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IDF Carries Out Powerful Airstrike In Beirut; Blinken Speaks After Large Explosions In Beirut; Israeli Official: Nasrallah Was Target Of Beirut Strikes; Hezbollah Strikes Safed In Northern Israel. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired September 27, 2024 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:09]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": And a very good evening to you. Warm welcome.

We have an enormous amount of breaking news to bring to your close attention. Beirut tonight where searchers and rescuers are looking for

survivors after a series of massive Israeli airstrikes.

Israeli officials say the strikes were targeted at the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah. Lebanese officials say at least two people have been

killed, dozens of people injured, and they say that the number, obviously of casualties is likely to rise given the extent of the damage.

A senior Israeli official says it is too early to say whether the Hezbollah leader is amongst the casualties. The Israeli prime minister's office

released this photograph.

Here is Anthony Blinken.

ANTONY BLINKEN, US SECRETARY OF STATE: -- is that all parties make in the coming days will determine which path this region is on with profound

consequences for its people now and possibly for years to come.

One is the path of diplomacy, a ceasefire along the border between Israel and Lebanon, one that allows people from both countries to safely return to

their homes and allows them to live there in security.

Getting a ceasefire in Gaza that brings home the hostages enables a surge in humanitarian relief to people who so desperately need it and preserves

the possibility of more lasting security in Gaza and in the region.

The other path leads to conflict, more conflict, more violence, more suffering, and greater instability and insecurity. The ripples of which

will be felt around the world.

The United States has made clear along with the G7, European Union, partners in the Gulf, so many other regions that we believe the way forward

is through diplomacy, not conflict.

The path to diplomacy may seem difficult to see at this moment, but it is there and in our judgment, it is necessary and we will continue to work

intensively with all parties to urge them to choose that course.

I also want to be clear that anyone using this moment to target American personnel, American interests in the region, the United States will take

every measure to defend our people.

Let me also say a word about Ukraine. This week, we took important steps to support the people of Ukraine as they continue to defend themselves against

the ongoing Russian aggression and continue to stand up for their sovereignty and their independence, their right to write their own future.

At the Security Council on Tuesday, the overwhelming majority of countries condemned Russia's brutal war of conquest and called for a just and lasting

peace on the basis of the United Nations Charter.

Crucial to that is pressing Iran, North Korea, and China a permanent member of the Council to stop providing weapons, artillery, machinery, and other

support that Putin is using to devastate Ukrainian homes, energy grids, and ports.

As we saw this week, support for Ukraine is not just rhetorical, it is tangible. Dozens of countries came together to pledge to help Ukraine

rebuild. The G7 and other partners made additional commitments to strengthen its energy infrastructure in the face of Russia's ongoing

assault, sending more equipment like turbines, portable generators that are crucial to keeping the lights on, and keeping Ukrainians warm, heating

homes, classrooms, factories as Russia tries to weaponize the weather, as we head into winter.

On Wednesday, President Biden and I met with President Zelenskyy to discuss the ways forward for Ukraine to win this war, a discussion that they

continued in Washington on Thursday, yesterday.

To help Ukraine's courageous defenders and citizens, we announced a surge of support, $8 billion in new security assistance including long-range

munitions, an additional patriot air defense system, and training for more Ukrainian F-16 pilots.

Starting with the QUAD Leaders' Summit in Wilmington on Saturday and throughout this week, we've also advanced our vision for a free, open,

secure, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

President Biden met with Vietnamese General Secretary To Lam, to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between when our countries where it has

in cooperation on everything from creating resilient semiconductor supply chains to addressing environmental challenges along the Mekong River.

We will continue those conversations in a couple of weeks when we get together for the ASEAN Summit in Laos. Along with my counterparts from

Japan and South Korea, we took measures to institutionalize our trilateral cooperation.

[16:05:10]

Building on the historic Camp David Summit and reaffirming our shared commitment to creating a trilateral secretary to advance this work.

Just now, I concluded a candid and substantive meeting with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi. We discussed steps to implement the commitments that our

leaders made at Woodside last year, like working to disrupt the flow of synthetic drugs and precursor chemicals into the United States, improving

communications between our militaries, discussing the risks of artificial intelligence.

I have cited the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and raised concerns about the PRC's dangerous and

destabilizing actions in the South China Sea.

I also underscored our strong concern with China's support for Russia's defense industrial base, which fuels Russia's war machine and perpetuates a

war that China purports to want to see ended.

Over the course of the week, we also came together with our partners to address many other crucial challenges facing the globe.

We worked towards a cessation of hostilities, unrestricted humanitarian access, and civilian governance in Sudan.

We worked to garner additional resources and support for the Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti.

We coordinated steps to increase international pressure on the Maduro regime in Venezuela, to stop its widespread repression of the Venezuelan

people, to respect their will and their votes as expressed at the ballot box.

These tests and so many more underscore the magnitude of the challenges facing the globe, but also the imperative of diplomacy.

We don't have the luxury of pulling back. In the coming hours and for every remaining day of this administration, we'll remain intensely focused on

addressing these challenges as we work to make a better world.

Thank you.

MATTHEW MILLER, US STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: First question goes to Andrea Mitchell with NBC News.

ANDREA MITCHELL, NBC NEWS: Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary.

BLINKEN: Andrea.

MITCHELL: Mr. Secretary, a senior Israeli official just briefed the press on today's operation and why they are still going into Lebanon.

The senior official said that there was -- their intel told them that there was a plan to encircle Israel and eliminate Israel by 2040; that Sinwar on

October 7th jumped the gun; that they have been defending themselves ever since; that they felt -- that they feel that Nasrallah was the key, the

linchpin, to all of this, and to Hezbollah.

That after a year they felt that they had to get people back in their homes; that they went after Nasrallah, and in today's strike were targeting

him; clearly, they don't know what they have achieved.

They still feel that when in the military you have momentum, that you have to keep going; that they will be a lot farther along in their operation if

it turns out that this was successful, in their terms, today; but that they still, he said -- the official said, still have to keep going, and they are

not ready to pause.

From your conversations, what is your perspective about whether Israel continuing with this operation and not going in on the ground -- which they

said is not preferable -- but if doing this in what they consider a targeted way is a legitimate response to what they see as an existential

threat, or if there is another alternative, a diplomatic alternative?

BLINKEN: Andrea, I will let Israel speak to their operations and their objectives. It's not my place --

MITCHELL: But how has it affected the American objectives and the American policy?

BLINKEN: Look, we and many others have been clear about what we see to be the best path forward. And the objective that Israel has in the first

instance in Lebanon is an important and legitimate one.

It's creating an environment that's secure enough to enable people to return home, because remember what happened on -- starting October 8th.

Hezbollah started lobbing rockets and missiles into Israel, trying to create another front in the war. And Israel, of course, had to respond to

that.

And in the process, tens of thousands of people had to evacuate their homes in Northern Israel. Villages and homes were destroyed in Southern Lebanon.

And so we have large populations, both in Israel and in Lebanon, who've been forced from their homes. And it is a legitimate and important

objective for Israel to, again, create an environment in which people can get back to their homes.

The question is what's the best way to do that?

[16:10:10]

What is the most effective, sustainable way to do that? We believe, and many other countries who've joined is in putting out a call for a ceasefire

for 21 days believe, that the best way to do that is through diplomacy, through a ceasefire, and then reaching an agreement that pulls back forces

from the border and gives people the confidence that they can go back to their houses, that the kids can go back to school.

So we believe that's the best path forward. And the Israelis put out a statement earlier today sharing that they share the aims of the call that

we put out, again, with the G7, with the EU, with key Arab partners.

So the question is not, does Israel have a right to defend itself against terrorism? Of course it does. The question is not does Israel have a right

to deal with existential threats to its security and enemies across its borders with the avowed intent to destroy Israel. Of course, it does.

But the question is what is the best way to achieve its objectives, to reach enduring security. And in this instance, with regard to Lebanon,

what's the best way to achieve the stated objective of creating an environment in Northern Israel that gives people confidence to return to

their homes? As I said, we believe the diplomatic course is the best one.

MILLER: For the next question, Hiba Nasr with Asharq.

HIBA NASR, ASHARQ: Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

I want to ask the question again. Since October 7, you've been saying that Israel has to -- has the right to defend itself. And you've been stating

all the time that they have the right to defend their selves against Hezbollah and Iranian proxies in the Middle East.

So my question: Now you repeated, how it does that matter. Can you clarify whether this Israeli approach to targeting Hezbollah's leadership falls

under self-defense? And what's the US administration clear position on the policy of targeted assassination?

And if I may, please, one second question. You've emphasized for calm along the northern borders, and you have been working towards this goal for the

past 11 months. Now, as we edge closer to a broader conflict, could you specify what do you mean by calm?

Are you referring to a return to the pre-October 7 status quo, implying a cessation of hostilities, or the full implementation of Resolution 1701?

Because it does matter for the Lebanese and for the Israeli to understand what are you proposing?

And just one final question. We are two weeks away from October 7, Mr. Secretary. What could you have done differently that might have changed the

current situation? Thank you.

BLINKEN: I appreciate that you managed to get in several questions.

(LAUGHTER)

BLINKEN: So first, on the events of the last hours, we are still gathering information, making sure that we fully understand what happened, what the

intent was and until we have that information, I can't -- I can't address in detail our response to it. So we'll continue to work on that in the

hours ahead.

With regard to a broader conflict, we've said very clearly -- you're right -- ever since October 7th that one of our objectives, besides making sure

that Israel does what it needs to do to make sure that October 7th never happens again, besides doing everything we can to try to make sure that

people who are caught in this horrible crossfire of Hamas' making, and who are suffering so terribly -- women, men, children in Gaza -- that they get

the protection that they need and the assistance they need.

Besides that, our objective has been to try to prevent the war from spreading, as well as escalating. And on multiple occasions since October

7th, we seemed to be on the verge of just that happening, including in the days immediately following October 7th, and then again on several other

occasions, most notably in April, and even more recently than that.

And each and every time the combination of American deterrence and American diplomacy manage to prevent a wider war. We're intensely focused on doing

exactly that now, along with many other countries. Because in our judgment, the judgment of so many others, it's in no one's interest to have a wider

conflict. And so we're working in every possible way to prevent that from happening.

[16:15:05]

Now, in terms of where we think this should go, no, going back simply to October 6th in terms of the border between Lebanon and Israel is not

sufficient, because it's not simply a matter of having a ceasefire -- that is, Hezbollah firing into Israel, Israel responding in a tit-for-tat.

What's necessary is to create the conditions, including moving forces back, such that people in both Northern Israel and Southern Lebanon have the

confidence to return home.

It would be important -- finally -- to make 1701 real, not simply a piece of paper that's never been effectively implemented. And I remind as well

that as part of Israel leaving Lebanon in 2000, after it had been bogged down there for 15 years -- as part of that, and through 1701, the

understanding was that any of the armed militia would put down their weapons, the state should have a monopoly on the use of force. Hezbollah

never did that, and it has presented an ongoing threat to Israel ever since -- again, with the avowed goal of eradicating it.

So in this instance, the most important thing to do -- again, the objective is to just get people home, get kids back to school in Israel and in

Lebanon, the most important thing to do through diplomacy is to try, first, to stop firing in both directions, and then to use the time that we would

have in such a ceasefire to see if we can reach a broader diplomatic agreement on this.

I think it would have to proceed in phases, but we have to have conditions on the ground such that people know with confidence that they can be safe

in their own homes.

And finally, as we come to October 7th and the anniversary of that horror, our focus is not thinking about the past; our focus is intensely on the

here and now, and the efforts that we continue to make to get a ceasefire that brings the hostages home, that results in a surge of humanitarian

assistance to the people in Gaza who desperately need it, and that opens the prospects for enduring peace and stability. That's where our focus is;

that's where it's going to remain.

MILLER: Olivia Gazis with CBS.

QUEST: So there we have the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, a variety of questions all really roughly on the same.

Nic Robertson is with me.

What I take from that, Nic Robertson, you were listening closely as well. I mean, it is all about the detail, isn't it? Getting down to whether 1701

one can be implemented, how you can get a ceasefire, let alone what happened in the postwar environment?

And that does not seem -- I mean, Antony Blinken is never particularly lively to start with. Here, he seemed downright downbeat and rather morose.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: That was my takeaway.

Look, he is walking into literally a wind of hurricane force. He is saying there is a choice of two paths here that you can go down the path of

conflict, which will just lead to an escalation in the region or the path of diplomacy. And he said, he still believes that the path of diplomacy is

still alive.

He undoubtedly is convinced that, he is a diplomat. He is in theory the world's most powerful diplomat from the world's most powerful nation. But

that diplomacy on the weight that he brings to it has really had little substantial effect in the region.

And those statements in the face of the escalation that has happened in Beirut at the moment, the confusion about the outcome of that, as I say, he

is he is walking his diplomacy into hurricane force winds. I don't see it gaining much traction in the short term, noble as it is.

QUEST: This is distasteful to talk about because I am going to start asking you about do we or do we not know whether Hassan Nasrallah, the leader,

Secretary General of Hezbollah, we don't know the fate.

I mean, all we do know is that -- and we will hear from Beirut shortly that the explosions were large, fierce, and many buildings were destroyed.

The way in which we are -- the reluctance of Israel and others to confirm or deny, Nic, you've been around a long time doing this, what does it

suggest?

ROBERTSON: Look. Look at the debris field. We know that six buildings six storeys high were demolished. That debris field mostly flat, something of a

crater, you know, the bunker that Hezbollah would have been using under that, if you look the amount and the height that the smoke that came off of

it, and the clouds of dust rose to and the delay that it took for the clouds of dust to come out the ends of it tells you that that was a very,

very deep bunker system, tens of meters, very likely.

[16:20:28]

And the time delayed on the fuses would have been timed to go off at different layers in the bunker with the different bombs that were dropped.

Okay, park that there.

What does that mean in simple human terms? That means it is going to take a long time to dig through that and find out who may be dead, who may be

alive? The reality here is that the longer time goes by and Hezbollah is not making publicly declarative statements that their leader is alive and

we know that they are very good at the art of waiting and pausing and not saying anything.

The longer they go on, the less likely it seems that they have good news to share. And I think the assessment on the Israeli side would be the longer

it goes on, the more likely it is that he is dead.

QUEST: Let's turn to the Israeli side. We have had Benjamin Netanyahu full- throated defense of Israel's policies at the United Nations.

He starts off by saying, I wasn't going to come to the UN, but then I heard the falsehoods and as, he in his words, I came to set the record straight,

but he is on his way back to where you are now.

So what is he going to find when he gets home?

ROBERTSON: He is going to find a military that will tell him as they have said publicly this evening, the head of the army, chief-of-staff General

Herzi Halevi, we are ready for offense. We are ready for defense, so he is going to find a country waiting to see what Hezbollah is going to do.

Are they going to launch a large onslaught? Will they wait until they can regroup a little bit and figure out who and where their leadership is? And

what military equipment is available and how big an onslaught do they want to do?

We know that the Iranians has reported that the Supreme Leader is having a meeting with his Security Cabinet. It is likely that if not Nasrallah, then

somebody filling in and taking over from him is going to want to hear on such an important issue from the Iranians who are their sponsors.

Look, Hezbollah on the ground in Lebanon has a high degree of autonomy, but what has happened is a huge deal and the moves they make next are hugely

consequential.

So there may be a pause in time before they respond, but the longer they wait in responding, perhaps the more complex, sophisticated, and deadly

their punch will be when they throw it. And I think that's what the prime minister will be coming back to, to that environment, to see what that

punch is going to be like, and to see what Israel needs to do to continue to try to destabilize, to minimize the punches as they have been over the

past week.

QUEST: There is much more we can talk about. We are will in the hours ahead, Nic Robertson, it is late, it is 20 past 11 in Tel Aviv. Thank you,

sir.

And so as we continue, we will have every aspect of this, both sides and in all capitals.

US official says Washington only learned of this operation against Nasrallah in Beirut once Israel planes were in the air. we will be at the

White House to hear that side of the story.

We will also be in Beirut to find the latest. Ben Wedeman is there. We have coverage, of course, as you would expect because this is CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:26:26]

QUEST: An Israeli official says the leader of Hezbollah was the target of the massive airstrike that took place against Beirut. The blast flattened

the buildings in the Lebanese capital. You heard Nic Robertson describe. He is a war expert and knows exactly the size of the column, the length of

time it took for that smoke to rise, the depth of the bunker that they were targeting.

According to the IDF, the attack was a precision strike on Hezbollah's headquarters. Now, the unknown, of course, is whether firstly, Hassan

Nasrallah was there. And if he was, did he survive?

Officials in US and Israel say Washington was kept in the dark until the operation was underway. The White House officials were furious that

Benjamin Netanyahu had dismissed the ceasefire proposal on Thursday, and then proceeding as they have.

Kevin Liptak is at the White House.

Netanyahu goes. He very badly gives a speech and is back home again, or at least he is on his way home.

This is rather, rather tricky.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, I think it is and when you talk to American officials, they do say that this is obviously a

precarious moment and they're trying to emphasize two things. One is that they didn't have any involvement in the strike itself. And you heard that

from President Biden a little bit earlier saying that the US wasn't involved and had no knowledge.

The other thing that were trying to emphasize is that they didn't know ahead of time that this was going to be a strike targeting Hassan Nasrallah

and what we did learn is that essentially, the US Defense Secretary learned about this strike as it was underway in a phone call with his Israeli

counterpart.

The planes were already in the air, and so the US is trying very much to distance itself from the actual events on the ground. And so I think the

question now for American officials is, of course, whether Nasrallah is alive or dead, but also what this means for the proposed 21-day ceasefire

they were so proud to come out and announce on Wednesday evening, and that the next morning, Netanyahu rejected out of hand.

As you mentioned, American officials were furious at that. There was a number of intense meetings in New York on the sidelines of the UN between

American officials and Ron Dermer, the very close Netanyahu confidant.

Essentially what Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State, told Dermer in their meeting was that Israel would need to come out with a statement

saying it was supportive of a ceasefire broadly. Of course, that was all before this event in Beirut.

Now the open question is, what happens next? And certainly American officials very urgently trying to de-escalate the situation.

QUEST: Right. But this speed and willingness to distance themselves, we knew nothing about it. It has got the overtones of and we wouldn't have

supported it if we had known about it in advance. Is that fair?

LIPTAK: Well, I think when you talk to American officials, certainly no one is going to mourn the death of Hassan Nasrallah, if he is in fact dead. But

the fact that this was happening at a moment when they were trying to ease the tensions and lower the temperature, not only on the border between

Israel and Lebanon, but also in Gaza, I think that American officials would say that the timing was just not right, at a moment when this whole

situation seems like it could tip over into a wider regional war, very easily and very quickly.

That is not to say that they don't support taking out Nasrallah broadly. They view Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and they view Nasrallah as

something of a terrorist. Of course, he leads Hezbollah, so I don't think that American officials would necessarily discount the import of that, but

the timing I think is what is in question.

[16:30:11]

QUEST: How difficult is this with such nuanced, dangerous, risky, geopolitical happenings, I'll be as neutral as I can be, Kevin. You know,

five, six weeks from the U.S. election where neither candidate wants to be seen to go too far, one way or the other because you will lose votes from

the opposite side. President Biden is looking particularly, how does that say impotent in the center to be able to force Israel to do anything?

And you couldn't make it up. You've got Ukraine worsening. You've got Gaza, you've got now southern Lebanon and we're six weeks away from a U.S.

election.

LIPTAK: Absolutely. And it's such a complicated dynamic in particular for the Vice President, obviously, Kamala Harris, who has said nothing specific

about how she would handle this situation any differently than President Biden. President Biden, of course, has tried and tried again to achieve a

ceasefire in Gaza to no effect whatsoever. Harris, whenever she's asked about the conflict in the Middle East, simply says that it would be

resolved if Hamas would agree to a hostage deal.

But she hasn't said how she would do it and certainly President Biden hasn't been able to do it either. When it comes to President Trump, there's

no question that he is on the side of Israel, that essentially, he would continue the American perspective of allowing Israel the arms and weapons

to carry out the strikes that it's carrying out in both Lebanon and Gaza. And so, I think when you talk to voters, and when you think about this from

a voter perspective, they see a world that is essentially on fire.

They don't necessarily see a plan to take it under control. And I think when you're both of these candidates, the struggle is to try and convince

American voters that you have the capacity to do something. Harris, so far, hasn't necessarily said exactly how she would do any of that.

QUEST: Kevin, you've got busy few hours ahead of you, so please don't go too far away. At a moment there's more from the White House or from Capitol

Hill. You're in Washington. You're a man there. We expect to hear from you. Thank you.

I need to bring to your attention more breaking news. Hezbollah has fired a barrage of rockets at the city of Safed in northern Israel. According to

the forces there, around 30 rockets were fired in total, some of which were intercepted. Officials say at least two of them hit the city. We'll find

out the damage and the damage assessment in the fullness of time. This is CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:35:56]

QUEST: A huge amount of news to bring to your detailed attention tonight. Lebanon's capital, Beirut has suffered large explosions as Israel targeted

as well as leader Hassan Nasrallah in a series of massive air strikes. An Israeli official says it's too early to say whether the attack killed him.

Multiple buildings have been destroyed, and the Lebanese Ministry of Health says at least two people have been killed.

That number is likely to rise, as you can see from the sheer level of devastation. Six buildings were destroyed with explosives and munitions

designed to bury deep, to attack bunkers way underground. And tonight, the searching continues through the rubble. You have a child being carried from

the scene after being pulled from the site.

Jim Sciutto is in Tel Aviv. So, we have much ground to cover, Jim, and you're the man that we need to talk to. So first of all, this attack on

Nasrallah as we wait to find out whether he has been killed, give the perspective of the significance.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY ANALYST: Listen, it's the latest in a series of major Israeli strikes on Hezbollah. A number of Hezbollah leaders

prior to this one, though, this clearly the most significant given that he is the actual leader. But you had these pager attacks, right? That injured

thousands of Hezbollah fighters and dismantled their communication network. And you've had a series of airstrikes in the last several days attempting

to destroy missile positions and ammunition depots and missile storage sites, rocket and missile storage sites, all of which must be taken

together as a major Israeli escalation in its war against Hezbollah.

The only remaining question is, does Israel go in on the ground in significant numbers? And they have issued call up orders to reservists,

they have positioned some troops on Israel's northern border that at least lays the groundwork for such an order, and that is Richard, a major

escalation in this conflict.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Would you -- would just -- forgive me. Forgive me. I've just been told. I want to get your perspective. Israel is now saying to residents in

certain southern suburbs of Beirut to move, to get out, to evacuate. That suggests we are that there's more activity to come, whether tonight or over

the weekend.

SCIUTTO: No question, absolutely. We have seen notices like that, not just in Lebanon, but in Gaza prior to Israeli strikes, but not all strikes,

right? Because, of course, there was no notice prior to this massive strike in Beirut targeting Nasrallah, which, as our video has shown, flattened

several buildings where it's believed that many people were beyond Hezbollah leadership, civilians as well.

And you mentioned that child rescued from the rubble there. So, they sometimes issue such orders prior to strikes, and sometimes they do not,

but, but together, it's a significant escalation. Richard, no other way to describe it.

QUEST: Again. I apologize to interrupt you. I need to take you to Lloyd Austin, the U.S. Defense Secretary who is speaking.

LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: For specifics to provide you at this time. What I will say is that you've heard me say a number of times that an

all not war should be avoided. Diplomacy continues to be the best way forward, and it's the fastest way to let

displaced Israeli and Lebanese citizens return to their homes on both sides of the border.

I'll be talking with Minister Gallant again soon.

And I look to get an update from him when I -- when we have that conversation. Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The all-out war here, sir --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your level of frustration --

(CROSSTALK)

[16:40:09]

QUEST: Well, Jim Sciutto, you know, nothing revolutionary from the defense secretary. You said exactly what you would expect him to say, all I wore

should be avoided. Diplomacy is the way forward. Displaced citizens should return home. It's almost mirror for mirror what Anthony Blinken said in the

last hour. But the way they are saying it, Jim and the fact that they are seemingly powerless to put any influence or greater influence on Israel

that's determined to continue. What does that tell you?

SCIUTTO: Listen, it tells you, at a very minimum, there is daylight between the U.S. position on this conflict and the Israeli position on the conflict

and not for the first time. If you go back months into this conflict, U.S. officials have been pushing for greater attention, for instance, of

civilian casualties in Gaza not getting it to the degree that they wanted. Certainly, the U.S. invested enormous diplomatic capital to get a ceasefire

in Gaza didn't go anywhere.

Of course, Hamas has a major part in that, but frustration with Israeli officials and now Richard, this massive strike, decapitation strike, at

least attempted one against Venezuela in Lebanon comes in the midst of another U.S.-led cease fire effort. It is safe to say, and I think

frustration is almost an understatement in terms of the U.S. official view of Netanyahu his response to U.S. efforts today.

QUEST: But -- and here's the nub of it. If the U.S. is impotent to put further pressure, at what point does the U.S. say -- I do not mean this

literally, but I'm using it as a metaphor that will give the importance and significance of what I'm saying. So, take that as that. At what point does

the U.S. go nuclear in a sense, politically with Israel to say this has got to stop and whether it's no arms coming to you, we will cut money. It's got

to stop?

SCIUTTO: It's not clear ever, right? I mean, at least with this administration, because there have been a number of points where that has

been dangled right and perhaps a delay or two over the course of the last year, but that breaking point hasn't happened. And I think one can

reasonably read that Benjamin Netanyahu has calculated that that point will not come.

And particularly will not come before the U.S. election. So, listen, there's some gamesmanship going on here and the Israeli Prime Minister

making decisions in his perception of his country's interests here, and oftentimes the views of those interests and U.S. interests have been in

contradiction between U.S. and Israeli officials. I do, Richard, have some news to report regarding the strike in Lebanon.

This comes from a former senior Israeli official who tells me the following, and this speaks to Israel's confidence that Hassan Nasrallah was

at least there where this strike occurred. This former senior official tells me Israel would not have attacked with such scope and power if it was

not sure, with a very high degree of certainty, that the ultra-terrorist was there. The Ultra terrorist that this former senior Israeli official is

describing as Hassan Nasrallah.

So, they at least had confidence, based on their intelligence that he was there. They have not yet confirmed whether he was injured or killed in a

strike.

QUEST: Jim, you'll come back at the moment. That is late for you, coming up towards midnight on Friday night, but you'll be back. You've got long hours

of duty ahead of you. I'm grateful to you, sir.

This is CNN. We're walking the line -- the tricky line of keeping you informed, letting you know what is happening, but obviously not

transgressing into the rampant speculation that is neither helpful nor informative to anybody. So that just gives you an overview of where we are

and where our correspondents are and our seasoned reporters on all of this. And when someone like Jim Sciutto talking about what is happening and what

he is hearing the high level of confidence that Nasrallah was at that site.

And then you take what Nic Robertson was saying about the extent of the rubble.

The depth. Then there's the smoke, the plume. You start to get a very, very real picture of what we're -- what's happening tonight. And you'll get it

always, of course, here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:47:26]

QUEST: We are talking a great deal about Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah and whether or not tonight he has been killed during the massive

airstrike. So, it begs and certainly is worth us talking about who is he? He's Hezbollah's most important figure. We're going to be talking about a

great deal more well. Who is Nasrallah?

He helped organize a group of fighters in 1982 to resist Israeli occupation in Lebanon. The group evolved into Hezbollah, then becomes the group

Secretary General 10 years later, after Israel killed his mentor. Fast forward 2006 under his watch, Hezbollah carried out cross border raids on

IDF forces and that led to a 34-day conflict. And now tonight, we're wondering whether he's alive or dead and has been killed.

Gerald Feierstein is the former U.S. ambassador to Yemen. Director of the Arabian Peninsula Affairs Program at the Middle East Institute. Too soon to

say whether he has been killed tonight. We are waiting for the damage assessment from what was obviously a gigantic attack. If he has been

killed, what's these -- besides, obviously, to his -- those who knew and loved him. What's the significance to these -- to this conflict?

GERALD FEIERSTEIN, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO YEMEN: Well, I think that has was notable because he was considered to be a mastermind of Hezbollah

leadership, that he was somebody, as you mentioned, in your -- in your leading who really designed the 2006 conflict with Israel which many people

believe, in fact, that Hezbollah came out in the stronger position from that.

So, he's somebody who has demonstrated over decades, that he has a profound, deep understanding of both the politics and the -- and the

strategy of how to advance Hezbollah's and Iran's interest. But as you also said, he succeeded Abbas al-Musawi in 1992 after the Israelis assassinated

Musawi. So, no expectation, of course, that even if Nasrallah is dead that that means that Hezbollah is going to go away.

[16:50:01]

QUEST: The actions against Hezbollah in the last few weeks, first of all, of course, you've got just a cross border increasing skirmishes, missile

attacks from Israel. Then you have the pages, then you have the walkie talkies. Now you have this very dramatic escalation. How degraded do you

believe Hezbollah's military potential? We know they are stuffed to the gills with missiles and rockets.

But if you've got nobody who knows how to fire them and you've basically blown a good number of them up. What is it -- what about -- is Hezbollah

still a fighting force? I mean, I don't know.

FEIERSTEIN: Well, I think it's a good question. Nobody really knows the extent to which the Israelis have been successful in eliminating some of

Hezbollah's capabilities. On the other hand, there, you know, the intelligence estimate was that Hezbollah had something in the order of

100,000 or more missiles, rockets, drones, other kinds of weapons. It's unlikely that Israel has significantly impaired that.

And of course, the other reality is the ability of Iran to continue to resupply Hezbollah so that even if the Israelis can destroy some element of

it, can it be replaced or not. And that, of course, there's no real reason to believe that Iran is lost that ability.

QUEST: Iran is the unknown here, isn't it? I mean, you know, if you think - - if you think about the way Israel attacked a leader of Hamas that was in Iran, and Iran said a whole lot of rockets back that were basically

designed to do very little damage. Iran has stayed its hand whilst being bellicose in its words, does this change that equation?

FEIERSTEIN: I think the one clear red line that Iran has, the one thing that could push them beyond their ability to restrain their response would

be if they came to the conclusion that the survival of Hezbollah itself, their key ally in the region is at threat. If the Iranians believe that

Hezbollah may not survive, they would almost certainly feel compelled to join the fight. And that, of course, is what Biden administration officials

fear most.

QUEST: I'm grateful to you, sir. Thank you for joining us.

FEIERSTEIN: Thank you.

QUEST: The Iranian embassy. Talking of Iran. The Iranian embassy in Beirut says Israel's strike has changed the rules of the game, in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:55:33]

QUEST: Large explosions have rocked Beirut from a strike that Israel says was targeting the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah. And hours after

that attack, it's unclear whether Nasrallah has been killed. Lebanon state media reports that six buildings were destroyed. The search continues for

survivors. And the Iranian Embassy in Beirut is warning the attack has changed the rules of the game and vows Israel will be punished.

So Nic Robertson, what does that mean? That Israel will be -- you see, I was just asking our last guest. You may have heard. Iran said that Israel

would be punished after Israel attacked Hamas' leader when he was in Tehran. Well, there was an attack. It was a sort of halfhearted in the

sense. And I'm going to interrupt myself and take us to Israel --

(CROSSTALK)

DANIEL HAGARI, REAR ADMIRAL, ISRAEL MILITARY SPOKESPERSON (through translator): -- of attack and defense. We are ready. We're still taking the

results of the attack on Hezbollah headquarters. Which was a top -- on top of a residential building (INAUDIBLE) to update the moment of no more. Our

attack was extremely precise in the last moment, in the last hour, a lot of talking towards Israeli settlements in the Galilee.

We were again assessing what's happening on the front and civilian or -- and we're going to act

according to all the instructions. I promise to -- I promise to inform you the moment will be any change. We destroyed a lot of strategic means that

Hezbollah hit in basement. Hezbollah developed in the last year against -- in the second Lebanon war, this this missile destroyed

an Israeli ship and force (INAUDIBLE) also an Egyptian ship was destroyed.

In the last days, we destroyed whatever Hezbollah is hiding in homes. Hezbollah is hiding strategic weaponry and buildings (INAUDIBLE) the one --

the residential buildings to use as a shield. In the basement that the storage for weaponry and missiles. This strategic weaponry, this -- the way

-- the way these rockets are being stored, we advised them to send it directly towards strategic places in Israel.

In the last hour, we factored residents of -- residential buildings within a ranges of half of kilometer to get away because they are sitting close to

strategic hiding places. And there is the -- there's the list of buildings to get away as soon as possible for the residents (INAUDIBLE) because IDF

is going to destroy what is stored under the building. Whatever is stored (INAUDIBLE) cause buildings collapsed and therefore we know about Iranian

transfers of weapons into Lebanon.

END