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Israel Said It Struck Dozens Of Hezbollah Targets South Of Beirut; Recovery Efforts Challenged By Widespread Hurricane Helene Damage; Hope In Gaza Fading As Attention Shifts To Lebanon; Trump Holds Rally In Battleground Pennsylvania; This Week: Vance And Walz Go Head-To-Head In VP Debate; Biden: All-Out War in Middle East Has To Be Avoided; Israel Says It Launched Airstrikes On Houthi Targets In Yemen. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired September 29, 2024 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:45]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Jessica Dean in Washington, alongside my colleague Jim Sciutto in Tel Aviv. And welcome to our viewers in the U.S. and around the world.

We're going to begin with breaking news as tensions in the Middle East threaten to boil over. Israel today turning its firepower on targets in Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen. The IDF saying it attacked a power station and a seaport. The Iran-backed group is behind recent rocket attacks on Israel and U.S. warship ships in the region.

And this all comes as Hezbollah confirmed, another of its senior leaders was killed in Friday's massive Israeli strike on Beirut that killed the group's leader.

Let's send it over now to Jim in Tel Aviv. Jim, walk us through what's happening and what these attacks on the Houthi targets tell us.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Listen, you could reliably call this a multi- front war today more than it's been even in recent weeks and months.

Israel says it has struck dozens of Hezbollah targets near the -- near a village south of Beirut. This, in addition to those attacks we've seen in Yemen by Israel.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Haifa in northern Israel, Ben Wedeman is in Beirut.

Ben, you've been witness to so many strikes over these last several days, including that strike that killed Nasrallah on Friday. Tell us about these most recent strikes and what we know about the likely targets.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There have been fewer strikes today than we've seen over the last few days, but what we heard from Hezbollah was they acknowledged the deaths of two of their senior commanders. One, Ali Karaki, who was responsible for the southern front. He was

killed in that strike at 6:00 p.m. on Friday that also killed Hassan Nasrallah.

The Hezbollah also came out and acknowledged the another one of their commanders was killed by the name of name of Nabil Kaouk who was responsible for preventative security. Also a -- somebody very close to Hassan Nasrallah.

So at this point, it does appear that there are very few, if any, of Hezbollah's senior leaders, at least on the military side who are actually still alive, although Hezbollah insist that they do have those who can take their place.

But clearly the organization is in disarray and chaos given the blows that they've received going back to Tuesday before last.

As far as the strikes throughout Lebanon are concerned, what we've seen is strikes in the south, strikes in the Beqaa Valley. The death toll at this point is hovering around 80.

But as usual, that's a preliminary number because in many cases, buildings are utterly demolished and rescue workers really have to dig through them to find if anybody is alive. But definitely to find the dead.

Now, in addition to this, a Lebanese security source tells CNN that the body of Hassan Nasrallah has been uncovered, apparently. His corpse was in one piece despite the obvious violence of those multiple blasts that killed him.

There's no clear idea at this point if or where or when there's going to be a funeral for him. I've attended several Hezbollah funerals over the last two weeks, but in this case, given that the place where Hezbollah has its strongest presence, the southern suburbs of Beirut that's right behind me, it might not be advisable to hold any sort of large gathering considering the frequency of Israeli strikes.

And finally, the French foreign minister has arrived here in Beirut. Obviously the French and the Americans are spearheading this attempt to some sort of calm things down. So far, diplomatic efforts seemed to be falling on deaf ears. Certainly where you are.

[14:04:46]

WEDEMAN: And here of course, given the state of Hezbollah, it's questionable how they could even decide upon something at this point, given the state the organization is in, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, it's a good point and who would represent Hezbollah in such talks, particularly as we've seen Israeli military action expand as well. That another challenge.

Ben Wedeman in Beirut.

Jeremy Diamond, as I mentioned, is in northern Israel. and Jeremy, we still haven't seen certainly a massive or sizeable Hezbollah retaliation for Nasrallah's killing. But we are, as I understand it, seeing more rockets launched from southern Lebanon.

You've been following this for a long time. How does this compare to the pace of attacks from southern Lebanon into northern Israel in recent weeks or even recent months?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: You know, Jim, it really isn't all that significant. I mean, we have seen several dozen rockets fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel today, the majority of which we should say were intercepted, some of which fell in open areas.

But it certainly is nothing like the kind of overwhelming retaliation that Israeli officials have long expected in the event of this kind of escalation in this conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

And that speaks of course, to the extent to which the Israeli military has severely degraded Hezbollah's capabilities over the course of the last couple of weeks, as well as the extent to which that organization is really in disarray following the killing of so many of its senior leaders, including of course, on Friday night its leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Now that doesn't mean that Hezbollah won't have the ability to regroup at some point. It doesn't mean that its arsenal of hundreds of thousands of rockets and missiles has been totally destroyed.

But it does mean that at least for the time being, we aren't seeing the kind of overwhelming retaliation that you might expect in a moment like this.

And the Israeli military is certainly trying to take advantage of this moment of chaos and dysfunction within Hezbollah by continuing to carry out multiple airstrikes in southern Lebanon as well as in the southern suburbs of Beirut, known as the Dahiyeh, where we have seen Israeli strikes have gone after weapons depots, rocket launchers.

But of course we are also seeing multiple casualties, including civilians being killed in some of these strikes as well.

Tonight, we are also witnessing the Israeli military for the first time carrying out the second ever strikes in Yemen. We saw that they carried out strikes in the Yemeni port of al Hudaydah, a Houthi stronghold where the Israeli military says that they struck power plants and ports used to import oil and weapons into Yemen.

The Houthis, of course, in recent weeks have fired three missiles towards Israel, including one this past week that was targeted at Tel Aviv.

And so these strikes, according to the Israeli military, were in retaliation for those attacks by the Houthis, Jim.

SCIUTTO: I mean listen, the pace of the strikes has been remarkable by Israeli forces in recent days, certainly in Lebanon, but also now as were seeing in Yemen.

Jeremy Diamond, Ben Wedeman, thanks very much to both.

Let's get some more analysis -- military analysis on today's developments. Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe. Thanks so much for taking the time this afternoon.

LT. GEN. BEN HODGES, FORMER COMMANDER, U.S. ARMY FORCES IN EUROPE: Thank you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: One burning question at this point is about next steps. Clearly from the air, Israel has been able to kill not just the leader of Hezbollah, but several layers of leadership as well as strike many thousands, and I'm not exaggerating here, as you know, many thousands of Hezbollah operatives with that pager attack.

Is a ground component of this, a necessary next step militarily, if you're Israel to push -- their objective seems to be to push Hezbollah forces further back from the northern Israeli border.

HODGES: I don't know that it's necessary, but of course this will depend on what is the strategic objective of the Israeli government. It would seem to me that Israel has over the last few weeks and the way you described it they've escalated and then obliterated Hezbollah leadership and much of the mid-level management. And they are in a position now where they can de-escalate if they want to.

I think its impressive the way that they have. I mean, this is not haphazard what they're doing. They're hitting targets that they have put together on a list over the past many months.

And of course, you can imagine the maintenance -- what's required to have so many aircraft ready to go, to maintain the pace that you alluded to.

[14:09:47]

HODGES: This is a very well-planned operation and I think they can de- escalate if that suits their objective.

SCIUTTO: Has Israel effectively defanged Hezbollah here? Or at least significantly depleted it as a threat from Israels north.

HODGES: Well, there will always be a threat. I mean, this -- this is a war and its, it's not something that's going to end anytime soon just because we want the killing to stop. The Israelis, of course, are going to do what's necessary to protect themselves and the thousands of Israeli citizens that had to be evacuated from the north of Israel.

We don't know how much is left. I think a few months ago, the estimate was that the Hezbollah had about 150,000 different types of missiles and rockets. And so, I don't know how many they have left? Certainly it will be very difficult to organize any sort of cohesive response by Hezbollah, given that nobody trusts anybody right now. Nobody trusts their communications equipment and they most likely are trying to scatter to avoid being hit. SCIUTTO: Yes. I mean, it's not clear who would issue the order for retaliatory strike. And how Hezbollah would effectively communicate that to the commanders on the ground, to the missile launch sites, et cetera.

I want to ask you about Iran now, because of course, Iran has tremendous influence, might even take control over Hezbollah.

Iran has given public signals that it's going to leave the retaliation to Hezbollah. Do you read Iran's position here and by the way, this wouldn't be entirely new because we've seen Iran hold back previously, for instance, after the killing of Ismail Haniyeh inside Tehran.

Do you see Iran again deliberately holding back to avoid a war it doesn't seem to want with Israel?

HODGES: Jim, I think you're right. That's the last thing that Iran wants is a war with Israel. They -- they've got to be right now assuming that they have been penetrated also.

And so I imagine in that they are also mistrusting or checking their own communications and they can see now that Israel is -- has a full up, the machine is working, the planning, the targeting, maintenance of aircraft is a big deal.

It's not a headline thing, but this is really impressive the way that they managed to keep their systems going and I think that Iran absolutely does not want to be on the receiving end of any of this.

It is -- by the way, this sends a message to all the other proxies that Iran is not going to come help you out.

SCIUTTO: It sends that message and it also sends -- you mentioned the intelligence required for Israel to carry out these decapitation strikes but also that pager attack tremendous intelligence penetration which seems, based on the more reporting that comes out, to be both the technological issue. All the ways that it can track these people via communications intercepts, video feeds, et cetera, even the use of artificial intelligence, as well as it seems human intelligence sources.

Are you -- are you impressed by the level of that penetration?

HODGES: Yes, I think all the intelligence professionals that are listening to your program now and who have been watching this can recognize that this has been a classic fusion of all the different types of intelligence, signals intelligence, human -- human intelligence, imagery -- all the different things.

And then of course, the patience and the professionalism with which the Mossad did this to build up to or to identify a pattern of life.

You know, once you get a mark on somebody and then you follow that person and kind of who they interact with and you start building up the networks. And then of course, the technology that allows you to identify changes

to the villages, to the, to the road networks that would then cue you to look more closely. And that's how they were able to identify so many houses that were being used for ammunition or weapons storage.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And using computers, intelligence to notice those differences that means all the distance intel has come (ph) when you think back to, for instance, to the Osama bin Laden lightning strike when you might have had humanize trying to discern those differences. And now increasingly you have computerized doing so.

Gen. Ben Hodges, thanks so much for joining.

HODGES: Thank you for the privilege.

SCIUTTO: And still ahead this hour, the latest on the recovery from the remnants of Hurricane Helene. We'll take you to North Carolina where rescue efforts are still underway.

Emergency crews, however, are struggling to get to residents because of the massive flooding, you could see it there in Asheville, North Carolina.

[14:14:50]

SCIUTTO: And in just two days, Tim Walz and J.D. Vance, they're going to take the stage for the first, likely only, vice presidential debate. We're going to preview what to expect.

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CAPT. DYLAN HUBBARD, CO-OWNER, HUBBARD'S MARINA: I mean widespread devastation is the best way to kind of view it and put it into words. It's hard to put into words. Its unimaginable what's happened to so many people in our areas.

[14:19:49]

HUBBARD: So many folks have lost their car, lost their home, lost their boats. Some people have lost everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: A catastrophic situation across the southeast as people trying to pick up the pieces after Helene carved a devastating path through five different states. That storm causing widespread flooding, killing at least 64 people.

Search and rescue operations happening right now across western North Carolina as dozens of people remain unaccounted for there.

North Carolinas department transportation saying, all roads in the western part of that state should be considered closed. Impassable roads and communication disruptions making for an even more challenging situation for utility crews. More than 2 million customers in the southeast remain without power right now. And access to clean water is also becoming an issue.

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GOV. ROY COOPER (D-NC): Even as the rain and the winds have subsided, the challenge for people there increases. People are desperate for help. And we are pushing to get it to them, a massive effort.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN's Rafael Romo is live in Asheville, North Carolina. And Rafael, I know that's one of the hardest hits areas there in North Carolina.

What are you seeing? And what are you hearing from people?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jessica.

I'm standing in the middle of a debris field and I wanted to show you this because it gives you a very clear idea of what the state of North Carolina, especially in the western side of the state, is facing.

Look at what the floodwaters carried with them behind me. It's a metal power pole. You see furniture, you see all kinds of different trash that are piled up.

And if you multiply this by dozens, perhaps hundreds of times, that's what the state is facing right now.

Now, we heard earlier from Buncombe County officials who told us that there are ten confirmed fatalities here in this county. But just a little bit later, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said that the death toll across the state is 11.

At this point, we don't know if that's including the ten that are reported here in Buncombe County.

The other thing that caught our attention is that county officials said that they have received, imagine this, a thousand calls for missing people.

The main problem here is that many of those people are probably doing ok, but there's a huge communications problem.

A lot of cell phone towers are down. There's no communication, there's no way to tell your loved ones that you are ok. And that's something that officials are working on right now.

Also in the city of Weaverville, both water and power completely out for the entire city. And there were 15 water rescues today.

Earlier we went to a neighborhood here in Asheville where people are just getting together, making an effort to start clearing away the debris.

I spoke with one of those residents and this is what he told me.

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JULIAN TORRES HARWOOD, ASHEVILLE, NC RESIDENT: I mean, it's pretty scary. You don't expect it. We weren't really prepared. I thought it was going to run for a while and that's about it.

And then power went out, started to flood. Almost got into our house. I mean it's really, bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: There's some good news to share with you, Jessica. Yesterday we were talking about 400 roads in this part of the state that were impassible today. That figure is down to 280.

Now back to you.

DEAN: Still amazing. I know one official described it as biblical, just how severe the flooding and the damage is.

Rafael Romo, thank you so much for that.

And coming up, as the world focuses on Lebanon, we're going to take a closer look at the situation in Gaza where the United Nations says humanitarian efforts are quote, "hanging on by a thread". The conflict's impact on the war-torn region. That's next.

[14:23:50]

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SCIUTTO: While attention to the Middle East shifts to the rapidly escalating situation along the Israeli-Lebanese border, as well as Israeli strikes now inside Yemen, families in Gaza are still living through the fear and terror of daily airstrikes.

CNN international correspondent Paula Hancocks has more on the dwindling hope there for an end to the war in Gaza as conflict between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies.

A warning for our viewers, the report you're about to see contains disturbing video.

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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: another week of hell in Gaza, a mother and her four children were killed when their home in al Bureij was hit by an Israeli air strike. Their uncle said it happened at 3:00 a.m. They were killed while they slept.

Another strike at a school shelter and displaced in Nuseirat camp killed a couple and their five-year-old child. Israel said it was a precise strike targeting Hamas operatives. A man staying nearby says these are the remains of the missile. They were innocent and displaced, sleeping in this little room.

The next day a drone strike in al Bureij killed two children and 20- year-old twin men. The father says they were sitting by the front door looking at their phones. They were born together and killed together, he says.

[14:29:46]

HANCOCKS: Children playing in the street were rushed into hospital. We have asked the IDF what the target of this strike was.

One little boy is treated on the hospital floor next to the body of a deceased man. No dignity allowed in life or death for the residents of Gaza.

[14:30:04]

Dozens lost their lives last week, while thousands of miles away at the United Nations headquarters in New York, world leader after world leader called for the war in Gaza to end. A .U.S.-led proposal for a 21-day ceasefire on the Israel-Lebanon border is also intended to jolt a Gaza ceasefire, if it happens but it's a big, if families of hostages still held in Gaza worry the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is overshadowing their cause, residents of Gaza fear they're being forgotten by a world that has failed to end their suffering.

This man says, when the war on Beirut happened, we lost all hope. There is no focus on Gaza. It's barely mentioned.

This woman adds, Lebanon is full of our brothers and sisters. We stand in solidarity with them, but at the same time, we do not want the world to forget us.

This man says, I don't think Gaza is forgotten because of the war in Lebanon, because the two are connected. Hopefully, there'll be resolved together.

Since Hezbollah pagers started exploding in Lebanon on two weeks ago, more than 360 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the ministry of health. No breakdown of militants versus civilians the hospitals filled with women and children tell its own story Israel shift in focus to its northern border, feels no different on the ground in Gaza.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: So often in this war, people get caught in the middle.

Well, just ahead. You are looking at live pictures now out of Erie, Pennsylvania, where former President Trump is speaking right now, his message tonight as he fights to win over voters in this must-win battleground state. We'll have an update, coming up.

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DEAN: The presidential contenders are spread out across the country today as we close in on Election Day. Vice President Kamala Harris is on the West Coast where she's holding fundraisers, and a rally later today, former President Donald Trump is in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, where he's holding a rally right now in Erie.

And CNN's Jeff Zeleny is there for us.

And, Jeff, yesterday, the former president offered Wisconsin voters a dark vision of the future. His words as he turned up the rhetoric and personal attacks on Kamala Harris.

What are we expecting to hear from him today?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, former President Donald Trump has just taken the stage. It's a short time ago here, at 37 days until Election Day. Early voting is already underway here in Pennsylvania. And it's hard to think of one of these seven battleground states as more important than Pennsylvania because it's the largest, 19 electoral votes.

So, the former president right now is talking about his opponent. He has not delivered quite as dark of rhetoric as he did yesterday in Wisconsin when he questioned her mental health and mental deficiencies in his words, but he is also talking about a policy, talking about immigration. But he started his remarks here today, talking about the hurricane victims in Georgia and North Carolina and other states, that he potentially is going to travel to see them this week, potentially, but he's talking about those victims, but he is talking about the importance of the election.

But, Jessica, let's take a listen to what he said yesterday in Wisconsin, it really sets the table for the closing months of this campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Kamala is mentally impaired. Joe Biden became mentally impaired. Kamala, she was born that way. And if you think about it, only a mentally disabled person could have allowed this to happen to our country. Anybody would know this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELEN Y: So that is some of the sharpest rhetoric that we have heard from the former president on his opponent. Again, he has not yet repeated that, but this speech is just getting underway here.

But interestingly, some Republican allies are essentially trying to distance from that. Senator Lindsey Graham earlier today on CNN really urged the president to stick to policies and Vice President Harris's record as opposed to talking about her personally. But, Jessica, this really gives you a sense of how bitter this duel has become.

But don't forget when you hear the former president saying this and also rallies Democrats as well, every time he goes after Vice President Harris, particularly in personal ways and making front of her name that rallies Democrats as well. So it raises the question and here in the final month, is there anything that can move this razor thin race? Of course, said the ground game is essential part of his campaign. We see people signing up voters here in the crowd. There's a lot of activity going on but there is no doubt for the next five weeks or so. This is going to be very divisive, very bitter, and you can hear the president or former president pine just sheriff rally in this crowd in Pennsylvania, Jessica.

DEAN: Yeah, no doubt about it, Jeff. And so many Trump allies have said they just want him to talk about the policies for months now since Harris has gotten the race and he just has not really been able to do that.

All right.

[14:40:00]

Jeff Zeleny for us in Erie, Pennsylvania, critical battleground state, thanks so much.

Two days from now, the two vice presidential candidates will face off in the first and perhaps last debate before the election. On Tuesday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance will go head- to-head on national television at the CBS Studios in New York.

We're joined now by Alan Schroeder, who's written several books on presidential debates, including the book "Presidential Debates: Risky Business on the Campaign Trail".

Alan, thanks so much for being here with us.

ALAN SCHROEDER, AUTHOR, "PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES": Yes. Thank you.

DEAN: So this election now, just 37 days away as Jeff mentioned, early voting is underway in some states already. The question is, do vice presidential debates matter to voters?

SCHROEDER: I don't think the manner in terms of determining the outcome of the election by any means. But they manner in a couple of other ways. One is that they can generate enthusiasm for the candidates. They can help turn out the vote. They can be helpful in fundraising. And, of course, they have implications for the debater's careers.

So, you know, Vance is only 40-years-old. If he has a good debate, that will open the path for him in the future.

DEAN: And this is going to be the first time we see these two candidates sharing a stage. We have seen some glimpses though you could say of how they might approach a debate while they're out on the campaign trail. I want to play a few clips. We can listen to that. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I got to tell you, I can't wait to debate the guy. That is this if he's willing to get off the couch and show up. So -- see what I did there.

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The way I see the debate is very simple. It's an opportunity where it for 90 minutes, Governor Walz and I are going to debate the issues that matter to the American people. And what I'm going to try to show is very simple that the candidacy, the team of substance, the team that actually has a record that we're proud of, instead of running away from, and the team that actually has a plan is the team of Trump- Vance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: So, Alan, those are clearly obviously two very different men with two very different visions, different styles what do you see as the risks and advantages to how each of them will be approaching this debate, what they bring to the debate?

SCHROEDER: Will the risks in a way are kind of the same. They have to present themselves as a plausible substitute for the president if it should ever come to that. And of course, Vance has had such difficulty in his public appearances. He just seems to offend a new group every time he opens his mouth. So I think he has to be sort of careful in that regard.

I think with Walz, he has more experience as a debater. He's run for office more times. So he has to hang on to that folksy appeal. They got him on the ticket in the first place and really make the case in both situations, they have to make the case against the top of the ticket, not just against each other.

DEAN: And Walz has said that he, you know, I think he's -- our reporting indicates that he's fighting nerves ahead of the debate. I think he -- there was reporting he told Kamala Harris and her team, I'm not a great debater.

How much of this is about setting expectations going into this?

SCHROEDER: Yeah, I think we have to take some of these pre-debate remarks with a grain of salt because, you know, the ideal is to into the debate and be thought of as the underdog. And then when you do well, you out form the expectations. So I think there's a little bit of that going on here.

And as I say, when you really count up the number of debates, each of them has done, Walz is far more experienced on that debate stage than Vance is.

DEAN: And we also have seen the vice president releasing ads mocking former president's refusal to debate her again before the election in November. What do you think about Trump's decision not to do any more debates? SCHROEDER: I think it's a bad decision. You know, CNN has dangled

September 23rd is a date for another Harris-Trump debate. Harris has accepted, Trump has not.

And, you know, it would very weird and historically unprecedented to have the last debate of the cycle be between the vice presidential candidates. It's never happened that way in the history of these things. And so I would hope that Trump would want to seize that opportunity and it's a great opportunity. It's 60, 70 million people at one time to really plead that closing argument. Don't leave it to the vice presidential candidates.

DEAN: You mentioned at the scene, the proposed CNN debate, October 23rd, which is what I think you meant, would -- Trump has said --

SCHROEDER: Yes.

DEAN: That's -- that's -- yeah, that's too late. But historically there is precedent for having me for having debates that close to the election.

SCHROEDER: There sure is. In fact, Trump himself did a debate last time on October 22nd, which is only a day earlier. So I think that sounds to me like an excuse, more than a pretext, more than a reality.

And so I really hope he changes his mind and I find it hard to believe that he would want to walk away what are you from a potential audience that large just at a moment when the race is tied this thing could go either way on a debate could be the thing that makes the difference.

DEAN: That is such a tight race right now.

Alan Schroeder, thanks so much for your insight into all this. We appreciate it.

SCHROEDER: Thank you.

DEAN: And be sure to watch Tim Walz and J.D. Vance in their first and only face-to-face debate, a CNN special event, the vice presidential debate simulcast, hosted by CBS News, airs live Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.

And this just into U.S., President Biden on his way back to the White House, said an all-out war in the Middle East must be avoided. Let's listen to what he said.

REPORTER: Are you going to talk to the Prime Minister? You haven't had anything to say to him.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, I will be talking to him. I'll tell you what I say to him.

REPORTER: Do you have any words to the victims --

BIDEN: Yes, it's tragic. As a matter of fact, we're trying to get the exact number. My team of advisors is on the ground in Florida right now. There's a distinction between the numbers that FEMA has used and the ones that are used by -- by the locals.

So it's -- it really is amazing. You saw the photographs. It was stunning.

REPORTER: So many -- such a wide area.

BIDEN: I mean, given them all everything that we have on the ground ahead of time. So we're working hard.

REPORTER: Are there any more resources the federal government could be giving them?

BIDEN: No, we've given them -- we have preplanned a significant amount of it, even though they didn't ask (INAUDIBLE).

REPORTER: Mr. President, would you intervene in the dockworkers strike, if they go on strike on Tuesday?

BIDEN: No.

REPORTER: Why not?

BIDEN: Because it's collective bargaining, and I don't believe in (INAUDIBLE).

REPORTER: Can all out -- can an all out war in the Middle East be avoided? It has to be. You really have to avoid it. We've already taken precautions relative to our embassies and personnel who want to leave. But we're not there yet, but we're working like hell with the French (ph) and Netanyahu (ph) (INAUDIBLE). Thank you.

REPORTER: Thank you, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: That was President Biden just moments ago saying an all-out war in the Middle East has to be avoided. Just yesterday, he had said, when asked if a ground incursion by the Israelis into Lebanon was inevitable, that he wanted a ceasefire deal now.

So that is what we've been hearing from President Biden.

CNN Washington correspondent Sunlen Serfaty is at the White House.

Sunlen, what more are you hearing?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHIGNTON CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Jessica, certainly significant comments there from President Biden as he makes his way back to Washington, he spent the weekend in Rehoboth where he was kept apprised by his national security team on the rapidly evolving conflict.

And notable there that he said, if all out war was inevitable in his says it has to be. So, that's a significant statement and this is the line that the White House and what house aides have been really treading carefully, certainly acknowledging that the death of the Hezbollah leader -- leader over the weekend was notable, a huge which blow for them. But while also temporarily in their responses in an ever return, wanting to push for de-escalation, push for a ceasefire, push for a diplomatic negotiations to continue, and to push towards an end to this conflict. That's something we saw from Biden's top national security advisor, John Kirby.

This morning on the Sunday shows, acknowledging that the death of Hezbollah leader, he called him a known terrorist, a guy with American blood and Israeli blood on his hands. But we also saw Kirby similar to what we saw from President Biden just a few minutes ago, acknowledging and pushing for a ceasefire, pushing for de-escalation of this conflict that President Biden is heading back here to the White House, Jessica, where he certainly will keep -- be kept apprised of the rapidly evolving movements in the Middle East, Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Sunlen Serfaty at the White House, thank you so much for that reporting.

We're going to take a break and we'll be right back.

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[14:53:52]

SCIUTTO: We're continuing our coverage now of our top story. Israel today turning its firepower on targets in Houthi controlled parts of Yemen. The IDF says it attacked a power station and a seaport.

The Iran-backed group is behind recent rocket and missile attacks on Israel, as well as on U.S. warships and commercial ships in the region. Hezbollah and Israel are already continuing to trade attacks across Lebanon's border.

With me now, retired Israeli, why should say reservist Israeli Lieutenant Colonel Jonathon Conricus. He's also a former spokesperson for the IDF.

Good to have you here. Lots going on.

JONATHAN CONRICUS, FORMER IDF SPOKESPERSON: Yeah. First, can you to describe the intention of these Israeli strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen I think that what Israel wants to deliver a clear and bright message. If you fire missiles, drones, or rockets at Israel, this is the price that you're going to pay. The first message was a few months ago, two months ago, the port of Hodeidah. Obviously, it wasn't understood. And the Houthis and the Iranian masters continue. And now Israel sent, I think, a larger, a more powerful, more planes, more ordinance being dropped.

The message, the gist of the message being the same that if you attack as well, there are consequences for it.

SCIUTTO: The U.S. has been, of course, striking Houthi positions as well as taking down who the drones and missiles directed at shipping in the Red Sea, as well as those directed towards Israel.

CONRICUS: Yeah.

SCIUTTO: Is it your view? Is it Israel's view that the U.S. has not sufficiently mitigated the threat from Houthi missiles?

CONRICUS: I think that CentCom have done a tremendous work in taking care of incoming missiles and U.S. Navy has done tremendous work, I think life-saving work in shooting down incoming rockets, missiles, and drones. First of all, keeping themselves safe. And also helping in defending Israel, which I think is tremendous.

And, you know, that's a decision that the U.S. has to make. I think maybe the Houthis perhaps are interpreting the gap between what has been said and declared and what eventually has been done as something that indicates what the real intentions of America are. And when you compare it to what Israel has done, which is to, we've said pretty little, but actually struck them twice. Then perhaps there's a certain gap there that from the Houthi perspective, I think should be should be narrowed.

SCIUTTO: Are you communicating that Israel intends to wipe out the Houthis in Yemen at this point?

CONRICUS: No, I don't think that is well, there has neither the intention nor the capability at this stage unlike what were seeing with Hezbollah, where Israel for the last 15 in 20 years has been collecting, analyzing, and defining intelligence and now have a very diverse target bank available, that is not the situation with the Houthis up until a year ago. There were hardly on the threat map. Now, they are because they are threatening is as well and Israel is adapting for that and striking targets that are easier to get now.

The next stage I think will be weapons storage facilities, rocket launchers, the places where they launched their UAVs or rockets from.

SCIUTTO: Okay. Let's talk about next steps then inside Lebanon, we have observed us, the U.S. side, as well as observed some buildup of Israeli forces on the northern Israeli border. Is a ground incursion the next likely steps by Israel inside Lebanon?

CONRICUS: I think -- I think so. Given the current situation on the ground, given the apparent disarray that Hezbollah leadership is in and given the very urgent and real need for Israeli civilians to be able to go back to their homes. And for those who missed out the last year of events, 70,000 Israelis have been displaced and all over as well, and they cannot return to their homes. And what Israel needs to do is to create the conditions for that to happen.

It either happens through a diplomatic deal, if Hezbollah will agree to one and say, okay, we implement 1701, we go back, we wont be south of the Litani, problem solved. And if that doesn't happen, then the other option would be think it will be necessary for the IDF to go in and clear certain areas at a tactical distance from where the border is. So that Israeli communities can be safe.

SCIUTTO: How soon? CONRICUS: I don't think that there's any good reason to wait when

your enemy is this organized, when he's down, that is the time that you strike. That is the time that take advantage. So my guess would be that this is not something that we will have to wait months for. I'm not currently in the decision-making process, so I wouldn't know.

But based on military logic and based on what I see Hezbollah doing and their current capabilities, I would assess that we will see this soon.

SCIUTTO: We'll be watching closely.

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, thanks so much as always.

CONRICUS: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Please do stay with us. We'll be right back with more.

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