis in the Middle East.

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