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CNN Live Today

Senate Armed Services Committee Questions Top Military Brass; Motorcycle Bomb Kills at Least 10 in Baghdad; 100 Hezbollah Rockets Hit Northern Israel Today

Aired August 03, 2006 - 11:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan. Welcome to our second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY.
We're looking at live pictures from Capitol Hill. The Senate Armed Services Committee having a chance to question and get some answers from the top military brass, including Defense Secretary Rumsfeld.

What has been said so far? Let's check in with our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, Daryn.

Maybe one of the most interesting things about this hearing is it is the first time now that Secretary Rumsfeld, as well as General Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and General Abizaid, the commanding General of the Central Command, are being asked about the fighting in the Middle East, about the war now between Hezbollah and Israel and what impact that may have on regional security and what impact it may have on U.S. troops. Both General Abizaid and the secretary offering in some detail their thoughts about the extent to which Iran is behind Hezbollah and the amount of Iranian-made weapons that Hezbollah is now using against Israel.

So that has been a very interesting item to watch this morning.

Also, but as you might expect, Iraq topping the list of questions as well. You know, the United Nations has recently estimated about 100 Iraqi civilians die each day in the violence in Iraq, and the question about sectarian violence and the possibility of civil war was front and center.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: Do you agree, General, that -- with the ambassador from Britain to Iraq that Iraq is sliding towards civil war?

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I have seen it in Baghdad in particular, and that if not stopped, it is possible that Iraq could move towards civil war.

(END VIDEO CLIP) STARR: Daryn, those comments from General Abizaid very candid, very forthright, and certainly being watched very carefully.

This was the hearing in which it was -- the military hoped it could talk about bringing the troops home, that they had plans to bring as many as two brigades, several thousand U.S. troops, home possibly by the end of the year. But, of course, because of that sectarian violence that General Abizaid is talking about, that is not going to happen. Indeed, about 3,000 U.S. troops now spending an additional four months in Iraq, in Baghdad, trying to help the Iraqis get a handle on that burgeoning violence -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.

Thank you.

Now, among those doing the questioning today is Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona. Got a little heated at one point.

Here is what the senator had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: What I worry about is we're playing a game of whack a mole here. We move troops -- it flares up. We move troops there. We all know that Falluja was allowed to become a base of operations in insurgency, so we had to go into Falluja and fight one of the great battles in Marine Corps-Army history.

Then when I was back there not too long ago, they said we've got big problems in Ramadi. Everybody knows we've got big problems in Ramadi. And I said, " Where are you going to get the troops?" "Well, we're going to have to move them from Falluja."

Now we're going to have to move troops into Baghdad from someplace else. It's very disturbing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: That's Senator John McCain of the Senate Armed Services Committee, what he had to say earlier this morning. If you'd like to continue listening in and watching that, just go to cnn.com/pipeline. There's one of the pipes with continuous streaming live video of what's taking place on Capitol Hill.

Meanwhile, let's go to Iraq, live to Baghdad. More violence to talk about there today. And our Harris Whitbeck has the latest -- Harris.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, senior U.S. military officials on the ground in Baghdad are echoing what is being said back in Washington. Somebody I spoke with yesterday said that the situation in the Iraqi capital is as uncertain as he's ever seen it.

We had more evidence of that today. There was a bombing in a public square in Baghdad. A bomb attached to a motorcycle went off amid shoppers and shopkeepers in a very, very busy square on Thursday afternoon. There were 10 people killed there and about 32 wounded.

Also, the aftermath today of yesterday's bombing on a soccer field in a poor Shia neighborhood in Baghdad. There were dozens killed there, including three teenagers who were out there playing soccer.

So it seems like the targets are more and more civilian people, and that, of course, is having a big effect on morale here at the Iraqi capital.

KAGAN: You know, Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he's also testifying today there on Capitol Hill, Harris, and he said this one is going to come down ultimately to the Iraqi people as they make a decision about what they want the future of their country to be.

Isn't it just days since the president said he thinks it won't be that long before Iraqis will be able to take over all the security services, or at least be in command of them?

WHITBECK: Well, the Iraqi president said that yesterday, but the problem -- and this according to U.S. officials on the ground here -- is that while there is -- obviously there's a very strong military component to the strategy here. That military strategy will only work if it is accompanied by local political will, by Iraqi political will, in terms of the Iraqi government letting its own forces fight the fight that they must fight. And people we spoke to yesterday said that that is one of the big hindrances or concerns that they see as a push is made for more Iraqi forces taking control of more of the country.

KAGAN: All right. Harris Whitbeck, live in Baghdad.

Thank you.

Let's check in Afghanistan. A suicide car bomb explodes in a crowded market near Kandahar. There we go -- 21 people are dead, 13 wounded. The attack just days after NATO forces took charge of security in the southern region.

Crisis in the Middle East. Let's tell you what we know right now.

Police say about 100 Hezbollah rockets have slammed into the northern part of Israel today. At least seven Israelis are reported dead and many more are wounded.

Israel resumes its bombardment of Hezbollah strongholds in southern Beirut. This is video of the war-torn Lebanese capital.

On the diplomatic front, they're working to defuse the crisis. British Prime Minister Tony Blair says an agreement to end the fighting could be reached in the United Nations within days.

Our Paula Hancocks is near the Israeli port city of Haifa with the latest on what's been happening there. Paula, hello.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

Well, just over an hour ago there was a deadly barrage of rockets that hit many different towns in northern Israel. The most deadly of those rockets hit here in Acre, which is just north of Haifa, that port city, and four people were killed here.

Now, apparently, they were standing, according to Israeli radio, on their balcony, which is just behind those trees that you can see there, and that is when they were killed. Now, the Katyusha itself hit in the middle of the road, but, of course, these -- the warheads of these missiles are packed full of tiny pellets, and those pellets actually are like bullets from a gun on point of impact, so that's where four people were killed.

We know that three more people were killed in a small Arab village called Tashika (ph), which is just northeast of here. We understand at least 22 injured, 10 of those severely wounded.

And as you say, there has been a tremendous amount of rockets today, more than 130 have fallen in northern Israel, we are being told. Not quite as bad as yesterday. On Wednesday, we had more than 230 following a two-day lull, so really at the time that the Israeli politicians and military are saying they are degrading Hezbollah's artillery, at least here in northern Israel we can see that they are still very capable of launching those rockets -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And how do Israeli defense officials explain that?

HANCOCKS: Well, they can't really explain it. We've heard from the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, a couple days ago, saying that he never promised the Israelis that he would destroy every single Hezbollah rocket. He just promised the Israelis that he would make sure that Hezbollah was not going to be a threat on the northern Israeli border. But obviously at this point Hezbollah is still very much a threat.

This is -- seven people being killed in this particular barrage of rockets. We understand that it was fairly coordinated. Over 40 in just a matter of minutes. So, also proving to the Israeli military that the central command is still, in some semblance, still going as they were able to coordinate those rocket attacks from different areas in southern Lebanon and hitting very many different northern Israeli towns -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Paula Hancocks, live from northern Israel.

Paula, thank you.

Investigators are raising new questions in Qana, Lebanon. That is the site of one of the deadliest Israeli attacks.

CNN's John Vause is with us from Jerusalem with the latest on that. John, hello.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

There are about three different investigations into what may or may not have happened at Qana in the early hours of Sunday morning. One coming out from the Israeli military, standing by its initial assessment that all the intelligence which had been gathered indicated that that four-story building was being used by Hezbollah, and that there was no evidence of the presence of civilians in that building.

The Israeli military going on to say that it had evidence that civilians were there, then the attack would not have been carried out. Israel also maintaining that the intelligence gathered gave every indication that Hezbollah had been firing rockets from that neighborhood into Israel.

Amnesty International, though, in fact, calling that Israeli investigation nothing less than a whitewash, and calling for an independent inquiry. Also, Amnesty claims to have spoken to a number of survivors shortly after the attack who say that they've been living in that building for about two weeks, and that there was no way that the Israelis would not have known about their presence because surveillance drones had flown over the village on a number of occasions.

A third report. This one coming out from the Human Rights Watch, who -- which claims that the death toll there lower than originally thought. According to Human Rights Watch, 28 people were killed in that building, another 13 remain missing. However, the Lebanese government is standing by its initial claims that the death toll is still somewhere between 54 and 60 civilians, many of them children.

And also from the Human Rights Watch, they say that their investigation found no evidence of Hezbollah military activity in that General area -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And Qana, and this particular attack, particularly horrifying because of what happened there 10 years ago.

VAUSE: Yes, this was the site of another Israeli attack 10 years ago which left approximately 100 civilians dead. It's a day which has been marked -- mourned, rather, in Qana in the years since then.

That was a turning point back then, an operation called Operation Grapes of Wrath. Many saw that this was -- this latest attack on Sunday on the town of Qana could in fact be a tipping point in this Israeli offensive in Lebanon. But this time that appears not to be the case -- Daryn.

KAGAN: John Vause, live in Jerusalem.

Thank you for that.

We're going to focus back here in the U.S. Just ahead, crunch time for power companies. Ahead, utilities working overtime to keep you cool during the heat wave.

Ahead on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: So this is what we're hearing, that relief is in sight, and just not today for most of us. More sweltering temperatures are hitting parts of the country.

Philadelphia faces another day of 100-degree weather. The dangerous heat wave is making the job tougher for construction workers and others outdoors. It's also taking a toll on subway commuters.

In Boston, several people had to be treated for heat-related problems. Transit officials have also slowed the speed of some trains because the heat can damage the rails. Amtrak has taken similar precautions.

Boston and Chicago, you will be getting a break today. Still, temperatures will be in the high 90s and 100s from Dallas, to Philadelphia, to parts of Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

Now, we were talking to Chad yesterday. He pretty much ran out of colors.

How hot can you get?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're not into purple yet.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: All right, Chad. Thank you.

MYERS: You bet.

KAGAN: Want to go back live now to Capitol Hill. Senator Hillary Clinton is questioning top military brass.

This is the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Let's listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Under your leadership, there have been numerous errors in judgment that have led us to where we are in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have a full-fledged insurgency and full-blown sectarian conflict in Iraq. Now, whether you label it a civil war or not, it certainly has created a situation of extreme violence and the continuing loss of life among our troops and of the Iraqis.

You did not go into Iraq with enough troops to establish law and order. You disbanded the entire Iraqi army. Now we're trying to recreate it. You did not do enough planning for what is called phase four, and rejected all the planning that had been done previously to maintain stability after the regime was overthrown. You underestimated the nature and strength of the insurgency, the sectarian violence, and the spread of Iranian influence.

Last year, Congress passed the United States Policy in Iraq Act, which I strongly supported. This law declares 2006 to be a year of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty with Iraqi security forces taking the lead for the security of a free and sovereign Iraq, thereby creating the conditions for the phased redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq.

However, we appear to be moving in the opposite direction, with a number of U.S. troops in Iraq scheduled to increase, not decrease. That's the only way I think you can fairly consider the decision with respect to the 172nd Stryker Brigade.

So, Mr. Secretary, as we return to our states for the August recess, our constituents have a lot of questions and concerns about the current state of affairs in both Iraq and Afghanistan. I don't need to remind any of us that we continue to lose our young men and women, 120 from New York alone.

Besides the U.S. losses, violence does seem to be increasing. From January to June of this year, there were 14,338 Iraqi civilian casualties, at least as far as anyone can count. In May and June alone, more than 5,000 deaths and 5,700 injuries.

In a July 22nd article in "The New York Times," General Abizaid was quoted as saying, "Two months after the new Iraqi government took office, the security gains that we had hoped for had not been achieved." Then there was the big ballyhooed announcement of forward together and the commitment by the new Iraqi government to secure Baghdad.

Two months into that, it's clear it's not working, and we are now putting in more American troops. And following the lead of Senator McCain's line of questioning, we're moving them from other places that are hardly stable and secure.

In Afghanistan, your administration's credibility is also suspect.

In December 2002, you said the Taliban are gone. In September 2004, President Bush said the Taliban no longer is in existence. However, this February, DIA director Lieutenant General Maples said that in 2005 attacks by the Taliban and other anti-coalition forces were up 20 percent from 2004 levels, and these insurgents were a greater threat to the Afghan government's efforts to expand its authority than at any time since 2001.

Further, General Eikenberry made a comparable comment with respect to the dangers that are now going on in Afghanistan and the failure to be able to secure it. Obviously, I could go on and on. A recent book aptly titled "Fiasco" describes in some detail the decision-making apparatus that has led us to this situation.

So, Mr. Secretary, when our constituents ask for evidence that your policy in Iraq and Afghanistan will be successful, you don't leave us with much to talk about. Yes, we hear a lot of happy talk and rosy scenarios, but because of the administration's strategic blunders, and, frankly, the record of incompetence in executing, you are presiding over a failed policy.

Given your track record, Secretary Rumsfeld, why should we believe your assurances now?

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: My goodness.

First, I've tried to make notes and to follow the prepared statement you've presented.

First of all, it's true, there is sectarian conflict in Iraq, and there is a loss of life. And it's an unfortunate and tragic thing that that's taking place. And it is true that there are people who are attempting to prevent that government from being successful, and they are the people who are blowing up buildings and killing innocent men, women, and children, and taking off the heads of people on television. And the idea of their prevailing is unacceptable.

Second, you said the number of troops were wrong. I guess history will make a judgment on that.

The number of troops that went in and the number of troops that were there every month since, and the number of troops that are there today, reflected the best judgment of the military commanders on the ground, their superiors, General Pace, General Abizaid, the civilian leadership of the Department of Defense, and the president of the United States. I think it's not correct to assume that they were wrong numbers. And I don't think the evidence suggests that, and it will be interesting to see what history decides.

The balance between having too many and contributing to an insurgency by the feeling of occupation and the risk of having too few, and having the security situation not be sufficient for the political progress to go forward, is a complicated set of decisions. And I don't know that there's any guidebook that tells you how to do it.

There's no rule book. There's no history for this. And the judgments that have been made have been made by exceedingly well- trained people, the gentlemen sitting next to me, the people on the ground in Iraq.

They were studied and examined and analyzed by the civilian leadership and by the president, and they were confirmed. And so I think your assertion is at least debatable.

The idea that the army was disband I think is one that's kind of flying around. My impression is that, to a great extent, that army disband itself. Our forces came in so fast. It was made up of a lot of Shia conscripts who didn't want to be in it, and thousands, or at least many, many hundreds of Sunni generals who weren't about to hang around after Saddam Hussein and his sons and administration were replaced. The work to build a new army has included an awful lot of the people from the prior army, and it has benefited from that.

Third, the assertion that the government rejected all the planning that had been done before is just simply false. That's not the case. The planning that had been done before was taken into account by the people who were executing the post-major combat operations activities.

The comments about Baghdad I'll possibly let General Abizaid comment on.

The goal is not to have U.S. forces do the heavy lifting in Baghdad. There are many, many more Iraqi forces in Baghdad. The role of the U.S. forces is to help them, to provide logistics, to assist them as needed, and to create a presence that will allow the Iraqi security forces to succeed and then, as our forces step back, the Iraqi -- allow the Iraqi security forces to be sufficient to maintain order in the city.

I can't predict if it will work this time. It may or it may not. It happens to represent the best judgment of General Casey, General Chiarelli, and the military leadership. And General Abizaid and General Pace and I have reviewed it, and we think that it is a sensible approach, as General Abizaid testified earlier.

Afghanistan, I don't know who said what about whether Taliban are gone, but, in fact, the Taliban that were running Afghanistan and ruling Afghanistan were replaced. And they were replaced by an election that took place in that country. And in terms of a government or a governing entity, they were gone, and that's a fact.

Are there still Taliban around? You bet. Are they occupying safe havens in Afghanistan and other places? Correction -- in Pakistan and other places? Certainly they are.

Does the violence -- is the violence up? Yes. Does the violence tend to be up in the summer and spring, summer and fall months? Yes, it does. And it tends to decline during the winter period.

Is it -- does that represent failed policy? I don't know. I would say not. I think you've got an awful lot of very talented people engaged in this, and the decisions that are being made are being made with great care after a great deal of consideration.

Are there setbacks? Yes. Are there things that people can't anticipate? Yes.

Does the enemy have a brain and continue to make adjustments on the ground requiring our forces to continue to make adjustments? You bet. Is that going to continue to be the case? I think so. Is this problem going to get solved in the near term about this long struggle against violent extremism? No, I don't believe it is. I think it's going to take some time.

And I know the question was some wars lasted three years, some wars lasted four years, some wars lasted five years. The Cold War lasted 40-plus years, and the struggle against violent extremists who were determined to prevent free people from exercising their rights as free people is going to go on a long time, and it's going to be a tough one.

That does not mean that we have to spend the rest of our lives as the United States armed forces in Iraq. The Iraqis are going to have to take that over.

We can't want freedom more for the Iraqi people than they want for themselves. And Senator Thune mentioned earlier about that issue, and I would point out the number of tips that have been coming from Afghan -- or Iraqi people have been going up steadily. They're at a very high level, and it does suggest to me that the Iraqi people do want to have a free country, as I mentioned, because of their voting patterns.

So I would disagree strongly with your statement.

CLINTON: Well, Mr. Secretary, I know you would, and I know you feel strongly about it, but there's a track record here. This is not 2002, 2003, 2004, '05, when you appeared before this committee and made many comments and presented, you know, many assurances that have, frankly, proven to be unfulfilled, and...

RUMSFELD: Senator, I don't think that's true. I have never painted a rosy picture. I've been very measured in my words, and you'd have a dickens of a time trying to find instances where I've been excessively optimistic. I understand this is tough stuff.

CLINTON: Well, Mr. Chairman, I would like unanimous consent to submit for the record a number of the secretary's former comments, and also may we keep the record open for additional questions?

WARNER: The record will remain open until the close of business today for all members to contribute additional questions.

CLINTON: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

PACE: Senator, may I go on record, sir?

WARNER: Yes, of course.

PACE: Thank you, sir. I think it's very important that I as chairman having been vice chairman since one of October 2001...

KAGAN: A challenging exchange between...

PACE: ... having been part of the dialogue, having worked closely with General Franks, General Casey, General Abizaid, all the joint chiefs, the numbers of forces that had been requested up the chain of command have been thoroughly discussed, pros and cons of the balance, what was needed, how we might provide it, the equipment, the tactics of the major operations.

KAGAN: All right, we're coming out of a challenging exchange between Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has been listening in.

Barbara, that was probably one of the more challenging moments of the morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: You know, Daryn, ever since the war in Iraq began, the secretary pretty much on a weekly basis faces the question about troop levels. Were there enough troops for Iraq during the war? Are there enough troops now? He talks always about that balance that he sees between not enough troops to do the job and too many troops, so that the U.S. would be seen as an unwanted occupation force.

General Pace right now, as we were listening, saying one more time that the military made recommendations for force levels, and they were always approved, that the military got the force levels it wanted in Iraq.

But make no mistake, right now what we are seeing is a repositioning of U.S. troops, so there will be more forces, especially in Baghdad, because of the security situation there, because the violence in the last several weeks has dramatically increased and does not appear to be stopping.

All of that in this hearing this morning leading to a very unusual sort of assessment, if you will, by both General Pace, the chairman of the joint chiefs, and General Abizaid, the head of Central Command, both senior generals very candidly raising the prospect of civil war in Iraq, saying that they don't believe it's there yet, but very much raising the prospect.

Just have a listen to what General Abizaid had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABIZAID: I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I've seen it, in Baghdad in particular, and that if not stopped, it is possible that Iraq could move toward civil war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: And, Daryn, General Abizaid also went on to say that he thought there were a real possibility U.S. troops could take heavier casualties in the weeks ahead in Baghdad as they move in there and try and get a handle on this violence.

Just on to one other topic, of course, the fighting in the Middle East between Israel and Hezbollah. General Abizaid, who knows the region just about as well as anybody, commenting for the first time on that, noting, in his words, that Hezbollah has weapons that it is firing that are longer range and more significant than many regional armies in the Middle East, expressing a good deal of concern on his part about Hezbollah and expressing concern about Iran's backing for Hezbollah and the prospect that Hezbollah even someday could get chemical or biological weapons capability from Iran.

So he is noting what he calls the more disturbing trends in the region. He said he's just back from the Middle East, and in his words, General Abizaid saying, quote, "that he had rarely seen it to unsettled or so volatile." So lots of very concerning words all the way around -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Absolutely. Thank you. Some fascinating comments coming out of these hearings today. Thank you, Barbara Starr, at the Pentagon.

If you'd like to keep listening into the hearings as we move to other news, just go to CNN.com slash pipeline. One of the pipes continuously dedicated just to those hearings. You can listen as long as you like.

We're going to get to some other news. It's a little strange, but it's sure to catch your attention. Cell phones, a breeding ground for filth, and we're not talking about what you say over the phone. We're talking about the phone itself. Find out just how dirty your cell phone is, on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: All right. Let's go ahead and go back to the news. Seven more Israelis killed in Hezbollah rocket attacks. That is according to Israeli police. Here is what we know from the Middle East: 160 rockets hit northern Israel one day after Hezbollah fired its greatest number of rockets into the country. Israel resumes its bombardment of Southern Beirut, while along the border fighting rages between Israeli ground troops and Hezbollah militia. The U.N. seeks a formal resolution to stop the fighting. British Prime Minister Tony Blair looks for a deal in the next few days.

Let's go to Karl Penhaul. He is in Southern Lebanon in the city of Tyre.

Karl, hello.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, in the last few moments, we've seen a pickup in activity by Israeli war planes that are overhead, over the skies of Tyre right now. In the last few moments towards the east of where we are now, possibly a mile and a half or so beyond a complex of apartment buildings, we've seen war planes drop a couple of bombs there, and then to my south on the hills over there, we've also seen those war planes pounding some positions there. There was a lull in the afternoon, and then there was an uptick again when Hezbollah fighters appeared to fire several rockets off into the direction of the Israeli border. That's some 10 miles away from where we are now. And then, as I say, after that Israeli war planes appeared overhead and for the time being have been dropping bombs. We can once again hear the unmanned Predator drone circling overhead, trying to pick out targets, and then once they identify those targets, calling in these warplanes, so it seems that between now and nightfall there, there might be a little more action here -- Daryn.

KAGAN: I understand there's some efforts to try to get aid to the people who are still in this region.

PENHAUL: Well, we have noticed over the last few days -- yesterday an International Red Cross Ship arrived from Cyprus, and that was bringing 200 tons of aid. Also, another United Nations World Food Program convoy arrived from Beirut. That passage is now a little bit easier because the main coastal road between Beirut and Tyre has now reopened.

But the problem is, once they get to Tyre, what do they do from there, because the roads to some of the outer-lying villages, particularly those closer to the border, are the ones that are particularly dangerous because of the artillery fire, because of the planes. And so what the convoys have to do is apply for permission to both Israel and Hezbollah to try to get some kind of safe passage, and that's another it's granted -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Still many challenges there in Southern Lebanon. Karl Penhaul in Tyre. Thank you.

Let's look at the latest death toll from both sides of the border. Israel says 56 people have been killed. And in Lebanon, officials report 603 fatalities in three weeks of fighting. Hezbollah has not released official casualty figures, but Israel's military says it has killed more than 300 Hezbollah fighters. Hezbollah denies that figure.

We're at 41 minutes past the hour. Let's focus on some news in the U.S. And we're talking about relief, relief from the heat. Well, it's not going to happen today for most of us. More sweltering temperatures hitting parts of the country. Philadelphia, you face another day of 100-degree weather.

The dangerous heat wave is making the job tougher for construction workers and others outdoors. It's also taking a toll on subway commuters. In Boston, several people had to be treated for heat-related problems. Transit officials have also slowed the speed of some trains because the heat can damage the rails. Amtrak has taken similar precautions.

Boston and Chicago get a break today. Still, temperatures will be in the high 90s and 100s from Dallas to Philadelphia to parts of Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina. OK. Enough, enough, enough. Cut it off.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: So if the heat is on, will the lights go off? Blackouts becoming a familiar story. Temperatures on the rise. So does demand for electricity. Our national correspondent Bob Franken takes us behind the scenes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is where the juggling act is going on, in the control rooms of electric utilities throughout the eastern part of the United States. Meanwhile, a company called PJM Interconnectivity juggles the jugglers in 13 states and the District of Columbia, actually coordinates electric flow, much like an air-traffic controller.

This heatwave, while sweltering for millions, is all in a day's work.

AUDREY ZIBELMAN, PJM INTERCONNECTIVITY: It's a high-adrenaline time, because what we're looking -- is this is what we do.

FRANKEN (on camera): The demand for electricity has reached record levels this week in all the intense heat. But if these utilities drop the ball now, they'll be feeling their own intense heat.

(voice-over): No one has forgotten the blackout of 2003 that spread through the Midwest, Canada and much of the Northeast. Parts of New York City got a new taste last week, perhaps for different reasons, when Con Edison had serious power outages. It's being investigated. St. Louis had severe storm-related problems, hundreds of thousands without electricity for several days. Under investigation. California had the same story with the heatwave that has now moved to the eastern half of the country. This time, so far so good. All of this is being watched very closely by federal regulators, who monitor operating centers and also try to make sure that the inevitable rate increases don't become gouging.

JOSEPH KELLIHER, CHMN., FEDERAL ENERGY REG. COMM.: The staff is in that room. They're watching price movements as well, not just weather data and demand levels, but also price movements.

FRANKEN: Relief from the sustained heat wave is still a day or two away, a huge strain here in the East, but so far not a breakdown.

Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Question is, is talking dirty -- we're talking about your cell phone. It is a breeding ground for filth. Not just over the phone, it's on the phone itself. You'll find out on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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KAGAN: We're getting some new pictures in from northern Israel. Let's go to Carol Lin at our breaking news desk with more on that -- Carol. CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, Daryn. This video just into the CNN Center. Hezbollah has pounded northern Israel with a barrage of rockets on this day, killing seven Israelis and injuring several others. What you're looking at here, I believe, is the latest attack in either the city of Acre, just north of Haifa, where three people were killed. Three others also died in the Maalot area, which closer to the Lebanese border.

Ambulance services say that 14 people were wounded, one of them seriously, and that by late this evening there, right about now, Daryn, that about 160 Hezbollah rockets have landed in northern Israel. A tragic day as you see the emergency response on the scene there in the Haifa area.

KAGAN: And, Carol, as we look at these new pictures, I'm also getting new information in that the latest battle -- we're getting word from the IDF, the Israeli Defense Forces -- that a third soldier has now died in the latest battle there.

LIN: Daryn, this is the second deadliest day for Israelis so far since these attacks began three weeks ago.

KAGAN: We will continue to monitor the information and the pictures. Carol, thank you.

On to health news now. All right. This will probably be the story you remember from the day. It will make you cringe the next time your cell phone rings or sings. British researchers say cell phones are filthy, a breeding ground for bacteria. In fact, they say these researchers, that the cell phones are so germ-ridden a toilet seat is cleaner, and they say the bacteria are the same one that cause everything from pimples to pneumonia.

Now, you're going to pick up that cell phone the next time it rings? I think not.

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KAGAN: You know the song, you know the voice. A big hit for three-time Grammy winner Freddy Fender, well, we're sad to tell you he's been diagnosed with incurable lung cancer. Fender is undergoing chemotherapy in Texas. He's 69 years old. Fender says he has lived a long life. His wife says they are hoping for a miracle. We wish him the best.

To get your daily dose of health news on line. Log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness. The address is CNN.com/health.

We're back after this.

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KAGAN: As we are saying, a fierce day of fighting in Israel. Let's go to our Carol Lin with more new pictures -- Carol. LIN: Daryn, in case folks are just tuning in right now, we want to bring folks the latest attacks out of Israel right now. You're looking at a map showing the city of Acre. At least three Israelis were killed in Acre, just north of Haifa, and three others died in a different neighborhood, the Malot area, which is actually close tore the Lebanese border. This has been the second deadliest day since the Hezbollah attacks started about three weeks ago.

You're watching as ambulance services are trying to treat people at the scene, transport them to the hospital. We have reports now that 14 people were wounded, one of them seriously.

Daryn, you are also getting reports of another Israeli soldier injured, which would make three today, and it is a violent day. Israeli sources are telling CNN that about 160 Hezbollah rockets have landed in northern Israel just today alone.

KAGAN: And in terms of those soldiers that were killed, getting word that they were killed by anti-tank missiles, which also injured two other soldiers. That's according to the IDF -- Carol.

LIN: Daryn, looking at these pictures, the scene is just utterly devastating. You know, the firepower of Hezbollah and those who supply the weapons to these attackers has been one of our big stories right here on CNN. The United Nations is working on some kind of a resolution to try to bring this conflict to an end, but as anybody in the Middle East will tell you, as these attacks continue, it would seem less likely that either side would be open to a mere resolution.

KAGAN: Right, and confusing messages out of Israel, because the military officials saying that they're making more and more progress and getting more of a handle on what's happening in Southern Lebanon, but these missiles are clearly coming from somewhere.

LIN: Right. I mean certainly Israel are claiming that they are arresting militants, that militants are being killed on the other side of the border. Hezbollah has its own PR machine, saying that's not true. In fact, they claim that -- Hezbollah claims that they took back a town that Israel had withdrawn from because Israel had been defeated. So there are messages from both sides, contradictions as to who is winning this war, but clearly civilians on the ground are the biggest victims.

KAGAN: Carol, thank you. Carol Lin at our breaking news desk. Clearly a lot more of this will be coming your way at the top of the hour on YOUR WORLD TODAY. That's coming up next.

I'm Daryn Kagan. Keep watching CNN.

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