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CNN International: Hezbollah-Affiliated Islamic Health Authority Says Seven Medics Among Nine Dead in Central Beirut Strike; IDF Says it has Attacked Hezbollah Intel HQ in Beirut; Emirates Cancels All Regular Flights to Iraq, Iran and Jordan on 4th and 5th October "Due to Regional Unrest"; IDF Says it Targeted Hezbollah's Intelligence Headquarters; New Israeli Airstrikes Target Southern Beirut; Oil Rises on Fears of Middle East Supply Disruptions. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired October 03, 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)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: This is the scene in Beirut, where, just moments ago, the CNN team heard a number of blasts. Lebanese
media reporting three airstrikes striking the southern suburbs of the city. Earlier today, Israeli airstrikes also hit the city center for the first
time since 2006. It is 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Eleni Giokos. This is "Connect the World".
We go straight to our top story this hour. That loud boom heard by CNN teams in the Lebanese capital, and you can see smoke rising over the city
in daylight hours, plumes of smoke coming through as those strikes hit southern parts of Beirut. Lebanese state media reporting the strikes
targeting the southern suburbs.
This all follows what the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon calls a sleepless night in the city. An Israeli airstrike targeting the central
part of the city for the first time since the 2006 Lebanese war. Lebanese health officials say at least nine people were killed. Jomana Karadsheh is
joining us from Beirut. We've got Jim Sciutto in Tel Aviv for us.
Jomana, I want to start with you. You're on the ground in Beirut. You heard some of these blasts. Tell us what you're seeing right now.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Eleni in the -- it was just under two hours ago that we heard and felt those blasts, at least
three explosions, and then you could see those thick plumes of smoke rising from Beirut's southern suburbs. I mean, you can still see a bit of that in
the background here.
And what we understand from Hezbollah's media office, they say that their office was struck. We still don't have reports of casualties. We have not
heard from the Israeli military yet. This was carried out with no prior warning, but what we have seen is over the past couple of weeks, this is
where the Israeli strikes have been focused, on the southern suburbs of Beirut, where you had the leadership and top commanders and of Hezbollah
based, and that is where the Israeli military has been focusing its strikes.
I mean, just in the past 24 hours, we have seen them really ramp up those strikes. Last night, more than a dozen hitting the southern suburbs of
Beirut. But you know, Eleni, what is really worrying for people in this city today is what they're describing as this terrifying development, and
that's the strike you mentioned earlier, in the heart of Beirut, in the center of the city, for the first time in nearly 20 years, since that 2006
Israel Hezbollah war.
We have seen a strike in central Beirut. This is the second time this -- that we have seen a strike beyond the southern suburbs. You had one earlier
this week within Beirut city limits, but this in the middle of Beirut, in the middle of the night, also coming with no prior warning in a residential
area.
What we understand the target of that strike was it's a Hezbollah affiliated health authority office in a building in that residential area.
And it happened late at night, in the early hours of the morning, really. And it really has sent shockwaves across the city and beyond.
At least nine people were killed according to the Ministry of Health, that authority, that's office was struck, says at least seven of those are
medics. We were out on the streets of Beirut today speaking with people, and you can really sense that fear, that apprehension, that anxiety.
People say that they feel that this is expanding that is no longer limited to the southern suburbs, where you have seen this mass exodus of people.
They feel that anywhere in this city could be hit by an airstrike, and people say that they no longer feel safe. I mean, as we're speaking now, we
can still hear the Israeli drones buzzing overhead, usually an indication that there will be more strikes later in the day.
[09:05:00]
GIOKOS: Yeah, absolute fear in Beirut. And as you say, Jomana, importantly, that strike in the city center that really caught people off guard. We got
Jim Sciutto standing by as well. Jim, what more are you learning about what we've heard from the IDF on today's strike in the southern suburbs, and
importantly, any news about the targets in the city center?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY ANALYST: The IDF is not being public about their targets right now. But this is clearly an uptick in the number
of strikes, but also the location of those strikes, which further reinforces that this is very much a multi front war right now that the
strikes continue in Gaza, Israeli strikes in Gaza quite deadly ones.
There is now a ground component to Israeli operations in Lebanon, and with the first deaths reported in the last 24 hours, there for Israeli forces.
And of course, an expanding there was already quite an extensive air campaign, but an expanding air campaign by Israel in Lebanon, not just in
the south, and not just in southern Beirut, but now increasingly in Central Beirut.
And of course, just a reminder, there were Israeli strikes inside Yemen against Houthi targets just in the last several days. And now, of course,
consideration about Israeli retaliation against Iran. That is a multi-front war under way, and of course, there's incoming fire here as well.
We had that massive Iranian missile barrage a couple of nights ago. And last night, our team here watched Israeli air defenses kick into action to
take out what the IDF now says were drones fired towards Central Israel, including here in Tel Aviv.
So of course, the fear had been for weeks and months that this war has expand -- expanding and it is expanding. And then if I could add one more
front that is Israeli strikes inside Syria against targets there, notably in and around a Russian base in Syria. And that shows you just how quickly
this conflict can bring in other players, right, whether or not they want to be involved.
But that speaks to a broader expansion that well. It's been the worry of many watching this war closely for nearly a year.
GIOKOS: It has indeed. Yeah, and this is the issue. It's just, is the region on the brink of an all-out war? What does it mean? And you know, how
does Lebanon -- what we're seeing in Lebanon, really impact what we're going to be seeing in the region as a whole? We've got Arwa Damon standing
by for us. She's the President and Founder of the International Network for Aid, Relief and Assistance, and she's a Former CNN Correspondent. Arwa,
great to have you with us.
You know, Lebanon has been heavily impacted over the years, not only by conflict, but other just really bad luck with the Beirut blast as well. And
you've got an economy that's really under pressure. You've got people that have experienced so much trauma, you're seeing these strikes occurring now
in a very big way. What can you tell us about what you're hearing from people on the ground right now, and their reaction to what seems to be a
war on Hezbollah, but clearly infiltrating the very essence of people's lives?
ARWA DAMON, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR AID, RELIEF & ASSISTANCE: Well, the vast majority of people that you talk to here, Eleni
very much feel as if this is a war on all of Lebanon and on everybody who happens to be in this country, no matter where they are.
Look, I was actually just at the home of one of the children and families that -- has supported previously to all of this. And they were hosting two
families from the south, and there was a little girl there who was about six or seven years old, and she just sat, bringing her hands like this the
whole time, barely speaking, because she was traumatized by what had happened in the south and the bombardment that forced her to flee.
And then, of course, hearing all of the bombardment that was taking place in Beirut. And those last explosions that you all have been talking about
were very loud. And it's just a brief, you know, sort of indication of just the level of trauma that everyone here is going through.
And you know, you talk to people, and given everything that you mentioned there, everything that the Lebanese have gone through, you really get this
sense that -- you know psychologically speaking, they're stuck in the freeze traumatic response, and they're absolutely petrified because they've
been watching what has been happening to Gaza.
They know that Gazans have been live streaming their own slaughter, and that it hasn't stopped, and they're terrified that that's exactly what's
going to be happening to them here.
GIOKOS: Yeah, that's a really important point. And Joanna, I want to bring you want to bring you into this conversation again. I want you to give us a
sense of and you're saying you're speaking to people on the ground. And Arwa mentioned something really important here.
That people are watching what is happening in Gaza, and there is a fear in terms of what is the fate of people in Lebanon? As we see escalation, we
see what the IDF is calling a limited incursion into Southern Lebanon. We're seeing these strikes.
[09:10:00]
But how do people feel? What are people telling you right now about their potential fate as this war continues?
KARADSHEH: Well, you know what the number of people that we've spoken to today who said that they are terrified of the unknown. People feel that
they really don't know what is coming next. Yes, you hear these statements coming from the Israeli side, saying that their operation, this ground
incursion, into Southern Lebanon, is only limited and targeted.
But when you speak to people here, no one believes this. They say, look back at history. 1982 when you had the Israelis launch what was going --
what they said was going to be a limited incursion, and that turned into a full-scale invasion, and years of military occupation of Southern Lebanon
and even more recent history.
What is happening in Gaza, as Arwa was saying there, is a lot of people would tell you they heard that same sort of rhetoric, the sort of promises
in Gaza, for example, in the south with limited operations. And here we are now. And everyone from officials to the people on the street. When you
speak to them, they are really terrified of seeing a repeat of what's happening in Gaza, happening here in Lebanon. What some have described as
the Gazification of Lebanon?
I mean, you look at what's happening Eleni. Look at the numbers when you talk about more than a million people who have been displaced from their
homes within a matter of days. And you're talking about different parts of the country, whether it's Southern Lebanon, whether it's in the East in the
Bekaa region, or here from the southern suburbs, where we have seen a mass exodus, where you still have people out on the streets, and people are
being displaced again.
I mean, even last night, that central Beirut strike, not far from where you have some internally displaced families who were staying close to that
area. And we went and we spoke to some of those families today, and they said that a lot of people had to move again, because even the area where
they thought they were going to be safe is no longer safe they feel.
And then you have these evacuation orders, people seeing these parallels to what's happening in Gaza. Evacuation orders, ongoing bombardment, and you
know just this -- and the numbers of the people who have been killed and injured within a couple of weeks, more than 1000 people killed, thousands
other injured with a health sector that is struggling to cope with the sheer number of casualties, and many of them are women and children.
So, you can understand why people fear that they are seeing a repeat of what is happening in Gaza happen here. And they tell us, the international
community did nothing to stop what's happening in Gaza, or is that going to be the case here? And that is a real, real fear Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right. Jomana, thank you for that. Jim, we have new lines from the IDF. What are they saying about their targets today?
SCIUTTO: That's right. You asked me earlier what those targets were, at least, how the IDF was describing them, and just in the last few moments,
we did get an answer to that question. They say they struck targets belonging to Hezbollah's Intelligence Headquarters in Beirut, including
operatives for Hezbollah's Intelligence Corps, which the IDF says in this statement, is responsible for intelligence about the IDF and the State of
Israel.
So that is the IDF's explanation for at least some of those strikes we've been seeing in the southern parts of Beirut. Of course, if we see -- as we
seen from those strikes, though they're taking part in quite heavily populated areas, so as we continue to assess the damage, whether they
struck those targets also, of course, the question will be whether civilians were caught up in that fire as well.
GIOKOS: Yeah, of course, this is all coming in, in real time, as we see as those plumes of smoke still going on in Beirut. Arwa, bringing you into
this conversation is really important, because you've done work, not only on the ground in Lebanon, but you know, the state of the healthcare sector.
And one of the things that is a major concern, in fact, it was raised during the pager and walkie talkie attacks that whether the health sector
would be able to withstand any kind of escalation. We're in this escalation right now. What more can you tell us about how much cover the health sector
has at this point?
DAMON: Well, here's the big challenge also when it comes to the health sector, is that Lebanon has literally haemorrhaged -- you know quite a
significant number of its medical professionals, given the economic crisis that transpired here ever since 2019. And as such, even just with the pager
and the walkie talkie blast, the medical sector was struggling, and now I was listening to, you know, a doctor who is in the South.
[09:15:00]
He's in one of the hospitals down there, and he was talking about how they're running out of basic -- things that they need, including -- you
know painkillers and having to carry out -- you know amputations on children. We speak to other doctors, and they're talking about how they're
facing this challenge also, of needing to discharge patients.
But there's nowhere to discharge them too because the vast majority of patients that they have -- you know have had their homes blown up and
destroyed. And there's great concerns that, like we saw in Gaza -- you know people end up getting infections to their injuries. They end up going
septic. They end up having to amputate limbs that wouldn't necessarily have had to have been amputated.
That's not quite the case that we're reaching here, but it's a very, very real fear. You start hearing rhetoric that is very similar to the rhetoric
that we were hearing coming out of Gaza. I spoke to one family who had -- you know their basically extended family tree, almost entirely wiped out.
I've spoken to people who have been displaced multiple times that same refrain of -- you know they told us to evacuate.
They told us to go towards Beirut. That's where we were supposed to be safe. That's where we went. But then -- you know we had to move again. You
hear about -- you know, the strikes that are happening on some of the rescue workers. One of my staffers, actually, two of her cousins, worked
for the Lebanese civil defense, and they were killed while they were on their way to try to rescue people.
There's a field hospital in the south that had bonds land very, very close to it. And so, there's all of these sorts of undertones and echoes of what
happened and is still happening, and gods that are reverberating here. And then, of course, as Jomana was mentioning, it's the uncertainty of it.
People will tell you -- you know if we know how long we have to cope with this, then we'll be better equipped to face it.
But nobody can answer that right now. And the people's fear too, is that when Israel says it's going to retaliate against Iran, they're afraid that
that retaliation is actually going to be against them.
GIOKOS: Yeah. Jim, we've got news just coming in that Emirates, the region's major airline is canceling all regular flights to Iraq, Iran and
Jordan. And the airline says this is due to regional unrest. This is the big question, I think, that we're all worried about. We're asking whether
this is a regional war. We don't know how Israel is going to respond to Iran after the barrage of missiles into Israel earlier this week?
We know these strikes are increasing into Lebanon as well. We've got to remind our viewers that Netanyahu had said this is a new era of the war.
Give us a sense of where we stand right now, where you've got airlines taking these precautions because of the fear of things getting out of hand?
SCIUTTO: Done. Well, you can read those cancellations, given the part of the region that they cover, as a reaction to the expectation that Israel
will respond to those Iranian missile strikes by taking action against Iran. So, it looks like Emirates is clearing the airspace, as it were,
between Israel and Iran, where those strikes might take place, or where those strikes might fly over on their way there, whether that be aircraft
or missiles coming from Israel.
Not clear yet how exactly Israel is going to respond and when and to what extent? But we do know that the menu, as it were, the list of options, has
some quite extreme ones, including the possibility of striking Iranian nuclear facilities or perhaps oil facilities as well, which would have not
just national security impacts and the prospect of widening the war, but also economic impacts.
You can imagine a strike on Iranian oil facilities would have impacts on world oil markets as well, and then that has a carry-on effect of a
potential impact on the U.S. election landscape. It is -- listen, it's already a wider war, that's fair. Is it an open conflict between the
regional powers? No. But Israel is certainly at war on a number of fronts here, and every day there seems to be a new one.
GIOKOS: It does. And you know, retaliation, keeping a close eye on what retaliation could mean from all sides is going to be important. Jim
Sciutto, Arwa Damon and Jomana Karadsheh, thank you so much for weighing in on the story, an important one.
We're keeping a close watch on what is happening in Beirut as those strikes continue in Lebanon. As Israel weighs its response to Tuesday's attack U.S.
President Joe Biden told reports as Wednesday that G7 Leaders were preparing to hit Iran with fresh sanctions.
[09:20:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We'll be discussing with the Israelis what they're going to do, but all seven of us agree that
they have a right to respond, that they should respond in proportion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Well, Joe Biden calling there for a proportional response, and he also voiced opposition to any potential Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear
sites, but we know Israel has openly ignored U.S. wishes in the past months. Most recently, launching its ground operation into Lebanon just
hours after Joe Biden called for a temporary ceasefire.
And now we are hearing from the Lebanese Foreign Minister that Hezbollah's Slain leader Hassan Nasrallah had agreed to a 21 day pause in the fighting
just days before he was killed by Israel. Our National Security Correspondent Natasha Bertrand is at the Pentagon for an update.
Good to see you, Natasha. So, Israel has been openly defying Biden's wishes. Does he hold any sway over what comes next?
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: You know, the U.S. has been in consultations with the Israelis over the last several days
about how they should respond and really emphasizing that that should be proportional. But as you say, it's completely unclear at this point if
Israel is actually going to heed that advice, because just last week, the U.S. was frankly embarrassed when the U.S. put out this proposal for a 21-
day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
And the Israelis had seemed poised to agree to that, but then, of course, we saw that they went ahead and they struck Beirut and killed Hassan
Nasrallah, the Leader of Hezbollah. And so that really upended the U.S.'s plans here. Now, as you said, the Lebanese Foreign Minister did tell
Christiane Amanpour yesterday that the that Hezbollah had agreed as well to that 21-day ceasefire before Nasrallah was killed.
However, we should note that a senior administration official did tell my colleague, Alex Marquardt, they are not aware of that, and if that was
indeed agreed to by Hezbollah, then it was not communicated to the United States. But still, you know, in consultations with the G7, the U.S. is
trying to keep this proportional, this response.
And it is a marked, you know, shift in tone from last April, when we heard the U.S. say, look, take the win. Don't respond to the Iranian attack on
Israel. At the time, Israel, of course, did, in fact, end up responding to that, but it was very limited. And so now the U.S. is saying again, you
know, actually now you do have the right to respond.
And you should give the fact that this Iranian attack was so much larger than in April, but they're encouraging them not to hit Iranian nuclear
facilities, which they believe could present a dramatic escalation of this conflict, and they're encouraging them to keep it small and proportional.
Now again, whether Israel listens to that is another question entirely. They have decided really, that how they respond, of course, is going to be
massive, according to what Bibi Netanyahu has said, that Iran is going to pay dearly for what the they did earlier this week.
So, it remains to be seen how the Biden Administration is going to be threading this needle. Of course, the main source of leverage that they
have are those weapons sales, those military equipment supplies that they provide to the Israelis. But it doesn't seem like at this point they're
going to be using that leverage, Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right. Natasha Bertrand, thank you so much. We're going to short break. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:25:00]
GIOKOS: What you're seeing right now is how it looked and sounded a short time ago in Beirut, Israeli airstrikes targeting the southern part of
Lebanon's capital in daytime raids, the IDF says it struck Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters. These are pictures of smoke rising over the
city.
This happening after a night of air strikes, including one targeting the central part of Beirut for the first time since the 2006 war. Now, a
reminder of the news we brought you a little earlier this hour, Emirates, one of this region's major airlines is canceling all regular flights to
Iraq, Iran and Jordan for the next two days.
The airline says this is due to regional unrest, in a statement to CNN, Emirates said the safety of crew and customers is our top priority and will
not be compromised. Emirates says its flights to Beirut remain suspended at least until next Tuesday, October 8th. So that is the latest coming through
from Emirates.
I want to bring in Fawaz Gerges, Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics to give us a bit of analysis of what we've
been seeing today, and what clearly Fawaz, is an escalation we've been seeing Israel at its anti-heat not only in the southern parts of Lebanon,
but also southern parts of Beirut, and we saw that strike overnight in the central part of Beirut.
But now importantly, you've got Emirates suspending flights, not only to Iraq and Iran but also to Jordan. Tell me the significance of this and what
message Emirates is sending about the fair potential regional escalation that we could be on the brink of?
FAWAZ GERGES, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AT THE LSE: Well, there's a great deal of speculation, that Israel could attack Iran by
Friday, and Israel's attacks against again, based on leaks from Israeli security officials going to be massive. It will target the industrial
sectors of Iran, either the oil or the gas sector, or basically target assassination of its top leaders, or even attacking the nuclear program.
Iran has already threatened that if Israel attacks Iran, Iran will attack, will retaliate on much bigger scales. So here we are, as you know, on
Monday, next Monday is the one-year anniversary of the horrible attacks on Israel on the seventh of October and the catastrophic Israeli war in Gaza.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
GERGES: I mean, what we have now really is all-out war. It's no longer really a war basically in Gaza, it's all-out war in Lebanon. You have a war
in the West Bank and even in Syria. And now it's a direct war, almost direct all-out war between Iran and Israel. The reason why we all need to
fear the worst, please.
GIOKOS: So, you're characterizing this as an all-out regional war at this point. This is your characterization.
GERGES: Absolutely.
GIOKOS: This is your assessment. Yeah.
GERGES: Absolutely. I mean, the reason why it is all-out war. I mean, think of Lebanon now. I mean, is this really a limited operation in Lebanon now,
you have more than 1000 civilians killed in almost two weeks. Many of them are children and women, more than 2000 injured.
You have 1.2 million Lebanese who have been displaced in two weeks, actually, in terms of percentage and in terms of time, more displaced
Lebanese than in Gaza. Hospitals are overwhelmed. I mean, Israel attacks not only the south, it attacks urban areas and the center of Beirut.
Last night, as you said seven medics were killed, and the EU top foreign policy officials, I mean, Borrell basically said today that this is really
a violation of international humanitarian law, which is a war crime, attacking Southern Beirut, Dahieh, people don't realize.
[09:30:00]
One of the most, I mean congested area in the world, not just in Lebanon. You're talking about hundreds of thousand people live in a very small area.
Whole buildings are being destroyed. So, the reality is, and you have also military invasion in the south, Israel calls it a limited operation
incursion.
It's not an incursion, it's an invasion, and we're going to see more and more basically escalation of this particular war. But the danger is now,
this is now is becoming a direct, almost a direct war between Iran and Israel, and that's why this really could change the entire geo strategic
landscape in the next few weeks and next few months.
GIOKOS: What is your sense of what Israel could do in terms of retaliating against Iran after the barrage of ballistic missiles into Israel earlier
this week. It has promised to do so. The United States has said, stay away from nuclear assets. There's a very big fear in the energy world that oil
facilities could be struck. What is your assessment right now of what could occur?
GERGES: Well, I mean, I think again to come back, what we have learned in the past 12 months is that we really need to expect the worst. I think
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister and his coalition believe that this is a golden opportunity for Israel to really change the
geopolitical landscape.
Benjamin Netanyahu, as you said last week, he made it very clear this is a turning historical point. He wants to make the Middle East in his own
image. He wants to destroy not only the Axis of Resistance, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and the Iraqis and the Syrians. He wants to go for the
head of the Axis of Resistance, Iran.
My fear is that Israel could attack, not only the old facilities. It could really attack the nuclear program. As to the Americans, basically a
statement that they would not really support an Israeli attack on nuclear weapon -- on nuclear program of Iran. I don't take it very seriously,
because Benjamin Netanyahu knows very well that Joe Biden is a lame duck.
That this is really a very transitional period. Benjamin Netanyahu can do anything and get away with it. I mean, look, think of the civilian
casualties in Lebanon in the past. I mean, two weeks, have you heard a single word, a single word where I am here in the U.K. or the United
States, condemnation of the killing of civilians, children, women and medics.
And the reality is, I think what you have is that Benjamin Netanyahu is running the clock on Joe Biden because he wants his best ideological
friend, Donald Trump, to recapture the White House, because Donald Trump has promised to give Benjamin Netanyahu what he wants. So, this is why I
fear the worst.
And regardless, even if he does not attack the Iran's nuclear program. If he attacks the oil fields, the Iran will most likely respond on a much,
much bigger scale. So, the reality is either way, the situation really the future. The trend is escalation, more escalation, more escalation.
And sadly, and tragically, really, more civilians will be killed and more civilians will be displaced. This is really a catastrophic humanitarian
situation, regardless of where we stand on the political arguments here.
GIOKOS: Yeah, and you know, with all of this, even with this escalation, there is hope that some kind of -- something will happen on the ceasefire
front. You know, there is still hope. I was here. It's great to have you on I appreciate your time and your insights. Ahead on "Connect the World" the
Middle East crisis and oil. Why crude prices are on the move. We'll explain straight after this break. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:35:00]
GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi, and you're watching "Connect the World". More now on our breaking news, Lebanese media is
saying three Israeli airstrikes hit Southern Beirut a short time ago. Hezbollah announced shortly after the blast, that its media office was
targeted.
Israel's military says its air force struck Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters in Beirut. It's a very densely populated part of the Lebanese
capital, and you can see those plumes of smoke coming through from parts of the city. Our reporter, Jomana Karadsheh is in Beirut, and she joins us now
live.
Jomana, any update for us. We know about these strikes. You heard these strikes earlier in the day. Do we have any information about casualties?
Anything that's come through from the Lebanese government?
KARADSHEH: Well, we are still waiting to get more information, Eleni, but what we do know is we and the rest of Beirut heard those blasts about
couple of hours ago at about 02:00 p.m. local time, shortly after that, really. And then we saw these thick plumes of smoke rising from Beirut's
southern suburbs.
And since then, we've heard from Hezbollah's press office saying that their office had been struck. And just in the last few minutes, we've heard from
the Israeli military saying that the target of that attack was what they're describing as Hezbollah intelligence headquarters.
Now this is happening in the southern suburbs of Beirut. That has been the focus of Israeli strikes over the past couple of weeks, and we have seen
more of these strikes really intensifying over the past less than 24 hours, really, since late last night, you had the Israeli military putting out
these warnings to people in some of the neighborhoods of the southern suburbs, telling them to evacuate. But earlier it had begun striking
without prior warning.
Now, again, this is an area that has a heavy presence of Hezbollah. It is where Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed. It's also an area where
a lot of their top commanders were killed in the past couple of weeks, but this is, as you mentioned, this is still an area where it was one of the
most heavily populated parts of the country, we have seen a mass exodus of people since, Eleni, when these air strikes really intensified.
But at the same time, we are still hearing from some people saying that they want to stay in their homes because they don't want to end up on the
streets like other people have in recent days. And you see during daytime hours, people do tend to go back to try and grab their belongings.
So, this happening with no prior warning is very troubling, and we'll have to wait and see if there are casualties as we wait for more information
from Lebanese authorities and Hezbollah.
GIOKOS: Jomana, in terms of what we saw in the heart of Beirut, where there wasn't warning. This is an area of Beirut that hasn't been hit since 2006.
What does this mean in terms of potential further escalation? Because it's caught people off guard, importantly, but also, it's a part of the city
that hasn't been hit and also not known as Hezbollah's stronghold.
KARADSHEH Well, you know, look, as we've been saying that these strikes have been mostly focused on the southern suburbs, but this week, you've
seen the escalation as people are describing it and seeing it here, which is it started with that strike a couple of days ago within Beirut city
limits.
[09:40:00]
And then late last night, this strike in the heart of Beirut, in the middle of the night with no prior warning. And this is absolutely terrifying for
people. Nine people were killed in that strike. We haven't heard from the Israeli military what the target of that strike was, but what we do know
from authorities here is that it was an office belonging to a health authority affiliated with Hezbollah, and nine people were killed, seven of
them medics.
But the fact that this happened in the heart of Beirut is really worrying so many people. I mean, the whole city, this whole country, has been in
this state of fear and anxiety as they're seeing this escalation with these air strikes, with the announcement of a ground incursion in Southern
Lebanon.
And you know they're hearing the Israeli military saying that this is all limited and it's targeted. But when you speak to people, they tell you they
do not believe that, and real fear of what might be coming next, Eleni.
GIOKOS: Thank you so much, Jomana Karadsheh for us. Miri Eisin is a retired IDF Colonel. She's currently with the International Institute for Counter-
Terrorism at Reichman University. Miri, great to have you with us. Thank you so much for joining us on this important day, important time.
I'm sure you've been seeing some of the airstrikes today, Southern Beirut, from what we understand, the IDF is saying they targeted Hezbollah
intelligence headquarters. What is your reaction, your assessment of what you've been seeing in the last 24 hours of the IDF targets in Beirut,
specifically?
MIRI EISIN, SENIOR FELLOW AT INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR COUNTER-TERRORISM AT REICHMAN UNIVERSITY: Specifically, when it comes to Beirut, and my heart
goes out to the Lebanese people, to the people in Beirut. I'm a mother. I have children, and I absolutely think that it must be incredibly scary. And
if you look outside your window, inside Beirut and Dahieh and other places.
Do you see Hezbollah, before you were interviewing somebody else who was talking about everything except for Hezbollah, the weapons, the caches, the
installations, the ATGMs, the cruise missiles. This is Hezbollah, not the Lebanese army. The IDF has been very specific in the targets.
When we say specific in targets, I say sadly, not only would do we try and don't always do enough, in that sense of early warning, many of these
places have been told leave, which is very hard. I can understand people wanting to stay at home, but we're telling them to leave, to save their
lives. This entire thing, Eleni, is not fun, happy or easy. It's a horrible war.
GIOKOS: It is. I mean, it's over 1000 people now that have been killed in Lebanon, and this number is increasing. You were saying that the IDF --
EISIN: -- is not possible --
GIOKOS: -- people to move. Yeah, you absolutely can. Let me just finish this, because I think it will probably speak to what you want to say as
well, over 1000 people have been killed. Importantly, the central Beirut attack, where people were from, what we understand, not warned, and this is
why it was people were caught off guard.
Could you speak to that as well about how these targets are identified and when warnings are not given?
EISIN: The whole targeting process, in that sense, is something that isn't from just these last couple weeks when Israel has gone on the initiative.
I'll remind everybody, Hezbollah has attacked Israel every single day since October 8th. They have fired into Israel over 20,000 rockets.
So, what becomes to be in that and they never early warning, and into civilian areas, and then you go. So why are there no Israeli casualties?
And to a certain degree, Eleni, I feel as if we're being penalized for the fact that we have an air defense system that Israel has invested in heavily
over the years, so that we intersect, we go into safe rooms, we have air sirens.
I really don't think we should be penalized on the Israeli side for that, because Hezbollah has targeted 20,000 rockets into civilian areas in Israel
in the last 11.5 months. Where are those rockets coming from? What is the targeting done? It's the intelligence units of Hezbollah.
It is their information that goes out and totally disrupts everything, telling such lies. But it's mainly the rockets, the missiles, the
headquarters of Hezbollah. They're a non-state actor. I'm going to call them a terror army. They've attacked Israel every single day since October
8th, and as Israel has gone on the initiative, sadly, that's where they embedded themselves, in Beirut, in Southern Lebanon in the Beqaa Valley.
[09:45:00]
And I don't know another way to stop those incoming rockets and UAVs and attacks, and they were planning ground attacks as well. It's harsh, it's
terrible, but let's talk about them.
GIOKOS: So, Miri, I mean, here's the big concern is whether we're on the brink of a regional war. We don't know what that's going to look like. We
don't know what Israel is going to do in retaliation to what Iran did earlier this week with that barrage of ballistic missiles into Israel.
We also know that Israel wants to get the tens of thousands of people that were displaced in Northern Israel back home. Israel and IDF is saying it's
a limited ground incursion. Do you see a broader ground incursion occurring in the next few days, in the next few weeks? How do you see this evolving
and developing?
EISIN: For me, the fact that the IDF is right next to the border, even Hezbollah says so, is to try to get to those Hezbollah terror ground units
that even as we speak right now, what they want to do is kidnap a soldier before they would have wanted to cross into Israel to kidnap civilians or
soldiers, just like Hamas did on October 7th.
And we need to go in there and try both to dismantle, to destroy the weapons that they had. There's an enormous amount of footage from the last
48 hours of the tunneling, subterranean system that those Hezbollah terror fighters built in those villages and towns right next to the border.
So, it's very near the border. This isn't going in to conquer Lebanon. Why do you need in Israel telling people to move away? Because those forces
move around on motorcycles and pickup trucks, and they are mobile, and they go from their tunnels onto the motorcycles and pickup trucks.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
EISIN: And we want to save lives. As I said, it is not easy. It's a harsh war, but what we're going against is against those Hezbollah terror
fighters.
GIOKOS: Miri Eisin, thank you so much for speaking with us today. Good to have you on the show. All right, we're going to a very short break. I'll be
right back after this. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:50:00]
GIOKOS: All right, welcome back. You're watching "Connect the World". We just heard from the U.S. President speaking about a range of topics,
including the escalating crisis in the Middle East. Let's take a listen to what he has to say.
BIDEN: I think we're making progress on that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much progress, sir?
BIDEN: We'll find out soon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What kind of sanctions --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What kind of sanctions are you considering on Iran? What kind of sanctions are you considering?
BIDEN: I'll tell them before I tell you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did Tim Walz lose the debate?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any updates on the hostages -- on the hostages in Gaza, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did Tim Walz lose the debate?
BIDEN: No, he didn't. And by the way, the other guy lost the debate. He misrepresented everything, including -- anyway --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir -- the hostages in Gaza, sir. The hostages in Gaza. Do you have any updates on them?
BIDEN: Not right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- Would you support Israel striking Iran's oil facilities, sir?
BIDEN: We're in discussion with that. I think -- I think that would be a little -- anyway.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you believe that Donald Trump was acting as a private candidate and not as president when he sought to overturn the 2020
election, as Jack Smith laid out in his filing?
BIDEN: I'll let Jack Smith make that case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- response to the retaliation? Will you let Israel retaliate? What are the plans to allow Israel to strike back against Iran?
BIDEN: First of all, we don't allow Israel. We advise Israel. And there's nothing going to happen today. We'll talk about that later.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- G20 and APEC Summits next month. Is it a good chance to sit down with President Putin to discuss international security?
BIDEN: I'm sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: G20 and APEC Summits next month. Is it a good chance to discuss international security and Ukraine with Putin?
BIDEN: I doubt whether Putin will show up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you surprised the race between Harris and Trump is so close right now? Are you surprised?
BIDEN: No, I'm not. It always gets this close. She's going to do fine.
GIOKOS: All right. President Joe Biden there. I want to turn our attention to oil prices, which are climbing amid concerns Israel will target Iran's
refineries or oil fields, disrupting crude supplies. The oil market is watching as the crisis escalates and Israel's war cabinet considers its
response to the largest ever attack from Iran.
I want to check in on the Brent crude price. As you can see, it's up 2.3 percent at just over $75 a barrel, and we've got WTI crude sitting at just
under $72 a barrel. Significant moves in the oil price this week. My next guest says the oil market is more focused on Chinese demand than Middle
East tensions.
Helima Croft is the Global Head of Commodity Strategy at RBC Capital Markets. She joins us now live. Great to see you. Here is big question
everyone wants to know is just how much geopolitical tension has been priced in to oil at this point?
HELIMA CROFT, GLOBAL HEAD OF COMMODITY STRATEGY AT RBC CAPITAL MARKETS: Yeah.
GIOKOS: And can we say that it's reflective of potential escalation in the region?
CROFT: So, I would certainly say before we had the Iranian rockets proud of Israel, the market was more focused on Chinese demand. I think since that
rocket attack, it's very fair to say, everyone is very closely watching to see what a potential supply disruption in the Middle East might look like.
And as you mentioned, the focus is on. Now a potential Israeli strike on Iranian energy facilities as part of an effort to basically defund Iran's
ability to finance groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.
[09:55:00]
And so, the question is, do we see a major Israeli attack on those facilities? What would Iran's response mechanism look like in 2019, the
Iranians did target regional energy infrastructure, hitting pipelines, tankers and Saudi Arabia's advocate facility. So, market participants are
now very closely watching what is happening in the Middle East.
GIOKOS: Yeah, it's a really good point, right? Because we just don't know whether we're going to see the supply disruptions. The other end of the
spectrum here is that because OPEC+ has, of course, cut back supply that you know, the market is ready to pump in more supply.
Should there be any kind of disruption? Could you play out the probabilities that we could see in the next few weeks? I mean, what U.S.
President Joe Biden doesn't want to see is higher prices, higher gas prices, which, of course, could impact U.S. elections, although the
electorates in a big way.
CROFT: So, I think that Biden Administration has been very, very focused on trying to keep the oil market well supply. I mean, think about the Russian
invasion of Ukraine.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
CROFT: The U.S. released millions of barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. I am sure they are on the phone right now to Saudi Arabia, trying
to get the Saudis to pledge, in the event of a supply disruption, they will backfill that disruption. Now, as you mentioned, there is an OPEC
agreement, now the collective cuts extend through the end of 2025.
The real question would be, would Saudi Arabia, which has taken an additional million barrels off the market with a voluntary cut, if you had
a supply disruption, would they face those barrels in. I think OPEC will be cautious about doing anything that upends a collective agreement, but there
is certainly spare capacity. It is not impacted by that collective cut, which could be brought to bear in the event of a supply disruption.
GIOKOS: So, the other big issue is, you know, we don't know if this is sort of characterized as a full out regional war, and we know that, of course,
this is the most important oil producing part of the world, supply demand scenarios are going to be important as well.
If this is something prolonged, and we do see a further escalation, what kind of targets are you expecting on the oil price? What are you guys'
forecasting?
CROFT: Again, I think it really matters. Do we see an extended disruption? I mean, certainly if you have Iranian facilities hit in the next 48, 72
hours, I think you'll see a significant, potentially $10 or higher dump and oil prices. But the question is, will that be sustained? Will it go higher?
I think that will all depend on what is hit. What is the Iranian response? And again, I would look to what we saw in 2019 where the Iranians did hit
tankers off the coast of UAE. They did hit critical pipelines at the East West pipeline, and they did hit Saudi Arabia's advocate facility, causing
Saudi Arabia to temporarily shut down half of their production.
Now Iran has and Saudi has normalized relations since March of 2023. So perhaps Iran would not want to target Saudi Arabia this time around, but
there are also other facilities in the region that could be targeted in the event of a full-scale war scenario. And we couldn't rule out, for example,
that Iraq's oil facilities could be potentially targeted.
We do have Iranian backed militias in Iraq. So, there's a lot of regional energy infrastructure that will be paying very close attention to.
GIOKOS: All right, Helima Croft, thank you so much for joining us and breaking down those potential scenarios. Good to have you on. Right, we're
going to very short break. We'll be right back with more breaking news right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
