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Castro Cedes Power; Crisis In The Middle East; Heat Wave; Arab Airwaves

Aired August 01, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A lot of news for us to get to here over the next couple of hours. We are tracking the latest on Fidel Castro's condition. And here is what we know at this hour.
The Cuban president undergoes intestinal surgery. The 79-year- old leader temporarily turns over power to his younger brother, Raul. Despite previous health issues, this is the first time, if you can believe it, the Cuban leader has ever transferred power.

Cuban exiles in Miami's Little Havana district took to the streets in celebration. They hope this is the beginning of the end of Castro's regime. We have reports from Cuba and the U.S. this morning. Our Shasta Darlington is live in Havana. Susan Candiotti is in Miami. We'll begin in Cuba with Shasta Darlington.

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Cubans woke up this morning with a new, although . . .

KAGAN: All right.

DARLINGTON: Yes, can you hear me?

KAGAN: Yes, we can. Go ahead.

DARLINGTON: Can you hear me?

KAGAN: Yes.

DARLINGTON: Great.

Cuban's woke up with a new provisional government this morning. The younger brother of President Fidel Castro, Raul, has provisionally taken over. They also woke up to visions of street parties in Miami where people are celebrating there. So here in Havana they did their own demonstration. A relatively small one. A couple of hundred people in the historic center gathered to show their support Fidel Castro and for the provisional government and to show their distaste, their dislike, for what's going on in Miami.

Other than that, we're still waiting for news on Fidel Castro's state of health. We haven't actually had any new details since Fidel Castro's personal secretary read a letter that he wrote on live television last night saying that he had to undergo intestinal surgery due to heavy stress and that he would need several weeks to recover. KAGAN: Shasta, Raul Castro himself is 75 years old. Some reports say not in the best of health. Is there a publicly announced long-term plan for succession if and when Fidel Castro dies?

DARLINGTON: I mean, it is well established. All of the steps are actually written into law. If the time and when the time comes, Raul Castro is lined up to take over. And that is very clearly lined out. He would assume, as he has done now provisionally, the head of the government, the head of the communist party. He already is the defense minister. So he's very close to the military, which also puts him in a comfortable position to assume a new government.

Of course, this is only provisional for now. But the idea is he may not be the charismatic leader that Fidel Castro is, but he's more pragmatic. He's an organizer. He's also supposed to be a little funnier. A little more easygoing. And these are all characteristics that could play out well, Cubans think, in their current reality. However, at this point, what they most want to know is how Fidel Castro is doing.

KAGAN: And we will be listening in for those reports. Shasta Darlington live from Havana, thank you.

Let's move north now to Miami. That's where they have been dancing in the streets. The Cuban leader's health crisis sparked a celebration in Little Havana. Our Susan Candiotti takes us there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): In Miami's Little Havana, the party was on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think this is a time where the Cubans from the past, the Cubans that just got here and the Cuban that are still over there need to unite and come together. This is our time and this is a time for democracy. It's what we've been waiting for.

CANDIOTTI: A statement ready on Cuban television said Castro handed over power to his brother, Raul, as the dictator underwent intestinal surgery. At 75, Raul Castro is nearly five years younger than his brother. He's vice president, second in command of the communist party and armed forces and the elder Castro's designated successor.

ROLANDO MENDOZA, HAVANA, CUBA, RESIDENT, (through translator): Nothing. No, normal. Normal. That is why we have Raul and the others who are representing him. They are just like him.

GISSEL, HAVANA, CUBA, RESIDENT, (through translator): Here we will always be the same whether Fidel occupies the presidency or not. We will always defend the same.

CANDIOTTI: Fidel Castro has ruled Cuba without interruption since the communist revolution in 1959. Former U.S. Senator George Mitchell told Larry King Monday the Cuban dictator's health problems could mean the end of the Castro regime is near. GEORGE MITCHELL, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: He's been held together by the force of his personality and I doubt very much that his brother will have the capacity to carry it on much longer. Of course, the regime has been disastrous for the Cuban people and I think it's only a matter of time before he goes and it goes with him.

CANDIOTTI: The news that Castro is out of commission and, at least for the moment, out of power, is music to the ears of Cuban exiles here in Little Havana.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All our lives we've always wanted for Fidel to go down. I mean this is like the one moment of our lives that everybody's going crazy. It might be his brother, but this is the beginning of an end.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's done, it's over, and we're starting to celebrate because Cuba's going to be free. We've been in this for 50 years almost and I hope to pray to God that that [bleep] is dead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Well, there you go on that (INAUDIBLE). Susan Candiotti joining us live from Miami right now.

Susan, I'm sure it's not all about one big party there in south Florida. Are officials making any kind of contingency plans in case the death of Fidel Castro does come?

CANDIOTTI: Well, for example, the city of Miami is working with county officials to monitor the situation. They have what they call an emergency operation center and they are watching and waiting to see what will happen, as is the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has not kicked in any plan, but they've had one in place for years.

For example, if there should be a permanent change in power, whenever Fidel Castro dies, for an example, the Coast Guard will actively add to its ships at sea to watch for a possible exodus of Cuban exiles heading to Miami and vice versa for those exiles here who might intend to go to Cuba and try to pick up family and possibly bring them back. That has not happened now. Coast Guards are simply watching and waiting to see what happens as is Washington.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Susan Candiotti live from south Florida, thank you.

And we're looking at live pictures. I believe this is Israel as the shelling on both sides of the border continues today. While we look at these live pictures, let's bring you up-to-date about what we know is happening in the Middle East right now.

Israel is widening its ground offensive north of here into southern Lebanon. Some video in this morning. Israel claiming to have killed or wounded more than 20 Hezbollah fighters over the last two days. Meanwhile, Syria, Lebanon's neighbor and Hezbollah's backer, is on alert. Syria's president has ordered troops to increase their readiness. Syria's ambassador, however, says his country does not plan to enter the conflict.

Our Paula Hancocks is live with me now from Jerusalem.

Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

Well, the live pictures we've been watching over the past hour or so shows very heavy shelling in southern Lebanon. It's a village called Eita al-Shaab (ph). Now this is an area where the Israeli military has been taking out operations over the last 12 hours or more. And we have seen intense shelling and a lot of black smoke rising from buildings that have been hit in areas that have been hit. We have no word on casualties at this point.

But we know that the military has been in this area for some time. Hezbollah had said that they had pushed the military back from this area overnight and made the Israeli military retreat. But the Israeli military saying that the campaign is ongoing. We can see very heavy shelling in those pictures there.

Now this comes just hours after the security cabinet meeting, which finished in the early hours of Tuesday. It went on far longer than expected. And they agreed to expand the military operation. The ground operation. And this is really what we're seeing now, some very intense fighting. We understand there has been intense clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli defense forces on the ground along the border in many different pockets, different pockets of violence there.

From the Israeli defense forces point of view, they believe they've killed or at least wounded up to 20 Hezbollah fighters. And at this point the amount of rockets coming from southern Lebanon into northern Israel is certainly lower than it has been over the past few days. Just a couple of days ago 150 rockets landed in northern Israel. Today, at this point, I think we have about 15. So certainly it seems as though the ground forces are taking up the slack. They're starting to carry out more operations.

And the air operations are slowing down. We are in a 48-hour suspension of air strikes by Israel at the moment to allow humanitarian aid to allow through. To allow some people to escape. Now there have been air strikes in that 48-hour suspension. Israel insisting it was only if need and if they saw an immediate threat.

Daryn.

KAGAN: In this area that we're watching these pictures where this is taking place in Lebanon, not Israel, as I said, my apologies there, this is very close, as I understand it, to where, when you go back some weeks where the two Israeli soldiers were taken.

HANCOCKS: That's right, yes. This is very close to where this all began. It was July the 12 when the two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped, which sparked this escalation in violence and this conflict. And also in that same attack when Hezbollah militants kidnapped those two soldiers, they also killed eight more. So it was just west of here, but not very far at all. Just on the Israeli side of the border.

And this particular area that we're looking at here is extremely close to the border. The camera that we believe this is being taken from is actually on Israeli soil. So you can see just how close it is to the border itself. And we have seen these kind of shelling in many different times. I mean two times we know the names very well now, Maroun al-Ras and Bint Jbeil, where intense fighting has been ongoing. This is just about probably about 10 miles, maybe less in fact, west of there. But still along the border. Not further and deeper into Lebanon.

Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Paula Hancocks live from Jerusalem, thank you for that.

Still ahead, we have a lot of weather news to talk about. The heat wave not giving up, especially through the north, the south and the Midwest. We'll bring you the latest on that.

Also, the newest tropical storm to form in the Atlantic, Chris. We'll tell you where that storm is headed. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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KAGAN: We're looking forward to see what you contribute. Maybe you have something about how hot the weather is where you are because it is very sweaty a lot of places, New York, Boston and Washington will watch the thermometer hit the 100 degree mark today. Factor in the smothering humidity, it's going to feel even hotter. We won't even get into what a bad hair day that creates.

People doing whatever they can to stay cool. Chicago could feel as hot as 110 today. Crews are working to get air conditioners humming again to 20,000 people on the city's south side. Hundreds of elderly have been evacuated. A live report from Chicago is just ahead.

They're trying to stay cool and hydrated in St. Louis as well. About 1,500 homes and business there without power.

And parts of Oklahoma are likely to swelter near 100 degrees through Thursday. But at least there is a chance of scattered showers.

Let's go to Keith Oppenheim. He is standing by in Chicago.

We're used to hearing how cold it really is, not the heat index. We're used to hearing the wind-chill factor from Chicago, not the heat index from Chicago.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, put it mildly, Daryn, this is a very dangerous day in the city. And I'll give you a visual example of what I'm talking about behind me.

You can see that there is a woman who is in a wheelchair and she is one of the people who have been evacuated because of a power outage in the city that started about 7:30 last night. It was because of an underground power failure. A cable that broke down. Why, we don't really know yet. But the impact of that was an area that was perhaps a little bit less than two square miles got severely affected.

I'm going to walk over here. You can see the command center where you have a number of Con Ed crews, as well as police and firefighters. They are working on the problem. They hope to get the power restored by this afternoon.

But in the meantime, they have had to evacuate as many as 15,000 people. Now the numbers are a little rough here because that number represents the number of customers affected. But when I talked to fire officials out here, they weren't really sure exactly how many people they had to get out of here, but they said quite a number of them were elderly people who were sent to hotels. Those who were not elderly were taken to McCormick Place, which is the major convention center in Chicago.

As far as we know, Daryn, no major injuries or hospitalizations to talk about. But you have to keep in mind that the history in Chicago is a severe one. In fact, that in 1995 there were more than 700 people who died during a week-long heat wave.

And just in the last month in Cook County, the county in which Chicago sits, 10 people have died, two during the last weekend. So the fear of what hot weather can do, particularly to vulnerable elderly people, is high in this city. And that is why the coordination here, as far as we can see, has been intense and pretty good. So if the day goes on where we can continue to say that there are no major injuries in Chicago as a result of a heat and the power outage, that's a real good story to tell.

Back to you. KAGAN: All right. We'll hope it goes in that direction. Thank you, Keith.

A new tropical storm in the Atlantic to talk about. Tropical Storm Chris. Chad Myers has the latest on that.

Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Let's go back to the Middle East story. We're getting new pictures in now from southern Lebanon. When I say southern Lebanon, I mean really southern Lebanon. Just across the Israeli border, the fighting stepping up here.

This fighting coming just after Israel's security cabinet approving expansion of the ground campaign against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. Both sides reporting step up in the fighting here. Two of the Arabic language networks, al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya, are reporting this heavy fighting. This is Ibil Shav (ph), claiming the lives of three Israeli soldiers. The IDF not confirming that report.

But this, by the way, where this area is being shelled, this is very close to where those two Israeli soldiers were taken some weeks ago which sparked this latest conflict. More on that from Lebanon and Israel in just a moment.

Right now we want to get the view from Syria and that's where we find our Aneesh Raman. He is in the capital of Damascus.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Calling the war one of Israeli aggression and genocide. Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, in a statement to the country's armed forces, raised their readiness. Essentially telling them to train harder and prepare for whatever might come next.

But there was no mention of increasing troop numbers or any movement of military assets. Instead, it seems, it was a reminder of Syria's regional importance. Amid the fury in the Muslim world following the Israeli attack on Qana, Lebanon, amid increasing international calls for an end to the conflict, Syria is posturing an at opportune moment.

Across Damascus, at cafes like this, TVs are locked on to Arabic news channel that are constantly showing images of the children killed in the Qana attack. It is, in part, why the Syrian government feels the tide is turning its way as Arab opinion hardens against Israel and its ally, the United States.

One top official here says it's Washington that's out of step, not Damascus.

BUTHAYNA SHA'ABAN, SYRIAN MINISTER OF EXPATRIATE AFFAIRS: Yesterday the foreign minister of Egypt (INAUDIBLE), nine foreign ministers called our foreign minister and talked to him. So we don't feel lonely at all. Syria is not isolated. I think it's only in the minds of the U.S. administration that Syria is isolated. I think this crisis the U.S. is isolated in the Middle East and the U.S. has shown itself not to have any vision or any credibility in the Middle East.

RAMAN: Syria says the U.S. must directly engage both Damascus and Iran if a permanent solution to the crisis is to be achieved. And, they say, Hezbollah must agree to any international peace keeping force planned for southern Lebanon.

SHA'ABAN: Of course we will see international troops are occupying force because they are not consulting with the resistance.

RAMAN: The resistance is how many here label Hezbollah, seen by Israel and the U.S. as a terrorist group. And as a diplomatic solution to the current crisis is being debated in capitals around the world, Syria's president has his own message. His is a country essential to sustainable peace in the Middle East.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And our Aneesh Raman joins us live now from Damascus. So that is the word from the leader of Syria. Is there any kind of threat if Syria is not included, Aneesh, in any kind of peace agreement?

RAMAN: Yes, nothing overt. But essentially what we are hearing from analysts is that Syria wants to be part of the peace deal. It has issue with Israel in terms of disputed territories it wants resolved. It wants any peace that is brokered to be regional and not specific, Daryn, to just Israel and Lebanon.

If it is left out, if it is ignored and the world sees that peace can exist without Syria, it could embolden Syria to then hold back, to be more confrontational with Israel as time moves forward. The Syrians are very deliberate, very slow, in their movements, in their diplomacy. Nothing will happen quickly, but it could be a lingering long-term implication that could prevent, as we've heard here essentially, real peace that is lasting in the region.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Live from Damascus, Syria. Thank you.

While all this is happening, the Arab world is tuning in. Viewers there see the Middle East conflict through a different lens. You'll see for yourself on CNN, the most trusted name in news. We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: How about those financial markets? Oh, that's a different picture than last week, isn't it? The market has been open about an hour. Just under that. You can see the Dow down 71 points. The Nasdaq headed that same direction. Even more steeply. It is down 31 points. More business news ahead with Susan Lisovicz, but first more from the Middle East.

That crisis is unfolding on your screen. But what if you're able to watch Arab television. You're going to see a whole different war. CNN's Gary Tuchman gives us a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The U.S. flag and patriotic American music, shrewdly used by Hezbollah's TV channel al- Manar. The news coverage of Israel's bombing in Qana, Lebanon, that killed more than 50 people, many of them children.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE TRANSLATOR: Beirut is free. Beirut is free. Beirut is free.

TUCHMAN: Looks very different on Arab channels than it does anywhere else. On al-Arabiya, video promoting coverage of the Qana killings shows an out of context picture of a smiling Israeli soldier. A promo on al-Jazeera, made before the bombing but used frequently after it, attempts to make the U.S. secretary of state look dishonest and cruel.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The safety of civilians. That all should be concerned about protecting innocent civilian life, about protecting civilian infrastructure.

TUCHMAN: While western media show casualties, they are nowhere near the number and intensity shown in Arab TV. Octavia Nasr is CNN's senior Arab affairs editor who spends much of her time monitoring Arab media.

OCTAVIA NASR, SENIOR EDITOR ARAB AFFAIRS: Basically the way they see it this that this is war. This is real. And this is what's happening. So if you don't have the stomach for it, don't watch. But they don't feel like they have to cleanse it for their viewers.

TUCHMAN: Arab channels differ from one another in their journalism. But after the bombing in Qana, lengthy, emotional narratives from witnesses were on all of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, (through translator): We were not terrorists. These kids were not terrorists. Show them the images of the children. Show these pictures to Bush and Rice.

NASR: On Arab networks you hear more ordinary citizens basically weeping, crying, expressing the feelings, their anger.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, (through translator): Twenty-five children were killed under the rubble. These are the honor of Lebanon.

TUCHMAN: The anger is something all the channels have in common. But the channel run by Hezbollah corners the market on sarcasm and scorn and does it with no subtlety. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

TUCHMAN: This video starts with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stating, "There's no struggle more ethical than our struggle." As it continues Al-Manar TV puts a swastika on his arm, and an Adolph Hitler-style mustache over his lips. Hatred, anger, sadness and emotion, all on the air on Arab TV.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Gary's report first aired on CNN's "ANDERSON COOPER." You can watch Anderson live from northern Israel tonight. "360" begins at 10:00 Eastern.

Here's what we know right now about the situation in Cuba. Seventy-nine-year-old President Fidel Castro undergoes intestinal surgery. He's handed control to the government to his younger brother, 75-year-old Raul. It's the first time the Cuban leader has ceded power.

As the White House and Coast Guard are monitoring the situation, Miami's Cuban exile community is celebrating. But some are warning that Raul Castro, his brother, is quote, "worse than Fidel in every way."

Some background now on Fidel Castro, who was born to wealthy parents in 1926. He'll be 80 years old in about two weeks. Castro was an athlete as a young man. He once tried out with the Washington Senators baseball team. Castro took control of Cuba in 1959, when guerrillas ousted the president.

Cuba has been under a U.S. financial embargo since 1961. And of course, we all know Fidel Castro is famous for wearing military fatigues and delivering long, fiery speeches.

Joining me in Miami, Andres Oppenheimer, a correspondent for "The Miami Herald." He has met the Cuban president. He is also author of the book "Castro's Final Hour."

Mr. Oppenheimer, good morning. Thanks for being here with us.

ANDRES OPPENHEIMER, CNN SPANISH POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.

KAGAN: First, were you surprised even by the public announcement of this illness?

OPPENHEIMER: Well, we've been expecting this for years. Fidel Castro is 79 years old. He hasn't been in good health many times. He had -- he fainted three, four years ago. That was very public. That was announced. That was seen on TV.

So surprised, perhaps not. But in a way, it was somewhat anti- climactic in the sense that one would have imagined he himself to make the announcement that he was handing over power to his brother instead of...

KAGAN: So do you think that's an indication of just how sick he is?

OPPENHEIMER: Yes. If Fidel Castro could have made the announcement himself, he probably would have done it in a way that would have given more confidence to his people, that would have given a signal to the world that I'm alive and well, and I'll be back in a couple of months.

KAGAN: Still in control. What about his brother, Raul?

OPPENHEIMER: Raul Castro has not been able to get the reputation, the sort of the popularity, of his brother in Cuba. He was always seen as the bad cop. They sort of played a good cop, bad cop routine in which Raul Castro was the most repressive of the two. He was the head -- he is the head of the armed forces.

And for instance, in a famous case in 1989 where Cuba executed top generals and colonels, it was Raul Castro who played the role of the bad cop, of the guy demanding that these people be executed. And Fidel Castro sort of played the elder statesman who was thinking about it and wouldn't openly press for their execution. It may have been all theater, but that's the way it played out.

KAGAN: He's also -- Raul Castro also 75 years old. Not in the best of health himself. This can't be the ultimate succession plan. Has not Fidel Castro put more thought into what happens down the line?

OPPENHEIMER: Well, you know, all dictatorships think they are eternal. All made plans for centuries to come, and very few of them, if any, achieve that. Raul Castro, as you say, is 75 years old. He's not as popular as his brother. He's not as liked by some Cubans on the island as his brother is. Very few Cuba watchers think that he could be in power for, let's say, ten years. From an age point of view that would be difficult. And also from a political support point of view, it would be difficult.

KAGAN: What about the Cuban people? Incredible stat I read this morning in your paper. Seventy percent of the people who live in Cuba, all they've ever known is life under Fidel Castro. They don't know anything else.

OPPENHEIMER: Yes, on the other hand, that doesn't mean that 70 percent of the people or more support Fidel Castro. We don't know that. This guy didn't have an election in 47 years. He didn't allow any independent media. He didn't allow people to watch the Internet. Amazingly, there's less access to the Internet in Cuba than in Haiti, which is, you know, the poorest country in the hemisphere. And that's because the government didn't allow it.

But from what I remember of my trips to Cuba in the 1980s, in the late 1980s, you have sort of a generational gap. The older people, the people who participated in the revolution with Fidel Castro, many of them tend to support Fidel Castro. They have a personal investment in the revolution. They spent a lot of time putting their effort, their sacrifice, for the revolution.

But middle-aged people are sort of in between. And younger people want to get the hell out of there. They want to go to Miami. They want to go to New York. You don't see the kind of support you see among all the people. So I would say that in Cuba, I would not be surprised if there was a pull to see greater support for Fidel Castro among people of his generation.

KAGAN: It would be an age division. Let's talk about your home community of Miami. We've seen lots of video, people dancing in the street, true excitement. But is there a common vision of what would come after Fidel Castro? And I'm talking about things like a concern for a mass exodus of too many people coming here. But also is there a common vision of what Cuba should be post-Castro?

OPPENHEIMER: Well, I believe so. I believe there is a consensus that Cuba should be democratic, that there should be fundamental freedoms, that there should be a free market, like in any other country.

But the Cuban community in Miami has changed substantially over the past 20, 30 years. There was a time, perhaps 20 years ago, when people wanted blood, wanted revenge, wanted mostly -- all these communists (INAUDIBLE) to be executed.

Today, a poll that "The Miami Herald" published two years ago showed that 56 percent of Cuban-Americans in Miami would be willing to pardon Cuban communist party officials who are willing to participate in a transition. So there is a more realistic point of view. Many years have passed. A lot of people have relatives in Cuba. And the most amazing thing...

KAGAN: Do you yourself? Do you have family?

OPPENHEIMER: Well, I'm not Cuban. I'm not Cuban. But there is a lot of living in Miami. You meet a lot of people who come and go to the island, you know, once a year, take money. Amazingly, there's about $1 billion being poured into the Cuban economy from Miami relatives. In a way, communist Cuba lives off the Miami Cubans, who send remittances to the relatives back home.

KAGAN: Fascinating time to be covering this story, is it not?

OPPENHEIMER: Well, it's the biggest story in Miami, and it's the biggest story not only in Miami, but in many U.S....

KAGAN: Yes, our lead story.

OPPENHEIMER: Like New Jersey or others where you've got a big, big Cuban-American community.

KAGAN: Absolutely. Andres Oppenheimer, you gave us some great perspective today, from "The Miami Herald."

OPPENHEIMER: Thank you.

KAGAN: Thank you, sir.

We'll head to California. Coming up, Mel Gibson's fall from Hollywood grace. Will his star shine again after a reported tirade -- anti-Semitic tirade. Stay with CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: I want to show you some new pictures we're getting in here from the Israeli-Lebanese border. The Israeli military there, they have stepped up a ground incursion just across the Lebanese border, and this is an area called Eita Al Shaab, very close to where the two Israeli soldiers were captured some weeks ago, which started this latest conflict.

By the way, as you look at these pictures, the Israeli military is saying that it has killed 300 Hezbollah fighters since the start of the military campaign against the Lebanese militia nearly three weeks ago. That coming from Israel's justice minister in Jerusalem.

Our John Roberts very close to where we are watching these pictures being taken, and we'll be actually, in fact, I have him right now on the phone.

John, what can you tell me about what's happening here?

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you.

We're at a little promontory overlooking Eita Al Shaab, which is the scene of the latest fighting here in Southern Lebanon. It's literally right across the border from where we are. We have been watching heavy shelling going in, also 500-pound bombs being dropped by the Israeli Air Force. And we can hear the sound of gunfire, what sounds like very close-quarters fighting, because you hear the sound of the machine gun go off, and then you hear return fire. It's a very, very vicious firefight going on in there right now for control of this strategic Lebanese town, which the Israeli Defense Forces say is a stronghold for Hezbollah.

Sorry if we're a little out of breath here, but trying to run around here and get a good vantage point require as little bit of physical exertion.

On the other side, Hezbollah is claiming to have exacted a heavy toll on the Israeli Defense Forces. The Israelis, at this point. are confirming nothing in terms of casualties. But Hezbollah is claiming to have killed a number of Israeli soldiers and wounded a lot more. But as I said, you know, this is a war for propaganda, and for Hezbollah to claim that would be a natural outcome of this battle, but for the Israeli Defense Forces to confirm it, they need to get reports back from the front, and when the wounded and any other casualties come back over the border, there's usually a period of about 12 to 24 hours before we really find out what the situation on the ground is there.

KAGAN: John, I'll give you a second to catch your breath. Deep breath. And while you're doing that, let me ask you, these pictures that we're looking at this town of Eita Al Shaab, you're talking about why it's important or why it would be a target. Tell us a little bit more about what the Israelis believe about this town?

ROBERTS: Well, the Israelis, what the Israelis are trying to do, is they are trying to create a buffer zone. They're coming up from the south. They're also coming across from the northeast, and what they're trying to do is bracket Hezbollah, to try to prevent their retreat, and also push them back from these towns. So with this heavy shelling, the heavy fighting on the ground, and the heavy-area bombardment, they're trying to clear out those areas.

This is a town, by the way, is very close to two Israeli towns, and those towns have been the target for many, many Katyushas. In fact, on the road to get up here, there were three or four Katyusha hits right in the center of the road. They were old hits. They didn't come down when we were driving up. But it is an extremely, extremely dangerous area.

We also got a vantage point from a hilltop army post. We are taking pictures up there. There was literally no one else around, and the army came up and said, you picked about the most dangerous place in this area to shoot from, so please get out.

KAGAN: Fascinating.

And to give us a perspective of just how close we are, the pictures we're looking at and where your camera is shooting is Lebanon, but you're actually in Israel.

ROBERTS: Yes, we're just across the border, but you have to remember in this part of the country, the border really just could be just a street between two villages. The villages are very close together here. I would say that Eita Al Shaab is maybe, at most, a mile away from the closest town in Israel. So you have these towns that are built right up close to this border, and then you have the Arab towns right on the other side of the border. Everything is very close here. And so we have a tremendous vantage point to watch what so far is probably the second-most vicious battle of this war, Bint Jbeil being the first, and now Eita Al Shaab.

KAGAN: And we've been talking about this a little bit, but this is very close to where the two Israeli soldiers were taken some weeks ago, which started this latest incursion and battle.

ROBERTS: It is. They were in a position along the border, not far from here, when the Hezbollah guerrillas made the incursion across the border, killed a number of Israeli soldiers, and kidnapped those two. It's very easy here, because there are many remote areas where the border is monitored simply electronically. There are no eyes on, if you will, and for Hezbollah to launch a cross-border incursion in this region is actually very easy, because it's quite hilly. There are a lot of points where you can take cover. There are ravines, what are called waddies, which are those dried-out river beds. So it would be very easy. This would be a prime area to launch a cross-border incursion. Obviously Hezbollah thought the same thing, and took advantage of it. KAGAN: John Roberts, reporting from right along the Israeli- Lebanese border. John, thank you.

A question about what's happening there. Whose land is it? A dispute that evolved over century and a source of much of the unrest in the Middle East. Coming up on CNN, we'll take a look at that.

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