Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Israel and Hezbollah Continue Clashes in Southern Lebanon; Over 1 Million in Lebanon Displaced by Israeli Campaign; IDF Claims 250+ Hezbollah Fighters Killed in Lebanon Offensive; Harris Tells Michigan She'll Protect Union Jobs; French Report 600 Killed in Burkina Faso Massacre; Hurricane Helene Death Toll Rises. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired October 05, 2024 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Anna Coren live from Hong Kong.

Ahead this hour, smoke rises over Beirut as Israeli strikes and ground operations lead to a humanitarian nightmare and the Middle East braces for a possible all-out war.

We're now just a month away until America votes for its next president. Candidates are making their pitches on the campaign trail.

And catastrophic stories of loss. Hurricane Helene survivors account the devastation they've suffered this past week.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Life from Hong Kong, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Anna Coren.

COREN: We begin in Lebanon where it's just after 10:00 am. After a night of clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon is spiraling into a humanitarian crisis as the conflict heads into another week. The region is bracing for further possible escalation.

Israel is carrying out multiple military operations across the region. In southern Lebanon, it's conducting a limited military operation while continuing its war on Hamas in Gaza. Israel appears likely to respond in the coming days to Iran's largest ever missile attack earlier this week.

The IDF has described its operations in Lebanon as limited, localized and targeted, although it has forced tens of thousands from their homes on evacuation orders.

A new report from a conflict monitoring group says, Israel's bombardment of Lebanon over the past three weeks is the world's most intense aerial campaign, with the exception of what has happened in Gaza in the last two decades, Well, Lebanon says more than 1 million people, about one-fifth of its

population, are now displaced. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel's offensive and close to 7,500 wounded. One-quarter of Lebanon is now under Israeli evacuation orders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTOINETTE KARAM, RELIEF WORKER (through translator): The Lebanese people don't deserve this and they should not be living through this. As you can see, there are children who are sleeping in the streets. There are children who don't have shelter or pillows.

There are people who still didn't find a school to shelter and winter is approaching.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: CNN's Nada Bashir is following developments for us from London.

Nada, we are learning reports that the leader of Hamas' military wing has been killed by airstrikes in northern Lebanon.

What more are you hearing?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

Video circulating overnight reports of an airstrike near the northern city of Tripoli, again, in northern Lebanon, much deeper than what we have been seeing in terms of Israeli airstrikes over the past few days.

Now, according to Hamas affiliated media, the leader of the military wing, the al Qassam Brigade, has been killed along with three members of his family in what is reported to have been an Israeli airstrike.

Now we have yet to hear from the Israeli military or Israeli officials on this. But again, that is being reported by Hamas affiliated media. And we have continued to see attacks, of course, across Lebanon and particularly centered around southern Lebanon as well.

We've been hearing from officials saying that they have seen further attacks deepening around southern Lebanon. Hezbollah officials reporting an attempted incursion by Israeli infantry overnight. They say that attempt began at around 11 pm local time near the town of Arbeta (ph) in southern Lebanon.

But apparently, according to Hezbollah officials, that attempt was repelled by attacks. Casualties were incurred by Israeli military, according to Hezbollah. But again, no comment from Israeli officials on that just yet.

On the other side, of course, Israeli military officials report that at least five projectiles were fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory, some of which are said to have been intercepted. The others said to have landed and fallen in open areas. No casualties recorded, according to Israel's emergency services and authorities.

But as you mentioned, Anna, the situation across Lebanon is, of course, growing increasingly desperate as we continue to see these attacks, these bombings deepening, targeting areas that are known to be densely populated with civilians.

This is, of course, a very small country, it is hard to avoid civilian casualties. We've been hearing reports from monitoring groups.

[03:05:00]

The extent and the intensity with which the Israeli military has been bombarding Lebanon is unprecedented.

And now, of course, just a day ago, the main route from Lebanon into Syria was also struck by the Israeli military, really impeding any attempts by people in Lebanon, particularly Syrian refugees, to escape the bombardment, to get out.

This has been a key route for tens of thousands of Syrian refugees attempting to make that desperate return back to Syria, to avoid the bombardment. So hugely troubling and concerning situation.

COREN: Nada Bashir, joining us from London, we appreciate the reporting. Thank you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Now to Beirut.

Nabih Bulos, the Middle East bureau chief for the "Los Angeles Times," thank you for joining us. Tell us the latest and what you have been witnessing.

NABIH BULOS, MIDDLE EAST BUREAU CHIEF, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": Well, so in terms of the latest, we actually just heard now of another strike on the southern suburbs where Hezbollah holds sway.

And this was actually, you know, actually, I think it was about 30 minutes ago, roughly speaking. And we've also -- we've also had reports that the Israeli army now intends to target ambulances that are operating in the south of the country.

So we are talking about a continuation of what has been happening, of course, over the last few days but also an intensification because we're seeing the war expanding across other parts of Lebanon. And in fact, also overnight, we heard of a strike on Tripoli in the north of the country.

Indeed on a refugee camp actually in the north of the country, where a Hamas leader was killed.

Again, it's all about the expansion right now. We are seeing this war spill over into other parts of Lebanon.

COREN: Can you explain to us what Israel's intention is? Because I just don't think that is clear for anyone.

Is it to eliminate all Hezbollah commander?

Do you have any sense of where this is going?

BULOS: Great question.

And actually there is no clarity. The fact of the matter is that Israel says it wants to create some kind of a buffer zone or at least that's the implication, which is to say that it wants to push Hezbollah, I guess, behind a certain line on Lebanese territory.

Of course the problem is that Hezbollah, at least used to; I don't know anymore at this point. But it does possess some kind of long- range missile capability. And so the idea is pushing it back 10 kilometers or 20 kilometers behind a certain line.

It seems to be a non-starter in terms of actually being able to secure Israel's defense.

At the same time, I mean the implication of the various evacuation orders we've seen from the Israeli military seemed to indicate a longer-term occupation that would actually extend even to parts of the Owhali River or, I should say, north of the U.N.-mandated buffer line from 2006.

In fact, in some cases, you're talking about a third of the country possibly under occupation. And that will be repeat of what we saw in the '80s.

As you can imagine, it's very worrying for a lot of people here in Lebanon.

COREN: Let's talk about the reaction from the Lebanese. We understand hospitals and shelters are completely overwhelmed.

How are people coping?

BULOS: Well, very, very difficultly. The fact of the matter is if you look at various parts of Beirut right now, you have obviously schools but you also have public spaces, parks and a beach promenade, this big square downtown is full of people in fact.

And you really see them all across the country at this point. There is actually a lot of movement into various parts of the country while people are trying to find any kind of shelter.

Because, for example, places inside there, where Ben Wedeman was, I mean, that's almost now completely full. Right. You go to other places in the north like Tripoli, also relatively full.

And in fact, I spoke to a politician yesterday and he was saying that, right now, things are holding. But if this becomes a more permanent setup, he said, Lebanon could implode.

COREN: U.S. officials, they're saying Israel has given no assurances that it won't target Iran's nuclear facilities in response to Iran.

What is the sense of what will, what will come?

BULOS: The fact of the matter is we haven't seen much restraining ability from U.S. foreign policy when it comes to Israel. And so therefore, the assumption is that we will probably be having a worst- case scenario when it comes to the situation here.

I mean, you have to say that the (INAUDIBLE) camp (ph) for Lebanese at this point, what happens in Iran, of course, is essential, because they see Iran -- or actually they see Iran as Hezbollah's main patron.

And the fact that we haven't seen much, let's say, response from Iran yet has actually given the feeling for a lot of Lebanese here that Iran has abandoned them and especially among Hezbollah supporters.

And so I think what happens, this actually is very dangerous, right?

How Israel responds and how Iran will then respond as well could take us to the all-out war at this point. I mean, we've been saying the -- we've been saying the phrase, the brink of all-out war, I think at this point we are there. We are at war.

[03:10:00]

COREN: Explain to us also, Hezbollah's response. Because certainly on the border, they are digging in.

BULOS: Well, Hezbollah has been there for, I mean, of course, decades, right?

So that's clear now. And then, of course, a ground invasion is a different beast than the aerial assault that Israel had been doing before, in the weeks before.

And yes, they are indeed digging in and you can expect a very, very strong or a very, very entrenched and powerful fight to go on between the two sides. Now of course, given enough time, I have no doubt that Israel can actually advance and take ground.

The question is, how long can it hold it?

Because once it does, Hezbollah will not disappear. And let's say that, even if Israel does manage to push them out in a material fashion and in a more permanent fashion, I mean, they'll always have this situation where Hezbollah will want to go back and take that land. That will not change now.

COREN: Nabih Bulos, we appreciate your insights. Thank you for joining us from Beirut.

BULOS: Thank you for having me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC PLAYING) COREN: Donald Trump is returning to Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, to the same venue where he survived an assassination attempt in July. He's expected to honor the victims of the shooting during a rally. On Friday, Trump praised Georgia governor Brian Kemp's response to Hurricane Helene, saying he's doing a fantastic job.

But he criticized Harris and Biden's handling of the disaster, falsely claiming that they misused relief funds.

The vice president held two events in the battleground state of Michigan on Friday. She highlighted her record on labor issues and warned working class voters that Donald Trump doesn't have their back. CNN's Eva McKend is traveling with the Harris campaign.

But first to Steve Contorno in North Carolina, where the former president held a town hall near a U.S. military base.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump spent Friday evening in Fairfield, North Carolina, just down the road from Fort Liberty. That is the largest military installation in the world.

He promised that, if he was elected, he would change the name of the fort back to Fort Bragg, which was named after a Confederate general.

That was well received in this crowd of service members, veterans and military families, many of which asked questions about the military and about what Donald Trump would do differently than Joe Biden if he is elected.

Trump in kind was quite critical of the Biden administration's handling of the military and foreign affairs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: They asked him, what do you think about -- what do you think about Iran?

Would you hit Iran?

And he goes, as long as they don't hit the nuclear stuff.

That's the thing you want to hit, right?

I said I think he's got that one wrong.

Isn't that the what you're supposed to hit?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: North Carolina, of course, is a state that is still in recovery mode after Hurricane Helene and Donald Trump continued to criticize the Biden-Harris administration's handling of the cleanup and recovery of the storm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And, you know, Kamala should be here. She shouldn't be anywhere else. They're giving you lousy treatment in North Carolina, in particular. And we don't like that, so we're going to let it be known then they have to get a lot better because people are not happy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Now the vice president is scheduled to tour hurricane wreckage in North Carolina on Saturday.

Trump, meanwhile, will return to Butler, Pennsylvania. That is the site of the first assassination attempt on his life. He'll be joined there by tech billionaire Elon Musk and his running mate, JD Vance -- Steve Contorno, CNN, Fayetteville, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: In a worker focused pitch, the vice president pledging to protect union jobs and arguing she would work to create opportunities if elected for skilled workers, opportunities that don't require a college degree.

She also blasted the former president, arguing that his record has been a disaster for working people. And she touted the efforts of the Biden-Harris administration to shore up union jobs at an assembly plant in Lansing, Michigan.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Here's what I will do. I will invest in communities like Flint.

Plan to reach out to bills beyond O industry and the UAW (ph).

We will retool existing factories, hire locally and work with unions to create good paying jobs, including jobs that do not require a college degree.

Because we understand a college degree is not the only measure of whether a worker has skills and experience to get the job done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:15:00]

MCKEND: Another significant moment when she gave a nod to the Flint water crisis, telling people in this community that they understand all too well the significance in having clean drinking water as she tried to characterize herself as someone who is principally concerned about the environment and community safety. But the vice president not only had a union and labor focus message

here in Michigan, she also spoke with Arab American voters in Detroit earlier in the day. We'll sense that the campaign is doing all that they can to solidify their coalitions with not that much time left to make their case -- Eva McKend, CNN, Flint, Michigan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Al Qaeda militants went on a killing spree in a town in Burkina Faso, spending hours gunning down innocent civilians. Now we're learning the massacre may have been far deadlier than initially thought. That story ahead.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

COREN: United Nations says at least 70 people are dead following an attack by gang members in central Haiti. The attackers, carrying automatic rifles, stormed through the agricultural town of Pent Sonde on Thursday, gunning down residents and setting fire to homes and cars. Three infants are among the dead.

The U.N. says more than 6,000 people fled their homes in the attack. The gang's leader claims the massacre was in retaliation for people remaining passive while police and vigilante groups killed his soldiers.

Gang violence in Haiti has spread in recent years, with attacks becoming more brazen and violent. The U.N. reports at least 3,600 people have been killed so far this year.

A gruesome massacre in Burkina Faso may have left twice as many people dead as initially believed. Well, that's from a new French government report about the mass killing of civilians in the town of Barsalogho in August.

Militants affiliated with Al Qaeda went on a shooting spree there in one of the deadliest attacks Africa has seen in decades. Nick Paton Walsh has the story. But we warn you, the images are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): You're driving to the site of one of the worst massacres in years filmed by one of the killers. First reports said Jihadis shot dead 300 people here in rural Burkina Faso in August.

But CNN has obtained a French government security report that says up to 600 were murdered slowly here, echoing survivor accounts. Civilians, women and children all told by the military to dig a trench like this to protect their town, Barsalogho, from jihadists.

The men shot dead for doing so by those same jihadists. Shovels laid down, you can see here, as civilians then lay face down in the dirt themselves, suggesting they surrendered before being shot.

[03:20:00]

Al Qaeda-linked JNIM are raging unchecked across this area of Africa, the Sahel, where the French military were kicked out after military coups.

Here, before the attack, locals were filmed being told to take charge of their own security and dig the trench network. You can see on these satellite images how vast it is. One survivor talked to CNN.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I started to crawl into the trench to escape. But it seemed that the attackers were following the trenches. So I crawled out and came across the first bloody victim. There was screaming everywhere. I got down on my stomach under a bush until later in the afternoon, hiding.

How can you cry if there are no tears to shed?

We, the survivors, are no longer normal. I see my late friends when I'm asleep. It's more than 300 dead. Anyone who denies it should come and see me.

WALSH (voice-over): The French government report adds the president, coup leader Captain Ibrahim Traore, is recently himself hard to spot in public.

His personal bodyguards, supplied by the Russian paramilitary group, Wagner, the report says, were shipped off to Russia to stop the Ukrainian advance in Kursk, leaving him yet more isolated.

Traore launched the trench digging program here in June.

IBRAHIM TRAORE, PRESIDENT, BURKINA FASO (from captions): All the villagers need to dig the trenches. We don't have machines to do that so everyone needs to work together.

WALSH (voice-over): And the army, they fled the massacre, the report adds, suffering already a huge credibility gap after their soldiers were filmed engaged in cannibalism here, apparently, of a dead jihadist's body parts.

Across the region, horrors unimaginable, yet commonplace enough they sink into obscurity fast, deepening the spiral -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: For more than a week after Hurricane Helene landed, the major efforts continue to bring recovery to those affected. The details when we come back.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

COREN: Devastating floods have also turned deadly in Bosnia and Herzegovina after heavy rains soaked towns southwest of the capital, Sarajevo. As of Friday, at least 16 people were confirmed dead.

Bosnian civil defense says up to 40 more people are listed as missing. The floods triggered landslides, which caused even more destruction. One resident said enormous boulders and thousands of tons of debris poured into his village.

The Muslim, quote, federation government declared a state of natural disaster and the army has deployed forces to the flooded region.

More than a week after Hurricane Helene carved a path through the southeastern U.S., the death toll continues to rise. Search for the missing goes on and catastrophic loss is being endured as recovery remains a priority. CNN's Ryan Young reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The pictures from above, just incredible.

The before, the after.

BRITTANY NEAL, NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENT: I haven't seen my kids. I'm tired, hungry, still have no power.

YOUNG: Ripped up roads, destroyed homes and power lines down everywhere, making the recovery process and the search for the missing very difficult.

[03:25:02]

SHERRYE TRICE, NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENT: It's the not knowing what's happening around you. It's not knowing if help is coming.

YOUNG: Helene is the second-deadliest hurricane to strike the U.S. mainland in the past 50 years, a week after at least 200 people are still missing and just one North Carolina County and more than 200 people are dead across six states.

MICHELLE COLEMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ASHEVILLE DREAM CENTER: We've never seen this before and I know that we don't really truly know the numbers of the loss of life here.

YOUNG: Questions remain about a tragic incident at the Impact Plastics plant in Tennessee, where workers tell us they were not allowed to leave the factory in time to escape the storm.

ROBERT JARVIS, EMPLOYEE AT IMPACT PLASTICS: I said, can we leave and a woman said, no, not until I speak when Jerry. About 10 minutes later she came back and said, you all can leave. It was too late. Why did you make us work that day?

Why? YOUNG: Eleven workers were swept away. Five were rescued. And sadly two were found dead.

The company issued a strong statement denying any wrongdoing and says all employees were told to leave the facility, at least 45 minutes before the flood hit the area.

Stories of survival and neighbors jumping in to help neighbors are inspiring.

Floodwaters from Hurricane Helene were taking Leslie Worth downstream. Eddie Hunnell (ph), who was preparing for his sons wedding, heard Leslie screams in the water and jumped into a canoe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I jumped in and started swimming to her.

YOUNG: Others also springing into action. This championship kayaker brought supplies to residents trapped by floodwaters.

Across six states, the work to clear an open roads to help power crews get the lights back on while small businesses and families hope for a timeline to get life back to normal, it's just realistically not there for so many right now.

There are many families that are in critical need of that power because without the power, they have no air; without the air, a lot of the food is going to spoil. And on top of that, we talked to families who are barely making it by.

And they are wondering where they can get their next meal. We saw a lot of free food giveaways in these affected areas. And they're hoping that, soon, the power comes back on -- Ryan Young, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Before we go, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has overtaken Jeff Bezos and is now the world's second richest person behind Elon Musk. Zuckerberg is only the third person to ever surpass the wealth of $200 billion, sitting now with $206 billion. That's according to Bloomberg Billionaire Index.

Meta operates some of the most popular social media sites in the world, including Instagram and Facebook. Zuckerberg says that Meta AI is on track to be the world's most used assistant.

Let's hope he uses that money for good.

Thanks so much for your company. I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong. "QUEST'S WORLD OF WONDER" is next.