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IDF Targets Hezbollah Possible New Leader; U.S. Dockworkers Union To Suspend Strike After Reaching Tentative Deal; At Least 90 Killed In Israeli Strikes Overnight On Gaza; Kamala Harris Campaigns With Liz Cheney At The GOP's Birthplace; Memphis Jury Convicts Ex- Officers In Tyre Nichols Death. Israel Targeted Possible Nasrallah Successor; Israel-Hezbollah War Comes Amid Economic Crisis in Lebanon; Two Dead in Taiwan as Storm Krathon Slowly Passes; Millions Continue to Cope with Damage And Destruction; Biden Surveys Storm Damage, Calls for United Response; New Israeli Strikes Rock Hezbollah Targets in Beirut. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired October 04, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[01:00:30]
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company. Coming up here on CNN Newsroom. Israel reportedly takes aim at Hezbollah's possible new leader in its latest round of airstrikes on Beirut.
Casualties mounting in Gaza as the IDF continues to strike civilian targets it claims are being used by Hamas as command and control centers and negotiators reach a tentative agreement to reopen U.S. ports and send striking dock workers back to their jobs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: It is 8:00 a.m. in Beirut, Lebanon, a city rocked overnight by another round of punishing Israeli attacks. Israel says it is taking aim at Hezbollah targets, including the group's intelligence headquarters.
Lebanese authorities say at least 1,400 people have been killed throughout the country in the past few weeks. Hundreds more wounded. Nine Israeli soldiers have been killed. A source telling CNN the IDF targeted a possible successor to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an airstrike last week.
But the fate of Hashem Safieddine is not yet known. The IDF says the goal of its military operation in Lebanon is to eliminate Hezbollah's ability to threaten the residents of northern Israel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. GEN. HERZI HALEVI, IDF CHIEF OF THE GENERAL STAFF (through translator): We will not allow Hezbollah to settle itself in these places in the future. The severe blows against Hezbollah in all areas in Beirut, in the Bekah valley in south Lebanon will continue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: CNN senior international correspondent Ivan Watson tracking the latest developments. Israel keeps saying this is a limited operation, but it doesn't look that way. Bring us up today.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, it doesn't look that way, especially since earlier this week, the Israeli military announced it was pulling another division of troops up to its ground operation in northern Israel across the border with Lebanon, and that, according to some military estimates, will be around 10,000 additional soldiers.
So do the math about how limited this ground operation will actually be. The cross border fire continues. The Israeli military saying that it carried out dozens of bombing runs into Lebanon around the country and meanwhile saying that there were at least 230 projectiles that went into Israel and that many of them were shot down by Israeli air defenses.
No civilian casualties reported. I can't say the same on the Lebanese side. The Lebanese health ministry says at least 37 people were killed on Thursday alone by the Israeli airstrikes. Among the dead are two Lebanese army soldiers, Michael, and that's important because while Hezbollah is a sworn enemy of Israel, the Lebanese army has a kind of almost neutral position and yet, and is actually funded, has received billions of dollars in aid from the U.S. government, for example. And yet the Lebanese army says it came under Israeli fire in two separate instances and two soldiers were killed and actually returned fire in one of those border engagements.
Meanwhile, there are growing calls about the tremendous impact and suffering this is having on the civilian population in Lebanon. Listen to the head of the World Health Organization.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: In southern Lebanon, 37 health facilities have been closed while in Beirut, three hospitals have been forced to fully evacuate staff and patients, and another two were partially evacuated. And yet healthcare continues to come under attack. In Lebanon alone, 28 health workers have been killed in the last 24 hours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: 28 healthcare workers killed in Lebanon in just 24 hours, which is strong evidence to suggest that Israel's ongoing bombardment of Lebanon is hitting a large number of civilians, not just, as the military says, in Israel, Hezbollah targets.
[01:05:05]
This war is not, of course, just with Lebanon. There is ongoing violence in Gaza, deadly attacks there that have continued with more than 40,000 people dead over the course of the last year, and an Israeli airstrike in the occupied West bank which killed at least 18 people, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The Israeli military says it was targeting a Hamas leader they name as Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi, who allegedly carried out a car bomb against the Jewish settlement in the West bank.
HOLMES: All right.
WATSON: Michael.
HOLMES: Thanks for the update there. Ivan Watson there in Hong Kong for us. Meanwhile, Israel says it killed the local leader of Hamas network and other operatives in a strike in the occupied West bank. The Israeli military says the Hamas leader of the Tulkarem of West bank planned and took part in numerous attacks against Israelis.
The airstrike late on Thursday night was unusual in the West Bank and killed at least 18 people, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Videos show ambulances evacuating residents from the scene and people carrying victims to the hospital.
The Palestinian Authority called the strike a heinous crime and demanded the international community stop Israel's attacks. Hamas condemned the attack but did not confirm the killing of the local leader.
Now the U.S. economy may have dodged the bullet from the huge strike of port workers along the nations eastern and Gulf coast. On Thursday, the union reached a tentative deal with employers offering a $4 an hour raise until 2030.
Union members will be back at work on Friday, even though they're yet to ratify the agreement. This was the comment from President Joe Biden after the announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: The stock workers are going back to work and the next 90 days we're going to settle everything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now the strike, which began this week, threatened to upend us exports and imports ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season. One union leader explained to CNN affiliate WJZ what the agreement means to workers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT COWAN, PRESIDENT, ILA LOCAL 333: I'm happy for them so they can get back to work and take care of their families. I mean, they've been out here for three days around the clock. So this is a good thing for everybody. It's a good thing for the state, the port and all the members here and all their families.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The money question, I think, is when will this port start to see action? When will people be back on the terminal grounds unloading and loading cargo?
COWAN: Tomorrow morning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you think that will be like? I mean, I've seen some of the emotion from some of your members who are just off camera from us now. They are thrilled. I mean, what do you -- what does this mean to them?
COWAN: It means that they can -- they could provide for food on the table, pay their bills. They don't have to worry anymore, possibly losing their cars or their homes or anything like that. You know, we're just coming back off of a major catastrophe, maritime tragedy, with the bridge collapse. We were out of work for two months now. We were out of work for a few more days. We're very excited to be back and.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Talk to us about, you know, why these members, you spoke to us exclusively earlier, but you said they deserve this raise. Not always do they get work, not always do they pick up hours? Why is this wage increase so important? And why is protection against automation so important to you?
COWAN: Well, the protection against automation is, you know, robots don't pay taxes and they don't put food on your table. So very important to protect these jobs. And as far as, you know, the cost of everything's up. These folks work during COVID night and day, getting goods to market. It's so important for them to get it on and finally get it on the back end of all the hard work that they put in for this country during COVID.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Joining me now from Beirut to discuss our top story that is Lebanon and the Israeli attacks there. Nabih Bulos is the Middle East Bureau Chief for the Los Angeles Times. It's good to see you.
Thursday morning's attack is the first Israeli strike to hit the heart of the capital since the last all-out war between Lebanon and Israel in 2006. Even then, Israel rarely targeted the city center. What, how worrying is that? What does it perhaps signify?
NABIH BULOS, MIDDLE EAST BUREAU CHIEF, LOS ANGELES TIMES: Well, this is part of an expanding a list of targets that the Israeli military has been hitting, actually across Beirut. And in fact, we saw a recent targeting, I think a few days ago, it was on the district called Kola, which is also like a main thoroughfare and a gathering point for buses to go to various parts of the country.
So you're talking about an expansion beyond the suburbs known as the Dahieh (ph), right. And this, of course, is worrying because fear is it's going to hit, well, the problem now is that people don't know who is with them in their apartments or in their areas. People aren't sure, you know, who all these displaced people are. So there could be fears that someone is perhaps from Hezbollah and therefore could be a target.
[01:10:08]
So there could be fears that someone is perhaps from Hezbollah and therefore could be a target. So, I mean, of course, that is increasing people's anxiety when they go to different places or when they travel. I'll give you an example.
In fact, yesterday, the strike that hit the central part of Beirut, actually, that's about 100 meters from a main highway and actually also from the Lebanese government's -- from the seat of power and also from parliament. So you're talking about a very busy area.
HOLMES: Yes. Yes. When it comes to Israeli boots on Lebanese soil, the question, of course, is how far they'll go, limited incursion. And we know what that meant last time, or go further to do what Netanyahu said he wants to do, and that's push Hezbollah over the Letani River.
Bearing in mind, of course, Hezbollah is experienced in guerrilla tactics, has a significant fighting force. What are you hearing about the chances of that and the risk versus reward?
BULOS: Well, so the fact is, actually, that the Israeli army expanded its evacuation order to actually well beyond the Litani River. Actually, now it's closer to the Awali River. And in fact, yesterday I was driving to Marjaayoun, which is a town in the south.
And on the way out, there was no evacuation order, but even then it was almost deserted. And then on the way back, when evacuation order was already in place, it was completely deserted. You were talking about, you know, I mean, entire cities and towns and villages just becoming ghost towns throughout.
Now, in terms of how possible it is that Israel could go in and hold these areas, I mean, I have no doubt that Israel has enough power and had enough air power, I should say, to go in and actually be able to, I guess, take the areas, at least temporarily. How much can it or how long can it hold them? That's a separate matter entirely. And if past this prelude, it probably cannot do so for a very long time.
HOLMES: Yes. You have a unique perspective. You know the country well. You live there. I mean, being immersed in what the Lebanese people are going through, what is it like not just watching this unfold as a journalist, but living it?
BULOS: Well, I've had the terrible privilege of actually spending time in cities that are on the verge of war, whether that was in Kyiv or in Kabul or elsewhere. And, I mean, at the same time, in those cases, you could go home, or at least I felt that eventually, at least I could go home. The fact is that Beirut is home.
And so now I'm looking around my apartment, wondering what I should take with me. Right. I mean, as silly as it sounds, I don't have kids, I have cats. So I worry about how I'm going to carry both of them, what I can take. And these calculations are being done just across the board. And of course, I should say that I'm immensely privileged in my situation. I have a home in an area that is not necessarily part of the targeting
lists of Israel. And at the same time, of course we worry. I mean, we're already thinking about where we can go and which house in the north we can go to. Right. And how to fill up the car, et cetera.
You know, it's these calculations that are just compounding every day for someone. I mean, in my case, I'm alone at this point, right. Whereas for others they have their families. As someone who've already lost their homes, it really is just a horrific situation, I think.
And people don't understand how difficult it is to evacuate when someone says, you know, oh, just evacuate. I mean, that's a whole host of issues and logistical problems that need to be solved and for many, they just cannot be solved easily.
HOLMES: Yes. And I think we're up to, as we saw happen in Gaza with, you know, ordering evacuations. I think we're up to 75 villages in the south where evacuations have been ordered. I mean, a million people potentially displaced. That's a fifth of the population.
What do people tell you when you're out and about? How do they feel in terms of, you know, what the world is doing or not doing about this conflict?
BULOS: Well, the main feeling is that this will be a repeat of Gaza. And we saw what happened in Gaza over the last year where really, I mean, despite all the protestations and despite all the condemnations and despite these sort of fevered efforts by U.S. diplomats, etcetera, really saw nothing on the ground in terms of an actual ceasefire being held for a long time.
And the fact is we're, I think, seeing the same thing now happening in Lebanon where we keep on talking about diplomacy but nothing actually happens, where we just talk about diplomacy almost for diplomacy's sake and with no real effect on the ground. And that's the main fear here. The fear is that we're seeing the gasification of Lebanon.
HOLMES: And of course, this is a multi-front wall, let's not forget, is as you pointed out, I mean, 100 Palestinians died in Gaza in the last 24 hours. I think it's more than that. The attacks continue there. There's the conflict in Lebanon, direct in Iran and involvement and now missiles from Yemen.
How does that stretch Israel militarily? What is at stake for Israel? Are they biting off more than they can chew, potentially in a regional sense?
BULOS: Look, I think it's clear that Israel has a qualitative edge on all of those foes. Right. And the U.S. has made clear that it will support Israel to the hilt when it comes to weapons shipments and also in terms of material.
So I think there's no fear in that. But the fact is you really have to question what is the long term strategy.
[01:15:00] I mean, this might happen -- I mean, this might work out in Israel's favor for now, right? Let's say in this particular round for the coming month, et cetera. But you have to wonder, how can this actually perpetuate a long term peace, right? I mean, if your entire strategy is to basically bash every country that goes against you and some of them are your neighbors. I mean, it doesn't seem like a sustainable long term plan, at least to me.
HOLMES: Yes. Yes. It's always terrific to get your input. Nabih Bulos, thanks so much there in Beirut. Appreciate you getting up for us.
BULOS: Thanks for having me.
HOLMES: Now, while much of the world's attention is on Israel, Iran and Lebanon, Israel, of course, as were just discussing there, continues to wage war against Hamas in Gaza. The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported nearly 100 people killed, 170 wounded in Israeli attacks on Thursday. CNN's Paula Hancocks with more now, but a warning. The images you're about to see are graphics.
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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three month old Hala is rushed into hospital. Her shrapnel marked body shakes as doctors check to see if her injuries are also internal. Her grandmother says suddenly the rocket hit and everyone was gone. I took the little ones and ran. I don't know what happened to their mother.
Several schools turned into displaced shelters were hit by Israeli airstrikes this week. These patients, mostly children from an UNRWA school in Nuseirat, central Gaza. Places of learning turned into hoped for sanctuaries, becoming a burial ground for some.
Israel's military says Hamas was using these schools as command and control centers, using civilians as human shields, a tactic Hamas denies. But these body bags are too small to be fighters. Some of the injured say they try to return to homes in the north of Gaza as they saw Iranian rockets overhead on Tuesday, the IDF says dozens of suspects moved towards troops posing an immediate threat, so they opened fire.
More than 50 people were killed in Khan Younis overnight Tuesday in what was described as an Israeli incursion. Residents searched for bodies under the rubble any way they could. Heavy machinery has become a luxury item in Gaza.
The IDF told CNN it was targeting Hamas operatives in the area and blamed the group for embedding itself among the residents of Gaza. A grandmother cradles the body of her 11-month old granddaughter killed while sheltering in one of the schools. If not for the trickle of dried blood by her mouth, you would think she was just sleeping.
She was born during war and martyred during war, her grandmother says. They killed her as if she were launching missiles at them.
Many Israeli troops may have been redeployed from Gaza to the border with Lebanon, announcing the center of gravity has shifted. But that means little to civilians in Gaza, for whom every day is a struggle to survive. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Still to come on the program, Kamala Harris teamed up with Republican Liz Cheney on the campaign trail. What they said to try to persuade swing voters. We'll have that after the break. Also, a massive herd of elephants, including 20 blind ones, have been evacuated to escape flash floods in northern Thailand. We'll have that story as well after the break.
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[01:20:43]
HOLMES: Former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney joined Vice President Kamala Harris on the campaign trail for the first time on Thursday. Cheney telling a crowd in the battleground state of Wisconsin that she's proudly voting for Harris in November and said Donald Trump, quote, can never be trusted with power again. CNN's Eva McKend is in Wisconsin with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVA MCKEND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: This was a very different campaign event for the vice president. She typically talks about reproductive rights, the economy, gun violence. This was not that. This was a conversation for the country about core values.
The vice president joined by Liz Cheney. Cheney seemingly recalling some of her work from the January 6 committee. She strenuously outlined for voters the many ways, in her view, the former president threatened the peaceful transition of power. The vice president warning this audience that there is no guarantee that if former President Trump is reelected that he would honor his oath to the constitution. Take a listen.
KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. And as you have heard and know, he refused to accept the will of the people and the results of an election that was free and fair.
As you have heard, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol where they assaulted law enforcement officers. He threatened the life of his own vice president and refused to engage in the peaceful transfer of power.
And let us be clear about how he intends to use power if elected again. He has called for jailing journalists, political opponents, anyone he sees and deems as being an enemy. He has pledged to destroy the independence of the Department of Justice and he called for deploying our active duty military against our own citizens.
MCKEND: This was a message for a very specific type of voter, conservatives and independents that have no appetite for the former president, but may otherwise sit this election out. The vice president, Liz Cheney, leaning on those voters, essentially arguing that this election is too urgent for them to skip, also leaning on their sense of patriotism in this hour. Eva McKend, CNN, Ripon, Wisconsin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Donald Trump bashed Liz Cheney while speaking to Fox News on Thursday, mocking her congressional loss and saying she was terrible. At a rally in Michigan, he slammed the White House response to Hurricane Helene, falsely accusing Biden and Harris of stealing money from FEMA. CNN's Kristen Holmes reports from Detroit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Former President Donald Trump was slated to give a speech on the economy, and while he did touch on some economic points in Saginaw, Michigan, he talked about some of the policy proposals he has if he is reelected, including no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security, no tax on overtime.
He also veered off topic pretty much half or more of the time talking about everything we have heard from Donald Trump in the past, including relitigating the ABC debate, talking about Kamala Harris's ascension to the top of the ticket.
At one point, he called Nancy Pelosi crazy yet again, having nothing to do with any policy on the economy. But one of the things that he continued to fixate on was the federal response to Hurricane Helene.
Now, that's not that surprising given the fact that Donald Trump and his team have been working to tie Kamala Harris to the current administration, which is not that hard to do. She is the vice president. But now he is fixated on this idea of the federal response to Helene.
He has been claiming over and over again that it has been disastrous.
[01:25:00]
That is not what we have heard from Republican and Democratic governors on the ground, particularly on a day like today where President Joe Biden was on the ground there assessing some of the damages, promising some more resources. But he also made this claim. Take a lesson.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Kamala spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal migrants, many of whom should not be in our country, including 1 billion for gift cards for illegal aliens and putting them up in luxury hotels with a gift card to welcome them to America as our veterans are sleeping on the sidewalks below those hotels.
HOLMES: Now, one thing to point out here, this obviously mixes two things that Donald Trump wants to talk about over and over again, immigration and failures of the current administration. But we are told that this is not accurate. While FEMA does have some resources that go towards grants for migrant housing, that is a completely different account than disaster relief. The two of those things would not be conflated.
But obviously, as we know, Donald Trump often tries to take some part of the truth and bolster it out there to try and use incendiary language. It appears that's what he was doing there tonight. Now, one interesting point I want to note, he is going to be in Georgia on Friday, standing next to Governor Brian Kemp, the popular republican governor who he has been at odds with for years.
This is the first time the two of them will appear side by side since before the 2020 election. Of course, as we remember, they had a huge falling out when Kemp decided to certify the election in Georgia, going against Trump's wishes. However, Kemp has said that he was going to try and help Donald Trump win the presidency this cycle. Kristen Holmes, CNN, Detroit, Michigan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And Donald Trump has been given more time to respond to special counsel Jack Smith's sweeping new immunity brief in his federal election subversion case. This week, prosecutors laid out their most extensive case to date against Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The judge has given Trump until November 7 to respond. That is, of course, two days after election day and three weeks after the original deadline. Trump's team is expected to ask for the entire case to be thrown out under the Supreme Court's recent immunity ruling.
And three former police officers have been found guilty on some of the charges in last year's deadly beating of a black man in Memphis, but acquitted on other charges. The officers were seen on video striking Tyre Nichols, who tried to run after a traffic stop.
CNN's Shimon Prokupecz with details, awarding some images in his report, a graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The jury finding that the three officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith, not guilty on the most serious charge, the first count in the indictment. They convicted all of the former officers on witness tampering charges.
The three officers have been on trial for about a month. Of course, there is that horrific video that we all saw back in January of '23 which depicted the beating that Tyre Nichols took, his injuries so severe that he would die a couple of days later from brain injuries and under injuries to his body.
The judge remanding the three officers who face a pretty serious charge here and a pretty serious length of time in prison now that they've been convicted. Also important to note that two officers who were also involved in this was a total of five officers who were involved in this.
Two of the officers pleaded guilty some time ago and were cooperating with prosecutors in this case. All of the five officers are still facing murder charges on state charges in relation to the beating of Tyre Nichols. Shimon Prokupecz, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: A growing death toll, overflowing shelters and healthcare under attack. Well, take a closer look at the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Lebanon.
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[01:31:40]
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM with me Michael Holmes.
Our top story -- Israel's intense bombardment of what they described as Hezbollah targets in the Beirut area.
A fireball and a huge plume of smoke as you see rising over the southern suburbs. The Israeli military once again issuing evacuation orders for several buildings. Another blast hitting central Beirut.
An official -- an Israeli official telling CNN they have been going after senior Hezbollah commander Hashem Safi Al-Din. He is considered a possible successor to Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the group who was assassinated last week. It is unclear at the moment if Safi al-Din has been killed or not.
Israel has accused Hezbollah of hiding weapons facilities beneath buildings in Beirut. And the IDF says it is determined to destroy, in their words, the groups infrastructure near the Lebanese border.
Hezbollah meantime, claims to have carried out more than 30 assaults against Israel on Thursday, including rocket strikes on Israeli settlements and military bases.
The back-and-forth fighting prompting growing calls for restraint.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IMRAN RIZA, U.N. RESIDENT AND HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR LEBANON: I know it's not a humanitarian solution that's going to come from this. And I know it's not a military solution that's going to come to this. It has to be a diplomatic, political solution to it.
But to move towards that, we need a ceasefire. We need a cessation as soon as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Now the clashes mark the latest blow to Lebanon, the country already had been struggling with a financial crisis before all of this.
CNN's Ben Wedeman picks up the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BENE WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Israel's war against Hezbollah is causing massive disruption, destruction, and loss of life in a country already in the throes of a deep economic crisis.
Lebanon's economy minister told CNN Thursday this war is already proving to be worse than the 2006 war with Israel.
AMIN SALAM, LEBANON ECONOMY MINISTER: Lebanon was already in a very difficult place before this war started. Everybody knows the economy situation in Lebanon was in a very difficult place.
Everybody knows that after the Beirut port explosion, after the economy clash, you know, the country has been struggling for over 4 (ph) years. This war just came to devastate -- it's devastating the country. It's creating more instability.
I'm not just talking about the economy. I'm talking about 1,200,000 people displaced today. It's an unprecedented displacement activity that happened in any country in the world in less than five days.
We have hospitals filled with people, schools filled with people, people sleeping on the street. And this war keeps going, you know, the way I see it is that this war has no goals.
[01:34:48]
SALAM: It's just destroying the country and just taking it to a place what is very difficult to come from.
WEDEMAN: And it's only just beginning. Israel continues to bolster its forces along its northern border and has issued evacuation orders to more than 75 villages in south Lebanon, indicating that its intentions go well beyond what it claimed are limited localized and targeted raids.
The fear here is that as Israeli officials have threatened in the past, it will put into practice in Lebanon the same tactics that have reduced much of Gaza to a lunar landscape.
In the south, Hezbollah claimed Thursday, it repeatedly struck Israeli troop concentrations on the other side of the border. The Iranian- backed group has taken a severe beating from Israel in recent weeks, culminating last Friday in the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah.
But it has already inflicted heavy casualties on Israeli forces since they first entered Lebanese territory. And is still firing rockets into Israel.
Israeli airstrikes continue on Beirut destroying among other things, according to Israel, Hezbollah intelligence targets.
Since diplomatic efforts to halt the war have failed, the rush to the exits for foreign nationals is now in full swing. A variety of evacuation flights left Beirut Thursday with nationals from Greece, Colombia, Spain, France, and Russia.
I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN -- reporting from Beirut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Two people have been killed by what was Typhoon Krathon as it battered Taiwan. It made landfall Thursday with the strength of a category 1 hurricane. It has now weakened to a tropical depression, but is still dumping heavy rain on the island.
Those caught in the storm were rattled by its force.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIU CHIH HSIANG, WITNESS: The wind was really strong after noontime. It got really strong around then. Tt felt like the house would be blown away. Staying upstairs, it felt like it was the end of the world, really scary.
Look at this scene. I've never seen such a severe typhoon like this in my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Damage is widespread. Hundreds of flights were canceled. Close to 100,000 households lost power. Schools and the stock markets were closed.
Before hitting Taiwan, Krathon hit the Philippines, where more than 23,000 families are estimated to have been impacted.
Meanwhile, in Thailand, around a hundred elephants have been evacuated from a popular elephant park to escape flash flooding. The founder of the park told CNN this was the biggest evacuation they'd ever done. But even so, they were unable to evacuate 13 of the parks elephants who remain trapped in rising waters.
The animals that park rangers were able to evacuate are now waiting out the rain on a nearby mountain.
And the death toll from Hurricane Helene in the U.S. has risen to at least 213 people across six states more than 200 people in North Carolina are still unaccounted for. But that could be just because of poor communications.
The Category 4 storm cut an 800-kilometer path of destruction across the U.S. southeast.
CNN's Carlos Suarez with more on the devastation in Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MARIE ROWLEY, HOME WAS DESTROYED BY HURRICANE HELENE: The seats (ph) and the clothes and the roller blades --
CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The items that once brought joy to Marie Rowley's life litter the front yard of her house again.
You've been flooded out twice?
ROWLEY: Twice, yes. I got hit by Idalia last year, flooded my living room --
(CROSSTALKING)
SUAREZ: A walk inside the 29-year-old's home captures the damage left behind by the latest storm, Hurricane Helene's deadly flooding.
ROWLEY: Everything was underwater. The drawers, I mean, in my closet that -- almost the top drawers in my closet, just everything was shifted around floating at one point.
SUAREZ: Her sanctuary, the place that she called home for just over a year destroyed by floodwaters in one of the hardest hit areas of Pinellas County.
ROWLEY: The water was about to here. It was in some places over three feet.
There's a lot of life that this place, once housed and now it's gutted. This home has gone, all of my things are gone and ruined.
But I have people and I have love and I have my life.
SUAREZ: Rowley's story is one we encountered throughout St. Petersburg days after Helene's close to seven-foot storm surge left parts of the city underwater.
Sara Schaeffer's long embrace of a friend inside her muddied living room, captured how such a simple act in such a trying time can mean the world.
SARA SCHAEFFER, HOME DESTROYED BY HURRICANE HELENE: Any drop of kindness is really appreciated, you know.
[01:39:47]
SCHAEFFER: Just anything even if you don't know what to say, just say something, you know. We all have our stories. This is ours. I think we're all really thankful to be alive.
SUAREZ: In neighboring Tampa, over three feet of water swept through Julie Curry's (ph) bakery, Bake n Babes (ph).
Its waterlogged entrance, bright and pink gives way to a dark and soaked kitchen filled with tens of thousands of dollars in damaged commercial refrigerators, freezers, and ovens.
JULIE CURRY, BAKERY OWNER: The water line was here.
SUAREZ: $60,000 -- is that something that you can withstand?
CURRY: We're trying to get to see if some of the equipment can be repaired. So it's not like a total, you know, loss. Water just came out. Yes.
SUARZ: Curry said the business which was not damaged in previous hurricanes Ian and Idalia recently scored a catering contract with the Tampa bay Lightnings. She's afraid her insurance policies won't cover much of the damage, leaving the fate of her business and the livelihood of more than a dozen employees uncertain.
CURRY: It's going to be so hard, you know. And then, you know, just everything's gone.
SUAREZ: Julie and Marie tell us they have no plans on leaving the Tampa area. They recognize that the rebuilding effort is going to take months and it is not going to be easy.
They're dealing with the uncertainty of having to come up with all of the paperwork and documentation just to file an insurance claim. There's also the fact that we still have two months left of hurricane season.
Carlos Suarez, CNN -- Tampa, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: President Joe Biden surveyed devastated areas in the southeast again on Thursday. First in Florida, alongside the Republican Senator Rick Scott. Later in Georgia, where he said it is time to come together and break down the rabid partisanship in U.S. politics.
CNN's Ryan Young with that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All throughout Lowndes County, which is 500 square miles, you see destruction like what's behind me. You see this house right here with a tree across its roof and the house next door has a tree across its roof.
We've seen this repeat itself over and over again. Crews have been working their way to clear streets to make things safe for residents.
But that's why the president showed up here. We know that this has been such an powerful storm that they need federal assistance in this area.
The President went through to see the areas that were damaged. Agriculture has been greatly impacted, small businesses have been impacted and they need federal assistance.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Moments like this, it's time to put politics aside. Again, it's not one state versus others, it's the United States.
Our job is to help as many people as we can, as many as we can. And also by the way, when you do that, I hope we can break down this rabid partisanship that exists. I mean this sincerely, there's no rationale for it.
YOUNG: We saw Senator Warnock here. We also saw the mayor of Valdosta with the president. You see that tarp back there on that roof, tarps are being handed out to citizens all throughout this county because they know more rain could be coming. They're trying to protect homes throughout this area. They're also giving out ice and water.
But more than 70 percent of this area is without power. there are power crews that are working from all across the United States here. We saw crews from Mississippi that's trying to get lines back up to get critical power back on.
It's still very hot here. The residents here are suffering more than one way because without power as several small businesses, people aren't getting paid. They're not able to go out and get food.
So these are things they want to see restored very quickly. It's something that we'll continue to watch.
Ryan Young, CNN -- Valdosta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And we'll be right back.
[01:43:31]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Many civilians of course, are getting caught up in the fierce fighting in Lebanon. Authorities there reporting more than 1,400 people killed since the Israeli offensive began last month.
The humanitarian agency CARE are says emergency shelters are overflowing and supermarkets are running out of supplies. The World Health Organization says dozens of health care workers were killed within one 24-hour stretch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: In Lebanon 37 health facilities have been closed. While in Beirut, three hospitals have been forced to fully evacuate staff and patients and another two were partially evacuated.
Health and humanitarian workers including WHO staff, have done incredible work under very difficult and dangerous conditions.
Healthcare continues to come under attack. In Lebanon alone 28 health workers have been killed in the last 24 hours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right. Joining me now from Sydney, Australia, journalist Antony Loewenstein, longtime regional analyst and author of "The Palestine Laboratory". Always good to see you, Antony.
A former senior Israeli military official told CNN when it comes to Israel, quote, "Are you responding to intention or to results? Now, when we look at Israel's declared policy of so-called escalation to deescalate in Lebanon and what it might do now in Iran, what do you think Israel's broader intentions are?
ANTONY LOEWENSTEIN, AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL: I mean, first of all, it's worth saying that escalation to de-escalate (INAUDIBLE) it's the other way around. It's just an absurd or willing (ph) term that means nothing.
I mean anyone who's watched the news in the last year has seen that we've seen massive escalation from Gaza to the West Bank, from Yemen to Syria.
Look, Israel's I think long term goal here and it's been articulated by Netanyahu and many of his government members and also frankly many in Israel itself is, I would argue, to expand Israeli borders.
This was the case before October 7, but Israel sees a unique once-in- a-generation opportunity to expand their borders. What do I mean by that?
The possibility of say, even occupying parts of southern Lebanon. Obviously, Gaza is now decimated. There's a talk about potentially permanently occupying at least the northern part of Gaza.
The West Bank is occupied, has been for over half a century and that occupation is deepening.
And the delusion, of course, about that policy is that I believe that you can militarily dominate, kill, assassinate, imprison your enemies, perceived enemies.
But none of it, none of it is bringing Israel long term security let alone Jews around the world such as myself. None of it is.
In fact, it's the opposite that it's enraging huge amounts of people globally and the evidence that is overwhelming in terms of people who are protesting on the streets.
You can kill leaders, Michael, you can kill Hezbollah leaders, Hamas.
Israel's been here before and the end result was in fact growing opposition to their policies, not less.
HOLMES: Yes.
I wanted to ask you about this. So Israel is bombing Beirut and, of course, there's been almost total destruction of Gaza. 1,400 dead in Lebanon the last couple of weeks, thousands wounded. Israeli boots have been on Lebanese soil. And yet there was U.S. and
western outrage that Israel came under Iranian missile attacks. Some say there's a double-standard depending on who's bombing what. What are your thoughts on that?
LOEWENSTEIN: I mean, double-standard is a polite way to put it. It's hypocrisy. And a lot of people see this. That the idea is somehow that Israelis are under attack, but you never see that similar language used about Gazans under attack, or people on the West Bank or for that matter Lebanese, Yemenis, Syrians.
We have a very -- when I say we meaning the West have a real hypocrisy and frankly racism when we talk about different people.
We in the west deserve safety, security. If you're Jewish, if you're Israeli we deserve security.
If you're Arab, Palestinian, Muslim somehow implied maybe you're suspicious. The language that's often been used by so many western media outlets in the last year, not all, that many really shows that.
[01:49:50]
LOEWENSTEIN: The language when we talk about Russian attacks on Ukraine, very clear. Russia is attacking civilians, indefensible, which it is.
But when we talk about Israel attacking civilians, which has been the vast bulk of the war in the last year in a multitude of theaters, the language somehow is couched in vagueness, or we don't mention who the main perpetrator is.
That I think goes to the heart of so much the hypocrisy that people see, which is why by the way so much to the audience of western press in the last years is declining.
HOLMES: Yes. When -- when you look at Israel's rejections of ceasefires in Gaza, the attack on Hezbollah' leader after the Biden administration said a ceasefire is close and Israel was in on those talks, keeping the U.S. in the dark on things like pager explosions, do you get a sense from Israel's actions that they have, I don't know, slipped from the sphere of influence from Washington. And that Benjamin Netanyahu was on a mission of sorts and won't be stopped.
LOEWENSTEIN: I mean to some extent Netanyahu is on a mission, but I don't accept the idea that America somehow is blind to this. I mean, we constantly read in the last year, regularly in the press Biden is concerned, Biden is upset. Kamala Harris is worried. She's expressed sympathy for Palestinians.
What matters in the end are policies and what matters is that Israel is still being sent massive amounts of weapons from the U.S. None of that has changed, we've read in the last week.
The U.S. administration has been helping with Israel's escalation in Lebanon. In the end, what matters are actions? And Biden's legacy is pretty clear. He'll be leaving office in a few
months and essentially given carte blanche and support and arms to the most significant attack and death toll of Palestinians in their history, far more than 1948 in the Nakba where there were roughly 15,000 -- 20,000 Palestinians killed in that war that Israel for its establishment.
There's been 40,000 -- 50,000 -- 60,000 Palestinians dead. That is Biden's legacy and all the talk about his concern means nothing because facts on the ground speak for themselves.
HOLMES: Antony Loewenstein in Sydney, good to get your thoughts.
Thanks so much.
LOEWENSTEIN: Thanks, Michael.
HOLMES: A U.S. official tells CNN the Biden administration doesn't think Israel has decided yet how to respond to Iran's missile attack.
Tehran, of course, fired about 200 ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv and other Israeli targets on Tuesday in response to the killings of both the Hezbollah and Hamas political leaders by Israel. Most of the projectiles were shot down, some however, did get through.
U.S. President Joe Biden says he hasn't personally spoken to the Israeli prime minister about the attack, but the U.S. and Israel are discussing hitting Iranian oil reserves.
On Wednesday, Mr. Biden warned against striking Iranian nuclear sites. Those comments drawing criticism from former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BOLTON, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Even if that's his opinion, why do you tell Israel's adversary? And by the way, America's adversary, in Tehran, what you're not going to do, let them worry about it.
You can make the decision, but telling them what you're giving up or what you hope the Israelis give up is just a failure of diplomacy 101.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: the Israeli prime minister has called the Iranian attack, quote, "a big mistake" and vowed, quoting again, "whoever attacks us, we well attack him".
Coming up King Charles getting his groove on ahead of his visit to Samoa.
[01:53:40]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Welcome back.
FIFA's world football governing body says it will look into a Palestinian requests to ban Israel from participation.
The Palestine Football Association had asked for the action back in April saying the Israel Football Association should be banned for violation of international law based on occupation of Gaza, racism and discrimination against Palestinian athletes.
The timeframe for a decision has been delayed multiple times, but FIFA says they will now investigate. The men's national teams of Israel and Palestine are both in action next week. Israel rejecting the accusations. FIFA did not say when a decision might come.
And you can see King Charles getting his moves on on Wednesday at a reception celebrating the Commonwealth diaspora.
The King is traveling to Samoa later this month for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting, where delegates from 56 nations will gather.
To give them a taste of what to expect guests at the Samoan reception, including former rugby player Freddie Tuilagi cheered him on as they taught him a traditional dance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDDIE TUILAGI, FORMER RUGBY PLAYER: As the host of, you know, the commonwealth head of countries, we're here to you know, to give a bit of taste of sort of what is expected to back home. A lot of dancing, a lot of laughing, a lot of -- he'll love it. He'll love it.
You know, all the country looking forward to have the king dance. So we are looking forward to have him there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: That would be fun.
Thanks for watching, spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes.
CNN continues after the break with my friend and colleague, Kim Brunhuber.
Stick around for that.
[01:57:06]
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