Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

U.S. Officials Say, Israel May Send Ground Troops Into Lebanon; At Least 62 Dead, Nearly Three Million Still Without Power In Five States. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired September 29, 2024 - 00:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:00:00]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. I appreciate your company.

It is now 7:00 A.M. in Beirut where fears are growing that the exchange of missile fire between Israel and Hezbollah could ground war. U.S. officials say Israeli troops have mobilized and are clearing areas in what could be preparation for ground troops to move across the border. Israel is saying a ground offensive is only one option being considered.

The IDF continued their air offensive meanwhile on Saturday with blasts hitting close to Beirut Airport. Saturday's strikes in Lebanon reportedly killing more than 30 people and wounding close to 200 others. Overall, nearly a thousand Lebanese have been killed since this latest escalation, according to health officials. Hezbollah firing back, saying it launched missiles towards Jerusalem, prompting a response from Israeli air defenses. Police say pieces of one intercepted missile crashed in the suburbs.

All of this happening after Israel killed Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, prompting new fears of a wider war in the region. Hezbollah pledging to continue its fight, while Iran says Israel will face, quote, a crushing blow for the killing. Israeli Prime Minister's response was, think twice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: And to the Ayatollah's regime, I say, those who strike us, we will strike them. There is no place in Iran or the Middle East that the long arm of Israel cannot reach. Today, you already know that this is correct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

The White House keeping a close eye on Israel as it tries to anticipate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's next moves.

Oren Liebermann explains what the U.S. believes might happen next.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. sees the possibility of a limited Israeli ground incursion into southern Lebanon, according to two U.S. officials. But, crucially, the U.S. believes Israel hasn't made a final decision on whether to carry out a ground incursion into Lebanon.

Now, Israelis have signaled quite openly that they're preparing for that possibility. The top Israeli general said as much on Wednesday. And, crucially, a senior Israeli official said on Friday, just before the strike that killed Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah, that Israel hopes it doesn't have to carry out a ground incursion into Lebanon.

But the officials say that the U.S. has seen the mobilization of more Israeli forces, the clearing of areas along Israel's northern border that would be in preparation for a ground incursion. So, that possibility is widening, is growing, as the U.S. continues to try to head off a regional war and tries to signal to Israel that a ground incursion is very much not the way to proceed here.

Crucially, and this is important to note, Israel's goal when it comes to Lebanon and Hezbollah is not the elimination of Hezbollah or the destruction of Hezbollah completely. That would almost certainly require a very large ground incursion. Its goal here is to return more than 60,000 residents to their homes in Northern Israel, which they've been displaced from basically since October 8th, and since Hezbollah started firing rockets and drones into Northern Israel.

The question, of course, is what does it take to make that happen, and at what point did Israel feel comfortable doing that? And that's where a ceasefire, an agreement, may very well be necessary. And that's why the U.S. keeps pushing in that direction. Still, Israel very clearly has the advantage over Hezbollah, and it's going to push that advantage.

Israel has long believed that another war with Hezbollah was inevitable, basically, ever since the end of the 2006 war. And because of that, the Israeli security establishment has been working on its intelligence when it comes to Hezbollah, working on preparations and plans for that war. And now that it seems we're at that point.

Israel is very much pressing the advantage that it has, how far it will go, that's what the U.S. is trying to figure out, and that's what it seems Israel itself is trying to figure out, as we see the continuation of Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians in Southern Lebanon, in Beirut and beyond.

U.S. trying to steer off the regional war, but, of course, part of that question is, what does Iran decide to do at this point? The U.S. has significant forces in the region, a carrier strike group in and around the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, an amphibious ready group in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

[00:05:07]

They've had fighter squadrons, additional fighter squadrons in the Middle East for several months now. And President Joe Biden ordered Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to further enhance force posture. So, we'll learn over the next several days what exactly that entails.

The region bracing for a response, the U.S. State Department pulling some personnel from Lebanon. That being said, a NEO, a noncombatant evacuation order, the evacuation of U.S. citizens from Lebanon that has not been ordered yet. The region very much bracing for what comes next.

Oren Liebermann, CNN in Washington.

HOLMES: Let's head to London where we're joined again by Elliott Gotkine. So, bring us up to date on what has been a very, very fluid and changing situation. What are the chances of that incursion or invasion?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Michael, over the last just in the last half hour or so, the IDF saying that it's been striking Hezbollah targets, saying that it's been striking what it described as Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure, rocket launchers aimed towards Israel, and also weapons storage facilities. And we've seen, as we can see now, smoke hanging over the Beirut skyline there.

We've also seen air raid sirens in Israel's southernmost city, Eilat, sounding as a projectile was heading that way, something that was claimed by Iran-backed militia in Iraq, and also air raid sirens sounding in northern Israel. So, certainly no let up in hostilities there or in Israel's airstrikes.

And as Oren was saying Israel feels that after the walkie-talkie explosions and after decapitating Hezbollah, not just by killing its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, but also most of its senior military leaders as well, Israel feels that it has momentum, that it has the advantage, that it still has its boot on Hezbollah's throat, and that now is the time to press that advantage.

So, no let up in that that air campaign and Israel will continue to do so until, as again, Oren was saying, Israel has fulfilled its objective, which is to return safety and security to Northern Israel, to allow the 60,000-plus Israelis to return, something they've not been able to do since October the 8th, when Hezbollah began firing on Israel in solidarity with Hamas a day after the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas.

So, that is something that is continuing. And as Oren was also saying, you know, the question now is if Israel can't achieve that objective just with airstrikes, the possibility of a ground incursion remains open.

HOLMES: There are massive risks in that, of course, and Israel has seen that itself in the past. What is the appetite for that? Are you able to discern what do Israelis feel about the idea of going back into Lebanon when, you know, that has been a very fraught decision in the past?

GOTKINE: Israelis are incredibly wary about ground incursions. I don't think they particularly want to go into Lebanon on the ground. They'll be very mindful, not just that they would be going into Lebanon on Hezbollah's home turf, something that could lead to Hezbollah trying to unleash some or more of its long range weapons. But that would also be, of course, very fiercely resisted, by Lebanon and Lebanese as a whole.

It would also be very mindful of what happened in 2006 when Israel went in on the ground. And there were major Israeli casualties and, of course, a big flare up and a month-long war. And indeed Israel's own state-led commission of inquiry into that described the ground incursion as a hasty and poorly planned.

Now, it would be incredibly unlikely that Israel hasn't learned something from that and that a ground incursion would have been planned for more -- less hastily and more meticulously. But, certainly, Israel would not be -- it would not be a decision that Israel would take lightly, not just from a strategic perspective and not just for fear of rising casualties among Israeli soldiers going in on the ground and from inevitable long range missile attacks from Hezbollah.

But I think Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will also be fully aware that just this week, opinion polls came out showing his Likud Party at its highest level with its largest amount of support since the Hamas- led terrorist attacks of October the 7th. And he will be mindful that this kind of rebuffing for tuning in. of his security bona fides is something that could very easily be lost if Israel goes in on the ground and gets bogged down again as it did in 2006 and to a much greater extent in 1982 when Israeli forces remained there for the best part of two decades.

Israel doesn't want to get stuck in some kind of quagmire once more, but if it feels that the only way to restore security to the Northern Israel is by going in on the ground, and the only way to push Hezbollah back to the Litani River, some 30 kilometers to the north, in accordance with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 that ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, then that is something that it would feel it has no other choice but to do.

[00:10:00]

Michael?

HOLMES: Elliott Gotkine in London, thanks.

All right, now I want to go to Trita Parsi, who is executive vice president of the Quincy Institute in Washington, and focuses a lot on Iran. I appreciate you being with us. Good to see you.

Hezbollah is Iran's most prized non-state ally. Does Nasrallah's death, along with the other hits on Hezbollah, the crippling of Hamas in Gaza, and the assassination of the Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Does all of this weaken Iran's reach or influence regionally? Is it humiliating for Iran?

TRITA PARSI, EXECUTIVE V.P., QUINCY INSTITUTE: It certainly has been humiliating. And Hezbollah, of course, is of tremendous importance to Iran. Iran views it as its first line of defense against any Israeli aggression. And, for instance, in 2006, when Israel went into Lebanon, and as you reported, actually suffered a defeat, part of the objective was to get rid of Hezbollah in order to pave the way for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Because of the failure in Lebanon, of course, then there also wasn't that type of an attack, but it tells you the importance that Hezbollah has played for Iran's security strategy. So, with the way that Hezbollah now has been hit with some major, major blows, this is definitely setting back Iran. In fact, Iran is very much in a corner with fewer and fewer options, none of them good.

HOLMES: Since April, anyway, Iran has largely held fire, but Ayatollah Khamenei says Nasrallah's blood will not go unavenged. But, you know, a lot of people say Iran's leaders have never been motivated by the welfare of the Lebanese or the Palestinian people, but rather the destruction of Israel. So, how will Iran be weighing its next moves, and how does Iran look if it does nothing?

PARSI: Well, actually, I think it's quite the opposite in terms of when it comes to Israel's destruction. We can see with the restraint that Iran has shown and the discomfort and at times anger that has existed in the axis, that it is the other parties in the Axis that are much, much more eager on taking on Israel. And Tehran has been very much criticized by many of them, particularly by the Houthis, for being too risk averse and not willing to enter the fight.

Iran's objective clearly has been to stay out of this fight, but that is becoming increasingly difficult given the blows that Hezbollah is suffering. Because going back to your earlier question, Iran not responding is also something that is very costly to Iran, not just amongst its rivals in the region, but amongst its partners in the Axis who are increasingly frustrated that Iran isn't doing much.

HOLMES: Yes. It's interesting and it's worth raising that the U.S. didn't know about the strike on Nasrallah until it was underway, didn't know what Israel was going to do with the pager explosions. You know, what does that along with Netanyahu putting constant roadblocks in the way of Gaza ceasefire say about U.S. influence or lack of it when it comes to Israel, while Israel pretty much does what it wants with impunity? I mean, is that humiliating for the Biden administration?

PARSI: It certainly is humiliating, but it seems to be a humiliation that the Biden administration is welcoming, because if it wanted to actually exercise its influence, it easily could do so, but it has chosen not to do so, over and over again. Just less than 48 hours before Israel ordered the killing of Hezbollah, Biden had put forward this 21-day cessation of hostilities plan, that it said that Israel had signed on to or had indicated willingness to sign on to.

As soon as Netanyahu landed in New York, he announced that he does not sign on to it, rejected that plan, frustrating the Biden administration. But once Netanyahu did take out Nasrallah and killed scores of civilians, the Biden administration came out and praised the operation, even though it also leaked that privately was very upset about it. So, we're seeing a situation in which Netanyahu does exactly what he wants because Biden is not willing to put any real pressure on him.

HOLMES: Yes. You know I've talked about this before. I mean, it's long been thought that Netanyahu would like a war with Iran and for the U.S. to help fight it. Do you think, you know, a lot of these moves are part of that alleged broader plan of his or separate?

PARSI: I think that's definitely been part of his plan from the very beginning of this and I think he's probably closer to it than before, because anything Iran does now will risk a larger war. That's why Iran has fewer and fewer options and none of them good, because all of them will be escalatory in the direction that Tehran doesn't want.

[00:15:00]

And also in terms of what Israel will do in Lebanon, Hezbollah had agreed to go back to the Litani River, which is what Resolution 1701 demanded, but it wanted Israel to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza in return as well. But that was apparently too much for Netanyahu, and instead he opted to start this war in Lebanon, and clearly knowing very well that he would have the Biden administration behind him.

HOLMES: Yes, always good to talk to you, my friend. Trita Parsi, thanks so much.

PARSI: Thank you for having me.

HOLMES: All right. Days after the storm slash slammed ashore, Helene is still wreaking havoc on the southeastern U.S. Residents of inland areas very far from the Gulf Coast enduring catastrophic conditions. Just have a look at that. We'll talk to a North Carolina county official about the ongoing emergency in Ashville.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: The storm that was once Hurricane Helene is still causing chaos in places far from the U.S. Gulf Coast where Helene arrived. The death toll now stands at 61 people, nearly 3 million without power across five states. And more rain expected this weekend in hard hit Tennessee and North Carolina. Officials do say that a Tennessee dam that was in danger of collapse is holding, which is some good news, but many roads and bridges across the region remain closed due to flooding or landslides.

[00:20:00]

In Western North Carolina, emergency services are overwhelmed. In addition to flooding, they're coping with mudslides and extensive structural damage. Teams spent Saturday carrying out dozens of search and rescue operations in and around Asheville alone.

CNN Correspondent Rafael Romo is there in Asheville with more.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The accumulation of mud on this street, as you can see, is about two inches deep and there are debris everywhere. As you can see, this is a table, this is a door that came from a house or building somewhere, there's a chair right there, and this is the way many streets here in Asheville look.

Now, officials are facing a massive recovery effort. Just to give you an idea of how bad the situation is here, there are still 105,000 customers in Buncombe County, which includes the city of Asheville, where we are, without power. Crews are working to try to make way to reach people who may need help. Also 130 swift water rescues were made since Thursday, and a total of 5,500 people called 911.

Now, if you can imagine the force of the floodwaters, take a look at this metal power pole. It was brought here by the storm, and we don't even see where it came from. So, that gives you an idea about how bad the flood was. And there's also, according to the city of Asheville, 578 people who are seeking shelter.

Now, it rained since Wednesday and Thursday, about ten inches of rain. That was the accumulation. And then that was even before the hurricane or the remnants of the hurricane, I should say, Tropical Storm Helene, which brought an additional 12 inches of water.

This is something that, according to officials here, is a 1 in 1,000- year rainfall event. So, that tells you exactly what people here are facing, some of the scenes that they tell us they had never seen before.

Reporting from Asheville, North Carolina, I'm Rafael Romo.

HOLMES: Lillian Govus is communications director for the Buncombe County Government where Asheville is located. She's joining us now. And I'm so sorry for what you're going through. It is the most beautiful place. Walk us through the situation in Asheville and your county tonight,

LILLIAN GOVUS, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, BUNCOMBE COUNTY: Yes, thank you. Yes, we've got quite a dire and grim situation here in Nashville. We still have massive flooding as you showed earlier that we are trying to rescue through. We have been doing swift water boat rescues now for multiple days. We have folks who are trapped. I had a phone call earlier today from a woman who was trapped at a church with 30 other people. And some of those people were not able to make it.

HOLMES: Oh, that's just terrible. There was an official there in Buncombe County who said that the damage was biblical in its devastation. I mean, were you expecting or could you have ever imagined this level of damage and impact from this storm?

GOVUS: We couldn't. One of the things that was really just evil about the storm was the time that it arrived when individuals were in bed. And we were trying to -- we had asked for self-evacuations leading up to the storm, but it arrived while people were sleeping. And so bridges were destroyed and mountains were toppled our interstate what is currently blocked due to a landslide.

And so we are in just the direst of situations. And I don't think you could even attempt to make up a story as sad as the one that we are facing here. We have some really good stories that are coming out. I just got an email while I was waiting from someone who had been rescued, and they were sending an email to say thank you.

So, there are some good stories, but there are also some really tough stories. And today we took the turn where this is turning into some recovery missions now.

HOLMES: Yes. We were just looking at the landslide video and the interstate cut off. And now we're looking at a house floating down the river. More rain unbelievably is expected this weekend. How much worse can it get? Do you have a message for the residents there?

[00:25:00]

GOVUS: Our message is to please allow our emergency officials to do their work. Because we were cut off in every direction with every interstate. We haven't been able to get all of the resources into this community to provide help. We do have three shelters that are open right now. One is at full capacity and the other one is filling up now we are without power.

We don't have cell phones. Folks are desperate to reach their loved ones. And so they are doing anything they can to try to reach them, but we need to help allow our officials to get emergency support into this area and also continue making those swift water calls.

HOLMES: Yes. President Biden is heading to North Carolina Monday to survey the damage. When you say you need help, what do you need?

GOVUS: Water, food, we need to be able to move this dirt that has isolated people. We have so many bridges that have been destroyed. Even I haven't been home, but I know the bridges that go to where I live and the road that I live on have all been washed away.

HOLMES: When you look at the infrastructure, and we're talking with the fire chief last hour from where you are, and talking about how the water system has been damaged, and so you do have, that's infrastructure that is not going to be repaired overnight. How far down the road are you looking when you're talking bridges, roads, water system?

GOVUS: Yes. You know, this is not something that's going to go away in the coming days or when the sun comes out. This is going to be a long- term recovery effort. And we have a dedicated group of folks who have been performing emergency rescues and are going to continue doing rescues as long as those calls are coming in.

But when it comes to the bridges and the infrastructure, that's going to be a much bigger conversation that's going to really require a lot of regional, state, federal support to rebuild that infrastructure because it is gone.

HOLMES: And, again, looking down the road, you know, as I said, I vacationed there. A lot of Americans have it. It is beautiful. You're going to lose a lot of economic benefit down the road, aren't you? I mean, this is going to hurt for a while. GOVUS: Yes. You know, we're not really looking at that long-term right now. What we're most concerned about are the people who are here who are calling. You alluded to those 5,500 911 calls we've received, you know, on a normal day, it's more like 200. And so this is just an astronomical disaster. And I can't even -- I've been trying to find the words. It's like a Hurricane Katrina for our community. And it is devastating and will be for times to come.

And so we're looking to those stories of hope and families being able to be together again to help us get through this time of really amazing and devastating destruction.

HOLMES: It is utterly heartbreaking. I mean, our hearts go out to you and I hope you get the help that you need and can begin to heal and recover, just horrible. Lillian Govus in Asheville, beautiful Asheville, thank you so much.

GOVUS: Thank you.

HOLMES: It really is heartbreaking, isn't it? We'll take a break.

When we come back, our coverage of the Middle East continues as U.S. officials warn that Israel might be preparing for a ground offensive in Lebanon. We'll talk about it after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:00]

HOLMES: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom with me, Michael Holmes, and we, of course, are still following the breaking news in the Middle East, where fears of a wider war are growing following the death of Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah. He was killed in that Israeli airstrike in Southern Beirut on Friday.

CNN's Nic Robertson reports from Tel Aviv.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: We're going into Saturday evening a lot of concern that Hezbollah might respond with a big barrage of its long range ballistic missiles into the center of Israel, one of the reasons why the home front command has told people not to gather in groups of larger than 1,000.

By late evening, sirens triggered in Jerusalem, a missile intercepted before it got there, falling and damaging some houses, but not causing any casualties, according to medical services who were on the scene. There are concerns as well that Iran could get involved in the fight, support Hezbollah and target Israel directly.

The IDF spokesman, Peter Lerner, having a warning for Iran about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. PETER LERNER, SPOKESPERSON, IDF: 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 effectively decapitated Hezbollah from its senior leadership all the way down to the operational and tactical staff.

You know, there is a lot to lose here. I don't think anybody is interested in a further escalation, a broader war, but Israel needs to be prepared for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: And the military here saying that they are ready for offensive or defensive actions, whatever the government instructs them to do. The defense minister met with the IDF chief of staff and intelligence chiefs to look at the situation, the operational situation on the ground at the northern border on whether or not they may expand the operations and the role of the military at that border.

Is he talking about a possible ground incursion? That's not clear. No decision if it's going to be taken has been announced about that. But this really seems to follow on from what we've heard over the past week or so of signaling that the IDF is gathering more troops along the northern border. And again on this, Peter Lerner, the IDF spokesman, saying it remains a possibility.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LERNER: There's a huge amount of different tools that we have in our toolbox.

[00:35:03]

Ground operations is one of them. We are preparing for that if it is required, if we receive the instructions. And, of course, the primary goal with regard to the front with Hezbollah is to restore safety and security so that 60,000 Israelis that have been evacuated from the front precisely, because of the aggression and actions of Hezbollah, can go home safely and securely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: And I think the overall feeling here is that people recognize that they've moved into sort of uncharted territory. Now, Hassan Nasrallah has been killed, no sense of panic at all, but it's a different feeling, a different vibe here now.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Tel Aviv.

HOLMES: Earlier, I spoke to Hanin Ghaddar, who is a senior fellow at Washington Institute's Linda and Tony Rubin program on Arab Politics, and asked her about the future of Hezbollah without Hassan Nasrallah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANIN GHADDAR, SENIOR FELLOW, THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: Hassan Nasrallah not only was the leader of Hezbollah, the political leader of Hezbollah, he was also the military leader of Hezbollah. He had two roles, the public figure and the military and security leader. So, he was really the glue that connected -- the tissue that connected Iran and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to the Hezbollah leadership.

Today, the assassination of Nasrallah didn't come out of nothing. He was assassinated yesterday during the strike. But what we have been witnessing for the past two weeks or ten days specifically is the assassination of Hezbollah itself by eliminating all its leadership, military leadership per se, which is very important in terms of making decisions of war and peace, who is going to decide to launch missiles against Tel Aviv or not, to escalate or not.

So, it's a question really for Iran is not going to be very difficult to pick a successor. There are two obvious successors in line, which is his deputy, Naim Qassem, or the head of the political bureau of the Shia (ph) Council, Hashim Safieddine. These are usually talked about as the normal successors. but not only they are not.

They do not have the same popularity. They're not linked to the legacy of Hezbollah and its victories. They also do not have a commandment structure to lead. Hezbollah lost all its senior commander, all its first year and second year commanders, all the founders of the military structure of Hezbollah.

So, today, the Hezbollah and the Iranians have to replace these people, but no one is really that qualified. So, they can find a replacement as a public figure, but will not be able to easily find a replacement for the people of the military structure headed by Nasrallah. So, that's going to take some time.

HOLMES: And speaking of that, I mean, what, what are the risks of Hezbollah feeling it needs to mount a significant, spectacular response to the killing of Nasrallah, perhaps by using those long range ballistic missiles and so on, perhaps because they're seeing their arsenal degraded and might want to use what they have while they can, and what are the risks are there in the scale of that response?

GHADDAR: So, Iran and Hezbollah today, the IRGC, basically the Quds Force and Hezbollah, have two choices, either de-escalate and accept the political initiative set earlier this week by the U.S. and the French, which means that ceasefire and Hezbollah will withdraw away from the border.

That's the most logical choice to have, because it leads to de- escalation and it will preserve whatever is left of Hezbollah's military structure, including these precision guided missiles. But Israel might not accept the ceasefire at this point because the momentum is leading to successes in terms of Israel eliminating Hezbollah's weapon facilities and leadership.

The other option is escalation, as you said.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: When we come back, Kamala Harris reacts to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's death while on the campaign trail. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [00:40:00]

HOLMES: Kamala Harris is in step with President Biden's sentiments regarding the death of the Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah. The Democratic nominee is monitoring the situation in the Middle East while campaigning on the U.S. West Coast.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez with more.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Vice President Kamala Harris echoing President Joe Biden on Saturday over the developing situation in the Middle East, saying that Israel has a right to defend itself and also calling for de-escalation.

Saying this in a statement, 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. Today, Hezbollah's victims have a measure of justice.

Now, the vice president also joined a call with President Joe Biden and the national security team to continue to get an update on the situation, review the U.S. military posture in the region, and also direct those continued diplomatic efforts.

But all of this was unfolding as the vice president has been on the campaign trail. On Friday, she was in Arizona speaking on immigration along the U.S. southern border. Then on Saturday, she was at a fundraiser. And on Sunday, she will be at another fundraiser here in Los Angeles before heading to Nevada for a rally.

Now, the situation in the Middle East has factored in politically, as she has also had to grapple with some protesters at her rallies who are protesting the situation in Gaza. And in those moments, the vice president has said that the administration is working toward a ceasefire and calling for de-escalation in the region.

Now, the vice president, I'm told by sources, is continuing to monitor the situation as she's on the trail the next several days and also staying close with her national security team.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Los Angeles.

HOLMES: Donald Trump on the campaign trail Saturday in Wisconsin focusing on immigration and border security, his inflammatory rhetoric on full display once more, attacking Harris' record after her visit to the border. He told the crowd that every town in America would be, quote, transformed into a third world hell hole if Harris is elected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Border czar Harris went to the border to lie and the most shameless and horrible way possible at the very site where she released so much suffering, misery and death.

[00:45:12]

There's no greater act of disloyalty than to extinguish the sovereignty of your own nation right through your border. No matter what lies she tells, Kamala Harris can never be forgiven for her erasing our border and she must never be allowed to become president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: During that rambling speech that he gave, Trump again referred to undocumented immigrants who commit crimes as animals and called them, quote, stone cold killers who would come into your kitchen and cut your throat.

A reminder to watch CNN's special coverage of this week's vice presidential debate between Tim Walz and J.D. Vance. Jake Tapper and Erin Burnett will get things started 7:00 P.M. Tuesday in New York. That's 7:00 A.M. Wednesday in Hong Kong.

Well the battle for Georgia heats up in the U.S. presidential election as Kamala Harris tries to restore the coalition that won the state for Biden in 2020. We'll have details on that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:50:00]

HOLMES: The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully launched from Florida's Cape Canaveral on Saturday. A two-man team now on the way to bring two NASA astronauts home from the International Space Station. The spacecraft is due to link up with the ISS about 5:30 P.M. Eastern on Sunday. A NASA astronaut and Russian cosmonaut will now join Williams and Wilmore for five months of work aboard the floating lab. All are due to head home in February.

Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have been stranded on the ISS since June after their Boeing Starliner capsule was deemed too risky for the flight back to Earth.

Now this year, CNN has been tracking voter trends in battleground states across America in a series of reports called All Over the Map. Well, today we're turning the microscope right here on Georgia, where Joe Biden squeaked out a narrow but critical victory in 2020. So far, Georgia is not a done deal for Kamala Harris, far from it.

Our John King has takes a closer look at what it will take for her team to take the state and its 16 electoral votes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Ponce City Market, Atlanta's historic Old Fourth Ward. Once an old Sears warehouse, near the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

LAKEYSHA HALLMON, GEORGIA VOTER: Everything started here.

KING: Now a community anchor that includes Village Retail, a showcase for black entrepreneurs. Its motto, a message.

HALLMON: Support is a Verb tells people to do something that if you love something, it should be action behind it. Support is a Verb has told people the way that they can be a part of change.

KING: Lakeysha Hallmon started the village in 2016 as a pop up market. The retail shop opened in 2020, more proof Atlanta is a beacon of black economic and political power, and now a crucial test of whether Kamala Harris can build a coalition to keep Georgia blue.

HALLMON: We need to feel that things can change in our lifetime, that we're not always waiting on this fictional place where things get better in America. How about we start to do that now?

KING: Loyalty to President Biden runs deep in the black community, but the switch to Harris flipped the 2024 vibe here.

HALLMON: It doesn't feel so doomsday anymore, that it actually feels hopeful, and there's excitement.

KING: Four in ten Georgia voters in 2020 were people of color and Biden won 80 percent of them en route to his razor thin win here. Harris needs to match that, maybe more beginning with giant black turnout.

HALLMON: Support is a Verb, it really takes us to do something. That means if it rains, get out and vote. That means if you have a car and your neighbor doesn't have a car, take them to the polls with you.

KING: Chanta Villano-Willis isn't sold, isn't sure the vice president is up to the top job.

CHANTA VILLANO-WILLIS, GEORGIA VOTER: I've been a Democrat my entire adult life. This has actually been the first year where I was considering voting Republican.

KING: Her mother isn't happy.

VILLANO-WILLIS: I never thought she'd see a black person president in her life. She did. Now, Kamala Harris is for president. My mother says she don't care what she does, let's just get her in there. And I simply don't feel the same.

KING: Villano-Willis works a mix of gig jobs so she can care for her mother and a son with special needs. She likes when Donald Trump promises more oil drilling and to promote cryptocurrencies. But she sides with Harris on abortion rights and says Trump often talks down to blacks.

VILLANO-WILLIS: Oh, and his favorite color is black. Boy, please. I know we don't have the choices, period.

KING: Will you vote or are there circumstances where you might skip it?

VILLANO-WILLIS: I'm going to vote because that's my civic American duty. Too many people fought for me to vote.

KING: Suresh Sharma worked at NASA and G.E. before starting his own business to support manufacturing startups.

SURESH SHARMA, GEORGIA VOTER: Strategically and long-term economy is in a very good shape.

KING: Sharma lives in suburban Cobb County, calls himself a textbook independent, has a three-step test to pick a president. Ability to govern is step one. Sharma says Harris is a blank slate, and he calls Trump a failure because he didn't keep big promises, like replacing Obamacare and shrinking the debt. Ability to manage large projects is test two, and Sharma says neither candidate has done that. He leans Harris because of test three.

SHARMA: Remember, a president is a role model. Therefore, morals matter. And what you say and what you do has a real life implication. I can't tell my son that, hey, would you like to be president like him?

KING: Rebel Teahouse is in Decatur, part of DeKalb County in the critical Atlanta suburbs. The Harris literature here is proof of a big change. Owner Christine Nguyen was undecided and unhappy when we first met in April. She sat out 2020 because she had no interest in Biden or Trump and dreaded the idea of a rematch.

[00:55:04]

Where are you now?

CHRISTINE NGUYEN, GEORGIA VOTER: Knowing the background that she came from, knowing the culture that she has to bring as well as her values and beliefs, I'm proud to say that there is somebody who is able to like voice the things that we as a people have been shouting for like the past four years,

KING: Nguyen says the Harris small business plan meshes with her goal of opening a second location and she lists reproductive rights and climate change as top issues.

NGUYEN: We deserve more than, you know, the two candidates that were there before who didn't understand us.

KING: Debates about whether Trump or Harris are better for business are common and close to home.

NGUYEN: That comes up very often. I hear a lot, like even in my family of entrepreneurs, it comes up every now and then, right, that Trump just knows business better. But I think at the end of the day, it's what you value and like what your beliefs are in terms of your ethics.

KING: Four years after sitting out, Nguyen is excited to vote early. Plus, she's hosting a voter registration event at the teahouse just before the Georgia deadline.

NGUYEN: My fingers are crossed, and I will make sure to do my best to get my whole community to the polls.

KING: Excited for the big event, well aware the numbers and organization are critical.

John King, CNN, Decatur, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM, spending part of your time with me. I'm Michael Holmes.

My friend Paula Newton picks up with more coverage after the break. I'll see you tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:00]