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Violence Continues as Secretary Rice Makes Mideast Tour; U.S. Military Delivering Humanitarian Supplies to Lebanon; Syria Demands Proper Channels for Talks; Relief, Fear for Lebanese-American Family

Aired July 24, 2006 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
Crisis, day 13. High profile visit, low expectations. The secretary of state in Beirut and Israel. Will it make a difference?

Ground fighting, rocket launches, more attacks, new targets. What about help for people caught in the crossfire?

Ripped apart. Now reunited. A toddler trapped in Lebanon is finally home in New York. You'll hear all the dramatic details, today on LIVE FROM.

Fierce fighting on the ground, and Israeli forces move deeper into Lebanon. It's day 13 of the Mideast crisis. Here's what we know right now.

Israeli troops took on Hezbollah fighters in Southern Lebanon, reportedly killing a number of militants. Warplanes also struck Hezbollah targets, but Hezbollah still managed to fire more rockets into Northern Israel.

On the diplomatic front, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice kicked off a Mideast trip, but she is not pushing for immediate cease- fire. She visited Lebanon's prime minister today in Beirut. Next stop: Israel.

Wrapping up. The U.S. military's mission to evacuate Americans from Lebanon is ending. Charter ships will handle future evacuation. By the day's end, more than 13,000 Americans will have left Lebanon.

CNN does have reporters all across the region, and LIVE FROM will have live reports throughout this program.

As thousands of Americans continue to hit the eject button in Beirut, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heads in with pledges of humanitarian aid. Her surprise stop is just one of many headlines out of Lebanon today. CNN's Michael Ware has the latest for us now from Beirut.

Hey, Michael.

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well, tonight, we're at the U.S. embassy watching helicopters ferrying in from the U.S. warships just offshore here from Beirut as they came in with Secretary Rice. She made a lightning, unannounced visit, where she met with the Lebanese prime minister and other leaders.

She expressed U.S. support for the Lebanese government, their regards for their steadfastness and, according to U.S. officials, it was a statement of support to the Lebanese people that we, the U.S., are here.

Ironically, however, we also saw Hezbollah itself make a very similar statement today during a tour for the media of the southern suburbs of Beirut, their stronghold, which had been pummeled by Israeli jets. The take from that Hezbollah tour was that they, too, are still here in Beirut and operating.

PHILLIPS: What more, Michael, can you tell us about Hezbollah? Obviously, we can't watch Hezbollah Television here in the U.S. It's banned from being aired here. Do you feel that we're covering that side of the story in a balance e balanced way? Are we getting the real story from what they are saying via other media types?

WARE: Well, clearly, it's very difficult. I mean, this is literally a battlefield. So the term fog of war very much applies.

But we can glean some things about the state of Hezbollah. Just take a look at the press tour today. It was not a unique event. In fact, this is a daily occurrence, very much like a Pentagon press briefing that are held in Baghdad in Washington on regular occasions.

This is very slick, very well orchestrated, with a spokesman speaking excellent English, very much on message with talking points. You can also see Hezbollah members providing inner and outer security cordons and herding the media, keeping them within the Hezbollah control.

We even saw Lebanese police officers with cameras attending this Hezbollah briefing, further reflecting the sense of a state within a state, which is affected by the Hezbollah organization.

At the same time, we can look at the military activity on the southern border. We are seeing fierce fighting between Hezbollah ground forces and the Israeli Defense Force. We're seeing evidence of bunkers, trenches, complicated defenses and ambushes, all of which is a sign of ongoing command and control.

Israeli Defense Forces say their aim is to cripple Hezbollah. Well, from the indications that we are seeing here, that is yet to take place, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Michael Ware reporting for us from Beirut, thank you so much.

And more Hezbollah rockets fell on Northern Israel today. CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney is in Haifa -- Fionnuala.

FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed, Kyra. Sixty- four people were issued from shock and trauma when a band of barrage attacks swept across Northern Israel today, hitting all the major communities in the north of this country.

Also nine people were likely injured, and it's just a flexion that Hezbollah is still capable of firing missiles towards this part of the country.

One-third of the country -- this is a third of Northern Israel -- is now unable to function effectively. Many people are in bunkers underground 24/7. Industries have come to a halt, but there are some businesses that are up and running.

A third of Israel's heavy industry and petrochemical industry is based in the north of Israel, so you can imagine that it's going to be only a matter of time if it hasn't happened already that there is going to be some economic slowdown or economic impact to this.

In the meantime, the focus here on diplomatic efforts, Condoleezza Rice is expected in Israel later this evening. She will have talks later in the morning with Ehud Olmert, the prime minister, the defense minister, the foreign minister, before heading to Ramallah in the West Bank later in the day for talks with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, about what is taking place in Gaza -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Fionnuala, thanks so much.

First stop, Lebanon, next stop Israel. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has wrapped up a meeting with Lebanon's prime minister. She's expected in Jerusalem shortly. Our John King is there following every move.

John, as we're looking at live pictures now -- or no, they're not live pictures. I apologize. But we're seeing the arrival of Condoleezza Rice, a trip that was kept secret. A lot of questions as to how effective this visit can be and what she really can do.

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it depends who you ask, because so many involved in this conflict have so many different expectations about what they want the United States to do right now.

On tap here tonight for Secretary Rice is dinner with Israel's foreign minister, as Fionnuala just said. Conversations with the prime minister and others, Israeli officials in the morning.

The drama of the first day, though, was that surprise visit to Beirut. U.S. officials say it was always in her plan, just not on the public schedule because of security concerns.

She landed in Cyprus, took a helicopter ride into Beirut, met with the prime minister of Lebanon. That, Secretary Rice said, important for her because she said she wanted to show support for Beirut's fragile democracy at this moment in time.

But she chose her words quite carefully in her only brief statement to reporters there. She was asked what is it the Lebanese government wants from you? Secretary Rice putting an emphasis on the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: We're concerned about the people and what they are enduring. We are talking about the humanitarian situation. And we're also talking about a durable way to end the violence.

President Bush wants this to be my first stop here in Lebanon, to express our desire to urgently apply conditions so we can end the violence to make life better for the Lebanese people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now as Secretary Rice travels, back at the White House, press secretary Tony Snow is saying that the United States will have an enormous humanitarian package to be delivered by the U.S. military by air and by sea to Lebanon to help feed and bring medical supplies to those hurt and displaced by the past 13 days of military confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah, but of course, what the Lebanese government wanted most, Kyra, was a change of heart from the Bush administration.

It wanted Secretary Rice to come to Lebanon and say she was prepared to come here to Israel and push for an immediate cease-fire. The White House says that is not the case. It will not push for an immediate cease-fire. It expects the hostilities to go on for several more days, for half the week or more. There are meetings in Rome at mid-week, and from those meetings, they hope to have a plan to eventually get to a cease-fire and eventually get to an international force to go into Southern Lebanon.

But again, Kyra, officials say there are a lot of questions to be answered before they have such a plan and that they think just coming up with that plan is probably at least another week to 10 days away.

PHILLIPS: Our John King in Jerusalem. Thanks, John.

U.S. Marines have been helping to evacuate Americans from Lebanon. What's next? That mission is coming to an end. So what's next for U.S. troops in the region? CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, joins us live from his post.

Hey, Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra.

Well, you got a hint of it in that report from John king. The U.S. military assistance to the evacuation is coming to an end. Although the evacuation or the assisted departures, as the U.S. government calls it, of Americans from Lebanon will continue for some time to come with commercial charter vessels.

But now the U.S. military is turning its attention to assisting the delivery of humanitarian supplies. Again, what they're doing, basically, is flying those supplies into Cyprus where they will be transferred to boats including a couple of the -- excuse me -- a couple of the charter ships, including the Victoria M, which is a high speed ferry that can be used to deliver supplies.

In addition, the high speed vessel swift, the U.S. military vessel, will also be employed to ferry those supplies from Cyprus to Lebanon, mostly medical supplies, we're told, including some blankets and other things.

But that will get into high gear beginning tomorrow as those supplies begin to arrive in Cyprus. We're told it's not likely that the big U.S. warships that were used to evacuate some Americans will be used in this humanitarian relief operation, but they will remain in the region to provide additional capability if needed -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jamie, a question about the Marines and just the helo capabilities that they have. A number of those helos, even with special operations capabilities, do you think that the possibility of those Marines going into Southern Lebanon could become more of a reality as we talk about this humanitarian crisis and what's happening to those people specifically in Southern Lebanon, in Hezbollah strongholds.

Could we see the U.S. military going into those areas?

MCINTYRE: Well, it's always been a possibility. In fact, that's one of the reasons why those helicopter are there with those Marines, as you said special operations equipped Marines, it is not seen as a likelihood at this point.

You know, there was a large number of Americans, between 300 and 500 estimated essentially trapped in Southern Lebanon late last week. The State Department managed to get them out by bus safely to the port of Beirut and get on to ships and get out of there.

The State Department doesn't believe that every single American is out of Southern Lebanon that wants to be out. But at this point, they're till working on options to get them to where they need to go over land, either to Beirut or perhaps other coastal evacuation points where they can be taken out by ship.

They don't envision at this point any helicopter evacuations or air lifts of Americans out of the dangerous war zone in Southern Lebanon, but you heard the commander say that if that has to be done, he's willing to do it, and they've got the troops on hand who could do that.

But they're just watching the situation. They're trying to make sure that all Americans who want to get out contact the embassy and that they arrange the safest, most efficient way to get them out.

PHILLIPS: Jamie McIntyre, thanks so much.

Well, a number of CNN correspondents are close to the action as the Mideast fighting rages on. Just how close? Here's a taste of what you'll see when LIVE FROM returns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, they're not letting anyone in. They're saying that it's far too dangerous for media. They're saying that there are still snipers in the hills, taking aim.

We got into a kibbutz and we took some pictures of the border area, and there is -- these shells are going into that area and just a little bit beyond, too. So it's a very dangerous, very hot area now, according to the IDF, and they're going to keep people out of the there, at least for the time being.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASHAR JA'AFARI, SYRIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: Only power now capable of stopping the fire is the American administration, nobody else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Consider the buck passed. But that wasn't the only blunt remark out of Syria's U.N. ambassador today, Bashar Ja'afari. He also warns peace in the Mideast won't happen until the U.S. stops backing, quote, "Israeli aggression."

CNN's Hala Gorani has more now from Damascus -- Hala.

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, we heard some statements from Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. secretary of state, on her way to the region saying that the sour nature of the relationship between the U.S. and Syria should not be exaggerated or overstated, and she underlined the fact that there's still diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Syria.

Now, official reaction here from Damascus, saying this is not the way to approach Damascus. What we would like is for this to happen through official channels. Damascus and high level officials telling me that they're interested in talking to America but they don't consider what Condoleezza Rice said today to be an invitation for open dialogue.

I spoke to Syrian cabinet minister Boutheina Shaaban a few hours ago, and this is what she told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOUTHEINA SHAABAN, SYRIAN CABINET MEMBER: They are sending out a message that I think Damascus will only receive official messages in official route, you know, proper messages. And I think it has to be done on mutual respect, on the basis of mutual respect, because this is not the way to open doors. You have to do it properly.

GORANI: And there hasn't been any official contact? SHAABAN: No, not really, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: So no official contact there, as confirmed by Boutheina Shaaban. Another thing she said was, and she gave me a clarification of comments made by the information minister yesterday of Syria, who said -- and this was a departure from previous statements -- that if Israeli ground forces entered Lebanon and approached Syrian territory, then Damascus would not just sit back.

Boutheina Shaaban said that the previous statements, that Syria would only react if attacked directly, came before talk of an Israeli ground invasion in Lebanon.

So you're seeing two sort of contradictory messages, perhaps, coming out from Damascus, Kyra, one saying that we're open for dialogue, and others saying we might get involved in the conflict if Israeli soldiers get too close to Syria.

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: And Hani, you know, for the past couple of weeks, we've been talking so much about Iran and Syria being the main source, the main fuel line, if you will, for Hezbollah and Hamas, supplying weapons, supplying support.

Did you get a direct response from this cabinet member with regard to is Syria keeping Hezbollah in this fight right now?

GORANI: I have gotten a direct response from her. Not just on this one occasion, but on previous occasions. And every time I put this question to a Syrian official, they vehemently deny that they support Hezbollah financially and militarily. And this is, of course, something that the U.S. says Syria and Iran are both involved in, in this military effort to keep Hezbollah armed and supplied in Southern Lebanon.

What analysts do say is and what is interesting and what is happening now is the more Syria feels pressured by the U.S. and western countries, the more it gets close to Iran. So what we're seeing is a diplomatic game, as well, between Iran and Syria and their friendship and their alliance becoming warmer and friendlier as time goes by, the more they feel the U.S. is putting pressure on both of them -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Hala Gorani in Damascus, Syria, thanks so much.

Well, a warm welcome home after fleeing Lebanon. That relief is mixed with heartbreak as family members are left behind. CNN's Daniel Sieberg has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're home! DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Members of a Lebanese-American family land in Atlanta in the middle of the night after enduring a harrowing ordeal. They went to celebrate a wedding and found themselves in a war.

After just a few hours sleep and some much needed coffee, they told us of their journey of stark contrasts. They'd arrived in Lebanon late June to celebrate two family weddings, one involving royalty.

BILLY BROECKELMANN, AMERICAN EVACUEE: It's the queen of Jordan's nephew. And so the queen's sister was there and dancing all night, and the queen's mother was there.

SIEBERG: Then several days later, violence erupted, forcing them to flee, three adult siblings leaving behind their aging parents.

NARAL BROECKELMANN, AMERICAN EVACUEE: It's just one of those visions that will stay with me forever. It's just dad on the balcony, just saying goodbye, and mom walking away, because she didn't want to -- it was hard.

SIEBERG: And their 97-year-old grandmother, who's unable to travel.

ANTHONY GHANDOUR, AMERICAN EVACUEE: I sat next to her and told her good-bye, and I told her I was here tomorrow. She actually told me, "You'll never see me alive again. This the last time you'll see me." And it broke my heart.

SIEBERG: The next generation also experiencing the heartbreak of leaving loved ones behind. Twenty-year-old Rana is returning to San Diego, but her mother and brother must stay in Lebanon for now.

(on camera) Were you angry?

RANA GHANDOUR, AMERICAN EVACUEE: Angry? I was angry, frustrated, like it wasn't supposed to happen. It wasn't expected, you know? No one was expecting it.

SIEBERG (voice-over): They headed north, the roads barely passable, signs of conflict on all sides.

B. BROECKELMANN: Everybody was layered up, and we drove for two, two and a half hours. It was a huge roller coaster ride.

SIEBERG: Billy was able to capture much of their remarkable trek with his digital camera.

B. BROECKELMANN: Israel was bombing the airport as we were driving by it. It was incredible. It was our allies are bombing us. Within hundreds of yards, there's mortars coming down from their battleship. It's just not right.

SIEBERG: For Billy's daughter Marianna, who was full of smiles at the weddings, the fearful trip was sometimes just too much. MARIANNA BROECKELMANN, 11-YEAR-OLD EVACUEE: The road trip to the hotel.

SIEBERG (on camera): Scary?

M. BROECKELMANN: It was scary. Everybody was crying and sad. It was just scary.

SIEBERG: But amidst the chaos, Marianna did manage to celebrate her 11th birthday, complete with a cake.

Eventually, after minimizing all their belongings, even sleeping in the streets at times, they boarded a transport ship to the USS Nashville. From there, it was a short stay in Cyprus. Then they were among the lucky ones on a specially chartered Delta flight to Atlanta.

As they finished telling their story, Anthony manages to reach their parents back in Lebanon.

A. GHANDOUR: Hello, Mama. (speaking foreign language)

SIEBERG: There's tension in their voices.

N. BROECKELMANN: OK, bye-bye, love you, take care.

SIEBERG: Now they're left to worry about everybody else.

A. GHANDOUR: There's no end to this any time soon I don't see. Or somebody's brother is still there, somebody's sister, somebody's mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, aunts, uncles, cousins. Somebody has someone there.

SIEBERG: Daniel Sieberg, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: The Lebanese people have been bombed and battered for nearly two weeks now, but could the raging Mideast conflict actually bring something positive to their nation? Coming up on LIVE FROM, we're going to talk with one Middle East expert who says it might.

And live to Wall Street, to find out what's driving those markets back up today? Take a look at these numbers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Back to our Mideast coverage in a moment. First, let's get to Betty Nguyen in the CNN news room with details on a developing story -- Betty.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Kyra, we've been following this all morning long.

Basically, there is a ship containing 23 people, carrying 500 tons of heavy oil and cars headed to the West Coast that is listing severely right now and is taking on water. Now this ship is called the Cougar Ace. And as for those 500 tons of heavy oil, so far there's a two-mile sheen that is visible. It's difficult to say at this time how much oil has spilled, but what we do know is that this ship is listing at an 80-degree angle. Coast Guard officials say that it's basically sitting on its side.

Of the 23 people on board, one person is injured with a broken leg.

Now, help is on the way. Here's what's happening right now. A Coast Guard plane is circling over the Cougar Ace. That plane is carrying life rafts and suits, but as far as a Coast Guard cutter getting to the ship, well, that's going to take some time. A Coast Guard cutter is on its way, but it's going to take several hours for it to get there.

In the meantime, this Coast Guard plane is circling, hoping that this thing doesn't fully sink by the time that the cutter gets there, but if there's an immediate danger, of course, those life rafts will be dropped.

But 23 people on board as the ship is taking on water. We will continue to follow it for you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Betty, thanks so much.

We're going to check in on Wall Street and those high numbers in just a minute, but we want to get straight to our John Roberts. Can you tell me his location? On the Israeli/Lebanese border.

John, we've been seeing various streams of video coming in from you. There's a lot of action, obviously, still happening right now. Bring us up to date.

ROBERTS: Hey, Kyra.

We're with an artillery battery right now that is somewhere along the border between Israel and Lebanon. Just within the last couple of minutes started opening up again. The guy behind me is firing too. We're only about 50 feet away, so if it hits me just a little bit, there's a real pressure shock wave that comes off of the front -- those barrels. There's one behind me. So if I get hit a little bit, don't worry about it. It's just a little bit of pressure shock wave coming off of it.

What this battery has been doing for the last few days is, really, it's mission is two-fold. It's laying down suppressing fire on those Katyusha rockets, which have been firing from Lebanon into Israel, some 98 of those today. As well, it's been putting down covering fire in front of the Israeli Defense Force.

That's what I said. It's been laying down covering fire, firing missions in front of those Israeli defense forces as they push deeper into Lebanon.

They took the town of Maroun al-Ras (ph) yesterday and declared that they controlled that and then pushed on from there now toward Bin Jubail (ph), which is a town that's a Hezbollah stronghold, six kilometers. So it's about three miles, three and a half, four miles inside the border from Israel into Lebanon. That really is a Lebanon stronghold, so the Israeli Defense Force believes if it can get control of that town it may have a pretty good effect at lowering those numbers of Katyusha rockets that have been flying over from Lebanon into Israel -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: John, I know it's going to be ongoing here. And hopefully, you can hear me OK. I'm just curious if you can give us sort of some insight on how the intelligence is working.

Is it going throughout the day, throughout the night? Are they talking with command and control, the centers based in IDF locations there in Jerusalem? And as they get the intelligence they fire? Or kind of tell us the strategics behind what's happening.

ROBERTS: OK. I'll give you a little bit of an idea, within the bounds of Israeli censorship, as to how this whole thing works.

They've got eyes in the sky, these drones, as well as listening posts all over Israel. They have visions on the ground as well. And they also have other sensors in other areas that are able to triangulate the firing of these Katyusha rockets.

And when they get that triangulation, they're given orders. They set the gun sites. They've actually been on target all day, and they really haven't changed that too much. And they call in, either suppressing fire for those Katyushas or, as the Israeli defense forces advance forward toward Bint Jubail (ph), they'll call for artillery fire to soften up the area in front of them.

And these M-109 American-made 155-millimeter howitzers are so accurate you can literally walk in these troops as they advance along the front line, you can lay down a cover of artillery fire, 300, 400 yards out in front of these troops. And they've been able to do this since the Vietnam War.

Artillery fire from the American side has historically been incredibly accurate. So the forces on the ground will say we've got some trouble up ahead, we can see some Hezbollah forces, we need you to you lay down some fire mission for us, some covering fire. They'll walk that in ahead of the Israeli forces. They'll soften up the territory.

And I'll tell you, if you think it's loud on this side of the border, you got to be on the receiving end of some artillery. I saw that a little bit during the Iraq war three years. It's incredibly frightening when this stuff comes in. And they use it sometimes as scare tactics, as well, to try to drive Hezbollah back from the strategic area that they're trying to get control of.

And, Kyra, I got tell you that it's a very effective strategy. With the exception that -- trying to hit those Katyusha rockets is very difficult, because they put out a very small infrared signature during the daytime when the sun is high. That's why they don't fire them at night. They'd be very easy to see. And they are so portable, either on the back of a truck -- you can put them in the back of a car, set them up. Or one or two people could carry a few Katyusha rockets. So that's why it's so difficult to get a handle on all of this.

And Hezbollah has also had six years to really develop an infrastructure in Southern Lebanon, as well. The entire time that Israel has been out of the area, Hezbollah has been able to really dig in, and some of the Israeli forces I've been talking to have said they are not just a terrorist group, they are a terrorist army -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, the guys behind you, John, as these operations carry out, how soon do they know if indeed they've hit what they wanted to hit? I mean, is there any way to calculate in real time if indeed they're nailing their targets?

ROBERTS: There is when they do a covering fire mission, because they've got forces on the ground or advanced scouts that are out there, saying where they want the fire to come in. They get immediate feedback on that. In terms of getting the Katyushas, it's really kind of hit and miss, because they may get a position triangulated, and by the time they get the fire on that position, the rocket launcher could be long gone.

PHILLIPS: Any idea how many of those Katyusha launchpads could be out there, John? I mean, are there hundreds, are there dozens? Is this -- there's just no way to tell?

ROBERTS: It's anybody's guess. They're estimated to have 10,000 to 12,000 Katyusha rockets on the other side. Then they've also got some Foger (ph) rockets, which are the larger rockets in the range of more than 200 millimeters. A couple of those have been fired. They carry quite a heavy warhead on them.

But in terms of a Katyusha rockets, you could have a bunker of them in a forest, in a farmer's field, underneath a house somewhere that you'd never suspect, and they can go in there and they can set those up, fire them off, and then move on to somewhere else within the space of an hour or two.

So it really is difficult to get an handle on where these launch sites may be, or how many there really are of them. Because it's very fluid. You could you put out as many as you have personnel to be able to man these weapon systems.

PHILLIPS: Our John Roberts right there on the border of Israel and Lebanon. John, thanks so much.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: More sirens blaring, more bombs falling in new efforts to bring peace and relief to the Middle East. Here's what we know right now. Israeli police say dozens more rockets were fired at Israel today and Israel struck back targeting Hezbollah launch sites in southern Lebanon.

The United Nations for almost $150 million for humanitarian aid in this crisis. The U.N. relief coordinator says too many civilians are suffering both in northern Israel and in Lebanon. And British Prime Minister Tony Blair says he's confident a plan to end the violence will come within days. He spoke during a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart. Mr. Blair called the current situation in Lebanon a catastrophe, but he resisted pressure to call on Israel for an immediate cease-fire.

Sending bombs and missiles into Lebanon, sending a message to Iran and Syria. Middle East analysts say that's what Israel has been doing during its 13-day offensive. Adib Farha is a former Lebanese government adviser. He's now with the American-Lebanese Coalition. He joins us once again from Wichita, Kansas. Adib, good to see you again.

ADIB FARHA, AMERICAN-LEBANESE COALITION: It's good to be back.

PHILLIPS: Let's talk about Condoleezza Rice first and the secretary's trip to the Middle East. Is this going to do anything for what's happening right now?

FARHA: I don't -- I don't know how many it's going to accomplish right now. I think Secretary Rice and President Bush are determined not to call for a cease-fire until they feel that the Israeli campaign has reached or almost reached its target.

The best that the Lebanese people can hope for from Dr. Rice's visit is that perhaps the United States government could talk the government of Israel into avoiding targeting civilian Lebanese civilians, the Lebanese army and the Lebanese infrastructure. If the Lebanese government is going to have to take over, deploy the army to the south and replace the Hezbollah's role in which it supplies health care, education and social services to its constituents. We have to start, we have to make sure that the Lebanese infrastructure is not damaged anymore than it has.

PHILLIPS: Let's talk about Hezbollah, a couple of things I want to ask you. And correct me if I'm wrong, have you told me in the past that former President Bill Clinton, you felt that he came very close to dealing with the Hezbollah situation before he left office. Am I remembering that correctly?

FARHA: I'm sorry, Kyra, I didn't hear the question very well. Could you repeat that?

PHILLIPS: You bet. Former President Bill Clinton, if I remember right, you thought that he did a good job with dealing with Hezbollah in the past, that he came close to achieving something with this organization. That right? Am I remembering that correctly?

FARHA: No. I think what I was referring to was President Clinton's peace initiative had almost succeeded when it was stuck on the last 10 yards that former President Assad, the current president's father, insisted on Israel pulling out all the way to Lake Tinerat (ph). Israel insisted on keeping that last 10 yards. In retrospect, if President Clinton had pushed Israel into giving up those additional 10 yards, I think peace between Israel and Syria would have been realized more than 10 years ago. So it is unfortunate. Go ahead, please.

PHILLIPS: Well no, which leads me to my next question. Last week I had a chance to talk to a marine who was in Beirut when that horrendous attack happened on behalf of Hezbollah, killing 200-plus marines and he said that Ronald Reagan made a big mistake in pulling the marines out at that time because it sent a message to Hezbollah that it won.

Do you believe that if those marines wouldn't have been pulled out of Beirut at that time that Hezbollah would not be as strong as it is now?

FARHA: Well, the mistake back then was not pulling out the marines, the mistake was sending them. If they were sent to do something, there were too few, and if they were sent to die, there were too many.

The contingent that President Reagan sent was, like I said, too large to sacrifice and too few to be effective. What we will need at the end of this campaign is hopefully U.N.-sponsored peacekeeping mission that has a wide enough mandate to be able to maintain the peace.

I hope it's not going to be an extension of the current United Nations interim force in Lebanon which does nothing more than count how many rockets are exchanged from each side. We need a force that has been expressed before, robust, that has enough heat and the mandate to actually do something and maintain the peace.

PHILLIPS: And Adib, you've said considering the current events as tragic as they are, you say this could be a positive step toward regional peace because you believe it could play a tremendous impact on Iran.

FARHA: Well, without a doubt, if Hezbollah's military capability is sufficiently downgraded, that would have effectively eliminated or seriously downgraded Iran's western assets and that would make Iran more malleable to pressure from the United States, particularly if the European Union would join forces with the United States and take a more solid position against Iran and more strict sanctions.

It would be easier to tame the Iranians or to subject them to one kind of pressure or another if the western assets are represented by Hezbollah is diminished. Once you take care of the Iranian threat, what's it's contained, hopefully, that would be followed by a serious Middle East initiative spearheaded by President Bush and the United States whereby the United States would take an active role and carry the peace initiative to a successful end.

So but that's looking in the medium to long-range future. The most immediate concern now is for this campaign to be concluded with positive results, if one can say so despite all the damages that have been inflicted on the Lebanese infrastructure and the Lebanese civilians.

PHILLIPS: Former Lebanese government adviser Adib Farha, thanks for your time again today.

FARHA: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Well CNN's Betty Nguyen has an eye on the CNN International desk. Betty, do you have some new information about Secretary Rice's trip to the region?

NGUYEN: Yes, Kyra, we have just learned just minutes ago that Secretary Rice has arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel and will travel to Jerusalem to speak with Israeli officials. As you well know, she spoke with the Lebanese prime minister in Beirut a little bit earlier today.

In the meantime, President Bush has authorized a delivery, of humanitarian aid to Lebanon as part of a significant commitment to those relief efforts and those deliveries are expected to begin on Tuesday.

And we understand Secretary Rice will be speaking more about this humanitarian aid a little bit later today and at least during this Mideast trip. But again, Secretary Rice has just arrived within the past few minutes in Tel Aviv, Israel. She will then travel to Jerusalem, where she will speak with Israeli officials there.

I want to stay on top of this for you, Kyra, and bring you the latest as soon as we get it in.

PHILLIPS: All right, thanks Betty. Well straight ahead, the civilian wounded. Dr. Sanjay Gupta give us an up-close look at doctors practicing medicine on the front lines when LIVE FROM continues.

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PHILLIPS: Well, the number of people killed and wounded is growing. Official Lebanese sources tell CNN at least 375 people have died in Lebanon. More than 700 have been wounded. Israeli defense officials say 37 Israelis have been killed in the fighting, 17 civilians and 20 Israeli soldiers. Officials also say more than 360 Israelis have been wounded in Hezbollah rocket attacks.

Bombs, missiles, rockets, raining destruction on either side of the Israeli/Lebanese border. Our senior medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has a look at efforts to care for the wounded while the battle rages on.

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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm reporting from Larnaca, Cyprus. I just spent a few days in Beirut. Some of the most remarkable things that I've seen are the hospitals there. Ambulances actually falling within the target zones themselves. Take a look at some of these images. I visited a hospital that's actually completely underground. Two patients there. One of these patients actually a victim of an air strike. He had shrapnel go to his hands, his feet, his abdominal wall. Another patient, he looks much sicker. He's in a coma now.

This is what happens when the air strikes hit. Perhaps the most remarkable thing that I saw, though, was actually the effect of these air strikes on the very institutions that are trying to take care of the casualties. The hospitals, ambulances.

This nursery, for example. It was just about 100 meters away from me an airstrike that was targeting a bridge apparently. It affected the nursery, as well. There were seven babies in there, seven bassinets evacuated. Hard to know what their condition is today. The entire hospital rendered useless.

We are going to be reporting from Israel later on tonight. A couple of hospitals out there. Rahbam (ph) hospital, which again falls within the target zone in some many ways. This is in Haifa. How do you take care of people as they're coming off the front lines? You want those hospitals close by, but you don't want them so close that they themselves become targets themselves as well.

We'll be reporting from Israel and how Israel's coping with the increasing patient influx and how they're going to keep going if the hospitals themselves become destroyed.

Back to you.

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PHILLIPS: Well, humanitarian aid on the way to the Middle East. How much and where is it coming from? Answers from the U.N.'s man in charge of the process when LIVE FROM returns.

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PHILLIPS: Well, so many people forced from their homes are caught in the crossfire. The crisis in the Middle East brings an urgent appeal for aid.

The U.N.'s humanitarian chief says help is on the way, but much more is needed.

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JAN EGELAND, U.N. EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR: We already have relief supplies come to Beirut. We are today launching this appeal of $150 million for the Lebanese people. Eight hundred thousand are now displaced or in desperate need for international humanitarian assistance. But, of course, we're also asking for a cessation of hostilities. Too many civilians are suffering, both in Northern Israel and all over here in Lebanon.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Well, the White House says that President Bush has ordered helicopters and ships to Lebanon to provide some relief.

Fleeing for safety, caught in the crossfire. One family's story ahead, when the next hour of LIVE FROM starts in two minutes.

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