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The Situation Room
New Explosions Rocking Beirut; Will War Spread to Tel Aviv?
Aired August 03, 2006 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Kitty. And to our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Standing by CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you tonight's top stories.
Happening now, there's breaking news, new explosions rocking Beirut. Also tonight, Israel takes its deadliest hits yet. A dozen civilians and soldier is killed by Hezbollah in a single day. It's 2:00 a.m. Friday in northern Israel, bombarded by rocket fire. Could the warfare now spread all the way to Tel Aviv?
New threats from Hezbollah's leader and a vow to battle to the last bullet. Where is Hassan Nasrallah hiding and does the Israeli military have a plan to find him and kill him?
And new red flags about the situation in Iraq. A top U.S. general now acknowledging civil war is a real possibility. And Donald Rumsfeld grilled by senators. Does the Pentagon have a plan to turn things around?
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in "the situation room."
Tonight, breaking news, Beirut once again under attack. More blood on the Middle East battlefield and ominous new threats. Just a short while ago, four explosions shook southern Beirut sending smoke billowing into the air. It is the second consecutive night of Israeli air strikes on the Lebanese capital. There are no immediate reports of casualties.
Hezbollah's leader is threatening to strike Tel Aviv if Israel keeps bombarding Beirut. Hassan Nasrallah delivered a defiant video address vowing to inflict what he said would be maximum casualties on Israeli forces. Israel says Hezbollah fired more than 200 rockets into northern Israel today, killing eight civilians.
And four Israeli soldiers were killed in fierce ground battles in southern Lebanon. This becomes the deadliest day for Israel in this three-week war. Our correspondents are standing by around the region. CNN's John Roberts is in northern Israel, but let's go to Beirut, once again, Michael ware is standing by.
Set the stage for us, Michael. What happened about an hour or so ago when these air strikes resumed?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf it was around 1:00 a.m. local time here in Beirut when yet again the night erupted into the sound of explosion. The first two were coupled, one after the other. It appears yet again relentlessly. The target of a suburbs of southern Beirut, traditionally the Hezbollah stronghold. So far there has been nothing in the last 30 minutes. However the city is clearly braced for more.
We've heard the Israelis say that they've been contemplating the expansion of their air campaign with specific reference to Beirut. We're now starting to see that eventuate -- Wolf.
BLITZER: I understand that the Israelis dropped leaflets in Beirut, in south Beirut earlier today warning residents to get out. Did you have a chance earlier today to make it down there and see what was going on in the aftermath of the air strikes last night?
WARE: Wolf, the area is tightly contained by the Hezbollah militants. I did venture down there, though to the site of the first explosion from last night, which you captured live on camera. I was not allowed into the bombing site itself, which is said to be a Hezbollah facility. However, it was clear that there was great damage yet again.
How much of it was bouncing the rubble of previous explosions and how much of it was specifically the result of that strike is unknown. But as you point out, there was a leaflet dropped here in the capital this afternoon. That's an ominous sign. We have heard of these things and seen these things in the south as the Israelis prepared to push with ground troops and air strikes into certain areas. Well this is first time in this conflict that we have seen a drop of leaflets here in Beirut, warning residents of certain suburbs to evacuate -- Wolf.
BLITZER: We also heard today, Michael, from the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, once again delivering a video address. His message included this warning to the Israelis. Let me play it for our viewers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HASSAN NASRALLAH, HEZBOLLAH LEADER (through translator): If you hit our capital, we will hit the capital of your entity. If you hit Beirut, the Islamic resistance will hit Tel Aviv and is able to do that with God's help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: What has been the reaction to this latest videotape from Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Michael?
WARE: Well here in Beirut, the reaction has been muted so far to Nasrallah's statement. Clearly there was a reaction from Israel, which said that should rockets rain down or fall on Tel Aviv, the Israelis will respond. The target, they said, will be the infrastructure of Lebanon. Now that's caused great concern here in Beirut as you can imagine. The infrastructure here is already under massive strain from previous bombings and from being starved of the necessities it requires to function. Few desperately needed in this city to run generators and vehicles is sitting in Cyprus, tankers waiting to be allowed through the Israeli blockade, this is very much a desperate situation. Should this escalate, once more, it will be the Lebanese people who suffer -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Michael, stand by, we're going to be coming back to you and we're going to be paying attention if there are more air strikes in Beirut coming up. Also coming up, does Israel see the Hezbollah leader as an assassination target?
Brian Todd is standing by with more on what might happen if Hassan Nasrallah is assassinated by the Israelis. Now to the Hezbollah assault on Israel today. Rocket attacks and ground combat inflicted the highest one-day death toll for Israel in this three-week war.
CNN's John Roberts once again covering the war from northern Israel, very close to the Lebanese border -- John?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SR. NAT'L CORRESPONDENT: Good evening to you Wolf. It was another day of intense fighting, street-to-street, house-to-house close quarters combat and it took another toll on Israeli forces. Three soldiers died as a result of combat in the western side of southern Lebanon. Two died in the town that they were fighting in. One later died of his wounds.
And another soldier died when he was -- his armor personnel carrier was hit by an anti-tank rocket in the town of Tiber, which is about due west from where I am, part of that western push, a little bit further north by the Israeli military. And, of course, as the Israeli military took casualties today, those rockets continued to rain death across northern Israel.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SOUNDS)
ROBERTS (voice-over): It was a terrible day in Akko, a seaside Israeli town just north of Haifa. A katyusha rocket hit in the road here killing five people. The worst toll in the city since the conflict began. Among the dead, a father and his 14-year-old daughter.
The wounded, some still lying in the street, are treated by emergency workers. This rocket was one of more than 200 that hit Israel today, killing a total of eight people. Increasing the urgency to strike Hezbollah positions while the military still has time.
Israel's defense minister has ordered the Army to prepare for a major ground operation, a temporary land grab to take territory more than 10 miles up to Lebanon's Litani River. Tanks, troops and armor are streaming toward and across the border, a visible ramp up in just the past 24 hours. (SOUNDS)
ROBERTS: At the same time, the Israeli big guns shoot shell after shell into southern Lebanon, softening up Hezbollah positions in advance of the ground attack.
(on camera): We're seeing a lot more artillery batteries these days. And we're seeing them much closer to the front as well, all along the Israel-Lebanon border. It is not just regular Army units like this one behind me. There are far more reserves that have been brought up to join the fight as well, firing those massive 155- millimeter howitzers in support of Israeli ground forces just on the other side.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (INAUDIBLE)
ROBERTS: The Israeli Army today released video of reserve units training up for battle. The call-up would dramatically increase the number of Israeli forces and boots on the ground, says General Benny Gants (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can much more than double it and more.
ROBERTS: Double the size of the Army in just a few days?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's -- we have the resources. It is just a matter of needs and decisions.
ROBERTS (voice-over): Just a few yards from the border, an Israeli reconnaissance team scouts targets at a nearby Lebanese hilltop. There is a Hezbollah bunker up there, they say, and they are watching for targets on the ground to expose themselves to Israeli weapons.
Israel's strategy is to take out as many of the Hezbollah positions as quickly as possible. Sweep deep into southern Lebanon and control a huge buffer zone until international troops can arrive. But the fighting is vicious, and Israel has taken many casualties.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We are taking risks where we have to, where it is absolutely vital. And you have seen some of this in really rescue operations using helicopters, hair- raising operations. Our attitude is that where we can save lives, we will do everything in order to do this.
ROBERTS: Behind the main advance in towns they control Israeli forces are clearing out Hezbollah's infrastructure. In this Israeli Army video obtained exclusively by CNN a combat engineering battalion brings in mines, powerful explosives to demolish a Hezbollah outpost.
(SOUNDS)
ROBERTS: With the U.N. resolution to end the fighting now looking imminent, Israel is racing against the clock.
(SOUNDS) ROBERTS: Harbored personnel carriers speed toward border crossings with new urgency. After three weeks it's slow hard fighting and criticism of the ground campaign here in Israel a lightning strike drive. The military specialty appears about to unfold.
(SOUNDS)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And, Wolf, even now we can hear the sounds of heavy machine gunfire rolling up from the valley just behind me. A little while ago there was what looked like an intense fight on a ridgeline just over my left shoulder. We saw outgoing grenades from those M-16 mounted grenade launchers, probably Israeli forces going after Hezbollah bunkers on the ridgeline. It looks, Wolf, like this is going to continue 24 hours a day until such time as the U.N. says time to bring an end to those hostilities -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Are you hearing anything from military commanders on the front lines, John, about this latest threat from Hassan Nasrallah to go ahead and bomb -- to send rockets into Tel Aviv if Israel continues to strike in Beirut?
ROBERTS: The Israeli military keeps saying, Wolf that anything that happens in Lebanon is Nasrallah's fault. It was his fault from the kidnappings to begin with and any escalation by Hezbollah is going to rain down more trouble on Lebanon and that that is going to be Nasrallah's fault. If indeed he strikes Tel Aviv, the Israeli military has vowed to go after Lebanese infrastructure.
That would mean turning off the lights, drying up the fuel supply to an even greater degree than it has been. We saw this happen during the Kosovo War where the U.S. military was making slow progress to try to get the Serbs to capitulate until they hit those power stations, until they turned out the lights and then everything turned around. Milosevic gave up, so perhaps that is part of the strategy here on the Israeli military's part, at least it's a threat that seems to be resonating in tonight in Lebanon -- Wolf.
BLITZER: John Roberts on the scene for us. Thank you, John, very much. What a story and much more coming up. Jack Cafferty is standing by right now with the "Cafferty File" -- Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, there was some tense moments on Capitol Hill today. Two of the Pentagon's top generals are now admitting that Iraq might be headed for civil war. During a hearing in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, General John Abizaid said he's rarely seen the Middle East so unsettled and so volatile. There were also questions about U.S. troop movements from one trouble spot in Iraq to another.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: We all know that Fallujah was allowed to become a base of operations in insurgency, so we had to go into Fallujah 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 have got big problems in Ramadi. Everybody knows we have big problems in Ramadi. And I said where are you going to get troops? Well we're going to have to move them from Fallujah. Now we're going to have to move troops into Baghdad from some place else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAFFERTY: Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld repeated a common refrain. He warned about the troops being withdrawn prematurely and of the enemy's desire to see public opinion in the U.S. divided. So here is the question.
What is wrong with the U.S. military strategy in Iraq? E-mail your thoughts to CaffertyFile@CNN.com or go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile. I suppose, Wolf, that if they've been paying more attention to Colin Powell back when this whole thing began, they might have some more boots on the ground over there and not be stretched quite so thin. But then hindsight is always, what is it they say -- 20/20.
BLITZER: Eric Shinseki was then the Army chief of staff who called for a lot more troops and obviously they weren't paying attention to him either. Thanks very much, Jack, for that.
Coming up, we're getting word, just coming into CNN, Senator Hillary Clinton calling for a key member of the Bush administration to resign. We're going to get details coming in from Capitol Hill.
Also, Iran's president weighing in on the fighting in the Middle East with some of his most inflammatory rhetoric yet, we'll have details of his meeting with Muslim leaders from around the world.
And Israel's hunt for the head of Hezbollah; is it trying to assassinate Hassan Nasrallah?
Plus, we'll check in with Anderson Cooper. He's been talking to Israeli military sources. He's standing by to tell us what he's learned.
Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The leader of Hezbollah is out today with a new threat delivered via a video address. Since the Middle East conflict began three weeks ago, Hassan Nasrallah has skillfully shown himself when he wants to and stayed in the shadows when he does not.
Let's bring in CNN's Brian Todd, he's watching the story for us -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it's not clear if this latest speech from Hassan Nasrallah was live or taped. Just one indication of how difficult it has become for his enemies to find him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
TODD (voice-over): In his fifth media appearance since the fighting began, Hezbollah's leader shows his resolve.
NASRALLAH (through translator): I can assure you that the resistance will not be defeated and the resistance will not be broken.
TODD: CNN national security adviser John McLaughlin says the video gives few clues on Hassan Nasrallah's whereabouts.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: One could say that he looks a little tired and his eyes are a little red. And that would be normal considering the stress he's probably under. But apart from that, this is a scene that could be filmed in the basement of a garage or almost anywhere.
TODD: Former Israeli and western intelligence officials we spoke to believe Israel is targeting Nasrallah for assassination. Israeli officials are more guarded when asked publicly if they're looking for him.
DANIEL AYALON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: We are certainly and I think that the fate of Nasrallah should not be different than bin Laden.
TODD: But experts say this is different from the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Nasrallah, they say, is on his home turf, protected by a growing number of local supporters. A former CIA officer who tracked Nasrallah says in his younger days he was in charge of hiding Hezbollah's western hostages. Reports that Nasrallah is hiding in Syria or Iran cannot be confirmed. Most experts believe he's still in Lebanon, always on the move, possibly in civilian clothes, with only a few bodyguards and taking other precautions.
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, NYU CTR. ON LAW & SECURITY: He's definitely not making telephone calls because Israeli -- the Israelis can sort of intercept those and hone in on his position. And he's being very, very careful where he travels, how he travels. And who knows where he's traveling because the Israeli Defense Forces have unmanned aerial drones in the area.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: If the Israelis kill Nasrallah, could that backfire on them with a creation of a martyr? One former intelligence officer believes Israel would risk that if it means taking a top operational commander like Hassan Nasrallah out of the mix -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting, thanks very much. And let me remind our viewers the breaking news we're following out of Beirut right now within the past hour or so, four more explosions rocked the Lebanese capital. Israeli warplanes moving once again against targets in south Beirut. We're watching the story. We're going to go back to Michael Ware shortly.
Meanwhile, leaders of the Muslim world are weighing in on the deepening crisis in the Middle East. Let's bring back CNN's Zain Verjee. She's watching this part of the story -- Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, the Islamic world says it wants an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah. From Indonesia's president, an ominous warning and from Iran's president, harsh wards for Israel.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE (voice-over): Obliterate Israel, that's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's solution to the crisis in the Middle East. After an emergency meeting from Muslim leaders in Malaysia, Iran's president called Israel an illegitimate country, saying the solution is the elimination of the Zionist regime. Nothing new. Iran's leader has said before Israel needs to be wiped off the map.
DAN GILLERMAN, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: He is a person who denies the Holocaust, very diligently preparing the next one.
VERJEE: Iranian experts say Ahmadinejad wants to carry favor with the ordinary Arabs and Muslims on the street and present himself as protector of the Islamic world.
KARIM SADJADPOUR, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: Ahmadinejad is in fact in some ways more popular on the Egyptian street than Hosni Mubarak or more popular on the Jordanian street than King Abdullah of Jordan because he stands up to Israel in a way that they don't.
VERJEE: Ahmadinejad also blames the U.S. for the bloodshed in the region saying Washington wants to control the Middle East and its oil wealth. Dark warnings too from Indonesia's president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the war must stop, he says, or it will radicalize the Muslim world and thrust the ultimate nightmare, a clash of civilizations.
SADJADPOUR: So there is a concern that we're reaching a point where we're creating a whole new generation of Osama bin Ladens and Zarqawis.
VERJEE: And these are the images that fuel it. Islamic scholars say many Muslims are radicalized by pictures of their fellow Muslims being killed by U.S. made bombs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: And Wolf, anger is already sliding into the Arab and Muslim streets, boosting Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's rock star status among both Shias and Sunnis. Many united by their hatred for Israel and the United States -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Zain Verjee reporting. Thank you, Zain.
And still to come tonight here in THE SITUATION ROOM, Senator Hillary Clinton calls for a key member of the Bush administration to resign. We're going to get the latest from Capitol Hill. That's coming up next. Also, we'll take you back live to Beirut. It is being rocked once again tonight by fresh explosions. We're monitoring the latest. CNN's Michael Ware is standing by live.
Plus, Hezbollah now threatening to strike Tel Aviv. I'll talk about it with a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: There was an angry exchange earlier in the day between Senator Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Now there's word that Hillary Clinton is making a strong statement. Our congressional correspondent Dana Bash joining us on the phone, what are we learning, Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Hi, Wolf. Well, a spokesman for Senator Clinton says that she did tell a reporter earlier today that I think the president should choose to accept senator -- excuse me, Secretary Rumsfeld's resignation. So she is now joining in a list of other Democrats and even some Republicans who have said that they do think it is time for Secretary Rumsfeld to resign.
And now this comes, as you mentioned, after a pretty heated exchange between Senator Clinton and Secretary Rumsfeld during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today where she pointedly said to him that under his leadership she thinks that there have been numerous errors in judgment that led us to where we are in Iraq and Afghanistan. But sort of you know bigger picture here, Wolf, this is interesting against the backdrop of what is going on in the Democratic Party right now when it comes to the war in Iraq.
We have been reporting on Senator Joe Lieberman in Connecticut that his race has become a litmus test essentially on the war in Iraq because many on the Democratic base, many in the party simply feel that this is -- this is the issue for Democrats. So Senator Clinton is running for re-election in 2006, her office will say no more than that. But obviously she is a possible contender in 2008, so what she says and how she talks about the war in Iraq and particularly how she frankly looks -- looks like she's standing up to Secretary Rumsfeld is a very important thing for her in terms of the way she's viewed right now in the Democratic Party.
BLITZER: Dana Bash thanks very much. Senator Clinton an early supporter of the war and now she's saying Rumsfeld should step down. This on a day when two top U.S. generals suggested that there was -- that the U.S. was seeing a potential civil war erupting in Iraq now, much more on that coming up as well.
Also we're watching what is happening in Beirut right now within the past hour, hour and a half or so, Israeli warplanes striking the Lebanese capital, once again four loud explosions rocking Beirut. We're going to go back to Michael Ware, our correspondent on the scene. That's coming up. Also, Israel's deadliest day yet. Twelve people killed including eight civilians, victims of Hezbollah rockets. We're going to take you to northern Israel. CNN's Paula Hancocks is there.
And we'll check in with our Anderson Cooper. He's been talking to Israeli military sources. He's standing by to join us live. All that coming up, stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: To our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Happening now, breaking news from the Middle East, Beirut targeted again tonight by Israeli air strikes. Four explosions were heard echoing in the southern suburbs just a short while ago.
Israel dropped leaflets earlier in the day, warning people to get out before more bombs would be dropped. Hezbollah's leader now threatening to attack Tel Aviv if Israel continues air strikes on Beirut, Hezbollah fired more than 200 rockets into northern Israel once again today, today killing eight Israeli civilians. And four Israeli soldiers were also killed in ground combat, making this the deadliest day yet for Israel in this three-week war.
And here on the East Coast, a break from the sweltering heat is in sight. It hit 100 degrees or close to that in several major cities. The heat wave expected to break sometime tomorrow, but it's leaving behind scattered power outages in several parts of the country, and at least 22 deaths.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
BLITZER: More bombs and bombardment of Beirut, not long ago four more explosions rocked the southern part of the Lebanese capital. There's no word yet of casualties, but that says nothing of the chaos.
Paula Hancocks is standing by in Haifa. Michael Ware is standing by in Beirut. Anderson Cooper is in Haifa as well. Let's go to Michael Ware first, the breaking news out of the Lebanese capital. Michael, about these four Israeli air strikes, has it been quiet now for the last hour?
WARE: Yes, it has. It has, Wolf. Over the last 90 minutes, we have had the Israeli air force return their attentions to Beirut. We had four massive explosions reverberate across the city.
As you rightly point out, at this stage, at 2:30 in the morning, the targets are unknown. However, from the direction of the blast, it is eminently clear that the focus was on the Hezbollah strongholds in the suburbs of southern Beirut. We have seen this come on the back of last night's attacks, which you recorded on tape, Wolf, and following the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's threat earlier this evening to rain rockets down on Tel Aviv -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Michael, when these four air strikes occurred -- they occurred within a few moments, I take it -- were you outside or inside, and describe to our viewers what it feels like to be a resident of this major city in the eastern part of the Mediterranean when these air strikes are occurring?
WARE: Well, obviously it is a very surreal experience, Wolf. I mean, Beirut, honestly, is a fabulous city. Very colorful, very cosmopolitan, very contemporary and very modern. This is very much a melting pot of many cultures and many religions and many, many different types of people. It has been a unique experience here within the Middle East, obviously known as the former Paris of the Middle East.
So to have ordnance, 500-pound, 1,000-pound bombs, bunker busters raining down from the sky, very much is a jarring kind of reality. So this is very much something that many Lebanese people are used to. There is lots of dark memories from the '80s and up until the Israeli withdrawal and the end of the occupation. But to see this regime now very much is bringing Beirut to the forefront of this war.
BLITZER: Michael Ware this evening for us. Michael, stand by. We're going to be coming back to you.
We want to take you now to northern Israel, specifically Haifa. CNN's Paula Hancocks is there with details of the rocket barrage that killed eight Israeli civilians -- Paula.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, as Israeli politicians insist, the fighting power of Hezbollah is diminished, Hezbollah this Thursday proved it is still more than capable of hurting Israel. More than 200 rockets fell across northern Israel, with deadly results.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Less than one minute after a Katyusha rocket hits, it's carnage. A car less than 10 meters from the point of impact bursts into flames. The wounded lay where they fell, waiting for help.
The man driving this car was hit by pellets packed into the rocket warhead and lost control. Emergency services manage to free him from the wreckage, but he dies on his way to hospital.
Four more people died at the scene, a father and his 14-year-old daughter among the victims.
(on camera): It was late in the afternoon when the air raid sirens sounded here in Akko. One of the rockets hit just down the road from here. And then the siren ended, so people started to come out of their houses to see what had happened. And this is when this particular rocket hit. You can see the point of impact. This was the most deadly rocket. Four people standing nearby were killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hear another explosion. And we go to there. And another explosion, the second one. And we saw a lot of people that left the ground, not alive.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Charlie says he was standing in the streets a block away when the rocket hit. He says he could see wounded and the dead lying on the ground.
More fatalities in Tashiha (ph), just five miles from the Lebanese border. Three Arab bedouins jumped out of their car when the sirens sounded, according to Israeli police, looking for shelter. It was a direct hit.
More than 200 rockets fell across northern Israel on Thursday. More than 260 fell the day before, casting doubt on Israel's claim it has dealt Hezbollah a heavy blow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS: But even those I spoke to today in Akko, where five people died, insisted the military operations had to continue until any future threat was destroyed -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Paula Hancocks reporting for us. Thank you very much.
Let's turn now to CNN's Anderson Cooper. He's just arrived in Haifa after traveling along the Israeli-Lebanese border for much of the day.
Give our viewers, Anderson, a sense of what it's like in northern Israel when this barrage of rockets comes in and the sirens start wailing.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: You know, people become used to these sirens. All of us have become used to these sirens in the last several days. After a certain point, you kind of look up, you kind of look to each other and decide whether or not you even want to go to the bomb shelter.
That's part of the problem, and some of the people who were killed today were killed responding to the scene or sort of going to the scene of some rocket attacks to kind of see what was happening.
It is strange that you can become used to something like this, but it has certainly become a normal situation. There is a sense of you never really obviously know where these rockets are going to hit, and you listen to see whether it's the sound of outgoing shelling, which is a sound you hear all the time, or whether it is this incoming shelling, and whether you actually need to run, Wolf.
But the last two days alone, and we have seen huge barrages from Hezbollah on Monday and Tuesday, as you know, they really -- there were a handful of rockets fired into northern Israel. These last two days has been a major uptick. Yesterday, there was more rockets in any one day than we have seen in this entire conflict. Today came close in terms of numbers of rockets. But in terms of fatalities, it was as bad as it has gotten, Wolf.
BLITZER: Most of these rockets, I take it, come in during daylight hours. But there have been occasions when they have come in darkness as well. Is that right?
COOPER: Yes. They can come in at anytime. It is usually either in the very early morning hours or in the late afternoon, sort of 3:00 to 5:30. I talked to the mayor of Kiryat Shmona a couple of days ago, you know, I was asking him about how many rockets were coming in today. He looked at his watch and he said, well, it's 3:30, we have about another hour, hour and a half of rockets to come. You know, you can't time it that precisely, but there is sort of a pattern to these things. And security officials know as those afternoon hours are coming to get prepared for whatever may come.
BLITZER: Anderson, you spent time earlier in Beirut, in Lebanon. Now you're in Israel. Give our viewers a little sense of the contrast, the similarities, if you will, the differences, between covering this war from Lebanon's side or from Israel's side.
COOPER: You know, it is interesting, in Beirut, you get the sense -- at least I had the sense from television coverage before going there -- that the entire city was just decimated, destroyed. That is certainly not the case, as Michael Ware rightly pointed out today.
The shelling is really focused on those southern suburbs of Beirut, areas still under the control of Hezbollah. I mean, you go to those southern suburbs, and it is really a state within a state. Hezbollah has their own police force, their own law, their own sense of order. And even after all these weeks of bombings, three plus weeks of bombings, they are still firmly in control of what happens in those areas, who is allowed to enter those areas, and what they're allowed to do, including journalists, what they're able to look at and see when they enter those areas.
Israel, as you know, dropped more leaflets today, warning civilians in those areas to get out, but they still are a large number of civilians in there who say they're very loyal to Hezbollah and who aren't leaving.
BLITZER: Anderson Cooper, thanks very much. Be careful, you're doing excellent work. We're very proud of you. And in fact, we're proud of all of our CNN correspondents and journalists on the scene.
And remember, tonight on his program, Anderson Cooper is going to have a lot more on what he's seeing while traveling in the region. "ANDERSON COOPER 360" airs tonight 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m. Pacific.
Meanwhile, the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice talks about the Middle East crisis with our own Larry King. She says the United Nations resolution on the fighting could come soon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: We're certainly getting close. We're working with the French very closely. We're working with others. We have wanted very much to see an end to this conflict. We need to end the hostilities in a way, though, that points forward a direction for a sustainable peace. And we are working -- we've worked with the parties when I was in the region to come up with those principles, with those elements. We're now working on a Security Council resolution, and hopefully we can get that passed. And I think it will certainly be within days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And you can see Larry's entire interview with the secretary of state tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE." That airs at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
An oil spill from a bombed factory near Beirut is now threatening almost all of the Lebanese coastline and it's moving north towards Syria. The U.N. says the Mediterranean Sea could be facing an environmental catastrophe. Let's bring in our Internet reporter, Abbi Tatton -- Abbi.
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, these pictures sent into CNN just show you the before and after. And they document the damage that has taken place here. These were sent in, this video, by (inaudible). He was visiting Beirut -- This is the beach in Beirut -- at the end of June. This is it at the end of July, a month later. The results of an oil spill there that took place after a strike on a power plant south of Beirut that caused this. You can see more evidence of this damage here at the Lebanon Ministry of Environment. This caught the attention of the United Nations Environment Program. You can see on the map now that this is spreading. It is now about 50 miles long, spreading north towards Syria. The coordinator of that program saying that this spill requires immediate attention. But it is attention that can only take place, Wolf, if hostilities cease.
BLITZER: Abbi, thank you.
Just ahead, Hezbollah warning that it will attack Tel Aviv if Israel continues to strike Beirut. What is the official Israeli response? We'll speak to a top official of the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
And what is wrong with the U.S. military strategy in Iraq? Jack Cafferty standing by with your e-mails. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: In the Middle East conflict this has been the deadliest day yet for Israel. A dozen civilians and soldiers killed. Now Israeli and Hezbollah leaders are exchanging new threats about attacks on Tel Aviv and Beirut.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
We're joined now by the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mark Regev. Thanks very much for coming in.
Clearly, Hezbollah still has some very significant military capabilities. Within a matter of an hour, what, they launched more than 100 rockets against northern Israel.
MARK REGEV, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY: Yes. I think we've been successful in hitting a lot of their infrastructure. But we've got no doubt that there's still some firepower there left. I'm hopeful, Wolf, though, that as we continue to move in the south, dealing with those Hezbollah fortresses, those Hezbollah bunkers in south Lebanon, that the ground forces are doing at the moment with these surgical land incursions -- that that will do much to make the Israeli population safer.
BLITZER: Here's what Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, said today. He said, "If you hit our capital, we will hit the capital of your entity. If you hit Beirut, the Islamic Resistance will hit Tel Aviv and is able to do that with God's help." That's a serious threat. He's made it before. Can he deliver? Do you believe that -- does Israeli intelligence believe he has the missiles that can hit Israel's commercial capital?
REGEV: Well, the first thing -- Nasrallah should read his geography books, because the capital of my country is not Tel Aviv, it's Jerusalem. But to get to your main point, I think we have successfully hit a lot of his long-range strategic capabilities. But I can't exclude the fact that he has some missiles left, and we take what he says seriously. And we will continue to strike against his infrastructure, to neutralize the threat he poses to my country and to the citizens of Israel.
BLITZER: Here's what he also said about his fighters. He said, "The Israelis were surprised by the human factor of the resistance and they experienced proof today and we will prove in the future that they are fighting men who have a high level of faith and bravery." By all accounts, this is quite a formidable force, these Hezbollah fighters.
REGEV: I have no doubt that that's true. They've been getting, over the last decade, some of the most up-to-date equipment, military equipment from Iran and from Syria. They've had time to dig in, to prepare fortifications.
And unfortunately, every time we send in our ground forces, there's difficult fighting and we take losses. I mean, ultimately, their people, the Hezbollah fanatics, are willing to die. They want to die. They think they're going to heaven. And it's a problem.
And they're all motivated by the president of Iran, Mr. Ahmadinejad, who just said today that he thinks my country should be wiped off the map. And that's a piece of advice we will refuse to take in Israel. And I think in dealing decisively with Hezbollah, we're getting rid of the forward -- the long arm of Iran and we will defend our country.
We will neutralize the Hezbollah threat. That's good for Israel. It's ultimately also good for Lebanon and for all the moderates in the Middle East, that we neutralize this extremist element.
BLITZER: Here's what Ahmadinejad actually said. I'll read it. He said, "Although the main solution is for the elimination of the Zionist regime, at this stage an immediate cease-fire must be implemented. The sole existence of this regime" -- referring to Israel -- "is for invasion and attack." This is a country, Iran, that supposedly -- according to U.S. intelligence, European intelligence, Israeli intelligence -- is building a nuclear bomb. How close are they, in your opinion, in your estimate, to getting that nuclear bomb?
REGEV: Well, if they're close at all, it's a problem. And I'll tell you what also bothers me, not that he just said that my country should be eliminated, should be wiped off the face of the earth. I mean, he's basically saying destroy Israel and all the Israelis.
But I'm also disappointed. I mean, he was there at a conference of Muslim countries, and I didn't see one leader stand up and say Mr. Ahmadinejad, you don't speak for me, you don't represent Islam, you don't represent Muslim opinion. And I think that's one of our problems today.
I want to see more moderate Muslims stand up and say that Iranian extremist leadership, people like Hezbollah, people like Hamas, they don't speak for us. And I think there's too much quiet on that front, and I'd like to hear more moderates standing up and having their voices heard.
BLITZER: The commander of the U.S. Military Central Command, General John Abizaid, testified today before the Senate Armed Services Committee, and he referred to Hezbollah and its capabilities in a very ominous exchange. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, CMDR., U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Hezbollah fields greater and longer-range weapons than most regional armed forces. If left unchecked, it is possible to imagine chemical, biological, or even nuclear weapons being transferred to malicious or terrorist organizations by a state actor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Do you have any evidence at all that Iran -- presumably he's referring to Iran, maybe Syria -- that they have transferred chemical, biological, or nuclear capabilities to Hezbollah?
REGEV: I have to be careful with what I say, Wolf, but I can say what we all know to be true. On the first day of this conflict, we saw them take out an Israeli naval vessel with a very sophisticated Iranian shore-to-sea missile. It was a very precise attack with a very advanced missile system that was given from Iran to Hezbollah.
We see it with their ability to strike deep into Israel, to cities like Haifa, cities like Nazareth, cities like Afula, with these long-range missiles, these rockets that were given by Iran to Hezbollah. And we are concerned that as the Iranians get more missile systems, as their military gets stronger, as they have more weapons, that they will be given to Iranian proxies like Hezbollah.
And that's why it's just so important that we deal with this cancerous growth in Lebanon now before it expands, before it becomes even stronger. Taking that cancer out, neutralizing Hezbollah, which is ultimately what the international community says has to be done -- U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559 specifically calls on Hezbollah to be disarmed.
We're now weakening Hezbollah. As we move into the cease-fire, we'll see the international community, I hope, more energetically move to bring about, together with the lawful government of Lebanon, the disarmament of Hezbollah. That's good for everybody.
BLITZER: Mark Regev is the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. Thanks very much for coming in. We'll continue this conversation down the road.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And we're watching the situation right now in Beirut. Within the past two hours or so, more Israeli air strikes, four huge explosions heard in the Lebanese capital. We're watching the story very closely.
Also, we're watching another important story, a grim assessment of the situation in Iraq and it has Jack Cafferty wondering what is wrong with the U.S. military strategy there? Jack standing by with "The Cafferty File."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Let's go to New York and Jack Cafferty -- Jack.
CAFFERTY: We asked this. What's wrong with the U.S. military strategy in Iraq as the violence continues to worsen there? We're having to move troops around here and there to deal with the violence. And, of course, the suggestion we would be able to pull a lot of troops out of there by the end of the year seems more and more like a pipe dream at this point. Anyway, we got a lot of mail.
Melody in Indiana wrote: "You need to have a strategy before anything can be wrong with it, Jack. It appears to me, after all the time and the soldiers we've lost since the war began in Iraq, we would have a whole lot more to offer the people of Iraq, and bring our men home. There's nothing but chaos in Iraq and, obviously, there is no strategy."
Sam in Nebraska: "The problem with Iraq strategy continues to be not enough troops to plug all the holes. As the situation worsens, pressure on the troops increases, as does domestic pressure to reduce their numbers, a classic lose-lose situation."
William in Holland, Michigan. Here's an interesting idea: "The military lost sight of its main objective, WMDs. There are none. Otherwise, what do we care about that country? Take Saddam back to his hometown of Tikrit and drop him off there. Tell him to make a couple of announcements. 'I'm your president, I'm back. There will be peace in this country, all fighting will stop. The Americans are leaving; leave them alone.' It will end just like that. And then whisper in his ear just before we leave, you do anything stupid, we'll be back."
Topias writes, "Their failure to understand the irreconcilable differences between civilians in Iraq. Some understand the mission and support the U.S., while others lash out in blind hatred at the unknown. They are not interested in debate or compromise, only violence."
Dottie in Waco, Texas: "What strategy? I'm still waiting for the flowers and the singing. The Iraqis didn't understand their part in this strategy."
And Katie in New York writes two words: "Donald Rumsfeld" -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jack, thank you. See you tomorrow. And if you didn't see one of Jack's e-mails here, you can go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile to read more of them online. A lot of our viewers like to do that.
Let's check in with Paula. She is standing by to tell us what is coming up right at the top of the hour. Hi, Paula.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, I do that seven times a day. I'm a Jack fan.
And coming up six just about minutes from now, we're going to have live updates from the frontlines. We're also going to go in depth on the worldful of crises facing President Bush -- Israel, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, North Korea and more. A top story panel will weigh in on how the president should handle all of these crises at one time.
Plus, the top story in Hollywood tonight. What has happened to all of Mel Gibson's friends as he faces the biggest crisis of his career? Don't seem to be too many of them speaking up for him at this hour -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Not now. We'll see how he recuperates, if he can. Thanks, Paula, very much.
And still ahead, it is not heat, it is the cliches that are getting to CNN's Jeanne Moos. She has the best of the worst. That is coming up next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Here is a look at some of the "Hot Shots" coming in from our friends over at the Associated Press, pictures from the Middle East likely to be in your hometown newspapers tomorrow.
In Tyre, Lebanon, an Israeli airstrike sends smoke billowing into the sky.
In Akko, Israel, emergency workers secure the scene after a Hezbollah rocket attack destroyed a vehicle.
In Nablus on the West Bank, Palestinian militants fire guns into the air as others plug their ears during a demonstration against Israel.
In Tyre, Lebanon, a displaced Lebanese girl waits for a blanket at a shelter.
Some of today's "Hot Shots," pictures often worth a thousand words.
It is the talk of the town from Texas all the way to New England. That would be the heat. But all that hot talk is getting CNN's Jeanne Moos steamed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you're a fan of heat jokes ...
DAVID LETTERMAN, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Let me tell you how hot it was today ...
MOOS: It was so hot, newscasters exhausted just about every possible word to describe the heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The oppressive heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Blistering heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excessive heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Punishing heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Scorching heat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sweltering heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it's sizzling.
MOOS: It's as if all these tortured phrases are torturing us ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Painfully hot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boiling hot.
MOOS: ...leaving regular folks grasping for something new to say.
(on camera): It is blistering hot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is steaming.
MOOS: Punishing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Punishing, cruel, unmanageable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Intolerable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbreathable. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hellish, people.
MOOS (voice-over): He ought to know, he's a Presbyterian minister. Judging by their language, even the most proper people are succumbing to the heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) hot.
MOOS: As if temperatures at or above 100 weren't enough, they rub it in with scalding hot maps and jarring graphics, not to mention weird weather-related segments like the one where the reporter swallowed a thermometer ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we go.
MOOS: ...in the form of a pill, or another titled "Mission Impossible, Smell Good in the Heat."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your anti-perspirant could have a deodorant in it, but if it is just deodorant, it has nothing to stop the sweating.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
MOOS: And if one more person tells me to ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hydrate today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay hydrated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
MOOS: Try hydrating this kid.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No!
MOOS (on camera): And talk about a heated vocabulary. The "New York Daily News" coined a new word.
(voice-over): Sweatiquette, sweat meets etiquette. They offer solutions to sticky situations, for instance, if you're trapped in a subway under someone's armpit, or if someone sweaty tries to hug you.
(on camera): Come at me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
MOOS: This is a forearm grab.
(voice-over): Obviously, the heat is getting to the media.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're looking at the baked apple.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Boston is getting baked, and excuse the pun, but it's a little like the beans they're famous for.
MOOS: The pun we'll part. Not this simile.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Heat like a sword.
MOOS: Blazing heat one day, sizzling the next is enough to make you wish the weatherman would shoot the breeze, like in "Groundhog Day."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But look out. Here comes trouble.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Leave it to Jeanne Moos. She does incredible work for us.
Thanks very much for joining us. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. Let's go to Paula Zahn. She's in New York. Hi, Paula.
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