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Isa Soares Tonight
Israel: Lebanon Operation To Continue With "Full Force"; Biden And World Leaders Gather At United Nations General Assembly In New York; U.N. Secretary General Warns The World "Cannot Afford" For Lebanon To Become "Another Gaza"; No Clear Leader Between Harris And Trump; Middle East Military Analysis; Israel Unleashes New Wave Of Airstrikes In Lebanon; President Roberta Metsola Speaks To CNN; Zelenskyy In The U.S. To Present "Victory Plan"; Jordan's King Abdullah: U.N. Is "Under Attack"; Instagram Rolls Out Teen Restrictions. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired September 24, 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, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, Lebanon is reeling after another day of
Israeli strikes. More than 500 people have died, thousands more are injured. Israel says its operations there will continue at full force.
Then world leaders gathering at the United Nations headquarters this hour, are reacting to the deadly developments in the Middle East, we'll bring you
all those developments and the details. Plus, new CNN polling breaks down the strengths as well as the weakness of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump as
the presidential race enters its final stages.
But first tonight, the U.N. Secretary-General says the world cannot afford for Lebanon to become another Gaza, warning that Lebanon is on the brink.
And we begin tonight with the deepening crisis in that country as Israel unleashes a new wave of deadly airstrikes. The IDF is vowing to speed up
attacks against Hezbollah.
But ordinary civilians are also paying the price. Israel hitting an apartment building in southern Beirut today, saying it killed a senior
Hezbollah commander. Lebanon says six people in all were killed. Israel also says it hit dozens of targets in south Lebanon just a day after
blistering strikes killed at least 550 people including 50 children.
UNICEF warns many children are still missing under the rubble. It says others are caught on quote, "dangerous roads as their families desperately
tried to flee the violence". So, you can see there in that video. UNICEF says many children are forced to sleep in cars, on the sides of roads on
Monday night.
People who made it to make-shift shelters are recounting truly harrowing journeys. One displaced woman says some families spent up to 16 hours in
traffic jams while under bombardment. Israel hopes the attacks will force Hezbollah to end rocket fire on Israel. But Hezbollah has vowed to continue
hostilities until Israel's war in Gaza is over.
The Israeli military says 215 rockets were fired from Lebanon at Israel and the Golan Heights today. Lots of threats for us to get into. Let's bring in
our Ben Wedeman who is in Beirut, and Nic Robertson in Tel Aviv. And Ben, as we've just outlined here to our viewers, it's been pretty much another
devastating 24 hours for the people of Lebanon.
This as Israel claims, it has killed a Hezbollah commander in today's airstrike in Beirut. Just bring us up-to-date with the very latest.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's that airstrike in southern Beirut, Isa. Israel says that the target was one Ibrahim Kobeissi,
who they say was involved in the firing of missiles at Haifa. Today, killed along with him were two others, however, Hezbollah has had no comment
whatsoever as to whether he was the target, whether he was injured.
They just have said nothing about it so far. But what we've seen is that despite, you know, two days of punishing Israeli strikes on south Lebanon
and the Beqaa Valley, and two strikes in this south of Beirut that Hezbollah continues to fire into Israel. They have claimed 18 individual
strikes so far, the Israelis saying that more than 300 projectiles were fired into Israel.
But despite the Israeli strikes and the killing of several high senior Hezbollah military commanders, despite thousands being injured in those
pager and walkie-talkie blasts. It doesn't appear that Hezbollah's fire into Israel has in any way diminished. And as that goes on, what we're
seeing is this mass exodus of people from the south.
We went to one of the centers where they're receiving people there. It's already crammed with thousand people, full capacity. The Beirut governor is
saying that they've opened 45 schools and other institutions to receive the people coming from the south. Meanwhile, we are seeing an exodus of people
from the Beqaa Valley heading to all places, Syria.
[14:05:00]
Syria, of course, in 2006 welcomed tens of thousands of Lebanese refugees during that war. So, there seems to be a massive movement of people away
from the areas where Israel is focusing its fire. Isa.
SOARES: And stay with us Ben, let me go to Nic, and Nic, as Israel basically tests through the top military commanders as Hezbollah's, it is
also as you know, as we pointed out, facing a barrage of rockets from Lebanon. What is the latest and is Israel at this juncture considering a
ground offensive if this aerial campaign doesn't allow their citizens to return home?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, we know from the IDF, or we've been told by the IDF that there have been 300 or maybe more
than 300 now incoming missiles across the day, sometimes in the space of a couple of hours, as many as 60 or so missiles coming into Israel.
Now, according to the IDF and the police and the medical services here, they have either been falling in dead area fields or intercepted or
occasionally hitting buildings. We were looking at some video a few minutes ago there of Kiryat Shmona where a missile hit somewhat looked like lock-up
garages, not quite clear what the target there was, but their fire service were there putting it out.
We're only being told by the police about one injury, and that was an IDF reservist who was taken to a hospital that aren't the high number of
casualties here in Israel that are being experienced across the border in Lebanon. And as for, will Israeli troops go into Lebanon?
That remains an open question, but clearly, the IDF and the Ministry of Defense are trying to create that perception. And it may be a reality, but
the Ministry of Defense was on the border today watching IDF troops training for an operation of crossing the border and combating Hezbollah
face-on.
The Secretary -- the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, told them that they are the best force that the IDF has ever had, that they're well trained,
they've had combat experience for the past year. He said that the Hezbollah that they face is not the same Hezbollah of a week ago, their command and
control has been severely damaged.
He said that morale is low, and that he indicated that there are -- their abilities are lowered because of it. He didn't say the troops were
definitely going to -- going to cross. But I was very struck by what Ben was saying there very clearly, you know, there were 250 or so missiles
fired by Hezbollah yesterday into Israel, 300 today, according to the IDF, that seems to be that Hezbollah is increasing the number of missiles that
are coming in.
It doesn't appear as if they are a broken force, and I think that was the point that Ben was making there as well. So, what the troops are being told
by the Defense Minister may not match the reality on the ground, but he did give the troops this piece of advice, he said make no mistake. They want to
attack you, they want to attack the country.
But he said I'm confident in you, the troops, that if you face Hezbollah, then you will be able to -- you will be able to tackle them. And he also
said there will be more airstrikes coming, which is what we heard from the Army Chief of Staff today as well.
SOARES: Nic Robertson and Ben Wedeman for us in Beirut. Thank you to you both once again. Well, the rapidly escalating crisis you just heard there
in the Middle East is a huge source of concern, of course, for world leaders as they gather at the U.N. General Assembly this week. They are
convening as the conflict appears really on the verge of spiraling, if not already spiraling out of control.
Here's what the U.N. Chief Antonio Guterres had to say about the chaos and as well as the violence now unfolding in Lebanon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONIO GUTERRES, SECRETARY-GENERAL, UNITED NATIONS: Gaza is a nonstop nightmare that threatens to take the entire region with it, look no further
than Lebanon. We should all be alarmed by the escalation. Lebanon is at the brink. The people of Lebanon, the people of Israel, and the people of the
world cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And in his final U.N. address as commander-in chief, U.S. President Joe Biden said there is still time for a diplomatic solution to the war in
Gaza, one that would bring the hostages home and an end to the fighting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've met with the families of those hostages, I've grieved with them. They're going through hell,
innocent civilians in Gaza are also going through hell. Now, is the time for the parties to finalize its terms, bring the hostages home and secure
security for Israel and Gaza free of Hamas grip, ease the suffering in Gaza and end this war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:10:00]
SOARES: Well, Mr. Biden went on to say, he's not lost hope and peaceful solutions to conflict, even as lives have been lost in Lebanon, Gaza,
Ukraine, and elsewhere.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I recognize the challenges from Ukraine to Gaza to Sudan and beyond. War, hunger, terrorism, brutality, record displacement of people, the
climate crisis, democracy at risk, strange and in our societies, the list goes on. But maybe because all I've seen and all we have done together over
the decades, I have hope, I know there is a way forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's get more on this on what we've heard today from the President. CNN's Alex Alex Marquardt joins us from the U.N. with the very
latest. Alex, good to see you. So, it seems as we played out there, despite the numerous crisis, of course, and the war is raging around the world via
the Middle East, be it Ukraine and Sudan, President Biden, as we heard there still managed to convey kind of a message of hope, right?
Insisting that a diplomatic solution is still possible when it comes to the war in Gaza. From those you've been speaking to, Alex, I wonder how
realistic is this?
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I don't think it's very realistic, not many people do, and not many U.S. officials
believe that a ceasefire in Gaza is very realistic. I mean, this was already going to be the question that really hovered over this entire U.N.
General Assembly.
And now, really, the concern for what is going on in the Middle East has really consumed the vast majority of the conversations, and I think, Isa,
what it also does is drive home the fact that the U.S. for all of its efforts over the past 11 months, has so far failed to get to a ceasefire
both in Gaza and to a diplomatic deal in the northern part of Israel, and the southern part of Lebanon.
The sense we get despite the optimism from President Biden there, is that for all intents and purposes, the ceasefire deal in Gaza is stuck, and is
certainly isn't going anywhere as this escalation continues. So, while there is U.S. fear about this expanding war in the Middle East, expanding
war between Hezbollah and Israel, it's not clear exactly what the U.S. can do to calm it down.
And while we heard that concern and that optimism that the war in Lebanon doesn't need to expand, and that there could be a ceasefire deal, what we
did not hear from the President, frankly, were solutions. So, it is unclear how the U.S. intends to move forward to accomplish those two things, Isa.
SOARES: Yes, no solutions, nothing groundbreaking when it comes to solutions. And on that, I just want to read out a part, if you don't mind
of what our colleague, David Sanger has written today in the "New York Times", Alex, he writes, "Mr. Biden even held on to hope for the
transformative peace deal for the Middle East that he thought was within grasp a year ago, believing it could survive even as the war between Hamas
and Israel towards its foundations.
Now, Mr. Biden's aides say the president is beginning to acknowledge that he's simply running out of time with only four months left in office, the
chances of a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas look dimmer than at any time since Mr. Biden laid out a plan at the beginning of the Summer, and
the risk of a wider war has never looked greater."
I wonder there, Alex, whether you think this speaks perhaps to a loss of U.S. influence over Israel or does it speak more to Netanyahu's
relationship with President Biden. Just put it into context here for our wider audience.
MARQUARDT: Loss of influence and inability to convince the Israelis because it would be the Israelis more than Hamas, of course, that the U.S. would
have some sway over and unwillingness, frankly, by the Biden administration to use the levers of power that it has over Israel. Frankly, you know, you
have billions of dollars of military aid that goes to Israel every year.
The U.S. has shown no willingness except for one small case to hold back weapons to prevent Israel from expanding its fights. We have not seen any
support for what the ICC or ICJ are doing. We've seen here in this building behind me, the U.S. continued to either veto resolutions or abstain from
resolutions when it comes to the war in Gaza.
So, there has been these calls from President Biden on down for a ceasefire, that the time is now, this war needs to end. But the follow-
through mechanisms that could be implemented, I think many would argue are not. And so, now we're in a situation, Isa, when it comes specifically to
the ceasefire in Gaza where what you hear from U.S. officials is not only that things are frozen, but they just don't know whether there is the
political willingness by the two main figures here.
[14:15:00]
Yahya Sinwar in Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to get it done. And it is quite remarkable to hear those U.S. officials essentially putting
them on equal footing in terms of that willingness. Isa.
SOARES: Important analysis there from our Alex Marquardt, appreciate it, Alex, thank you very much. And of course, one of the wars plaguing really
the world for the last few years is Ukraine. And one issue plaguing Ukraine is the hit it's powered to its powered network as we have seen.
However, the country of Lithuania is stepping in to help to fix that problem. Joining it now -- us now to explain is the Lithuanian Foreign
Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, a well-known face here on the show. Foreign Minister, welcome back to the show. Let me pick up and I'll get to
Ukraine in just a moment. Let me just pick up where our correspondent, Alex Marquardt just left off, and that is -- there's numerous challenges and the
crises facing world leaders right now.
One of those of course, is the escalating conflict in the Middle East and the war in Gaza. Can I first get your reaction to what we are seeing in
Lebanon? More than 500 people pill -- are killed, a mass exodus of civilians from southern Lebanon while Hezbollah fires back on Israel. Your
thoughts.
GABRIELIUS LANDSBERGIS, FOREIGN MINISTER, LITHUANIA: Well, we're definitely living in there, what is called a policy crisis moment of our history where
each and every new crisis has the potential to brew a new one. And what is needed is leadership. And only leadership and stepping up can stop the
spiral of crises from getting out of control.
We need leadership in Ukraine. We need leadership in Middle East so that, you know, it doesn't become a crisis of Indo-Pacific or elsewhere, because
the authoritarians of the world who want to unravel the fabric of how we live and you know, each and every day, they're looking at this and they're
calculating, you know, how these things are happening. So, you know, to sum it up, I'm really worried as probably most of the people gathered here in
New York these days.
SOARES: I wonder then how you can -- how we can go about as world leaders, as you all meet in New York, Mr. Landsbergis, how we can go about de-
escalating. An Israeli official just told CNN that the Israeli military has not ruled out the possibility of a ground invasion into Lebanon. Is this
the best strategy you think to get the 60,000 Israelis back home? And what concerns, if any, do you have, of course, broaden this war further in the
region?
LANDSBERGIS: Well, first of all, there is a high chance of escalation, that is clear, and that is confirmed by --
SOARES: Well, we already have -- we already have escalation --
LANDSBERGIS: Yes, I mean, that is --
SOARES: That's what --
LANDSBERGIS: It's not -- you know, it could be very well not the end. That's a problem. You know, we're seeing a scale going up and we don't know
where it stops. You know, either we are, you know, at the plateau stage or, you know, he's just -- it could be just the beginning. You know, my point
is that, there are ways and the colleague that just spoke before me, you know, he very clearly laid out the instruments that are there.
You know, take international rules and regulations that have to be upheld. There are instruments that countries like United States and others can use
in order to -- you know, to put pressure on, you know, on countries on -- you know, so that they would behave towards the line that, you know, U.S.
and other allies would wish them to. So, there are -- there are ways definitely, and they have been used in the past.
SOARES: Yes, just those levers haven't been employed as our Alex Marquardt was just saying in --
LANDSBERGIS: Yes --
SOARES: New York. Let's turn Foreign Minister to the war in Ukraine, in less than 24 hours or so, we are expecting to hear from President Zelenskyy
as he outlines, we don't have the details of this, if he outlines his victory plan. Just what -- just explain to us what this victory plan can
achieve where others, other victory plans have failed in the past.
LANDSBERGIS: Well, there's -- you know, first of all, there's the difference. This is the first victory plan. We have seen peace plans --
SOARES: All right --
LANDSBERGIS: We have seen -- yes, we have seen peace plan by President Zelenskyy basically upholding the principles, how to make Ukraine safe,
secure, and the order in European continent being restored. So that was -- that was presented in the past. For the first time, we're talking about how
to win a conflict, how to win a war.
Certain details have already emerged, and I think that, you know, one of them is particularly important. This is when President Zelenskyy and
Representatives from Ukrainian administration are talking about the security guarantees. And I think that this has to be -- this has not been
stressed enough of how important it is.
One can expect a number of ways how the conflict might end with Ukraine being able to regain the land currently now or, you know, having to -- you
know, with the conflict would drag on. But the question is, how do you prevent Russians from continuing their aggression or attacking again?
[14:20:00]
And in order to stop this, the only way to do this is security guarantees. And the only security guarantee that actually works in Europe currently is
Article 5 of Washington treaty -- well, NATO treaty.
SOARES: NATO treaty, of course. And that is not the only thing that, that many are hoping will be part of this victory plan, Foreign Minister, the
other thing then we've heard on numerous occasions, you and I have spoken about this before here on the show. Is this plea by President Zelenskyy to
use long-range western-supplied missiles like the ATACMS into Russian territory.
I know Lithuania's position, I've seen -- I follow you on X as you know, it's very -- your position is very clear. Whatever victory takes is what
your position is, Lithuania's position is. Are you hopeful that the U.S. will sign off on this? And why do you think the U.S. has been so reticent
to allow their weapons to be used inside Russia?
LANDSBERGIS: Look, it's very difficult to have a very clear explanation. On one hand, we understand that there are those who worry about the
possibility of Russia escalating, right? If certain steps would be taken by the western allies, by U.S., but we've already been there. This record has
already been played and nothing has happened.
Russians threatened with escalation when they -- when they saw that, you know, there's a chance of HIMARS being deployed in Ukraine, where the tanks
would be deployed, when F-16s would be deployed, when ATACMS would be given to Ukraine. So many times Putin has said that he will -- you know, he will
do something about it.
He has not done something about it. So, you know -- so, it's rather unclear as to how -- what is the expectation of the whole conflict? What do we
expect to happen? In Lithuania, it is very clear. We expect Ukraine to win. That is the only way that we believe is to stop Putin and to stop future --
SOARES: Yes --
LANDSBERGIS: Aggressions.
SOARES: And we know the timing has always -- it's critical here as it has always been, and we know President Zelenskyy has said that this Fall will
determine the future of this war. He said before he left to the U.N., this Fall, Foreign Minister, we are all going to see also U.S. elections.
And as you well know, former President Donald Trump has wavered, you and I have discussed this on his support for Ukraine. This is what he said last
night, Foreign Minister. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Ukraine now, I see Zelenskyy is here. I think Zelenskyy is the greatest salesman in history.
Every time he comes into the country, he walks away with $60 billion. Billion. He walks into a $60 billion, he wants them to -- he wants them to
win this election so badly. But I would do differently.
I will work out peace before I'm even -- before -- as President-elect, if I win this election, the first thing I'm going to do is call up Zelenskyy and
call up President Putin, and I'm going to say, you've got to make a deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: So, Foreign Minister, if he does win in November, what will this mean for Ukraine, for Lithuania, and indeed for Europe?
LANDSBERGIS: Well, I think that certain measures that President Zelenskyy has laid out and is yet to declare it publicly in his victory plan would
work for either administration, whichever administration is being formed. And, I think that if there's a change in administration, and if there's a
willingness to have -- to have a deal or something like that.
So, first of all, the deal would be reached by putting Ukraine in the strongest of possible situations, because otherwise there will -- there
will never be a deal. And if you want to have a deal, if you want to have Ukraine in the strongest possible situation, then again, we talk about
weapons supplies, we talk about -- we talk about security guarantees --
SOARES: Yes --
LANDSBERGIS: The ones that I've spoken. We talk about the usage of weapons of -- so that Ukraine would be allowed --
SOARES: Yes --
LANDSBERGIS: To use weapons freely, and so on and so forth. So, I mean, you know, is -- I would -- I would interpret this, this way. If there's
something different in mind that Mr. Trump has, well, then it's a -- you know, it's a big issue for everybody, but I still hope that it's not
something different.
SOARES: Your sigh, the roll of your eyes say it all. Foreign Minister, always great to see you, appreciate your time --
LANDSBERGIS: Thank you so much --
SOARES: Thank you.
LANDSBERGIS: Thank you.
SOARES: And still to come tonight, the results of a new nationwide CNN poll on the U.S. Presidential race, we'll break down the numbers with our senior
data reporter. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:25:00]
SOARES: Well, the U.S. presidential race is still up for grabs in a few -- a new nationwide CNN poll confirms just how tight the contest is between
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Among likely voters across America, the poll finds 48 percent support Harris and 47, you can see, percent, Trump, a
margin that suggests no clear leader in the race.
And here's what Americans think are the major issues in the race, still very much more, we've seen them, the economy, protecting democracy,
immigration and reproductive rights all in the double-digits as you can see there. Our senior data reporter Harry Enten is here to break down the
results.
And Harry, it does feel like every couple of days, you know, I'm telling viewers very tight race, neck-and-neck, and this one is no different,
right? Just break it down for us --
HARRY ENTEN, CNN DATA REPORTER: No, I feel like it's deja vu all over again, right? It doesn't matter what day we are, the race is too close to
call. But let's dig into these numbers a little bit and give you an indication of how close it really is. So, you know, you mentioned that
likely voter number, you know, you showed that slide earlier, it's housed by --
SOARES: Yes --
ENTEN: One, no clear leader. You look among registered -- all registered voters, it's even closer than that. It's a tie. But here's the thing that I
think is so interesting is the trend line, right? I think the trend line is so interesting. So, let's take a look at that trend line, right? All right,
this is Trump versus Democrat. This is among registered voters.
You remember back in June, remember the presumptive Democratic nominee was Joe Biden, Donald Trump was ahead of that point by 6 points. You jump ahead
to July when the presumptive Democratic nominee was Kamala Harris, you see Trump up by 3, and now we're at a tie.
So, this is the type of trend line I think Democrats love, right? Six- three, tied. But again, a very tight race. Now, you mentioned something. It's every couple of days it feels like a new poll comes out. So, let's
take a look at some of these polls that have come out post-debate.
You can see we have a smorgasbord of a map on your screen, right? Anything going from a tie with the "New York Times", plus, one CNN, you can go all
the way up to "ABC", a plus six for Kamala Harris, I'll also note, there was a Quinnipiac University poll that came out literally --
SOARES: Yes --
ENTEN: Within the last half an hour, and that also showed that, a tie. So, we have this whole smorgasbord very close race, but more blue than red on
your screen. Here's the thing though. In the United States of America, we do not determine the winner of the presidential election by the popular
vote, right?
Because if we did, I think you would consider Kamala Harris to be a slight favorite here based upon all this blue on the screen. We determine it
through the electoral college. So, I just want to kind of note here, sort of what the chance is of Kamala Harris winning both the popular vote and
the electoral college.
Look, if it was based upon the popular vote, I think Kamala Harris would be a favorite here, not a runaway favorite, but about a 73 percent chance of
winning, look, about one-quarter of the time Trump would win that, you flip a coin up in the air twice, it lands on heads, two times, 25 percent of the
time, and that's about equal of Trump's chance of winning the popular vote.
[14:30:00]
But look at the Electoral College. Look at that. Kamala Harris with just a 53 percent chance of winning there because the bottom line is Trump's
coalition simply put, there's more of his voters in the key paddle ground states. You know I'm talking about Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, more
white working class voters.
But the bottom line is this, this race is just really, really tight no matter which way you look at it. Popular vote may be leaning slightly
towards Harris, but in the contest that ultimately matters, this is a complete jump ball.
SOARES: It is indeed and be interested to see what exactly from now until the election what moves the needle, right?
ENTEN: If anything.
SOARES: Who knows. Right? If anything, absolutely. Harry, appreciate it. Thank you very much. Harry Enten there.
ENTEN: Thank you.
SOARES: And still to come tonight, we'll bring you the life analysis of the military operations unfolding in the Middle East, that's with the former
fighter pilot in the British Royal Air force. That is next.
And we've heard from the world's most powerful voices today on the conflicts that impact us all is a part of what Jordan's king said in a
remarkable address to the UNGA.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDULLAH II, KING OF JORDAN: The U.N. is under attack literally and figuratively. For nearly a year, the sky-blue flag flying over U.N.
shelters and schools. And Gaza has been powerless to protect innocent civilians from Israeli military bombardment.
UNA trucks sit motionless just miles away from starving Palestinians. Humanitarian workers who proudly wear the emblem of this institution are
disparaged and targeted. And the rulings of the U.N.'s International Court of Justice are defied, its opinions disregarded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:00]
SOARES: And returning now to our top story this hour, in the Middle East, devastating scenes like these, let me show you, in Lebanon, where Israel
continues to strike what it says are Hezbollah targets. Tens of thousands of civilians have been fleeing Southern Lebanon and heading north, away
from the border with Israel. The U.N. Refugee Agency expects that number to continue to rise.
Meantime, the Israeli military said more than 300 rockets were fired at Israel, and the Israeli occupied Golan Heights from Lebanon on Tuesday. And
the stakes really couldn't be higher. After events last week, when Israel injured thousands of people across Lebanon with covert attacks, detonating
pagers, as well as walkie-talkies, it remains unclear whether Israel intends to launch a ground offensive, as we heard from our Nic Robertson at
the top of the show.
Let's get some analysis on the military operations by Israeli forces and by Hezbollah. Sean Bell, a former fighter pilot with the British Royal Air
Force, and he joins me here in the studio. Sean, great to have you here.
SEAN BELL, MILITARY ANALYST: Thank you.
SOARES: Just lay out what you're the land what we have seen the last 24 hours. These two have been tit for tat for months now. We are now seeing an
escalation, and we are seeing a focus from the IDF. Talk us through what the targets we have seen, not just going in by as well to Israel, but also
the targeted strikes, supposedly targeted in Beirut.
BELL: Yes, I think you have to put this into the context of about the last weeks' worth of activity. You talked about the pagers and the walkie-
talkies, all of that seems to be in a very, very well-planned strategy, that once those were triggered, it took out the command control of
Hezbollah.
We then saw one of the heads of Hezbollah, one of the operational heads killed in the capital, Beirut. And now, we're seeing a systematic attack
across a lot of the Hezbollah positions. And it's no coincidence here, this is where all the attacks of Hezbollah using their relatively short-range
rockets have been, and have continues to be for the last 11 months.
Ever since that Israel went into the Gaza, what Iran's been doing is fanning the flames, getting Hezbollah to attack to try and create a two-
front war, one down in the Gaza, one up here. Now, that Netanyahu's claimed that actually he seems to have finished in the Gaza, he's pivoting his
forces up to the north. That's why we've seen this series of attacks. And the red blobs here, fundamentally, against (INAUDIBLE), you've got a one
blob here, that's because that's a leadership target.
SOARES: Right. That's just try and cut out as many Hezbollah commanders as possible from that.
BELL: Yes, the trouble is it's a hydra. Hezbollah is like hydra.
SOARES: Yes, exactly.
BELL: You take off one head and another one grows. But what you're trying to do -- because you can't take this in isolation, intelligence is
fundamental to military operations. If you take out the communications lines, you don't have the glue that holds your organization together.
Hezbollah's lost its glue, now you take out odd commanders, it puts Hassan Nasrallah on the back foot.
SOARES: Let's look at the second map. I think it's important for our viewers, because you're talking about being a hydra, right? It is -- it
continues to attack as we have been seeing today, firing rockets into Israel Just explain the strategy from the Israeli side, because we have
said and we have heard them say that it's to bring 10,000 citizens back to Israel back to their homes. They haven't been in their homes for months
now.
Can that strategy work, with aerial -- just simply with aerial bombardment? And we've got here the Litani River, which they've made it very clear how
far they have to go back.
BELL: Yes, the short answer is no it can't work. But I think it is worth actually a lot of commentators confuse what's been happening here with
what's happening here. I mean, we look on the map, this is completely surrounded by Israeli forces. As a result, Israel can control the flow of
weapons and stop the fighters being resupplied.
All of the Hezbollah fighters up here, that's a porous border, Israel can't stop that. It is worth -- without going to a history lesson, but at the end
of the last major war, 2006, the blue line, it's shown in white here, is the actual -- it's not really a border, it's a withdrawal line. The border
was never actually agreed. And the agreement was that Hezbollah would move north of the Litani River, and the only people that would be allowed in
this border region were the United Nations, UNIFIL, and also the Lebanese army.
Almost as soon as that ink was dried, Hezbollah moved back into this area. That puts them in range of the Israeli settlements. So, if Israel wants to
get its people back to its settlements, it has to clear Hezbollah out of this area.
SOARES: And if it can't clear Hezbollah out of this area via just aerial bombardment, do you think, Sean, we're looking at boots on the ground here?
BELL: Potentially. I --
SOARES: They're not ruling it out?
BELL: No. Well, of course we wouldn't rule out any option. The trouble is as soon as you put boots on the ground, it's one thing going in, it's quite
another when you actually come out again. And I think what the moment, let's face it, Israel's had a particularly difficult campaign down here. It
doesn't want to do a rerun of the 2006 war. Lebanon doesn't want that. I don't think Israel wants that.
SOARES: Yes.
[14:40:00]
BELL: And even Iran doesn't want that. But if you were wanting to threaten, you would go -- if this doesn't work, we will roll in there, but if you
roll in there, the danger is you end up with a really difficult campaign, you end up fixing forces in there, and that's not what they want to do.
SOARES: And I suppose it depends as well how Hezbollah reacts to what we've been seeing and we are starting to keep an eye on it and see how they
retaliate. Very quickly, because we are running out of time, Sean. Let's have a look how the two sides compare. Because Hezbollah is not Hamas and
they have been building up in terms of hardware and weaponry.
Talk us through, if we are going to see -- if we do go into boots on the ground and intensification of this war, how they stack up.
BELL: The danger is these sorts of graphics, which effectively show the ranges of some of the Hezbollah rockets, which can, in fact, go virtually
the whole length of Israel, what that tends to forget, though, is that Israel is the dominant military power in the region.
SOARES: Yes.
BELL: Armies, navies, air force and satellite. It's got far more capability than Hezbollah has. And therefore -- and these missiles can generally be
taken out. It's a good graphic here. This is just the size of the military. But if you look at most of the weapons here are unguided rockets, that's
something Israel, with its Iron Dome system, it's been very effective at taking out of the sky.
So, in a straight fight, this is not a fight that Hezbollah can win. But Hezbollah will just withdraw, make it very, very difficult for Israel. And
Israel eventually will have to return. So, they are the dominant military power, but it doesn't really help --
SOARES: And then the fear is, of course, the Axis of Resistance, the Houting, Iran, that is a concern. Really appreciate you coming in. Thank
you very much.
BELL: I miss being here.
SOARES: Really enjoyed that. And earlier, I saw I spoke with the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, who joined me from the United
Nations. Where am I going? Four. Thank you. I started by asking if she thinks that the latest escalation of the violence between Israel and
Hezbollah that we were just talking about could be beginning of another war. This is what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTA METSOLA, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: The incursion now and what is happening in Lebanon is precisely what we were hoping would not happen.
And that escalation is one where, as we can see here also at the United Nations, is a joint call for the conflict to stop, that innocent civilians
do not continue to die, and that we can go back to what has been alluding us for generations when we talk about a two-state solution, when we talk
about citizens being able to live side by side in safety and in peace.
That is, I fear, getting further and further away as we go along. It is one that we are extremely worried about. It is one where it could really
continue to escalate, and hence, the calls to do also, as President Biden has just said to go the other way, to actually de-escalate.
SOARES: I want you to listen to what the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had to say earlier. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (through translator): In Gaza, not only children are dying, but also the United Nations system. The values
that the west claims to defend are dying. The truth is dying. The hopes of humanity to live in a more just world are dying one by one.
I am asking you bluntly here, openly, frankly, I call out to you, oh, human rights organizations, are those in Gaza and the West Bank not human beings?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: I wonder then, Madam President, what you say to those that perceive a double standard in the west's contrasting responses in Gaza and Ukraine?
METSOLA: Well, first of all, when we say that we have failed people in Gaza, I share that. I think we have all failed in ensuring that the
conflict would stop and the hostages would be released. We would also want to be able to talk about the day after reconstruction, humanitarian aid,
rebuilding of schools, access to health, education, protection of journalists, protecting of women and children.
And I see that also being repeated speaker after speaker. In the United Nations General Assembly and in all the events that are taking place at the
same time. And if we have to, although, of course, every conflict is very different, but it is also has to come side by side with us as a European
Union continuing to support Ukraine as it fights back an illegal invasion by Russia.
SOARES: Let's turn then to Ukraine, as you mentioned Russia there. We know that President Zelenskyy is expecting, Madam President, to present and
outline his victory plan in the next, what, 24 hours or so, where you are. Why do you think this plan would work here where others have failed?
[14:45:00]
METSOLA: Well, it's a plan that has brought countries together. I can speak on behalf of the European Union, all 27 countries, perhaps unprecedentedly,
together in saying that we need a peaceful resolution to what is happening in Ukraine and importantly, and this is in line with what I'm sure
President Zelenskyy will be talking about here and also together with President Biden, that any resolution to what is happening in Ukraine cannot
be done without Ukraine.
SOARES: Do you think, Madam President, that this victory plan or more incursions deeper into Russia, do you think that will force President Putin
to the negotiating table?
METSOLA: Well, if we can find a solution for Ukraine with Ukraine, and my fear is that Russia would like a solution for Ukraine without Ukraine, then
that would be possible. I cannot tell you for sure whether that would be possible today, but there is no doubt that we would never accept that we
would discuss how to resolve this this situation, how to end the war without Ukraine at the table.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: The president of the European Parliament, speaking to me earlier, Roberta Metsola. We're going to take a short break. We'll see you on the
other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Well, with the president of Ukraine scheduled to address the U.N. Security Council just next hour, the former president of the United States,
Mr. Trump, and the current Republican nominee has been weighing in on the war in Ukraine. He's been speaking at a campaign rally in Savannah, in
Georgia. I want you to listen in to what he just said. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Every time Zelenskyy comes to the United States, he walks away
with a hundred billion dollars. I think he's the greatest salesman on earth. But we're stuck in that war unless I'm president. I'll get it done.
I'll get it negotiated. I'll get out. We got to get out.
Biden says, we will not leave until we win. What happens if they win? That's what they do is they fight war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And this is supposed to be an economic speech, but you can clearly see how that went. And we are expected to hear from President Zelenskyy in
the next hour. Of course, we're bringing in those remarks to you in less than 50 minutes or so. We are also expected to hear from President
Zelenskyy tomorrow at the UNGA as he puts through -- puts across his victory plan as we have been laying out here on the show with various
foreign ministers.
Now, on a stay in the United States because at least two people are dead after Category 3 Hurricane John struck Mexico's southern coast on Monday
night. It caused a landslide that slammed into a home and the hurricane has now weakened to a tropical storm, but the National Hurricane Center is
warning as it slowly moves northwest catastrophic rainfall could hit the coast as well as inland.
[14:50:00]
For the latest, I want to bring in Chad Myers. He joins us from the Weather Center in Atlanta. So, give us a sense, Chad, of the picture and how long
this may last for.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's been here for a while. It's been on land. It's since about 9:00 local time last night. It's not even a tropical
storm anymore. It's just basically it's a tropical depression or the remnants of John, but it still has the potential, Isa, to make one meter of
additional rainfall, 30 to 40 inches of rainfall still to come because John refuses to move. It is going to be there for the next three days.
And where it's raining it will continue to rain. And where it's flooding it will continue to flood. And the mudslides will, again, continue in this
area from Puerto Escondido almost all the way to Acapulco, that's where the heaviest rainfall has been and that's the rest of it will still fall. That
white area is more than 20 inches. That's a half a meter. And there are spots in there that are greater than that.
Now, we talk about Helene still developing here, very close to Cancun. We do have hurricane watches in effect for parts of the Florida northwest
coast here. And there you see the possibility of a Category 3 hurricane making landfall.
Even in the areas around Atlanta, the winds could be 50 miles per hour, 80 kilometers per hour. And if you look at 10 to 15 feet, you're looking at
three to five possible meters of storm surge. That's the saltwater coming on land. So, a busy couple days for the people here at the CNN Weather
Center for sure.
SOARES: And I know you'll stay on top of it for us. Thanks very much, Chad. Appreciate it.
MYERS: You're welcome.
SOARES: We're going to take a short break. We'll see you in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Well, this week, Instagram has been rolling out their new restrictions against teenage users. The new teen accounts automatically
make the profiles of those under 18 private and will restrict what kind of content these users can see on the app. All in an effort, of course, to
protect children, says Meta, which owns a social media platform.
Our Clare Duffy joins me to tell us more about these new restrictions. So, Clare, what exactly is changing for teens here? And critically, is there a
way -- can they get around some of these restrictions?
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes, Isa. So, millions of teen users are going to start this week being placed into these new teen account settings.
And in their settings tab, they'll actually see a button that says teen account settings where they'll see the things that have changed.
So, as you mentioned, all users under the age of 18 will be placed into private accounts. There will be restrictions on the kinds of content they
can see, the kinds of people that they can interact with. All teens will be placed into what they're calling sleep mode where they won't get
notifications from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
And I asked this question, which you bring up, and that's really important, about whether or not teens will be able to get around these things. What
will the enforcement mechanisms look like? I sat down with a member of Meta's youth policy team. Here's what she told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DUFFY: How do you know if when I'm a teen, I request to add parental supervision? Is there a way for Instagram to know that it is actually a
parent and not like an older friend or something like that?
KIRA WONG O'CONNOR, META YOUTH SAFETY POLICY MANAGER: While we don't verify who a parent is, we do have other safety technologies in place where we
know if it's potentially a suspicious account, we don't allow teens to supervise themselves.
DUFFY: I mean, what happens if I'm a teenager and I sign up for an account and I just lie about my age?
[14:55:00]
O'CONNOR: For a long time now, we have required that when you sign up for Instagram, you have to input your age at that point. If you're under the
age of 18 and we notice that you try to change your age above 18, we will put you through an I.D. check in order to verify and make sure that you are
the age that you're stating.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DUFFY: So, as you hear there, if you're a teenager who has an existing account and you try to change your birthday to look like an adult, they're
going to ask you for your I.D. But it is still possible that teens will get around this by just creating a new account with an adult birthday. So, not
a silver bullet necessarily in terms of youth safety. But I do think this is going to provide some reassurance for parents, certainly some more
control for parents, especially if users 13 to 15 years old, because if they want to change these settings, they're going to need to set up
parental supervision on the app and get approval from their parents. Isa.
SOARES: And just to clarify here, Clare, is this -- are these changes just for the United States, those in Instagram United States or those just
around the world? Just explain that. When did these changes come through?
DUFFY: These are going to be rolling out to all teen users in the United States over the next 60 days, and then the rest of the world will come
after that. So, ideally, I think the idea is that by the middle of next year, most teens around the world will have these settings.
SOARES: And very quickly, I mean, we've got about 45 seconds or so. In terms of the parents, does this go far enough for some of the parents?
Because, you know, Meta has faced complaints and lawsuits on this front.
DUFFY: I think that is sort of a big question here. I think this is certainly giving parents some of what they're asking for. Although, for 16-
and 17-year-old users, they can still go in and change these settings back if they want without needing their parental approval. So, I do think that
some parents will still be asking for more here from regulators and from lawmakers in terms of sort of solidifying some of these things, rather than
just allowing Meta to voluntarily make some of these changes.
SOARES: Yes. And I think we'll get a better sense when these restrictions are put in place and where we see it being put into use, right. Clare
Duffy, really appreciate it. Thanks very much.
DUFFY: Thank you.
SOARES: And -- a pleasure. And that does it for us for tonight. Do stay right here. Newsroom with Erica Hill is up next. I shall see you tomorrow.
Have a wonderful day. Bye-bye.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
