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Israeli Airstrike in Lebanon Kills Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah Along with Senior Iranian Official; According to Health Ministry in Lebanon More than 1,000 People Killed in Israeli Airstrike in Previous 10 Days; President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris Issue Statement on Death of Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah; Donald Trump Holds Campaign Rally in Wisconsin; Kamala Harris Visits U.S. Southern Border in Arizona; Communities in Florida Devastated by Damage from Hurricane Helene; Israeli Defense Forces Exploring Possible Expansion of Military Operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon; Ana Navarro Interviews Latino Voters across U.S. Ahead of 2024 Election. Aired 2-3p ET.

Aired September 28, 2024 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:02:17]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: I'm Wolf blitzer in Washington in for Fredricka Whitfield. I want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. We're continuing to follow major breaking news out of the Middle East.

Israel now confirming it carried out a fresh new strike in Beirut just a short time ago. Our CNN teams on the ground witnessing smoke rising after an explosion in the city's southern suburbs. And it comes just hours after Hezbollah confirmed an Israeli strike on Friday killed its longtime leader and founder, Hassan Nasrallah. A senior Iranian commander was also killed, that according to Iran state media.

And moments ago, I spoke with an IDF spokesperson about what Nasrallah's death could mean potentially for a much broader conflict in the Middle East with Iran. Listen to his answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. PETER LERNER, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESMAN: I would suggest that Iran look very closely how we've dealt with Hamas, the leadership of Hamas, and how in the last week-and-a-half we've effect effectively decapitated Hezbollah from its senior leadership all the way down to the operational in tactical staff.

There is a lot to lose here. I don't think anybody is interested in a further escalation, a broader war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: President Biden issuing a public statement, calling Nasrallah's death, and in Bidens words, a measure of justice for the Hezbollah leader's many victims over the years. But President Biden is also urging restraint right now.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department is ordering all non-emergency personnel and their families to leave the embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, just ahead of an expanded potential war.

CNN's Kevin Liptak in CNN's Jomana Karadsheh are tracking all of these late-breaking developments for us. Kevin, you're in Washington. The vice president, Kamala Harris, I understand, just put out a statement on her own. Tell our viewers what she's saying.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Harris and the president, Joe Biden, receiving continual updates from their team on this situation. And we just did receive the statement from Harris who said that "Hassan Nasrallah was a terrorist with American blood on his hands. Across decades his leadership of Hezbollah destabilized the Middle East and led to the killing of countless innocent people in Lebanon, Israel, Syria, and around the world." The vice president says "Today, Hezbollah's victims have a measure of justice."

[14:05:05]

And that is the exact same phrase that President Biden used in his own statement responding to this killing.

Of course, Harris the vice president, but also the Democratic nominee for president, and certainly, she is balancing a very fraught situation politically as well. I think it's pretty clear that she would rather be talking about issues that voters care about like the economy rather than the Middle East. And so a heightened, escalating conflict there not an opportune moment for that politically for the vice president. But you see her in that statement reflecting very closely what President Biden said in his own statement, saying that "Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over four-decade reign of terror."

The president goes on to say, "Ultimately, our aim is to de-escalate the ongoing conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon through diplomatic means." He says, "It is time for these deals to close, for the threats to Israel to be removed, and for the broader Middle East region to gain greater stability."

And so you see President Biden there really trying to strike a balance. Certainly no one in the White House is shedding any tears for Hassan Nasrallah. He had American blood on his hands, as Harris said. He was the leader of a terrorist organization. But at the same time, the U.S. had been trying to lower temperatures across the Israel- Lebanon border. Remember, President Biden had spent the earlier part of last week trying to negotiate a 21-day ceasefire that would bring the fighting to an end. They thought that Israel was on board with that only to have a Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the next morning kind of brush it off, really kind of infuriating American officials.

And then the next day you have this operation in Beirut that the president publicly said that he had no advanced warning of. And it only heightens the sense that there is a disconnect growing between the president and his counterpart in Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. The idea that his urgings to deescalate the region aren't necessarily being met with actions on the ground.

Now, what American officials are watching for is for any kind of retaliation, both from Hezbollah or what remains of it, and from Iraq and American officials say that they're monitoring that situation very closely. And to that end, we did receive word just within the last couple of hours that the American embassy in Beirut is ordering certain personnel and their families to leave Lebanon. This is not a full embassy evacuation, but it does underscore how quickly they think that this situation could deteriorate. They say that they're ordering those families and personnel to leave due to the volatile and unpredictable security situation in Beirut.

And they're also saying that Americans, if they can, should leave while commercial air travel is still available, essentially saying that the situation there could grow worse and that planes may stop leaving. And in fact, we have already seen today some commercial air carriers start to cancel their flights. So certainly, Washington watching this very closely as they look to lower the temperature.

BLITZER: And those commercial air flights are going to be canceled fairly soon, I suspect.

I want to go to Jomana Karadsheh. She's joining us live from Beirut, right now. Jomana, what more are you learning, first of all, about the latest Israeli strikes there today?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, we were hearing from the Israeli military, Wolf, saying that they are continuing these strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut. That, as you know, is an area that has Hezbollah presence. This is an area that has been the focus of the Israeli military's airstrikes, especially in the last 24 hours with these continuous strikes. They are saying that they are going after Hezbollah facilities, what they claim are weapons storage facilities, commanders that they are also announcing that have been taken out.

Of course, about 24 hours ago or so, an Israeli strike, one of the most massive the people of this city have ever seen, is the one that killed the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah. And since then, Wolf, the people of the city, the people of this country have been on edge, absolutely terrified of what is coming. You also have the -- amongst the many, many, hundreds of thousands, if not more of loyal supporters of Hassan Nasrallah, disbelief, anger, shock at the killing of a man viewed by most western countries as a terrorist leader, but for them, a hero, and not just in Lebanon, of course across the Shia world, whether in Iran, in Yemen, in parts of Syria, and Iraq.

[14:10:04]

So a lot of concern about what this might trigger, if we're going to see any sort of retaliation by these Iranian backed proxies, by Iran itself. Unclear, of course, right now, what Hezbollah's status is, if they will be able to carry out any sort of major attack after you have seen these significant blow after a significant blow. And that's really an understatement.

But for the people of this city, Wolf, it has been a terrifying 24 hours when you're seeing these continuous strikes taking place, lighting up the night sky as we witnessed throughout the night last night, and continuing throughout the day today. And that is coupled with these warnings that they're receiving from the Israeli military. The spokesman for the IDF in a post on X yesterday began by ordering the evacuation of a number of neighborhoods in Beirut's southern suburbs, telling people that they're going to start bombing a short time after that. I'm unclear if that was enough time for people to get out of there. They began carrying out these strikes on different parts of the southern suburbs.

And we have seen a mass exodus of people. We witnessed it ourselves here at 3:00 in the morning with thousands of people out on the streets, families with children, really young children and sleeping on sidewalks, in parks, on benches. I mean, it was a scene, Wolf, like something I really haven't witnessed in my many years of covering conflict.

And since then, the Israeli military has expanded the orders, it seems, these warnings in the last couple of hours. The IDF also issuing a warning, this time to the entire country, pretty much, to all the people of Lebanon. The IDF spokesman telling people, especially in those areas, in all of southern Lebanon, all of eastern Lebanon, in the Beqaa region, and the southern suburbs, that they need to stay away from areas where there is Hezbollah interests, Hezbollah presence.

That is something that has really terrified people because, first of all, they don't know where these Hezbollah facilities are. And the second thing is the fact that this feels like the Israeli military here is expanding potentially these airstrikes to hit different parts of the country. And people right now don't know what is coming next. And they are bracing for the worst at a time when you have a death toll that is continuing to rise. According to the health ministry here, Wolf, they say, since September the 16th, since those pager and walkie-talkie attacks, and since then these airstrikes that we have been seeing, more than 1,030 people have been killed. To put that into context, in all of the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, in those 34 days, 1,100 people were killed. And right now, about 10 days or so into this, it is 1,030 people. It is unclear, of course, how many of them are Hezbollah fighters and how many of them civilians. But senior Lebanese officials we have spoken to say that many, many women and children are among the casualties.

And you also have more than half 1 million people, that was a couple of days ago, according to Lebanese government estimates, who have been displaced from their homes. And if you look at this mass exodus from one of the most heavily populated parts of the country in the southern suburbs still underway, that number is most certainly going to rise.

And I just wanted to make one last point, Wolf. Listening to Kevin's live shot with you earlier, the Biden administration saying that it is continuing to work to de-escalate the situation, the importance of a diplomatic solution. I've spoken to senior Lebanese officials as well as Arab officials. And the one thing I've been hearing, and this was before the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, they believe that the United States is not doing enough. They say that the Biden administration can and should do more, they say, to put pressure on Israel to de-escalate the situation question. They say the only way out of all of this would have been a ceasefire in Gaza, and that the U.S. did not manage to put enough pressure to make that happen. This is according to Arab officials.

But right now, dangerous and volatile doesn't even begin to describe this situation with the prospect of a regional war very, very real, Wolf.

[14:15:04]

BLITZER: Jomana Karadsheh, excellent report. Thank you very much. Kevin Liptak, thanks to you as well.

Let's get more on all these major developments. Trita Parsi is the executive vice president at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and the author of the book, "Losing an Enemy, Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy." What impact do you think the killing Nasrallah and other senior leaders will have on Hezbollah, at least in the short term, what do you think?

TRITA PARSI, AUTHOR, "LOSING AN ENEMY": Obviously, this is a major, devastating blow to Hezbollah. But I would say that it's not necessarily the killing of Nasrallah that is the most important development in terms of the degradation of Hezbollah. It's the fact that the Israelis managed to essentially crack the code of Hezbollah's communications system. That is a key reason as to why Hezbollah has such a hard time regrouping. This is actually very similar to what happened in 2006, the only difference being that the roles were then reversed. Hezbollah managed to crack the codes of Israel's communication as Israel was invading Lebanon. And that's part of the reason why Israel was defeated back in 2006.

But as long as Hezbollah cannot restore its communication system, its ability to be able to regroup is going to be significantly, significantly weakened. And this is part of the reason that the Israelis at this point are going forward with further bombing campaigns in Lebanon, hoping to be able to strike out as much as Hezbollah as they can.

BLITZER: Trita, you've argued that the unpopularity of Iranian leaders at home could hold them back from launching a larger response to this killing. Explain what you mean.

PARSI: Well, I think over the course of the last 11 months, we have clearly seen the Iranians are not looking for a direct confrontation with the Israelis, have shown a tremendous amount of restraint, although, of course, in Washington, perhaps that's not how they would be credited. But the reality is they're facing significant difficulties, and that was the case even before what happened in Lebanon with the assassination and killings of Nasrallah. They're having their own internal problems. The Pezeshkian government's priority is to pursue what he's calling national reconciliation.

That necessitate some sort of a deal with the United States or reduction of tensions, a removal of some of the sanctions in order to improve the economic situation. The last thing they need if they want to pursue national reconciliation is a military confrontation with Israel. And this is, I think, a key reason as to why the Iranians have held back. On top of that, of course, they are running out of options. They can strike Israel. They have already shown that. But they can only do so while at the same time starting a major war, a major war that they don't want. There's a difference between them being able to strike Israel and being able to strike Israel with the calibration to make sure that they have inflicted some damage on Israel without providing a pretext for larger escalation. The latter they do not have.

BLITZER: At a certain point, if this conflict were to continue, Trita, could it force Iran's hand to enter this conflict more directly, even though right now they seem to be reluctant to get into a full-scale war with Israel?

PARSI: It certainly could. I think they have tried as long as possible to stay out. But this is putting a tremendous amount of pressure on Iran from some of its own partners in the so-called axis of resistance, because what good is Iran to them if, at the end of the day, when things like this happen, the Iranians do not come to their aid? So Iran is now being torn in several different directions. And the ultimate balance is unclear at this point.

But Hezbollah in many different ways has been Iran's first line of defense against Israel. If Hezbollah truly is degraded, meaning much more than what we've seen so far, then it would leave Iran tremendously vulnerable. And the question is, if they believe that that is the direction we are heading, they may calculate that they're better off reacting sooner rather than later. This is why so many of the other entities in the region, U.S. allies, for so long have been pressuring the United States to put pressure on Israel to actually have a ceasefire in Gaza, because that is the key to avoiding this escalation. Because even if the Netanyahu government seems to be willing to have that escalation, no one knows exactly how that will end, particularly if the United States and its own troops gets directly involved.

BLITZER: You wrote a about, Trita, about the triumph of diplomacy. Do you think there's any hope for a diplomatic solution to this conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and between Israel and Hamas in Gaza?

PARSI: I would never say that diplomacy no longer has a chance, but I think we have to be honest. Diplomacy is not what has been pursued in the last 11 months.

[14:20:00]

The Biden ministration cannot say that they're working tirelessly around the clock to secure a ceasefire if they are simultaneously providing the Israelis with the weapons, the intelligence, and other means in order to be able to continue the fight that the Biden ministration says they don't want to see.

So we have not pursued diplomacy in the manner that actually would be our top priority. And as a result, one cannot say that this is a failure of diplomacy because diplomacy was never truly tired.

BLITZER: Trita Parsi, thanks so much for joining us.

PARSI: Thank you for having me.

BLITZER: And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us as well. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

Up next, the presidential election in the United States is just 38 days away. Kamala Harris is in California today, Donald Trump is in Wisconsin. We'll have the latest from the campaign trail when we return.

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[14:25:32]

BLITZER: The race to the White House is headed to the battleground state of Wisconsin today where the escalating situation in the Middle East potentially could become a rather hot topic. Earlier this afternoon, former President Trump -- actually, later this afternoon, former President Trump will hold a rally in Wisconsin where he is expected to focus much of his speech on immigration. But he also potentially could address the death of Hezbollah's leader who was killed in a targeted strike by Israel in Lebanon's capital of Beirut.

CNN's Steve Contorno is covering the Trump campaign for us. Steve, what are we expecting to hear from Trump later today?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Wolf, a day after Vice President Harris was at the southern border, Donald Trump is expected to discuss the issue of immigration here in Wisconsin. He's an interesting part of the state. This is Prairie du Chien. It's a city of less than 6,000 people, but he's trying to drive home the message that that crime issues that are tied to the border can happen anywhere in America. And right now, we're hearing from the chief of police here, who is talking about an incident involving an alleged suspect who is undocumented and is allegedly part of a transnational gang who is suspected of attacking a woman and her daughter here in this city.

And so this is an example that Republicans have seized on lately to demonstrate that the issue of immigration and the problems does that the southern border can hit people in any part of the country. There's signage on the walls here that says end the invasion of smalltown America yesterday. Donald Trump also addressed to Vice President Harris's visit to the border. Take a listen to what he said about that trip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is bad timing for Kamala to show up today at the borders. She didn't go there for four years. Now today, she shows up. And these numbers got released. Somebody doesn't like her, I think.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: This message is being delivered in the state of Wisconsin, Wolf, one of those key battlegrounds. Take a look at this CNN poll of polls on this state. It is a razor thin margin here, just like it is in many of those battlegrounds, no clear defined winter in Wisconsin. And so we'll be watching closely to see how Trump messages to this community when he takes the stage in a few moments here.

BLITZER: Steve, I thought it was interesting that Kamala Harris just issued a public statement strongly supporting Israel, condemning Hezbollah. "I have an unwavering commitment to their security of Israel," she said. So far, has there been any reaction to the killing of Hassan Nasrallah from Trump or his team?

CONTORNO: There hasn't been, Wolf, and we have been watching his Truth Social very closely because that's often where he delivers his response to the news. He has said in the past that he believes that the turmoil in the Middle East would not be happening if he was still president. And we expect a similar message from him on these latest developments. But we'll be listening closely to see if he actually addresses that when he gets on this stage in just a few moments here.

BLITZER: All right, we'll be monitoring that. Steve Contorno, thank you very, very much.

Meanwhile, a troubling reality is set in for many communities across the southeast as the impact of hurricane Helene lingers. We'll have a live report from Asheville, North Carolina. That's coming up next. Stay with us.

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[14:33:20]

BLITZER: We're now hearing directly from President Biden in the aftermath of the very destructive and deadly storm Helene which ripped through the southeast. The president saying he is deeply saddened by the deaths and devastation, adding that the White House, and I'm quoting now, "will make certain that no resource is spared to help communities rebuild and to recover as quickly as possible." At least 55 people have died across five states since Helene made landfall in Florida on Thursday night as a category four hurricane with winds up to 130 miles per hour.

CNN's Rafael Romo is joining us now from a hard hit Asheville, North Carolina. Rafael, what are you seeing over there?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Wolf, on the one hand, you have the things that you do see, like pieces of furniture that are all over the place. We are surrounded by mud here where we are, and this is some sort of table that ended up here in the middle of the street. We also see a door that came from somehow some building around here. There's a chair there. I'm standing in an area where you find about two inches of mud. And then there are the things that you don't see, Wolf. And one of those things is a pungent smell. It's probably a mixture of sewage, flammable, some sort of fuel that is in the air here that is just very, very pungent. Take a look, for example, at this power pole. This is a metal power pole that ended up here. I don't see the hole where it came from. So just imagine the destructive force of the flooding waters in this area.

[14:35:00]

Now, the crisis is also very widespread here. We're talking about 578 people who are in shelters here in Asheville. And also 400 roads in the western North Carolina area that are impassable. There are many people who live in surrounding communities that officials are having a tough time getting to them because the roads are in such bad condition.

And also in a 24-hour period, 5,500 calls to the emergency area. And the reality, Wolf, is that this area got hit a by a one-two punch. First of all, a weather system that brought between Wednesday and Thursday about 10 inches of rain. And then you add to that what happened with tropical storm Helene, which brought another foot of rain on Friday. So you add those two together, and we're talking about officials here say a one in 1,000 year rainfall event, and that's the reason why you see what you see. And let me tell you, Wolf, everywhere you look here is a picture of devastation. Now back to you.

BLITZER: Yes, so said. Rafael Romo and Asheville, North Carolina, for us, and Rafael, thank you very much.

Joining us now to discuss further what's going on is Mike Allen. He's the director of the University of Florida's Nature Coast Biological Station. Mike, thanks so much for joining us. I know you're in Cedar Key, Florida, right now. The images of the devastation when we see them, they are so heartbreaking. How are you doing? And what's the situation like where you are right now?

MIKE ALLEN, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA'S NATURE COAST BIOLOGICAL STATION: Yes. Thank you, Wolf. It's a pleasure to be with you. It's a heartbreaking storm, for sure. This is the strongest hurricane to hit Cedar Key in any of our lifetimes, and maybe even since the year 1900 or before that. So it's caused a lot of damage. And it follows two other hurricanes, hurricane Idalia on August 30th last year that at the time was the strongest one that's hit Cedar Key, and then hurricane Debby back at the end of July this year. So we've had three storms, but this one was definitely the worst one.

BLITZER: Yes, it certainly was. What are the people there in Florida telling you about the damage left behind from Helene?

ALLEN: Well, we live in an area that the people that live here are -- they are used to tropical systems. And we -- this is one of the things that you can actually learn to prepare for them better. And I think that we have. But you're not going to stop the catastrophic damage to structures when you have a surge level that high. A lot of people's homes here had eight feet of water in them. A lot of the elevated homes had severe damage underneath, and some of them structural damage as well as the restaurants and businesses. So this is a this is a very difficult storm for us.

But I'll tell you what. I see this community bound together in the preparation of the storm, and then after the storm. And if anybody can come back, this group can come back. And everybody just puts their head down and one day at a time and start making it better.

BLITZER: And as you point out, it's relatively small community that has been through three huge storms in the last 13 months. Helene was a category four, the most severe by far. How are the people and the resources actually holding up?

ALLEN: You know, I think this has been difficult for people. I think it's almost come too soon since the other storm. So I think it's -- you go you definitely go through some emotions in just the prep again and getting ready and the uncertainty about what's going to happen. And in this case, we had a lot of damage. And we had some wind damage this time. It wasn't just surge. The surge was higher than either of the previous two storms, and the wind damage was more, too.

So I think people are holding up. It's funny to me, when you go up and down the street, you see people cleaning up. You see lots of smiles. You see lots of laughing. People say, you know, this is, this is -- we chose to live in this beautiful place, and we're going to have to deal with storms like this. And it's surprising to me just what a great attitude and hard work that people just buckle down and start cleaning up. And that's what's going on right now.

BLITZER: Yes. I know a lot of people who have moved to Florida, and the first thing they always say is we've got to learn more about potential hurricanes, and that's a good thing to do.

What kind of help are you getting right now, Mike, from the state, the state government in Florida, and the federal government here in Washington?

ALLEN: Well, the federal, it's been declared a disaster area, and that that has a toggle that helps him in a lot of different ways.

[14:40:00]

But I was impressed. Yesterday, I got on the island, we're an island community of 700 people, and I got on the island early before it was open to go check out the biological station. And there were already National Guards here on the streets ready to help with any potential future issues with looting or if anyone needs any assistance. The governor was here yesterday. And we're just starting the process of what kind of federal and state aid we might get. But I can tell you that the federal and state response that we've seen -- in fact, I just told some National Guard folks just a moment ago. It makes you feel like you're not alone when you see those Humvees and you see those uniforms and they're here to help. And that helps a lot. So --

BLITZER: It certainly does. Thank God for them. Mike Allen, thank you very, very much. Mike Allen is the director of the University of Florida's Nature Coast Biological Station.

We have a lot more news coming up. We'll get back to the breaking news from the Middle East in just a moment or so. The Israeli military, as you know, killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah. And now the question becomes, who will take his place? Our Nic Robertson will join us live to discuss that and more right after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:45:55]

BLITZER: We're continuing our special coverage of today's top story, Hezbollah's leader -- Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday, confirmed today that he's dead. His death marks a major turning point for the Iran-backed group that he has led for more than 30 years and could potentially create a major leadership vacuum and escalate into an all-out war in the region.

CNN's Nic Robertson is joining us right now from Tel Aviv. I understand, Nic, we just heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu. What is he saying?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, a few pointers here, Wolf, from the prime minister. I'm just going to read them off as we're getting them in here. He says, this is all referencing, of course, the killing of Hassan Nasrallah. He says, "We squared the accounts with somebody who killed hundreds of Americans and dozens of French." He goes on to say ,"The elimination of Nasrallah was essential for us to bring back the residents to the north," to the north of Israel. "If he was alive, he would have rebuilt the terror group." This is what Prime Minister Netanyahu is saying. "That's why I gave the order to assassinate him." That's what he says. "There's no place in the Middle East that the long arm of Israel cannot reach." That's very clearly a warning for anyone else that will want to target Israel at this time, bearing in mind the Houthis fired that third ballistic missile in a little over a week at central Israel just as the prime minister was landing. In fact, the Houthis are claiming that that missile was fired aimed at the airport when the prime minister was landing.

One other point from the prime minister here, saying that these are historic days. "They thought that Israel would be eradicated. We will bring the fight together and we will win together," echoing what he said at the U.N. General Assembly, we are winning. And we've heard also from the defense minister who has convened a meeting with his top security officials, with the IDF Chief of Staff General Herzi Halevi, the intelligence chiefs as well. They've been reviewing the current situation with a view, it says, to the expansion of IDF activities along the northern border. That seems to sort of hint, again, the hints that we were hearing over the past few days that there could be some kind of limited ground operation along the border. That's not confirming it, but again, heavily hinting in that direction.

You were asking about the vacuum left by Hassan Nasrallah. Two principal candidates, his former number two seems to be taking over as a caretaker. He is perhaps more hotblooded than Nasrallah in terms of Nasrallah careful, calculating. Just last weekend at a funeral, this number two was saying that they're now this is a new chapter and essentially in an open war. And the other person who is in the running to be the leadership is a cousin of Nasrallah, also married into a very powerful and important Iranian family that he is the son-in-law of Qasem Soleimani whom the United States killed in a drone strike early in 2020. He was the QUDs, force, the overseas military command and for Iran's elite Iranian Revolutionary Guard Counsel. So both of these figures would carry weight within Hezbollah, one known to be sorted of more hotheaded, if you will, than Hassan Nasrallah. Wolf?

BLITZER: Nic Robertson in Tel Aviv, thank you.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:54:01]

BLITZER: We're about five weeks out from the presidential election here in the United States, and the race remains a toss-up. Winning could come down to one key demographic, the Latino vote. CNN senior political commentator Ana Navarro is a Republican and an outspoken critic of the former president, Donald Trump. She is supporting Vice President Kamala Harris. In tomorrow night's episode of "The Whole Story", Ana Navarro travels across the country and gets perspectives from Latinos on both sides of the political aisle. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Do you think it's a mistake to write off the Cuban vote, to write off Florida?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think with Cubans, absolutely. They haven't made up their minds yet.

NAVARRO: In my view, it's been decades of work and ground laying by the Republican Party linking Democrats to communists and socialists. And I don't feel that Democrats have done anything to combat that narrative. And it's stuck.

[14:55:01]

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Comrade Kamala Harris, you're fired.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have a history of dictators. So when you have a guy come out and say, I'm going to take care of everything, Cubans are like, I recognize that. That makes sense. He's going to take care of everything. We've heard it before, and the movie is horrible. Can we change the script?

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the same. I think he is incredibly dangerous to our community. NAVARRO: He's become the most influential political voice amongst the

Cuban American community in south Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would say the newer Cuban American community, yes.

NAVARRO: He's running for mayor of Miami-Dade.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think he has a chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And Ana is joining us now live. Ana, so where did you go? What places did you visit to prepare this report?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: We went to the border. We went to Pennsylvania. Turns out, Wolf, that Pennsylvania has the third largest Puerto Rican community in the country. Eight percent of the state is Latino. We went to Georgia, where 10 percent of that state is Latino. As you know, in Arizona and Nevada, there's more than 30 percent Latinos. And so you've got at least four swing states where the Latino community, the Latino vote could be the secret weapon.

And look, I have no doubt that Kamala Harris is going to win the majority of the Latino vote, but the question is, will Donald Trump win enough Latino votes to allow him to win in some of those swing states, and thus, when the election? and I think that's up to -- that's still, that's an answer we still don't know.

And what I learned, Wolf, is we like to talk a lot about the Latino vote. There is no such thing as a Latino vote. There's progressive Latinos. There's social conservative Latinos. They're all over the place when it comes to policies and ideology and the priorities that are driving them to the polls.

But what there is among Latinos is this desire to be recognized, to be seen, and to be sought after, to have people want to earn their votes and their support, and to be recognized as a Latino vote, as a Latino identity.

BLITZER: Ana Navarro, thank you very much. And to our viewers, I'm really looking forward to it. We will all tune into "The Latino Vote, Ana Navarro's American Tour," on "The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper" tomorrow night, 8:00 pm eastern right here on CNN.

And we'll be right back.

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