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Connect the World
CNN International: Damage, Flooding & Downed Power Lines in Florida; Lebanese Health Minister: International Community Must Take Action; Flooding and Damage Reported Across Southeastern U.S.; Netanyahu to Speak at U.N. as Israel Bombards Lebanon; Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu Speaks at United Nations; Netanyahu: Iran's Aggression Endangers Region and the World. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired September 27, 2024 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, this is seen in New York at the United Nations. It is 09:00 a.m. there, and we are expecting to hear
from the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this hour. It's 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson.
We will bring you that speech live when it happens, first up to our breaking news this hour. And homes destroyed, roads underwater and fears
that the number of casualties could rapidly rise. We begin with one of the largest storms to hit the Gulf of Mexico in the past century.
Tropical storm Helene is headed north, battering Georgia after making landfall in Florida earlier as a Category 4 hurricane. Winds associated
with Helene were estimated at 140 miles an hour, and with those winds devastating storm surge. You are looking at images of entire homes floating
away in one Florida community.
And here a Florida home on fire as emergency workers search for stranded residents. Now we know that at least five people have been killed,
including a four-year-old in North Carolina, more than 3 million buildings are without power in the State of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and
Southern Virginia.
And weather watches and warnings are in place for 60 million people across 12 states. Well, this video from Pinellas County, Florida, shows one house
dealing with dual emergencies. Crews out in boats during rescues in a neighborhood underwater, waded through flood waters and came up on this a
house flooded by hurricane Helene, engulfed in flames.
Rescuers had to dodge large objects floating in floodwaters, including dumpsters, in order to reach storm victims. CNN's Carlos Suarez was in
Pinellas County ahead of Helene making landfall. He is now in St Petersburg, Florida. Just explain to us what has been going on in this
past, what 18, 24 hours.
CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Becky, good morning. So, to give you a sense of where we are in Pinellas County, this is where we spent a
good part of yesterday as this storm was making its way off the western side of Florida and was continuing on its track north.
We were in this location here for a good part of the day, and then we had to evacuate. We had to get out of this area because the storm surge late in
the afternoon was anywhere between four to six feet. All of that water was coming in from the bay. It was rushing right through this area here, this
kind of entertainment business district.
And then a lot of these businesses over here, as you can see, were pretty damaged by the strong winds and all of this flooding that happened. The
roof to this one business right here was torn off yesterday. We could see it on the ground right before we had to evacuate. You can see it's no
longer there.
It's been swept away. I couldn't really tell you exactly where that ended up at, in terms of the remaining part of Pinellas County, as you mentioned,
St Pete is about 10 to 15-minute drive from where we are. Our understanding there is that a couple of water rescues have been taking place overnight
and into the morning hours, because there's one neighborhood there that is in a really low-lying part of the county.
[09:05:00]
And rescue teams have had a difficult time getting to some homeowners there that decided not to heed the mandatory evacuation. And so, as that is
playing out on one part of Pinellas County, here in Gulfport, which is to the south and the west side of the county, a lot of the cleanup effort is
underway, having just walked around the last couple minutes on our drive in.
Becky, I can tell you, a lot of this debris just covers so many of these homes. There's a marina which you can't see on either side, but a good
portion of it has broken off their sailboats that have ended up back on the beach. And then there's this one business here on the right kind of next to
the crystal energy place.
We've been here the last three hurricane seasons to cover two other storms, and then this one yesterday, and this poor business guy, the owner of this
business here, he's had to board this place up every single year. I'd imagine that he had some damage in there because the water yesterday,
really it was so bad that it was just unsafe for us to be here. And we made the decision to go ahead and seek higher ground, Becky.
ANDERSON: And we are waiting for Ron DeSantis to speak. He, of course, is the Governor of Florida, as we wait for him. How are people coping?
SUAREZ: Well, you know, the storm is really huge and the fact that it covered so much of Florida, all the way from the capital up in Tallahassee
all the way down to South Florida on the eastern side of the state. A lot of folks obviously have gone through a number of storms here in kind of the
Tampa, Tampa Bay area, where we are just north of Southwest Florida.
ANDERSON: All right.
SUAREZ: Again, I've been three real close call --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): That's what you've seen --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: I'm going to -- I want to stop you there. Governor Ron DeSantis is speaking. Let's listen in.
DESANTIS: -- looking at some damage to substations. And so, there's folks that are on the ground assessing and taking action to remedy that as soon
as possible. Overnight, the cut and toss operations began at 03:00 a.m. with the Florida Department of Transportation, and they have been able to
clear a lot of a lot of miles of roadway, over 2000 miles just since the wee hours of the morning.
I-10 is open and passable, but please drive with caution. I-75 north to Georgia is clear and passable, and FDOT Cut and Toss crews are pushing
southward on I-75 currently in Tampa Bay, the Sunshine Skyway, Gandy, Courtney Campbell and Howard Franklin bridges are still closed at the
moment, at first light bridge inspections began.
There are reports of some mapping applications not marking those bridges as closed, but as of right now, please choose alternative routes. Those
bridges are going to be inspected and open in due time. And I know Jared and his team are working really hard to do that. The Sunshine Skyway is
open to first responders and emergency personnel.
Please listen to local law enforcement's directive on that in Southwest Florida, Sanibel causeway had a washout that's currently being repaired by
FDOT, and we expect that to be OK relatively soon. 470 crews are active in the field, and as I mentioned, have cleared over 2000 miles of roadway.
And this was starting at 03:00 a.m., so they were ready to go, and it's made a difference. 129 bridge inspectors have been dispatched at first
light, and they are currently inspecting the bridges in the impacted areas. Airports falling airports have suspended service, but are anticipated to
resume operations at some point today.
Tallahassee, Tampa International, St Pete Clearwater International, Lakeland Linder International, Gainesville regional, some flight
cancelations or delays are being reported. Just check with your airlines directly on specific flight updates. Florida Fish and Wildlife has boat
teams in Dixie and Taylor counties actively conducting search and rescue.
These are basically the ground zero of the storm. An additional team of 72 staff are enroute to Taylor, Dixie and Levy with shallow water boats.
Florida Fish and Wildlife has a boat team of 15 going through Franklin and Wakulla counties to assess storm damage from Hernando to Lee.
FWC has 145 local officers that are responding, an additional 15-man air boat team that are coming over to the West Coast of Florida from
Titusville. They will also have a 16-man Florida State Guard --
ANDERSON: You have been listening to Governor Ron DeSantis. Let's get you the very latest then on where this storm is, what it's up to and what we
might expect next. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar, who is at the World Weather Center, Allison.
[09:10:00]
Not sure that Allison can hear us. Allison, can you hear me? All right, let's take a short break. We'll be back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Right, you're watching "Connect the World" 10 past 5 here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson. We are keeping a keen eye on what is going on in
New York this hour at the United Nations, where Israel's Prime minister is expected to speak later this hour at the General Assembly.
Ahead of that Benjamin Netanyahu's office is saying it quote, shares the aims, end quote, of a U.S. led plan for calling for a ceasefire across the
Israeli-Lebanese border. Now the U.S., France and other allies have unveiled a blueprint for a 21-day truce. It was formed on the sidelines of
the U.N.'s New York gathering this week. For his part, Lebanon's Foreign Minister is calling for an immediate ceasefire.
He is warning that the crisis threatens all of this region. Well, Lebanese health officials back home report more than 600 people killed in Israel's
latest offensive. The Health Minister Firass Abiad sat down with my colleague, Jomana Karadsheh, saying it is imperative for the international
community to get Israel to agree to a ceasefire. Here is more of that conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. FIRASS ABIAD, LEBANESE HEALTH MINISTER: I think we are in full-fledged war. There is no doubt about that. And you know, irrespective of what you
know, call it, you know, we have civilians, innocent people, women, children, being indiscriminately attacked, targeted. We have, you know,
residential buildings being blown to smithereens.
We have, you know, hospitals, ambulances, primary Health Care Centers being targeted. This is war. There's no doubt about that.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some of the people we've spoken to say that they are worried about seeing what is happening and has happened in
Gaza repeat itself here in Lebanon. Is that something you're concerned about?
ABIAD: Well, it's the same perpetrator, and it's using the same excuses, using the same weaponry. Of course, we are very much concerned. It's we are
concerned for our community. We are concerned, you know, we do not want to see the carnage that is -- that happened in Gaza. I mean, happen in
Lebanon, nor did we want to see it in Gaza.
And that's why I think it's imperative on the international community to take action and to apply the required pressure on Israel to seize with it
is indiscriminate attacks on civilians. And the paper that was put forth by the U.S., by the G7, by the Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, and which Lebanon
accepted would have been a very good place to start.
[09:15:00]
But unfortunately, it seems that everyone is intent on finding a diplomatic solution to this conflict, except one party that wants to continue with its
indiscriminate attack on civilians.
KARADSHEH: So, do you believe Hezbollah would agree to that proposal?
ABIAD: Hezbollah has stated publicly that with a ceasefire in Gaza, all hostilities or all activities will cease. And you know, I think that even
if Hezbollah, let's say Hezbollah was not honest in this, let's remove its excuse. Let's remove this pretext and find out for you know, what is true
position is?
But I think that the you know, the international communities called for a ceasefire and is the right place to start, Lebanon does not want to. This
is what the Lebanese government has said. This is what the Lebanese population has said, and I believe that a diplomatic solution is the right
way out of this conflict.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Right. Well, let's get you live to Ben Wedeman, who is in the City of Tyre in Lebanon. Ben and we've just heard from the health minister
there. I mean, he's emphatic, Lebanon needs a ceasefire, and it needs it now, and they have been prepared to sign up to this ceasefire proposal, and
we'll talk more about that this hour, but you've got some reporting on the suffering being inflicted on the people of Lebanon, explain.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well Becky, Lebanese officials say that as many as 500,000 people have had to flee
their homes since this Israeli shock and awe campaign began on Monday, and simply providing them with the basics, with food and shelter is proving to
be a struggle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN (voice-over): This is the best shelter Sidon's Town Hall has to offer those fleeing the war, a mattress on the floor outside. Thousands
have fled here from Israel's bombing campaign. Mohammed (ph) walked 12 hours with her two children. Her feet still blistered. Her son running a
fever.
Our entire neighborhood is gone, she says. There are martyrs, people we knew and loved. The city's schools have been turned into shelters. But
that's not enough. Volunteer Reema (ph) FIFA says there's no place in any school, and in those schools, the resources are very limited, not enough
mattresses, not enough resources.
All the while, Israel's air strikes continue, not at the same pace as Monday's shock and awe, but steady and extensive. Thursday, Israel struck
Beirut once again with a targeted strike intended for one of Hezbollah's commanders in the Southern City of Tyre a Franciscan monastery has opened
its doors. Fatima (ph) tells us she and her elderly mother had no choice but to leave their home.
We couldn't stay there, she says, All the houses around us were destroyed, the glass, the cars. We came here by a miracle. The monastery's father
Tawfiq (ph) received a surprise call from neighboring Syria. They called from Aleppo and said, we want to help you, he tells me. That surprised me,
and I say again, the Lord hasn't abandoned us.
These Ethiopian and Sudanese migrant workers and their families also escaped the bombing and are now rough. No one is asking after us says Rahi
(ph) from Ethiopia. We keep quiet and wait. We registered with the U.N. but they don't ask about us. Forgotten and abandoned in the midst of a war far
from home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN (on camera): And this morning, we were at the local municipalities, disaster management authority, and it was sort of a scene of pandemonium,
lots of people trying desperately to get the basics, things like mattresses and food and some sort of place to stay.
And the man who runs that operation was absolutely overwhelmed with phone calls trying to deal with all these demands. He was telling us that for
families of six, the best they can do is provide them with three mattresses. And the worry is that, if the number increases, if Israel
starts to bomb bridges and roads, that this situation is only going to get worse and worse, Becky.
[09:20:00]
ANDERSON: Well and Ben, let's just consider how much worse this could get? The Israeli Defense Minister today saying that the military is increasing
efforts to strike Hezbollah. The defense minister saying, and I quote him here, we intend to bring about security to the communities in the north.
Of course, he's speaking of the North of Israel there and return those who left the safety of their homes, speaking about 60 or 70,000 odd Israelis
who have been displaced from that those northern communities, that does not suggest that this is going to stop any time soon, getting those people back
to their homes will mean ensuring that, as far as the Israelis are concerned, Hezbollah is not a threat to those communities.
So, this certainly from the Israeli side, does not sound as if it is going to stop any time soon. Just how significant could this be consequential?
Could this be if it continues?
WEDEMAN: Let's take the Israeli officials at their words. They have threatened to bomb Lebanon back to the stone age. They have threatened to
copy and paste Gaza on to Lebanon. And if that happens, we could see, basically, as we've said before, the gasification of Lebanon.
Already, we've seen this massive displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, and there's just a we've seen looks like an Israeli strike on the
horizon behind me. Maybe I'll just, we're going to zoom in on it anyway. Yes, I mean, it could be much, much worse. OK, now we hear the sound, so
that is definitely several kilometers away.
But I mean, the worst-case scenario is absolutely catastrophic for all of Lebanon, but particularly the south, which suffered so much in 2006 and
then just since Monday, has just taken an utter beating in terms of the death toll, in terms of the amount of destruction that has happened, Becky.
ANDERSON: Yeah -- and let's be quite clear. I mean, cross border attacks continue today, but I mean this is a significant uptick in the intensity of
course of these Israeli strikes on Lebanon and what they call targeted strikes on Hezbollah. But ultimately, as you've been describing, the upshot
of that is this enormous displacement of the Lebanese population, particularly in the area where you are.
Look, Ben, thank you for the time being. I want to bring in Alex Marquardt, who is in New York, and you are there, anticipating in about 20 minutes or
so from now, a speech from Benjamin Netanyahu. He has arrived in New York, albeit later than anticipated. I think he was due Wednesday.
He delayed his trip because of what is going on this Northern Front, the Israeli targeted strikes on Hezbollah. What can we expect to hear from him
firstly, when he gets to the podium about 20 minutes from now?
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, it does remain to be seen whether there will be, you know, any news. Of course, in
this speech, I'm told by someone who's been working with him that may not be the case, that we'll hear some familiar themes. And so, you can expect a
lot of Iran, I would imagine, and then justification for the continued operations in both Gaza and in Lebanon.
Becky, we will be very much on the lookout for anything to do with this U.S. led, this U.S. French led ceasefire proposal that was put on the table
on Wednesday night, 21 days of a truce in Lebanon, along that blue line border in order to work on aid more long-term diplomatic solution.
Now this was put forward by the White House on Wednesday night, and then immediately, just a few hours later, Netanyahu contradicted it, saying that
they will continue to hit Hezbollah with the full force of the IDF. It was a remarkable dismissal of this plan that the U.S. and others had been
working on for several days.
And so, we've been trying to understand that, and frankly, the White House has not been able to come up with a good explanation. Keep in mind, during
the talks the discussions over this plan, the Israelis were very much involved, including one of the most senior Israeli aides to Benjamin
Netanyahu.
His name is Ron Dermer. He was speaking with his American counterpart. So, when it was put on the table on Wednesday night, it should not have come as
a surprise to the Israelis. And yet we do have this not official rejection, but it does appear to be a dismissal by Netanyahu.
[09:25:00]
And so, the White House is saying that they believed that these discussions were taking place in a sincere environment, and then a remarkable admission
from the White House's John Kirby that they would not have put this plan on the table if they did not believe that Israel was on board.
And yet, right now, it does not appear that Israel is on board with this plan. The Israelis have been trying to smooth this out. They put out a
statement last night saying, and I want to read part of it, Israel shares the aims of this U.S. led initiative of enabling people along our northern
border to return safely and securely to their homes.
We will continue those discussions in the coming days. So, they're trying to make nice with the U.S., but making it clear right now that they have
not bought in to this proposal. So, we'll be on the lookout for what Netanyahu says about that, and then later today, Becky, we're also going to
be hearing from Secretary of State, Antony Blinken will be taking questions at a press conference. You can be sure that he's going to be pushed on all
of this, Becky.
ANDERSON: Yeah, absolutely. Listen, we are about 20 minutes or so out from that speech by Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations. We will get to
that live. And Alex, you and I will talk a little later after that and see if we can sort of pick apart what we understand to have been said and
perhaps read between the lines somewhat, perhaps some insight analysis is going to be crucial for this.
It's always a pleasure, sir, thank you very much indeed. Look, I want to get back before we get to that speech by Netanyahu. I want to get back to
what is this massive storm event still unfolding in the United States on the East Coast. Helene was the strongest hurricane on record to hit
Florida's Big Bend region in Levy County, Florida.
The Emergency Management Office was forced to suspend responding to calls across the entire county, and it's turned roads into water in Atlanta, in
Georgia. Well in the Western part of North Carolina, there are emergency declarations for flash flooding, including in the city of Asheville, the
weather service urging people in Haywood County, for example, to move to higher ground for their own safety if they can, as streams are rising and
landslides are possible.
Joining us from Asheville is CNN's Isabel Rosales, I mean, this is really serious stuff. I know that you've been speaking to authorities. You've also
been speaking to people in the area. Just get us up to speed on what is going on.
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Becky, incredibly serious. Mandatory evacuations just keep expanding. The National Weather Service has
been warning residents here in the Asheville area that this is going to be one of the most significant weather events in modern times for this region.
You can see right over here, there's this manhole. I want to point this out. The drainage system is clearly being overwhelmed by all of this
flooding, storm surge and rain. Take a look over here, this car turning around. We've seen that quite a few times. That's good turn around.
Don't drown, is what authorities say. We have also seen other drivers that they're just going for it. They're going through these flooded roads. So
back to this manhole right here, the drainage system cannot handle all of this water. And this is on higher ground, that's a little hill, but as you
go into the lower lying areas, look at that drain, clearly incapable of dealing with all of this storm surge.
Let me point out a couple of nuances here of what's going on. So yes, we're seeing the impacts of Helene right now, but the problem is that Asheville
has been dealing with torrential rain since Wednesday from a totally different system, over eight inches of rain already soaking up the ground,
by the time Helene is over, forecasters are expecting over 20 inches of rainfall.
That is a one in 1000 year near that rainfall event. Then you have the rivers, a couple of blocks down that way. It's the Swannanoa River. You
have the French board river very nearby here, just bringing all of that storm surge in to the area by Wednesday, that was at 10 feet.
That was the river level. Experts are anticipating double that 20 feet they are saying that catastrophic flooding is imminent. So, residents here are
having to deal with a lot. These are very dangerous conditions, also unexpected conditions. There are flash flood warnings in the area.
I spoke with the fire chief, and the biggest thing, Becky, that's keeping him up at night is the potential here in this mountainous area for
landslides. So, these are homes, businesses carved into the sides of the mountain here. He is worried that the sediment is incapable of dealing with
all of this rain that, that is a precarious situation, and people's homes might collapse.
[09:30:00]
That is his biggest worry. He says that there's a FEMA team on standby ready to help with any search and rescues that are needed. And another
thing, Becky, the roadways, even before we felt the impacts of Helene, the fire chief, was telling me they had reports of sinkholes, sinkholes on the
interstate, to the extent that they might have to consider shutting down portions of the interstate.
Now, as all this rain continues to fall, the storm surge gets worse. And look at this. These are -- these heavy gusts of winds. This is only going
to get worse for residents, Becky.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. And I know you and the team will stay safe out there. Let's get the very latest from our
Meteorologist Allison Chinchar, who is at the World Weather Center. Let's just get your map up and chart where this storm is at the moment, because
it seems to be sort of barreling up that East Coast, but its impact is absolutely huge and continues to be so.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, Becky, we were worried even before this made landfall, this was a storm that was very large in size,
which meant it was going to impact a lot of people, and even after it's moved inland, that sheer size of this is still impacting numerous states.
You can see we're finally starting to see an end to some of that rain in and around the Atlanta area, but western North Carolina, where Isabel is
located, they're still going to be dealing with heavy rain for at least another hour, possibly even a few hours after that, more rain spreading
into Tennessee and Kentucky, and that's even just the heavier bands.
Now, we also still have several tornado warnings in effect across portions of North and South Carolina, that could continue through the afternoon as
well. But the wide, the most widespread concern certainly is going to be the flooding. All of these areas you see here in green, that's a flood
watch, meaning the conditions are possible for flooding as we go through the day today.
The red areas are where flooding is occurring. It is ongoing actively. These white shaded boxes, that is a flash flood emergency. That is the
highest possible alert level you can get for flooding. We have some of those in and around the Atlanta area. Two of them that it does include the
Atlanta airport, so any flights that may be in there, you definitely need to check for some delays and cancellations.
And then this is a look at Western North Carolina. I mean, almost the entire portion of Western North Carolina is under some level of a flash
flood emergency, and that does include the City of Asheville. The concern here is that it's still getting additional rainfall on top of what they've
already seen.
A lot of this area has picked up a foot of rain, and now we're still going to be adding at least another inch or two on top of that. Winds in some
areas are starting to die back down. But in other areas, they're ticking right back up. You've got about 50 mile per hour gust in Columbia.
Same thing in Charlotte, North Carolina, still looking at about 40 mile per hour gust in Atlanta. Same thing for Charleston and Myrtle Beach. The rain
will end first, the winds take a little bit longer, so it's going to be several more hours, even after the rain stops, before those winds finally
calm back down, and the concern there is the potential for any trees and power lines to come down.
Perry, Florida, that is near where landfall took place, looking at a wind measurement of 99 miles per hour. But now let's take a look at this,
Douglas, Georgia, that is more than 90 miles away from the coast. This is not a beach city. They are inland, well inland, and they also had a 90 mile
per hour wind.
And that's been the big concern, and that's what's also been leading to such a significant amount of power outages. You're looking at roughly 4
million people on that are without power right now in Florida, Georgia and both North and South Carolina. And these numbers are actually expected to
go up, even though some of the rain is ending, especially in Florida and portions of Georgia, it's going to take time.
Some of those folks in Florida may be without power for days before they can get it back on. The rainfall amounts are starting to come in. We've had
numerous reports of over a foot of rainfall. Some of these areas are done. Others are still expecting another one to two inches on top of it.
That's why you have the concern for flooding. This entire area has the potential for flooding. The greatest threat is obviously going to be in the
red shaded areas, and that pink, which does include the City of Asheville, that pink is what we call a high risk. They are very rare.
They only occur about 4 percent of the time, but they account for 40 percent of the fatalities and 80 percent of the of the damages, Becky, so
again, very significant event unfolding right now across several states here.
ANDERSON: Yeah, it's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. We are keeping our eyes on that storm, extremely dangerous, and indeed, we are in
New York for you this hour, where the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is scheduled to speak shortly at the United Nations.
We got the Pakistan Prime Minister speaking at present. He is due to wrap in about four or five-minutes time, if he keeps the time and he will be
followed by the Israeli Prime Minister.
[09:35:00]
So, I want to take a very short break. We will be back with that after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: You're watching "Connect the World". I'm Becky Anderson. 37 minutes past 5 here in the UAE. Welcome back. We are waiting for Benjamin
Netanyahu to speak at the United Nations any minute now. This is the Pakistan Prime Minister who precedes his appearance at the General
Assembly.
And this, of course, comes as Israel and Hezbollah trade fire across the Lebanese border once again today, we have seen significant Israeli strikes
on Lebanon. For more, I want to bring in CNN International Diplomatic Editor, Nic Robertson and we have Gideon Levy, a Columnist for Haaretz
newspaper, both joining us today from Tel Aviv.
And as we wait for Netanyahu and his speech at the U.N. Nic, let me just start by you in Tel Aviv, just gaging the mood, if you will.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, and I think we've got a sense of the mood of this as Prime Minister Netanyahu sees it, going
into the speech, a few sorts of brief hints at what he's going to talk about. He's going to say things like no ceasefire, without deepening our
military achievements and even bringing our hostages' home.
So, I think what we're going to see here is this very clear linkage between the fight in the South in Gaza and the fight at the northern border. He's
going to talk, perhaps, in terms of Hezbollah is Hamas, Hamas is Hezbollah. Both are Iran. So, he will sort of, it appears, tie these two things
together.
And he was expected to have some family members of hostages with him there in New York while he attends the UNGA. And clearly it appears that he's
going to, you know, undermine and blunt what the critics have been saying, that he doesn't care so much for the hostages and getting them out of Gaza.
He cares more for his own political plans, political achievements, political career. But it seems if he is going to link the release of the
hostages by Hamas to a cease fire with Hezbollah, you can begin to see and understand that this idea of a ceasefire is not something that's sort of
going to be accelerated and brought to a quick conclusion by what Prime Minister Netanyahu has to say.
And we've got to censor that again here today, the defense minister has been close to the northern border talking about his support for the
communities there who are under fire, but also talking about that military achievements are not over and not done yet.
[09:40:00]
The IDF has released more video of the two reserve battalions who have been called up. Video of them getting their equipment handed out, getting their
weapons, getting their backpacks, getting the armored vehicles that they'll be that they may well be fighting in, handed over.
All of that posturing really sets the scene for what we're witnessing today, still the air strikes by Israel into Lebanon and Hezbollah firing
missiles back into Israel, that sense of a cease fire here that's so hoped about. It doesn't seem immediate at all, Becky.
ANDERSON: This idea of decoupling what is going on in Lebanon from what is going on in Gaza is an important one. Gideon, let me bring you in here just
before and I am keeping one eye on the Pakistan Prime Minister, who is about to wrap his speech at the United Nations. He will be followed by
Benjamin Netanyahu.
And I'll go to him as soon as he speaks. But I know that the you've said that the focus while on Lebanon right now, you argue that what happens in
Lebanon will not impact what happens in Gaza. And you say our focus must be on ending the war in Gaza and getting the hostages' home. And you argue
that Hamas is on board with that, just explain.
GIDEON LEVY, COLUMNIST AT HAARETZ: You see, Becky, the key is Gaza, because Hezbollah was very clear about seizing the fire in the north, once Israel
is ready for ceasefire in Gaza, and once the two parties are agreeing on the terms, but Israel says no to both ceasefires planned.
Once it is against ceasefire in Gaza, and now Israel is also against a ceasefire in Lebanon, and this should bring us to quite depressing thoughts
about Israel's policy, saying no and no and no --
ANDERSON: All right Gideon, let me apologies. Let me jump in because the Prime Minister is about to speak. I think it's important that we listen in
--
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, order. Oh, dear, please.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, I didn't intend to come here this year. My country is at war,
fighting for its life. But after I heard the lies and slanders leveled at my country by many of the speakers at this podium, I decided to come here
and set the record straight.
I decided to come here to speak for my people, to speak for my country, to speak for the truth. And here is the truth, Israel seeks peace. Israel
yearns for peace. Israel has made peace and will make peace again. Yet we face savage enemies who seek our annihilation, and we must defend ourselves
against these savage murderers.
Our enemies seek not only to destroy us, they seek to destroy our common civilization and return all of us to a dark age of tyranny and terror. When
I spoke here last year, I said we faced the same timeless choice that Moses put before the people of Israel thousands of years ago.
As we were about to enter the Promised Land, Moses told us that our actions will determine whether we bequeath to future generations a blessing or a
curse, and that is the choice we face today.
[09:45:00]
The curse of Iran's unremitting aggression or the blessing of a historic reconciliation between Arab and Jew. In the days that followed that speech,
the blessing I spoke of came into sharper focus. A normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel seemed closer than ever, but then came the
curse of October 7th.
Thousands of Iranian backed Hamas terrorists from Gaza burst into Israel in pickup trucks on motorcycles, and they committed unimaginable atrocities.
They savagely murdered 1200 people. They raped and mutilated women. They beheaded men. They burnt babies alive.
They burned entire families alive, babies, children, parents, grandparents, in scenes reminiscent of the Nazi holocaust. Hamas kidnapped 251 people
from dozens of different countries, dragging them into the dungeons of Gaza. Israel has brought home 154 of these hostages, including 117 who
returned alive.
I want to assure you. We will not rest until the remaining hostages are brought home too. And some of their family members are here with us today,
I ask you to stand up. With us -- with us is Ellie Stevie, Busani Dunn was abducted from the Nova Music Festival that was his crime, a music festival
and these murderous monsters took him.
Kobe Smyrna, whose son Jonathan was murdered and his corpse was taken into the dungeons into the terror tunnels of Gaza, a corpse held hostage. Saleem
Alatrash, whose brother Mohammed, a brave Arab Israeli soldier was murdered. His body too was taken to Gaza, and so was the body of Ifat
Haiman's daughter Inbar who was brutally murdered at that same music festival.
With us is Sharon Sharabi, whose brother Yossi was murdered, and who prays for his older brother Eli was still held hostage in Gaza and with us too is
Sharone Lifshitz from Kibbutz Nir Oz, Kibbutz that was wiped out by the terrorist. Thankfully, we achieved the release of his mother, Yocheved, but
his father, Oded is still languishing in an underground terrorist hill of Hamas.
I again promise you. We will return your loved ones' home. We will not spare that effort until this holy mission is accomplished. Ladies and
gentlemen, the curse of October 7th began when Hamas invaded Israel from Gaza. But it didn't end there. Israel was soon forced to defend itself on
six more war fronts organized by Iran.
On October 8th, Hezbollah attacked us from Lebanon. Since then, they fired over 8000 rockets at our towns and cities, at our civilians, at our
children. Two weeks later, the Iran backed Houthis in Yemen launched drones and missiles at Israel, the first of 250 such attacks, including one
yesterday aimed at Tel Aviv.
Iran Shiite militias in Syria and Iraq have targeted Israel dozens of times over the past year as well. Fueled by Iran Palestinian terrorists in Judea
and Samaria perpetrated scores of attacks there and throughout Israel. And last April, for the first time ever, Iran directly attacked Israel from its
own territory, firing 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles at us.
I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran. If you strike us, we will strike you. There is no place. There is no place in Iran that the long arm
of Israel cannot reach, and that's true of the entire Middle East. Far from being lambs led to the slaughter, Israel's soldiers have fought back with
incredible courage and with heroic sacrifice.
[09:50:00]
And I have another message for this assembly and for the world outside this hall. We are winning. Ladies and gentlemen, as Israel defends itself
against Iran in the seven-front war, the lines separating the blessing and the curse could not be clearer. This is the map I presented here last year.
It's a map of a blessing. It shows Israel and its Arab partners, forming a land bridge connecting Asia and Europe between the Indian Ocean and the
Mediterranean Sea. Across this bridge, we will lay ray lines, energy pipelines, fiber optic cables, and this will serve the betterment of 2
billion people.
Now look at this second map. It's a map. Look at the second map. It's a map of a curse. It's a map of an arc of terror that Iran has created and
imposed from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean. Iran's malignant arc has shut down international waterways. It cuts off trade. It destroys
millions, destroys nations from within, and inflicts misery on millions. On the one hand, a bright blessing, a future of hope.
On the other hand, a dark future of despair. And if you think this dark map is only a curse for Israel, if you think that, then you should think again,
because Iran's aggression, if it's not checked, will endanger every single country in the Middle East and many, many countries in the rest of the
world, because Iran seeks to impose its radicalism well beyond the Middle East.
That's why it funds terror networks on five continents. That's why it builds ballistic missiles for nuclear warheads to threaten the entire
world. For too long, the world has appeased Iran. It turns a blind eye to its internal repression. It turns a blind eye to its external aggression.
Well, that appeasement must end, and that appeasement must end now. The nations of the world should support the brave people of Iran who want to
rid themselves of this evil regime. Responsible governments should not only support Israel in rolling back Iran's aggression, they should join Israel.
They should join Israel in stopping Iran's nuclear weapons program. In this body and the Security Council, we're going to have a deliberation in a few
months, and I call on the Security Council to snap back U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran, because we must all do everything in our
power to ensure that Iran never gets nuclear weapons.
For decades, I've been warning the world against Iran's nuclear program. Our actions delayed this program by perhaps a decade, but we haven't
stopped it. We've delayed it, but we haven't stopped it. Iran now seeks to weaponize its nuclear program for the sake of the peace and security of all
your countries.
For the sake of the peace and security of the entire world, we must not let that happen, and I assure you, Israel will do everything in its power to
make sure it doesn't happen. So, ladies and gentlemen, the question before us is simple, which of these two maps that I showed you will shape our
future?
Will it be the blessings of peace and prosperity for Israel, our Arab partners and the rest of the world, or will it be the curse in which Iran
and its proxies spread carnage and chaos everywhere? Israel has already made its choice. We've decided to advance the blessing. We're building a
partnership for peace with our Arab neighbors while fighting the forces of terror that threatened that peace.
[09:55:00]
For nearly a year, the brave men and women of the IDF have been systematically crushing Hamas' terror army that once ruled Gaza. On October
7th, the day of that invasion into Israel, that terror army numbered nearly 4000 -- 40,000 terrorists. It was armed with more than 15,000 rockets.
It had 350 miles of terror tunnels, an underground network bigger than the New York subway system, which they used to wreak havoc above and below
ground. A year later, the IDF has killed or captured more than half of these terrorists destroyed over 90 percent of their rocket arsenal and
eliminated the key segments of their terror tunnel network in major military operations.
In major military operations, we destroyed nearly half of Hamas' sorry, nearly all of Hamas' terror battalions, 23 out of 24 battalions. Now, to
complete our victory, we are focused on mopping up Hamas' remaining fighting capabilities. We are taking out senior terrorist commanders and
destroying remaining terrorist infrastructure.
But all the while, all the while, and I'll say this one more time, we remain focused on our sacred mission, bringing our hostages home, and we
will not stop until that mission is complete. Now, ladies and gentlemen, even with Hamas' greatly diminished military capability, the terrorists
still exercise some governing power in Gaza by stealing the food that we enable ad agencies, sorry, that we enable aid agencies to bring into Gaza.
Hamas steals the food, and then they hike the prices. They feed their bellies, and then they fill their coffers with money that they extort from
their own people. They sell the stolen food at exorbitant prices, and that's how they stay in power. Well, this too has to end, and we're working
to bring it to an end.
And the reason is simple, because if Hamas stays in power, it will regroup, rearm, and attack Israel again and again and again, as it is vowed to do.
So, Hamas has got to go. Just imagine, for those who say, well, Hamas has to stay, it has to be part of a post war Gaza.
Imagine in a post war situation in World War Two, imagine allowing the defeated Nazis in 1945 to rebuild Germany. It's inconceivable. It's
ridiculous. It didn't happen then it's not going to happen now. This is why Israel will reject any rule for Hamas in a post war Gaza.
We don't seek to resettle Gaza. What we seek is a demilitarized and deradicalized Gaza. Only then, only then, can we ensure that this round of
fighting will be the last round of fighting. We are ready to work with regional and other partners to support a local civilian administration in
Gaza committed to peaceful coexistence as for the hostages.
I have a message for the Hamas captors. Let them go. Let them go. All of them, those alive today must be returned alive, and the remains of those
whom you brutally killed must be returned to their families. Those families here with us today and others in Israel deserve to have a resting place for
their loved ones, a place where they can grieve and remember them.
This war, ladies and gentlemen, this war can come to an end now. All that has to happen is for Hamas to surrender, lay down its arms and release all
the hostages, but if they don't, we will fight until we achieve victory, total victory. There is no substitute for it.
END
