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Isa Soares Tonight
Trump and Harris Hit the Campaign Trail; Israeli Military Hits Hezbollah Launchers and Weapons Storage; Northern Israeli Ghost Towns; Germany's Tougher Border Controls. Middle East Teeters on All-Out War As Tensions Escalate Even Further; U.S. Calls for Restraint Between Israel and Hezbollah As Diplomatic Efforts Hang By a Thread; Many Desert Border Towns Between Israel and Lebanon as Tensions Continue to Rise. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired September 19, 2024 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, the Middle East teeters on all-out war,
tensions escalating even further as Hezbollah's leader says, Israel has crossed all red lines, and Israel vows Hezbollah will pay an increasing
price.
Plus, the U.S. calls for restraint as diplomatic efforts hang by a thread. We'll be joined by the Lebanese ambassador to the U.K. And we take you to
deserted border towns left lifeless by tensions between Israel and Lebanon as communities scarred by war count the cost.
But first, tonight, escalation, fury and tensions in the Middle East as the region edges closer to the brink of full-blown war. Hezbollah leader Hassan
Nasrallah is accusing Israel of crossing, quote, "all the red lines", calling two days of unprecedented attacks across Lebanon, massacres.
He gave a televised address earlier today, threatening retaliation, and vowed that Hezbollah will not stop hostilities with Israel until the war in
Gaza ends. Well as Nasrallah spoke, Israeli warplanes as you can see there, broke the sound barrier over Beirut, shaking up residents already as you
can imagine, on edge.
The IDF says it's striking new Hezbollah targets in Lebanon today without disclosing those locations. It's also suggesting that further escalation
could be coming. Israel released this video you're looking at, saying a top commander has approved plans for the northern area.
And we've just learned that security consultations involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are underway right now at Israel's military
headquarters. The Israeli Defense Minister issued this morning. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YOAV GALLANT, DEFENSE MINISTER, ISRAEL (through translator): As time goes by, Hezbollah will pay an increasing price in the new phase of the war,
plus significant opportunities and also significant risks. Hezbollah feels that it's being persecuted, and the sequence of military actions will
continue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Very dangerous moment indeed. Let's get more now from our Ben Wedeman in Beirut, our Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv. Ben, to you first, I
mean, we heard pretty defiant Nasrallah who acknowledged that Hezbollah took a hit, but warned that a reckoning will come. Just your assessment,
Ben, of what we heard and what may be coming here.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was interesting that he did -- Nasrallah did in his speech today, concede that
the state of pager and walkie-talkie blasts was unprecedented and major blow to the organization, not just in terms of personnel, but also in terms
of security.
Clearly, its reputation for being a tightly-run ship where security is a top concern has taken quite a beating in addition to its -- hundreds of its
personnel who have been wounded as a result of these attacks. But what was interesting, I think, was that he wasn't quite as emphatic as we've seen
him in the past when it comes to talking about revenge back onto the 30th of July when Israel killed a senior Hezbollah military commander in the
south of Beirut.
Nasrallah made several speeches where he emphasized that a response, a revenge was coming, there was nothing conditional about it. This time, he
essentially said that a reckoning will happen at a time and a place of our choosing, which is far less sort of threatening than one would expect.
And just looking at the body language, he looked tired, he looked concerned. Normally, when Nasrallah gives a speech, there's perhaps a
chuckle, a joke along the way. He looked tired, he looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep and there weren't any light moments during this speech.
So, clearly, the group is very concerned that their security, their communications have been seriously compromised. Isa.
[14:05:00]
SOARES: And Jeremy, to you, we have seen today, we just mentioned that the Israeli military saying it's striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. We've
also just heard that security consultations with Gallant and Netanyahu, other top officials underway. What more can you tell us about the plans
underway? And the public mood in Israel to this new front, potentially opening up in a wider conflict here.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's no question that this is once again a moment where the tensions have risen, where
these two parties that have exchanged fire for nearly a year now across that border, but mostly contain --
SOARES: Tell Ben --
DIAMOND: To the southern part of Lebanon and the northern part of Israel. There's no question that this is once again a moment where many Israelis
are fearing that this conflict could escalate into all-out war. People calling their relatives in the north to see whether or not it is time for
them to move south for those who have not done so already.
We are also watching military movements by the Israeli military, the 98th division, which has been a key fighting force in Gaza, being redirected
away from that front and towards the northern front as the Israeli Defense Minister repeatedly now talking about the war entering a new phase as the
Israeli security cabinet adds the goal of returning those 60,000 displaced Israelis from the northern part of Israel to allow them to return back to
their homes.
There's no question that the military preparations are being made for that all-out war. But as Ben was pointing out, they are -- what we didn't hear
from Hassan Nasrallah today was the kind of escalatory rhetoric that would indicate that an all-out war is in the offing. And for now, the
preparations on the Israeli side, yes, they are significant, but they are still short of what you might see in the event of a movement towards all-
out war.
The call-out -- call up of tens of thousands of additional reservists then being sent to the northern front, that hasn't happened yet. And so, we are
certainly seeing quite bellicose rhetoric on both sides as Nasrallah vows retaliation as the Israelis talk about a new era in this war, the center of
gravity in this war moving north.
But we are also seeing the opportunity once again as we have in the past for these tensions that are soaring sky-high without a doubt, to once again
de-escalate and for things to effectively remain where they have been, and that is to say, that there has been a steady increase in the kind of nature
of the attacks on either side.
But for now, both sides seem incline to try and avoid all-out war, although, it's certainly -- that possibility is still very much in the air
tonight. Isa.
SOARES: Let me go back to Ben in Lebanon, in Beirut. And Ben, I know in the last 48 hours or so, you have been speaking to some of those civilians
who have been injured by these two days of electronic attacks, some of them have really, truly grim injuries, life-changing injuries. Give us a sense
of what you have been hearing from doctors on the ground there.
WEDEMAN: Yes, I mean, what we're talking about is hundreds, perhaps thousands of people severely injured in these blasts. And what's
significant, Isa, is that these are not blasts, these are not injuries sustained in a war zone near the border. These are injuries that happened
in Beirut, in cities to the north of Beirut.
And therefore, they really have shaken people up. Also given that, you know, there are people who have been injured while, you know, driving their
scooters down the street. And that it's -- so, this kind of attack poses a threat to completely innocent bystanders -- now, bystanders.
Now, we were today outside yet again the American University of Beirut Medical Center where I had the opportunity again to speak to Dr. Ghassan
Abu-Sittah; this is surgeon who I've done reports with in Gaza on the injured there, he has treated the injured from Yemen, Iraq, Syria, this is
a man preeminent in the field of restorative surgery from wars.
And he described outside the hospital the kind of injuries he's having to deal with now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GHASSAN ABU-SITTAH, BRITISH-PALESTINIAN SURGEON: So, the injuries are always identical. It's a blast to the hand, with a mangled hand, and then
an explosion to the face and to the eyes because people got the message, they picked up the pager, they looked at it and it exploded in their face.
And so, we have facial injuries, we have penetrating injuries to the eyes and the globe, and we have amputations and a mangled hand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:10:00]
WEDEMAN: And of course, the worry is, you know, there were these attacks, hundreds of attacks with thousands of people injured on Tuesday, hundreds
more on Wednesday, the death toll at this point is 37. Most of them were people in some way affiliated with Hezbollah, but there are also children,
including an eight-year-old girl who had just come back from her first day in fourth grade.
So, this is really having, you know, an impact far beyond the people, the fighters, the combatants. This is psychologically having a huge impact for
people far away from the conflict zone. And look, concern is, what is the next surprise if you want to call it that coming --
SOARES: Yes --
WEDEMAN: From Israel.
SOARES: Indeed, Ben Wedeman --
WEDEMAN: Isa?
SOARES: And our Jeremy Diamond for us there. Thank you very much indeed. Well, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is calling for restraint
and urging any escalatory actions in the Middle East. The EU Foreign Policy chief meanwhile condemned the attacks, saying whoever is behind them aimed
-- is aimed to spread terror in Lebanon.
And U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeting this as you can see, "this attack clearly unequivocally violates international humanitarian
law and undermines U.S. efforts to prevent a wider conflict." With me now to discuss is Ambassador of Lebanon to the United Kingdom, Rami Mortada.
Ambassador, thank you very much for joining us on the show. You heard both our correspondents there. I want to start off by getting a sense from you
of really just the panic and the fear right now in Lebanon. Give us a sense of what you're hearing from families, loved ones, civilians.
RAMI MORTADA, AMBASSADOR OF LEBANON TO THE UNITED KINGDOM: Cleary, this is overwhelming and devastating attack that did not exclusively target
Hezbollah. Proof is that the -- among the casualties are just ordinary civilians and children and just ordinary people not associated with
Hezbollah. There's no doubt that this attack amounts to a war crime as attested by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
When you launch, detonate devices in a civilian medium, while not having prior knowledge of who is in possession of these devices or what's in their
vicinity and surrounding, this is simultaneous and then discriminate targeting of civilians, and that amounts to war crimes. So, you can imagine
the state of disarray, mainly the first few hours --
SOARES: Yes --
MORTADA: And the large number of casualties and the state of chaos on the streets. Our medical teams played a commendable role in addressing the
challenges. That was a major challenge for that -- Lebanon had to -- had to go through. And there's nothing less in describing such an act than state-
sponsored terrorism.
SOARES: The Israelis have made it clear that they want to bring their 60,000 civilians back home, you heard what our correspondent was saying
there, saying that a new era of war now was beginning. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant saying in the last 24 hours, ambassador, you heard the center
of gravity is moving north, referencing of course, the Lebanese border.
I mean, is this the moment that people are feared? How do you see this playing out? Are we at the precipice of a war here?
MORTADA: So, the question here is, does this horrendous act bring their civilians, their 60,000 civilians closer home or farther home.
SOARES: And what does -- does it bring them closer? Does the strategy --
MORTADA: It definitely does not. Definitely does not. They've tried before through successive wars and successive coercion campaigns against Lebanon,
and that simply did not help. This time, we were hoping that at least, through American facilitation, we can manage to find a de-escalation
scheme, which would address the concerns.
And American facilitators had already started working on it, and it was waiting for a conducive moment for it to be concluded. This act, I think
aims at sabotaging these efforts, but most importantly, and I think that's pretty worrying, such an act aims at sabotaging the U.S. efforts on the
ceasefire in Gaza.
SOARES: Are you saying Netanyahu is purposely doing this?
MORTADA: I think so --
SOARES: To scatter -- to scatter any hostage and ceasefire deal --
MORTADA: I think so --
SOARES: In Gaza.
MORTADA: Because when you have the Secretary of State, Secretary Blinken in the region, when you have a President's envoy Amos Hochstein in Israel
itself, and yet, you do this full blown terrorist act against a country, it means that you're trying to divert attention why all eyes were focused, all
efforts were focused on the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza. So, I think the U.S. has something to worry about in terms of Israeli behavior.
[14:15:00]
SOARES: Let's listen from it -- to Antony Blinken who was in Paris today as you know, ambassador, the U.S. Secretary of State. Let's listen to what
he had to say. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE, UNITED STATES: France and the United States are united in commentary restraint, and urging de-escalation when it
comes to the Middle East in general, and when it comes to Lebanon in particular. We continue to work to get a ceasefire for Gaza over the finish
line.
And as we discussed with some of you just a day ago, in Egypt, we believe that remains both possible and necessary. But meanwhile, we don't want to
see any escalatory actions by any party that make that even more difficult.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: What do you make, ambassador, of what he said? Did you think the language went far enough? Do you think we have seen the limits of American
influence vis-a-vis, Netanyahu?
MORTADA: It's clear, that his -- well, I don't speak, of course, for the American side, but it's clear that they see this act as thwarting their
efforts, which have been going through very decisive hours or days. And then suddenly, Israel does such an act. It's clear --
SOARES: Frustration on their side, perhaps --
MORTADA: I think we all -- we're all -- we're all hostage to Mr. Netanyahu's uncertain political future. He has an interest in keeping his
country in a continual state of war, and why not try and open new frontiers and new conflicts with other players --
SOARES: Yes --
MORTADA: Lebanon, Hezbollah, possibly Iran or others, that would widen the scope, he would continue kicking the can forward, hoping that he can get
away with the -- with his dwindling legacy.
SOARES: And we've heard -- speaking of Iran, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards has told Hezbollah leader, I'm just going to quote him
here, Ambassador, Israel will soon face a crushing response. If we are seeing the beginning of a wider war here, of escalation, how is Lebanon
preparing for whatever is coming here?
You heard our correspondent on the ground saying that there's this new front, that they're moving troops to the north. How is Lebanon preparing
for this?
MORTADA: It's no secret that we've been heavily mobilized for a year now, trying to avoid going into an all-out war. The country, the Lebanese
government does not want this war, and that's why we've been extensively engaged with the U.S. to try to broker this arrangement I spoke about,
aiming at putting this resolution 1701 which governs the situation in south Lebanon on the table.
And then addressing the different tracks of this -- of this resolution. As long as such an exercise is symmetrical and whatever applies to us, applies
to the Israelis, it was fine for us, and it needed to wait until a conducive --
SOARES: Yes --
MORTADA: Regional moment, mainly the ceasefire in Gaza which would unlock all the potential --
SOARES: That's at the heart of that --
MORTADA: For the escalation. And that's what Mr. Netanyahu is trying to sabotage.
SOARES: It feels ambassador, pretty hopeless at the moment. Is that your sense right now, or you're still hoping that unites -- the United States
has enough leverage and can influence Netanyahu or whatever in trying to stop any sort of escalatory action here?
MORTADA: Well, we shouldn't lose hope. The United States remains a super power, it remains the most magnificent global force militarily and
economically, and it has levers on Israel that should be used.
SOARES: Have, should, but hasn't pulled.
MORTADA: I don't think they have been used in their entirety, but there are always more efforts to be -- to be -- to be deployed, because what's at
stake here is regional security.
SOARES: Yes --
MORTADA: What's at stake here is civilian lives that are being depleted. So, it's of utmost importance that all efforts converge in order to reach
the ceasefire in Gaza, and that could open many dynamics --
SOARES: Yes --
MORTADA: For de-escalation in Lebanon and elsewhere --
SOARES: And elsewhere. Let's hope so that's the case. Ambassador, thank you very much --
MORTADA: Thank you so much --
SOARES: Coming in, appreciate it --
MORTADA: Thank you for having me, thank you.
SOARES: Well, tensions between the U.S. and Israel have been heating up to a slow boil for months now, and they're increasingly coming to the surface.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken notably did not schedule a stop in Israel while visiting the Middle East this week.
[14:20:00]
He was in Cairo, his first trip to the region that did not involve Israel since October the 7th. And next week, all eyes will be on New York for the
United Nations General Assembly. An Israeli source familiar with the matter says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not be meeting with
U.S. President Joe Biden during his visit.
So, lots of strands for us to get into. I want to bring in CNN's chief U.S. security analyst Jim Sciutto who joins us now live from New York. And Jim,
I mean, at the moment it does seem like the drums of war are drowning out any sort of diplomacy, although the ambassador I just spoke to seems pretty
-- still hopeful here. What more do the U.S. Secretary of State had to say at this juncture which feels very dangerous indeed?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY ANALYST: It does for sure. Listen, for months now, we've been in a space where each side of this conflict,
Israel and the many fronts it's facing, right from Hezbollah in the north, Gaza in -- Hamas in Gaza but also Iran to the east, each side has been
testing its red line.
You look at, for instance, the Iranian missile and drone attack in April, the response from -- the response from Israel, the killing for instance of
Haniyeh on Iranian soil, this northern exchange of fire that's been going on for months now, really longer than that, frankly, between Hezbollah and
Israel as well as attacks back and forth and Israeli operations against Hezbollah leaders.
And at each juncture, the U.S. has been trying to counsel, pressure, signal both sides to attempt to calm things down, right? It's not equal pressure,
of course, Israel is America's ally, the U.S. will frequently say that it will come to Israel's defense and Israel has the right to defend itself.
But it has counseled Israeli leaders not to escalate or at least not to escalate too far while putting an enormous show of force in the region in
military terms.
Ships and submarines, et cetera, to signal that the U.S. would defend Israel and possibly strike targets against Hezbollah, Iran, elsewhere if
necessary to defend it. So, you have that dual pressure, but again, each side seeming to ramp things up. And it's hard to see this Israeli attack on
Hezbollah, whether you think it's a strategic success or not, as anything other than an escalation.
So, it's -- listen, each side is testing U.S. pressure and U.S. influence in the region.
SOARES: That is clearly what we have seen. We have been seeing for months, it certainly ratcheted it up in the last --
SCIUTTO: Yes --
SOARES: Forty eight hours. Jim, appreciate, Jim will be back for a show in about 40 --
SCIUTTO: Yes --
SOARES: Minutes or so. Thank you, Jim --
SCIUTTO: And one more point, Isa, I would just say --
SOARES: Go ahead --
SCIUTTO: When you look at the U.S. and Israel, of course they're allies in this, and the U.S. continues to defend Israel. But on key issues in this
conflict in recent months, they've been in disagreement. One of those is on the attention to civilian casualties in Gaza, the U.S. has repeatedly been
urging greater care, the President has said as much publicly, while those civilian casualties in Gaza continue to mount.
And on this peace agreement or ceasefire agreement in Gaza hostage exchange, the U.S. has been devoting enormous resources to get a deal
across the finish line. And while it does, assigned -- blamed Hamas, it also is in disagreement with Israel, it seems on Israel demands about
maintaining a military presence in Gaza.
So, even with its ally, the U.S. has had key and quite public differences in the midst of this, which raised questions about the level of U.S.
influence --
SOARES: Yes, and the frustration -- I remember the U.S. asking for a plan for after the war in Gaza, which I don't --
SCIUTTO: Yes --
SOARES: Think the U.S. ever got. Jim, appreciate it, thank you very much - -
SCIUTTO: Thank you --
SOARES: Indeed. And still to come tonight, new polling numbers are out in the U.S. presidential race that is still too close to call. We'll show you
what the polls are saying in the aftermath of the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. That is next. You are watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:25:00]
SOARES: Well, there are just 47 days left before the U.S. presidential election. A new polling indicates the race remains extremely tight. A poll
from the "New York Times", "Philadelphia Inquirer" and Sienna College shows as you can see there, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump remain in a
statistical dead-heat nationally.
The new numbers do show that the Vice President holds a slight lead in the critical state of Pennsylvania. Both candidates are back on the campaign
trail today, Harris will be joined by Oprah Winfrey at an event in Detroit, that will be live-streamed. Trump is appearing with mega donor Miriam
Adelson and speaking at an event called Fighting Anti-Semitism in America.
We're joined by CNN's Eva McKend and Alayna Treene with more on the campaigns. Eva, to you, first the music -- first the music. Vice President
clearly there placing a focus on the swing state of Michigan. Just talk us through what we can expect from this virtual event.
EVA MCKEND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is another example of how the campaign is trying to be innovative, in terms of how
they reach voters. Instead of sort of the headache of pulling off the logistics of an event that involves Oprah and all of the interest that you
would have.
Now, you can do watch parties across the country and get more and more people engaged and to physically donate while the event is ongoing. So,
that seems to be part of the strategy here. They're also partnering with women, black women, they of course, on organization that held one of those
early Zoom calls immediately after the shake-up on the Democratic ticket happened where they raised $1.5 million in about three hours.
More than 90,000 black women from across the country tuned in, and what you saw is that black women who have long being the backbone of the Democratic
Party really feel engaged and represented at the highest levels. So, all of those things are what they are trying to leverage tonight in this event
with Oprah in the battleground state of Michigan.
SOARES: And meantime, Alayna, how is the Trump camp, I wonder, just responding to the polls that we just showed viewers that looks like they're
both in dead-heat. What are they saying and what are we likely to see today from the former President?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, it's funny, Isa, because whenever you ask Donald Trump himself about polls, he often will only note to polls or
mention polls, you see this at his rallies a lot when he thinks that they're good for him. It's a similar strategy when you talk to his campaign
advisors, they say, look, polls don't mean a lot.
And I will say to their point, is that a lot of the polls that we've been tracking all the entire election cycle now have showed, first, former
President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden. But now Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris as being very close. There really
hasn't been a lot of change overall when you look at national polls about how tight this race is going to be.
However, they do acknowledge that Harris is in -- far closer in a lot of these states than Joe Biden was. And that's why you're seeing Donald Trump
really change some of their campaign strategizing around this. Now, one key thing they note is the importance of Pennsylvania. We have been saying on
this network for months now, but it is so clear how key Pennsylvania is to this race.
A lot of people say that, you know, you have to win at least four of the seven major battlegrounds in order to win the election. However, that does
change when it comes to Pennsylvania and maybe some of the southern states. I know that Donald Trump's team recognizes that.
Unlike Joe Biden, Kamala Harris is actually more competitive in places like Georgia and North Carolina. You're seeing the Trump campaign pour a lot
more resources into North Carolina than they have in the past. That's because they recognize they really need to throw everything they can at all
of these states because Kamala Harris is much more appealing to voters now than perhaps, you know, Joe Biden was when he was running before.
And so, that's weighing very heavily on their minds, particularly that we're only 47 days now away to November 5th.
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Alayna and Eva, thank you very much, ladies. Appreciate it.
And still to come tonight, CNN explores the deserted, water torn ghost towns of Northern Israel as tensions soar with Hezbollah. We'll bring you
that report, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Breaking news coming out of Lebanon for you. The Israeli military has been saying that, just in the last few minutes, in fact, that it struck
dozens of Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon. Reports the air force hit some 30 launchers and terrorist infrastructure sites, that is according --
containing more, pardon, than a hundred launcher barrels. The Israeli serial attack also hit a weapons storage facility.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, said that it attacked several military sites in Northern Israel with rockets and drones throughout the day on Thursday. And
all this comes, as you heard our correspondent at the top of the show, Jeremy Diamond, saying the security consultations are underway right now at
Israeli military headquarters involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Yoav Gallant, as well as top officials. Because Israel has
declared a new phase in the war, this is their words, basically shifting resources to the northern front and then striking new Hezbollah targets in
Lebanon.
In Beirut, meanwhile, we heard today Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, giving his first remarks since the unprecedented attacks across Lebanon
that turned, of course, pages and walkie-talkies over the past 48 hours into makeshift bombs. At least 37 people were killed over two days, dozens
of others were injured. Nasrallah says Israel crossed all the red lines, and he has been vowing, and he has vowed today, retaliation.
[14:35:00]
Let's get more perspective, in fact, from the region. Michael Young is in Beirut, he's a senior editor with the Carnegie Middle East Center, an
author of "The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon's Life Struggle." Good to see you, Michael.
Let me just get your reaction, first of all, to the breaking news, which is brought our viewers, I hope you heard, that Israeli military says it hit
Hezbollah launchers and weapons storage in Southern Lebanon. How do you see this moment right now?
MICHAEL YOUNG, SENIOR EDITOR, CARNEGIE MIDDLE EAST CENTER: Well, I mean, it's nothing here is really unexpected. I think that from the moment that
the Israelis said they would be shifting their attention to the northern border, we knew there would be an escalation. And I don't find what the
news today particularly surprising.
But I have found interesting is that in the last 48 hours, they use this method of you know, the exploding pagers or the walkie-talkies. This was a
bit out of the ordinary and it suggests to me possibly that, in fact, the Israelis are looking for a way to raise the pressure on Hezbollah without
necessarily going to essentially a major military operation in Lebanon. I mean, I think this maybe -- we should be thinking in terms of whether this
is an alternative, at least in the immediate term to a major military operation, which will not actually bring the Israelis results they want.
SOARES: So, Michael, just to clarify, raise the pressure to bring them to any sort of deal, raise the pressure to work as a deterrent? Just flesh
that out for us a bit more.
YOUNG: Yes, absolutely. I mean, in other words, the Israelis always said that once they, more or less, completed the Gaza campaign, what they would
try to do then is put pressure on Hezbollah to try to work out new security arrangements on the (INAUDIBLE). I think that we're in that phase today.
And so, yes, I still think we should think in terms of a negotiated solution. Everyone is talking about war. A war may happen. I'm not saying
it won't happen, but I'm not convinced, at this point, that Netanyahu really wants a war. So, they're raising the pressure on Hezbollah perhaps
for -- to try to get what they want through negotiations mediated by the Americans.
SOARES: Let's talk about Hezbollah, because we did hear from Nasrallah today, a defiant speech. I heard our correspondent Ben Wedeman saying that
he seemed quite tired. Just your assessment of what you heard or what you saw. I mean, he sounded defiant and he did acknowledge, Michael, that they
took a bit of a hit, right. But what can we glean from his speech in terms of a response here?
YOUNG: Look, I mean, he did what the only thing he could really do, which was, first of all, reassure the party faithful, because, you know, there is
a bit -- of course, what has happened in the last 48 hours hs destabilized Hezbollah. So, he had to reassure them. That's number one.
He had to promise retaliation, although, he could not really specify when and how it would -- made the retaliation, he had to do that. But this also
bought him time, because, of course, no one expected Nasrallah to find a retaliatory strategy (INAUDIBLE).
And the third thing he did was basically say, our strategy is continuing unchanged. In other words, we will continue to defend -- to help the Gaza
front, our allies in Gaza. So, I don't think he could do anything differently than that. It was defiant, but it was rhetorically defiant. But
at the end of the day, what he did was not essentially out of the ordinary, shall I say.
SOARES: So, you don't think, Michael, that -- I mean, clearly, the attacks on the walkie-talkies that we've seen and the pagers, and the scale of the
attack clearly hit Hezbollah's confidence, communication, command chain, that we've been seeing for the past 48 hours, but do you think it will
respond? Do you think it has to respond in some way just to save face here?
YOUNG: No, I think it will respond. But you see, the problem is the response -- a response to this kind of attack cannot -- you cannot simply
respond by firing rockets at an Israeli military base. You have to respond in kind. Otherwise, the disparity between Hezbollah and the Israelis will
become only more evident.
And it's not going to take place within 48 or 72 hours, I think, at this point, Hezbollah has to respond, but in a way that is commensurate with
what happened to them. And this will take time. So, I think that's -- it's very important to understand that in the deterrence game between Hezbollah
and Israel, you know, there is a certain element of balance between what the Israelis do and how Hezbollah responds or vice versa.
[14:40:00]
Because at this point, what the Israelis have shown is that they can escalate further than Hezbollah can retaliate. And I think Hezbollah is
beginning to feel that it's losing the ground in the deterrence dialogue, if we can call it, between the two sides.
SOARES: Yes, the tit for tat then continues, and the fear, of course, that this becomes a wider conflict. Michael, always great to get your analysis.
Good to see you. Michael Young there. Appreciate it.
Well, in Northern Israel, communities scarred by war have turned into ghost towns. In Kiryat Shmona, streets are deserted, schools are empty, and most
businesses, well, they're closed. Nic Robertson visited the largely lifeless city amidst spiking tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): A ghost town close to the Lebanese border, Kiryat Shmona, a shadow of its former
self, most of its 25,000 residents evacuated last October. Silence and weeds where once there were people.
ROBERTSON: Almost all of the stores here are shut and frozen in time now for close to a year and it feels as full-on as some of the few people who
stay behind sound.
NISAN ZEEVI, JVP IMPACT DIRECTOR INVESTMENT: So, now, everything is empty after --
ROBERTSON: Empty offices.
ZEEVI: -- empty offices, empty labs. Before October 7th, we have had here in the upper Galilee, 72 startups.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): From fungal plastics, the fake eggs, the EV sourced hundreds of millions of investment dollars for Israel's up and
coming high-tech hub in the north.
ZEEVI: It's a very sad feeling, because in each one of these offices, there were people, entrepreneurs from all over Israel that came here to
build the next big thing in agrotech, in foodtech, in climatetech.
Welcome to my humble house, humble place.
ROBERTSON: So, on this side, a beautiful view of Mount Hermon and on this side, Hezbollah.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): When we last met Zeevi nine months ago, he was hopeful his evacuated family and his old life would be back soon. Fast
forward to now it's a distant memory.
ZEEVI: We thought that we living the dream, building startups, not in Tel Aviv and living in a small shoe box but living here in the Galilee -- at
the Galilee.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): A new reality is setting in getting his family back the dream and the startups --
ZEEVI: It is going to be a challenge, challenging time. I think we went back like 30 years.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): So too David Azuli, mayor of nearby front line town, Metula, much more optimistic when we met him in January. Now ground
down by Hezbollah's incessant attacks and the government's failure to stop them.
DAVID AZULI, METULA, ISRAEL MAYOR (through translator): Things got a lot worse. Almost half the houses in Metula are damaged. The government has
forgotten about us. The prime minister only cares about his own political survival.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Not helping the mood Hezbollah's attacks have been spiking lately and despite the minister of defense promise to get families
home by the beginning of September, the IDF's response falling short of everyone's expectations here.
ROBERTSON: Was it burning when you arrived?
RON MOISESKO, ARMY RESERVIST: Yes, it was always burning the trees. There's a school over there, right over there, that's got some (INAUDIBLE)
as well.
ROBERTSON: The school was hit as well?
MOISESKO: Yes, the school was hit as well.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Even soldiers like Moisesko, who is from Kiryat Shmona, there is frustration.
MOISESKO: It's tiring to wait that long. The war is endless. We need to do something, maybe in a more aggressive way or in a peaceful way just need to
do something.
ZEEVI: Eventually we are the one that paying the price. We'd like -- just like a player on a chess. Now we want to come back home.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Not down, not out, but flagging.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Kiryat Shmona, Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: And still to come tonight, Germany will toughen up its borders with its European Union partners. Why they're imposing greater
restrictions, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:00]
SOARES: Well, Northern Italy is dealing with devastating floods across the region. People living on the ground floors near the river have been ordered
to evacuate after the flooding broke through its banks. According to an Italian official, over a dozen rivers could top their embankments. The
weather is all part, of course, of the storm system that slams central Europe this past week. You can see the images there over the Senio River in
Italy. That is Italy.
In Hungary, the Danube River, water levels are expected to double in the next few days. Budapest's mayor warned the city is facing its biggest flood
risk in 10 years.
Now, Germany is tightening its land borders as part of a crackdown on migration. This has angered some of its neighbors who say this goes against
the principle of free movement in the E.U. Schengen zone. It's part of a major pushback by Berlin, which previously welcomed migrants, as you know.
Last month, Germany deported 28 Afghans on a flight to Kabul. An interior ministry spokesperson said they were all convicted criminals.
Our Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen has the very latest for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Cars lining up at a border crossing where they normally breeze through. But
Germany has brought back document and vehicle checks, not just here in Frankfurt an der Oder at the border with Poland, but at all of its borders
with E.U. countries.
Officer Tom Knie (ph) says they regularly find people trying to enter Germany illegally.
It's daily business here that people don't meet the entry requirements for Germany, he says, and perhaps even for the Schengen area, and then have to
be subjected to further police measures.
Germany's problem, many people from around the world continue to flee to Europe and many of them want to come to Germany, even though they should
register in the countries where they first crossed into E.U. territory.
But those countries, Berlin says, aren't doing enough to stop migrants from moving on to Germany.
PLEITGEN: The new border checks are extremely controversial with other European union member states. The Germans are saying they absolutely needs
to do this to stop the threat of terrorism, but also illegal migration. Other European countries, though, say that this destroys the very essence
of a unified Europe.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The wave of mass migration to Germany started in 2015. Millions of people fleeing the wars in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan
crossed into the E.U., welcomed by then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who boasted that Germany would manage the huge influx of people from
abroad. But after nine years, many Germans are saying, enough. Following a string of attacks carried out by former asylum seekers, leaving several
people dead.
[14:50:00]
Voters are flocking to the right-wing Alternative for Germany Party, AFD, that promises to stop migration and start mass deportations of migrants.
Severely sliding in the polls, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz now says he's getting tough.
We will utilize all possibilities to carry out entry refusals within the framework of the law, he says, and we've put a concept for effective entry
refusal on the table, where we are prepared to do this with the opposition.
While the right-wing anti-migration Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban gleefully posted on X, quote, "Germany has decided to impose strict border
controls to stop illegal migration. Bundestag Chancellor Scholz, welcome to the club.
Other European leaders have vowed to combat Germany's new border regime.
This type of action is unacceptable from the Polish point of view, Poland's prime minister said. After all, I have no doubt that it is the internal
political situation in Germany which is causing these steps to be implemented and not our policy towards illegal immigration on our borders.
And some migration experts believe Germany is not only putting itself at odds with the E.U., but that these checks will do little to stop illegal
border crossings.
DR. RAPHAEL BOSSONG, GERMAN INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AND SECURITY AFFAIRS: I don't think the effect is going to be dramatic. I mean, it's
mostly a political signal now to show, obviously, that the government is doing something and also to other European countries that they should
shoulder a larger part of the responsibility.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Whether or not the measures work, they're already having a big political effect in Europe, putting the E.U.'s unity to the
test.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Frankfurt an der Oder, Germany.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Important piece there from our Fred Pleitgen, staying in Europe on the subject of migrants. Coming up on My Book Club is Aamna Mohdin. She is
the author of "Scattered: The Making and Unmaking of a Refugee." Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AAMNA MOHDIN, AUTHOR, "SCATTERED ": There's a specific bit in the book where all of the reporters are removed, because they're white and assumed
to be reporters, but I was left behind as they were rounding people up. And there was a real big question of, why do I get to be there as a reporter
with my British passport in my pocket, while there were other Somali refugees there, you know, fleeing the same war as I did? So, that started
me more of a personal journey of really quite confronting some of the things that happened to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Fascinating book and young lady. Don't miss the full interview airing right here on the show on Friday.
And still to come tonight, blink and you will miss it. We'll take a look at the highlights from a photography contest where the images, well, they're
truly very tiny. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:55:00]
SOARES: And finally, tonight, when art meets science, take a look at these microscopic images. These are some of Nikon's top picks from this year's
Small World in Motion contest. From the cells of a butterfly wing, a zebrafish spinal cord, and even a tiny octopus' embryo. The entries are
judged on originality, technical proficiency, as well as visual impact. Of course, for the first place, winner getting a $5,000 price. Absolutely
stunning images to see up close.
That does it for us for this evening. A very busy hour indeed. Do stay right here. Newsroom with Jim Sciutto is up next. I shall see you tomorrow.
Have a wonderful evening. Bye-bye.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
