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Hezbollah Rockets Strike Deeper Into Israel; IDF Takes New Aim at Hezbollah Targets

Aired August 04, 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, Hezbollah rockets strike deeper into Israel and closer to Tel Aviv. It's 2:00 a.m. Saturday in Lebanon where Hezbollah fighters are lobbing dozens of deadly new attacks. Civilians killed in the crossfire at the same time. Israeli forces take new aim at Hezbollah targets and tonight more bodies are littering the battlefield. We'll have live reports from both sides of the border.

And two Middle East conflicts converging right now, it's 3:00 a.m. in Baghdad where thousands of people took to the streets in support of Hezbollah's battle against Israel.

I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Tonight bloody ground battles, fierce air strikes, and a rising civilian death toll and Hezbollah rocket attacks go to new lengths. Israeli police say two or three rockets hit the area of Hadera. That's about 25 miles north of Tel Aviv. It's the farthest any Hezbollah rocket has landed in three weeks of warfare.

Dozens of other rockets landed in northern Israel today killing at least three Israelis. Israel keeps expanding its air and ground war against Hezbollah. Lebanese government officials say more than 20 people were killed by an Israeli air strike while they were loading vegetables in the town of Qaa. That's near the Syrian border.

Israel says it was targeting two Hezbollah weapon sites. Lebanon now puts its death toll from the conflict at 676. The Israeli death toll right now stands at 74. Our Brent Sadler, our bureau chief is standing by with more now on the attack in Qaa. A warning, some of the images are graphic -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF: Wolf, as deadly Hezbollah rocket fire rains down on Israel, Israel retaliates striking at a target in the northeastern corner of Lebanon with deadly results. Also punitive Israeli air strikes against key bridges north of the Lebanese capital Beirut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SADLER (voice-over): Victims of an Israeli air strike in Lebanon's northern Bekaa Valley close to the Syrian border are laid out in the dirt of Qaa. Many of the dead are low paid Syrian farm workers loading fruit, say security sources, into a waiting truck when they were killed.

Israel has repeatedly fired on trucks around the border region with Syria suspecting Hezbollah of trying to re-supply its arsenal of rockets this way. Earlier it was a reported movement of trucks traveling along a major highway that may explain Israel's early morning raids on a series of vital bridges north of the capital.

(SOUNDS)

SADLER: The main coastal route connecting Beirut to Lebanon's northern border with Syria was bombed inside of the famed Casino du Liban. Lebanese motorists caught by another deadly air strike. This was the last high speed link for people to enter and leave the country by road, travel now restricted by slow moving byways and detours.

Some eyewitnesses report heavier than usual numbers of trucks traveling along this now battered road just hours before the strike.

KAMAL FAQUIR, EYEWITNESS: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

SADLER: My brother let one of the trucks pass him, says Kamal Faquir, a split second before the road went up in a big explosion. Under the flattened heap of a bridge that spanned this wide gully, a desperate search for more victims.

(SOUNDS)

SADLER: A man is missing, and they think he's buried under the mountain of rubble. Bystanders in this Christian heartland of Lebanon watch in resentful silence reeling from the shock. Camille Chamoun is a Maronite Catholic political activist. Now that Israel has broadened the air assault, he explains, hitting more of their vital interests, the politically divided Christians are now under pressure to unite and rally behind defense of the country.

CAMILLE CHAMOUN, NATIONAL LIBERAL PARTY: The public opinion is today against Israel 100 percent from this area. Although before people were, you know, divided saying maybe it will come to a happy end, but this is absolutely it has no explanation.

SADLER: The punishing air strikes may have achieved an Israeli military objective of strangling main supply routes into Lebanon from Syria for Hezbollah, but for the Lebanese as a whole, say government officials here, it's another devastating blow against a country that's been slowly dragged to its knees day by agonizing day as Israel bombs more targets close to but several miles from the heart of the capital. Lebanese are experiencing a growing sense of collective misery fearing there's no realistic end to the conflict in sight.

(END VIDEOTAPE) SADLER: Lebanese government officials say that 71 bridges have now been badly damaged or destroyed completely by Israeli air strikes, and the cost of this damage to Lebanon's infrastructure is mounting by the day, $2 billion it's estimated so far, and that's likely to be at the low end -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brent Sadler, in Beirut, thanks very much.

Let's head over to northern Israel right now, our senior international correspondent Matthew Chance once again following the story from there. Matthew, another tumultuous day, a very deadly day in Israel.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Another deadly day in Israel, another ferocious barrage, Wolf, from Hezbollah positions in the south of Lebanon into towns and cities across Israel, about 200 -- more than 200, in fact, according to the Israeli police, Israeli -- sorry Hezbollah rockets that landed in northern Israel causing at least three civilians to lose their lives in Israel.

A number of the rockets landed near the town or in the town of Hadera, which is about 50 miles south of the Lebanese border, the farthest south any one of these rockets has landed so far, another grim landmark in this conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE (voice-over): The attack on Hadera was captured on a cell phone camera. Police say two or three rockets landed there and though there were no casualties, the strike may be the most dangerous yet. It's the furthest any Hezbollah rocket has traveled into Israel, only 25 miles from the densely populated area around Israel's major city, Tel Aviv. Across the country more than 200 Hezbollah rockets struck killing at least three people. The militia's ability to strike seems relentless.

(SOUNDS)

CHANCE: From Israel a ferocious artillery barrage of southern Lebanon. Officials say they'll keep pounding Hezbollah positions to stop the rockets and end the threat from Hezbollah.

(SOUNDS)

CHANCE: But the battle is proving tougher than expected as Israeli forces push back Hezbollah, there's been heavy fighting. The militia is well armed and dug in. The Israeli military has released pictures of troops of what it says are captured militia fighters, but the Israelis are taking casualties too. In one incident at least three soldiers were killed in an anti tank missile attack.

Israel has at least 10,000 troops in southern Lebanon fighting at close quarters with Hezbollah guerillas. Morale and expectations seem high.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) CHANCE: We'll beat Hezbollah, says this soldier, and we'll get Nasrallah, too.

(SOUNDS)

CHANCE: But the cost of this war is increasing for Israel. More than 70 soldiers and civilians have been killed. It's only a fraction of the number of Lebanese who have died, but it is still painful here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

CHANCE: Painful enough that demonstrators for and against the war to face off in the Israeli city of Haifa, the military says it's reduced the number of Hezbollah rockets striking here, but the methods have proved divisive.

ORR HORREV, ANTIWAR PROTESTER: We are here to protest against what we see as unjustified and disproportionate aggression against civilians and against our neighbors.

DAVID HEKSNER, PRO-WAR DEMONSTRATOR: This is a terrorist organization that is aiming to kill women and children, and I want to show my support for the IDF and for the Israeli army and the government in the fight against the Hezbollah.

CHANCE: And with Hezbollah now fulfilling its threat to strike deeper into Israel, the majority of Israeli opinion remains broadly in support of the war.

(SOUNDS)

CHANCE: After more than three weeks of bitter fighting, there remains a grim determination to press on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: And Israel is indeed pressing on in its campaign in southern Lebanon to secure a broad strip of territory, which it can occupy as its security zone. Israel says it will hold on to that land it captures until such times as an international force is deployed to take over -- Wolf.

BLITZER: What are those explosions we're hearing behind you, Matthew?

CHANCE: Well, as I mentioned earlier, Wolf, there's been a ferocious artillery barrage, and, indeed, a barrage going in both directions, we've spoken about the Hezbollah rockets hitting northern Israel, but all the time as well the artillery fire, tank fire has been shooting over the Israeli/Lebanese border into south Lebanon against Hezbollah strongholds in support of those thousands of ground troops who are currently in combat operations inside south Lebanon. That artillery barrage is, as I say, ferocious and it's continuing as we speak.

BLITZER: Does it continue nonstop around the clock or are there lulls?

CHANCE: I'd say it's continuing around the clock. I mean obviously there are periods of heightened activity, but it's not like it stops at nighttime and carries on in the daytime. It's pretty much all around the clock. They're getting orders from the battlefield, they've got spotters in there, in southern Lebanon, calling in artillery strikes and indeed air strikes on Hezbollah positions when they identify them.

BLITZER: Matthew Chance, we'll check back with you. Thank you very much.

Let's go back to Beirut now. Our correspondent Michael Ware is on the scene for us. Michael, the last couple of nights, huge explosions rocking Beirut. So far tonight quiet I take it?

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. Although there is a jet fighter above me in the skies as I speak, it has been quiet this evening. So far the last couple of nights if there is a bombardment, we see it commence any time from about now until the first rays of daylight. Last night, if you recall, there was an extremely intense bombardment here on the southern outskirts of Beirut.

As many as 30 bombs dropped within the area of half a square mile, targeting a small district near the airport and with port access. When I went down there this afternoon I saw the damage that was (INAUDIBLE) by the attack. An entire fishing fleet wiped out. I suspect this is part of the Israeli Defense Forces attempts to put a strangle hold, a grip, on Lebanon, to prevent any kind of ratlines or secret supply routes -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Do you get an impression that people are now fleeing parts of Beirut that had been relatively stable, Christian quarters, for example, Christian areas, Sunni areas of Beirut as opposed to the largely Shia southern part of the city?

WARE: Well, it's always hard to tell, but there was no obvious signs today that certainly I saw of a mass exodus of any kind. I think by and large the wider the population that sought to get out of the city and return to family villages or head up into the relatively safe mountain areas controlled by the Druze forces and others have already left, so no, I didn't see a scurrying from the city today -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Michael, we're going to come back to you, Michael Ware on the scene for us in Beirut.

And in the midst of the Middle East crisis the British Prime Minister Tony Blair decided today to delay his vacation. His office says he'll work on the phones to try to get consensus on an U.N. Security Council resolution on the crisis. President Bush, meantime, is beginning a working vacation at his Texas ranch. He spoke on the phone today with the U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Let's head down to Texas, our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joining us with more -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it was actually Annan who initiated the call to President Bush at his Crawford ranch. We're told it lasted about 15 minutes or so really underscoring the sense of urgency here to get this U.N. Security Council resolution. The Press Secretary Tony Snow saying that the president expressed his concerns about the increase in violence in Lebanon and Israel and of course the diplomatic efforts to come forward with the U.N. Security Council resolution, the devil is in the details.

The bottom line here, Wolf, is they are not yet there yet but they are pretty close, really, what is the sticking point here? Well it's about sequencing and staging, Snow says. That is diplo-speak for simply when are the Israeli forces going to pull out of Lebanese territory and the multinational force to come in. There's -- that is the dispute that is taking place, but Secretary Rice, as well as the national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, will be at the Crawford ranch starting tomorrow.

They'll be here for the weekend working with the president trying to get this resolution basically in those details. The devil in the details, we are told, perhaps that they will come up with something in the next 48 hours -- Wolf.

BLITZER: We'll see. Thanks very much Suzanne Malveaux. Appreciate it very much. And Sunday on "LATE EDITION" I'll speak with the president's national security adviser, Steven Hadley, from the Crawford ranch.

Let's go to New York right now. Jack Cafferty is standing by with the "Cafferty File" -- Jack.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, an interesting question. Do Americans feel a growing need to justify the war in Iraq? The answer might be yes according to a new poll. A Harris Poll found half of those surveyed still believe Saddam Hussein's government had weapons of mass destruction back when U.S. troops invaded in March of 2003 and that number today is actually up from 36 percent of Americans who thought so last year.

U.N. inspectors said they found no WMD in Iraq in 2002 or 2003. And U.S. weapons hunters confirmed the same thing the following year. One reason Americans still believe in the WMDs could have to do with a recent intelligence report by Republican lawmakers. They say hundreds of chemical munitions had been found in Iraq since the invasion, but the Pentagon and other experts have since said these are nothing more than old, abandoned shells.

So here's the question. Why do half of Americans still think Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction back in 2003? E-mail your thoughts on that to CaffertyFile@CNN.com or go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jack, thank you very much. And coming up, thousands taking to the streets of Baghdad in support of Hezbollah. U.S. And Israeli flags go up in flames. Could the war in Lebanon spark even more violence in Iraq?

Also rockets into Israel. Is Syria fueling the fire of war? And Fidel Castro, would the U.S. invade Cuba if the ailing dictator dies? We'll tell you what the White House spokesman calls that idea.

Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's get to more now on the war that's going on in the Middle East. There are growing concerns the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah may actually make the situation in Iraq even worse.

CNN's Brian Todd is joining us now with more on this story -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Those are fed by some very telling images from Baghdad earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): By the thousands they flood the streets.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (INAUDIBLE)

TODD: Carrying certain flags, burning others, shouting their adoration for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, not in Beirut, but in Baghdad.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (INAUDIBLE)

TODD: They were called to the streets by their own Shiite leader, the cleric Muqtada al-Sadr who has proven to be a lethal foe to coalition forces in Iraq and now denounces Israel, a show of solidarity that brings a warning from experts. Israel's cross border war with Hezbollah may be crossing another.

COL. PATRICK LANG, MILITARY INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: The more excited the Shia are about the fate of their brothers in Lebanon the more they are to become aggressive on the ground in Baghdad, so this can only make the situation worse.

TODD: Worse in a city that according to top military chiefs in the Pentagon is becoming more chaotic and violent ever day. But asked about the possibility that this rally supporting Hezbollah could lead to more destabilization in Iraq, an American combat commander plays down the threat.

COL. BRIAN JONES, U.S. ARMY: There are some who would try to whip the normal man into a frenzy to have him attack the Americans, but most people understand that our role here is not one of aggression at this point.

TODD: Still, many remember the way al-Sadr led his militias against the Americans just two years ago, vicious, costly street battles in Shia controlled areas of Iraq that put a price on al-Sadr's head before he backed down.

THOMAS RICKS, AUTHOR, "FIASCO": I think in the eyes of a lot of Iraqis he successfully attacked U.S. forces. He never paid a price for that. Many U.S. soldiers died at the hands of his militia yet here he is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Here he is very publicly throwing his support behind Hezbollah; support that analysts believe may lead him to send some of his militia to join Hezbollah in Lebanon and for Hezbollah to possibly one day return the favor with the blessing and possible support they say of Iran -- Wolf.

BLITZER: What a story. Brian, thank you very much. Meanwhile U.S. military officials in Iraq have their own take on today's massive march in Baghdad.

Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is joining us with that. Barbara, I know that the U.S. military actually released a press release today on this demonstration by these Iraqi Shia.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, indeed, they did, and the press release didn't just seem to quite match the pictures, which have now been seen of course around the world. As we continue to look at those pictures of this demonstration, we see, of course, the yellow flags of Hezbollah, we see many demonstrators chanting in favor of Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, we see those in favor of Muqtada al-Sadr, but look at this press release the Pentagon put out, Wolf.

It says, quote -- "14,000 Iraqis demonstrate peacefully in support of Lebanon." OK, well, the demonstration did appear to be peaceful, there wasn't any apparent violence, there were thousands of people, but the Pentagon, the U.S. military in Iraq, putting out this statement that this demonstration was in support of Lebanon. There are Lebanese flags there absolutely, but a good deal of this very large demonstration was clearly when you look at those yellow flags in support of Hezbollah -- Wolf.

BLITZER: I take it they were trying to make the point also, Barbara, that this was a peaceful demonstration in Iraq, a sign of democracy, but the irony was that they weren't only burning the Israeli flags, they were burning the U.S. flags and shouting all sorts of angry slogans against the United States.

STARR: By all accounts, Wolf that is exactly what happened. We think perhaps the Pentagon, the U.S. military in Iraq, put this out because they wanted people to know it was peaceful and they said it was 14,000 demonstrators. There were other estimates. A lot of confusion as always in these large gatherings as to how many people are actually there. That may have actually been the intent of the press release, but I asked one senior defense official what he thought about this press release saying that this demonstration we see was in support of Lebanon when all -- these other factions, of course, were also there, and that senior official really just rolled his eyes. He couldn't really explain the press release -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Barbara, thank you very much. And also happening now the death toll rising in the Middle East, and civilians on both sides paying the price. Now one former adviser to the Lebanese government has a desperate plea for help not for President Bush, but for former President Bill Clinton. We'll explain.

And Hezbollah rockets are causing more death. Today they landed the deepest ever into Israel, the closest yet to Tel Aviv. We're going to have the latest.

Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: To our viewers you're in THE SITUATION ROOM where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Happening now, in Israel fear of attack is spreading as Hezbollah rockets land deeper and deeper into northern Israel. Two or three rockets actually hit the area of Hadera. It's only 25 miles north of Tel Aviv.

In Lebanon more than 20 people were killed by an Israeli air strike near the Syrian border. On Israel's other battlefront, troops conducted house-to-house searches today in Gaza and they attacked Palestinian sites from the air and on the ground. At least two Palestinians reportedly were killed.

And in Texas, President Bush spoke on the phone with the U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan amid intense efforts to try to reach a U.N. resolution on the Middle East crisis.

I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

We want to take you to northern Israel right now, our senior international correspondent Matthew Chance on duty for us tonight. Matthew, I take it the Israeli shelling into south Lebanon, the artillery fire we're hearing is continuing nonstop?

CHANCE: It is indeed, Wolf. There's been, again, a very regular barrage of artillery crashing down just the other side of the border, a few hundred yards behind me into what we believe we assume are Hezbollah strongholds, which the spotters over there in southern Lebanon of the Israeli Army are calling in these artillery strikes on. It's been going on for the past several hours, not just behind me but of course all over southern Lebanon where between 10 and 12,000 ground troops, we understand from Israeli military officials, are currently operating, sweeping across that area, engaging in close combat with Hezbollah fighters, incurring casualties as well.

Only over the course of the day at least three Israeli soldiers have been killed in combat operations, in one incident, in fact, when an antitank missile was fired at them inside southern Lebanon. So it is very fierce fighting, a lot of artillery going over the other side of the border -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Matthew, thank you very much. Matthew Chance doing an excellent job for us on the frontlines in this war.

After crippling Israeli air strikes today that knocked out Lebanon's main highway link to Syria, Hezbollah's alleged weapon supplier, that would be along that line, Lebanon could now face some severe shortages of food, medicine, and fuel, within days.

Roula Talj is a former adviser to Lebanon's government, a Lebanese political analyst. She's joining us once again from Beirut. Roula, on this day, you've released an open letter that you've written to the former president of the United States, Bill Clinton. I want to get to that in a moment, but why did you write to Bill Clinton as opposed to President George Bush?

ROULA TALJ, LEBANESE POLITICAL ANALYST: Because President Bill Clinton I believe was the last president of the United States that was legitimately accepted and liked in the Middle East in both Arab countries and in Israel. And I'm urging him and people like him, peace lovers, to do something in order to save the people of the Middle East from the crusades war of George W. Bush.

BLITZER: Here's what you write in your open letter to President Clinton. I urge you, Mr. President, to do something now. I beg you to stop President Bush from leading the world towards another world war. Your compassion and understanding of the sensitivities in this area are the only remedy against the Bush administration's madness.

We haven't heard a lot from President Bill Clinton since the start of this war, but I assume he's taking a line pretty much in support of Israel.

TALJ: There is no problem, Wolf, to support Israel. I understood, when I lived in Washington, that every politician of the United States supports Israel. And that's fine. It's legitimate.

It's one way to support Israel's interest through peace, a comprehensive peace, with the neighboring countries, and another thing to support Israel crush the neighboring countries through wars and violence and destruction.

And, to be honest with you, I do not believe this is the way to secure Israel. It's the only way -- as I said in my letter, it's our way -- it's our ticket to hell to all of us, Israelis and Arabs.

BLITZER: So, what specifically, Roula, would you like Bill Clinton, the former president of the United States, to do right now?

TALJ: I think campaigning to the public opinion, explaining to the Jewish-Americans that this is not the way to secure Israel.

This is not the way, because I think President Bush is trying to play on the midterm elections in November. I think he's trying to tell the Jewish-Americans: Here, I gave you everything you need in order to secure Israel. And nobody ever gave you that, you know, the opportunity to launch a war, so disastrous war, against your neighbors. And what Bill Clinton needs to do, President Clinton needs to speak out and loud, out of his own experience in the Middle East, that this is the only -- this war will only lead to more extremism and more terrorism and more hatred, that will eventually drive the people of Israel out of it.

BLITZER: What about the Hezbollah rockets that keep coming into Israel, going further and further to the south today, reaching Hadera, the most southern point so far in this three-week war? Are the Lebanese people getting ready to stand up to Hezbollah, Roula, and demand that they stop these rocket attacks on Israeli civilians?

TALJ: If Israel withdraw its troops from all Lebanon, you know, from Shebaa Farms and the occupied land of Lebanon, yes, we will stand up and tell Hezbollah to stop the launching of rockets, and we will demand not only a cease-fire, but a peace treaty with Israel. But they have to respect the border line.

BLITZER: But you know the Israelis are not going to withdraw or stop their own actions until the rockets stop, or at least until there's some sort of international stabilization force that can come into south Lebanon and prevent these rockets from terrorizing Israeli civilians in the north.

TALJ: I think, from previous experience, Hassan Nasrallah proved to be serious about the threats. And he's a man of his word, whether we like him or not.

And, so far, he addressed the Israeli people yesterday, and he told them, you know, you withdraw from Lebanon, and you stop throwing bombs on our heads and destroying our bridges and infrastructure, and we will stop shelling bombs.

I don't think it's his hobby to threaten Israelis. I truly don't believe it. It's not out of religious extremism or any religious agenda. It's a political agenda. I'm pretty sure that they ...

BLITZER: But you know, Roula, that his ideology is such that he doesn't want to see Israel in existence at all.

TALJ: I truly don't believe -- I don't believe that. I truly believe -- I still believe that Hassan Nasrallah has a political agenda, and not an ideological one, like bin Laden and his friends. These are two separate ideologies and agendas.

BLITZER: But don't you see him ...

TALJ: And we need to be very ...

BLITZER: Roula, let me interrupt.

Don't you see him almost fully aligned with the president of Iran, Ahmadinejad, another Shiite, who makes it clear he wants to see Israel wiped off the face of the Earth?

TALJ: That's another thing. I think, if Israel is threatened by Ahmadinejad, they need to go and cure the problem at its core. I think, as Hassan Nasrallah -- and I have to believe him. When he came on television and addressed the nation yesterday, he made it clear that his fight is for the Lebanese people, and not to the Iranians.

And the minute we feel that he's fighting for the interests of the Iranians, believe me, even the Shia of Lebanon will be against him.

But, so far, we have to believe him, and by his actions. And his actions prove so far to be only against the Israeli presence in Lebanon and, you know, the ongoing conflict that never stops.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Roula Talj, speaking with me from Beirut just a little while ago.

And just ahead, bombing Beirut, attacking Israel, the strikes and the counterstrikes in this 24-day-old war reaching a fever pitch today. Our Michael Ware is in Beirut. We're going to go there live in a minute.

And fanning the flames, the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez comparing Israel to Hitler and calling the United States Dracula. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. We're following all the latest developments in the Middle East crisis tonight. Let's go right back to Beirut right now, Michael Ware is on the scene for us once again, tonight.

As you look out over this city, the Israelis say they've tried to pinpoint Hezbollah targets specifically in south Beirut, they've tried to go after the most dangerous spots, they say, and if there are some mistakes, there are mistakes. But by and large, they say they're sticking to Hezbollah.

Is that what you're seeing on the ground as you go out and inspect these craters and these other targets of the Israelis?

WARE: Yes, well, obviously, Wolf, it's very hard to know exactly what's what. I mean, that's the nature of any war, and particularly here, I mean, Hezbollah is very disciplined. Even its foot soldiers are all on message, so -- and supporters, too. People don't give much away, so you go to a bombing scene and you actually are prevented from seeing some things. And yet, you're allowed to see others. So nothing becomes readily apparent.

Although last night, this heavy concentration of bombings in this southern district, it wasn't one of the areas identified by the Israelis that day where they warned people to get out. It was an area to the side, but it was heavily dominated by Shia people, largely impoverished.

I spoke to some locals, the few who remain. They said we support Hezbollah. We are not fighters, but our heart is with them. So goodness knows what's in there and what's not. It all depends on the nature and the quality of Israeli intelligence -- Wolf.

BLITZER: They're saying the Israelis also that are trying to find Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, and kill him, also one of his deputies, Imad Mugniyah, they would like to find him as well, kill him as well. We see Hassan Nasrallah make these video appearances on Lebanese television, various channels. Does he ever show up on the streets? Does he ever go out or is he simply on the run all the time, knowing he's enemy number one as far as Israel is concerned?

WARE: Yes, look, Wolf, let me assure you, there's no things here in Beirut or elsewhere like, for example, we saw in Iraq as Baghdad was falling and Saddam popped up and made that one last appearance for the cameras on the street. There's nothing like that. Hassan Nasrallah means business. He's in the business of guerrilla warfare. He's not going to let himself make a mistake like that. He'll be moving constantly. He'll be with a small, tight band of body guards. Very few people will have any knowledge of where he is or what he's doing, and to be honest he has the capacity, I suspect, to slip back and forth across the border. So he'll be staying very much under the radar, Wolf.

BLITZER: A lot of our viewers will remember when you were "Time Magazine's" Baghdad bureau chief, you often times managed to get close to some of the Iraqi insurgents and do some excellent reporting on where they were, what they were doing, what their motivations were, where they were getting their money, where they were getting their weapons. Is there any way that people can do that, reporters can do that with Hezbollah?

WARE: Well, Hezbollah has surrounded themselves with a public relations ring of steel. As I was saying, from the upper echelons to the rank and file in the street, they've closed the doors, slammed them shut. Nonetheless, there's always a way. You can always find some people who are much more approachable than others, so different journalists are attempting to make different inroads. So far, however, as you can tell, no one's yet cracked a nut, so to speak. Wolf.

BLITZER: All right Michael, thanks very much. Michael Ware on the scene for us in Beirut.

Just ahead tonight we're going to show you the impact the fighting is having on efforts to try to bring Arab and Israeli young people together. Could teams that are camping together today wind up fighting each other tomorrow or living together in peace? You're about to hear some surprising exchanges, stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: As the situation in the Middle East intensifies how are the children of Muslims and Jews from the region viewing the conflict? Mary Snow caught up with some of them, and they have some pretty surprising comments, Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They do Wolf. You're about to meet an Arab and an Israeli teenager who might surprise you by how honest they are with each other. They're part of a program started in the U.S. in 1993 that hopes to promote peace. This summer, as you may imagine, that hope is really being put to the test.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): This tight rope challenge has both nothing and everything to do with the Middle East crisis. 15-year-old Nissan is from Israel, Afil, also 15, is from the West Bank. Thirty feet above the ground they're forced to rely on each other to make it across. It is one of a number of trust building exercises at the Seeds of Peace camp in Maine. Many of these Israeli and Arab campers say until now they'd never known someone from the so-called other side. Here they work, play, and live together.

ZAQLOUD SAID, MALE HEAD COUNSELOR: It's not easy for a teenager to have to deal with the reality and what they hear on the news and having to do camp with the enemy.

SNOW: War headlines are posted in Hebrew and Arabic. It's all brought in to daily dialogue sessions, held with kids like 17-year-old Omer from Israel and 16-year-old Kareem from the West Bank.

(on camera): Is it always in the back of your mind that the other side is the enemy, so-called enemy?

KAREEM, PALESTINIAN CAMPER: Of course. I always look at Omer going to the army at 18, and she may go on the field and she may stop me at a checkpoint and humiliate me. I always think of that.

SNOW: Omer has thought about it too.

OMER, ISRAELI CAMPER: When you come to a checkpoint with a soldier, would you prefer him to be from Seeds of Peace that is known them and respect them and will treat you with the respect he's learned during his time in the organization or do you just want some soldiers to be there?

SNOW: Omer says she'll be proud to serve and is willing to die for her country. Kareem says he won't rule out dying for Palestine.

OMER: The things they call terrorists I call them freedom fighters.

SNOW: Would you ever become a freedom fighter?

OMER: Well, it depends on what happens. If it's a personal revenge, of course I will become a freedom fighter, but I believe right now the resistance I can give to my country, I can get an education, I can fight by words. I can do a lot of other stuff.

SNOW: How does it make you feel when you hear that?

OMER: Not the first time I'm hearing it (INAUDIBLE) I'm willing to go sacrifice myself or I'm willing to kill you. I guess it's like the same for them to hear I'm going to the army, so I see freedom fighters as my enemy, and he sees soldiers as the devil, so I guess it's kind of like the same.

SNOW: They say the fact that they can even talk about these things is progress. They move on with their camp day. At one point they work together to field calls from campers families overseas. There are times when these kids are just kids, united in cheering nor the soccer team. But with reality lurking these teens will be on the front lines of decision making which they return home.

STEVEN FLANDERS, COO, SEEDS OF PEACE: They come and they sleep with one eye open and one eye shut because they're sleeping with what they otherwise thought was the enemy. When they go home they go home with eyes wide open because they've just experienced a whole new opportunity for life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: As one counselor told me he doesn't expect to change the world but hopes that by empowering one teenager at a time it will one day make a difference. Wolf.

BLITZER: Let's hope it does. Thanks very much, Mary Snow reporting on Seeds of Peace.

Israeli war planes meanwhile destroyed four key bridges north of Beirut today. The U.N. says the attacks could, quote, sever the vital humanitarian life line between Lebanon and the outside world. Citizen journalists were at the scene to document the destruction. Let's bring in our Internet reporter Abbi Tatton.

ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, these pictures were all sent in to CNN through "I report." Tony Samaha was at the scene in his apartment and reported this bridge strike here in Mamaltine (ph). He was just standing on his balcony seconds after the bridge strike, and he recorded these pictures while on the phone with his family in Boston. If we zoom in on this one, you'll see the damaged caused a crater in the middle of the road there that vehicles were falling into.

More pictures coming from just a mile away in the same area from 19-year-old Ramzi Asbahan. What he tells us is he and his family moved from Beirut to this communicate just to the north because they considered it safer. Ramzi points out in an e-mail that this bridge was on a major artery north from Beirut. The Israeli Defense Forces saying today that the bridges were targeted to, quote, stop the flow of weapons to Hezbollah. Wolf.

BLITZER: Abbi, thank you, and up ahead would the U.S. invade Cuba if the ailing dictator Fidel Castro dies? We'll tell you what the White House spokesman calls that idea.

And Jack Cafferty wants to know why half of Americans believe Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Jack standing by with your e-mail in the "Cafferty File." Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(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, pictures likely to be in your newspapers tomorrow.

In southern Beirut, a ball of fire erupts into the sky after an Israeli air strike.

In Tehran, Iran, nervous police officers guard the British embassy during an anti-Israeli protest downtown.

In Junieh (ph), in Lebanon, north of Beirut, Red Cross personnel carry a man who was injured when an Israeli air strike took out a bridge.

In northern Israel, Israeli soldiers pray at an artillery position near the border with Lebanon.

Some of today's hot shots, pictures often worth a thousand words.

Let's go to Zain Verjee. She's joining us with a quick look at some other important stories making news -- Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, Fidel Castro will resume Cuba's presidency. That's what Cuba's health minister tells Guatemalan radio. He says the 79-year-old leader is recovering satisfactorily from intestinal surgery. Castro's brother Raul is temporarily in charge.

Meanwhile, the White House called speculation that the U.S. might invade Cuba absolutely absurd. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is sending a message of support to the Cuban people and urging them to work at home for positive change.

Seven foreign companies are in trouble with the U.S. for arms deals with Iran. The U.S. is sanctioning them for allegedly providing materials to Tehran that potentially could be used to develop weapons of mass destruction. The companies are from North Korea, Russia, India and Cuba. Their U.S. licenses are being suspended and they can't do business with the U.S. government.

Venezuela's main Jewish organization is accusing President Hugo Chavez of anti-Semitism. The group is angry about statements he made about Israel in an interview with Al Jazeera last week. Venezuela's president blasted Israel for its attacks against Lebanon and Palestinians. He compared its operations to those of Hitler. He also slammed the U.S. for backing Israel. Chavez called the U.S. government quote, "a Dracula always searching for oil and blood" -- Wolf. BLITZER: All right, Zain, thank you.

And still ahead, fact or fiction. Why do half of Americans still believe Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction? Jack Cafferty is on the story. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's send it up to New York and Jack Cafferty. He's got "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.

CAFFERTY: Thanks, Wolf. The question is why do half of Americans still believe that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction back in 2003?

John in Virginia writes: "Gutless Democrats who don't hold Bush accountable? Failure of the press to do its job? Spin machines? Bad schools? If Senator Rick Santorum could be so dumb as to think 20- year-old degraded shells are evidence of WMD, why should we be surprised half of America is this dumb?"

Steve writes: "Because he did."

Margaret in Seattle writes: "There is a disturbing trend toward willful ignorance in this country. It's too humiliating for a lot of politically entrenched people to admit they were wrong and that this administration is utterly incompetent. So instead, they claim up is down, black is white, and that there were WMD in Iraq."

Dave writes: "I think WMDs are still buried in Iraq, like the mass graves. CNN should send you over there to look for them."

Mark in New York writes: "People want to believe that the United States invasion of Iraq was just, so they cling to the only justification President Bush ever gave us that seems plausible. The fact that there were no WMDs there is as inconvenient as the thousands of casualties of this war."

And Richard writes from Largo, Florida: "Most Americans feel distant to the war in Iraq. They have no children fighting over there, neither do they know of any family that does. They choose to believe what the Republican propaganda machine told them from the beginning. Plus, Americans are more interested in who won 'American Idol' or who got thrown out of the 'Big Brother' house last night.

When they have someone in their family blown up in a shopping mall, maybe they'll wake up and smell the coffee."

If you didn't see your email here, you can go to cnn.com/caffertyfile and read some more of these online -- Wolf.

BLITZER: You know, one of the big stories this week, perhaps underreported, top U.S. generals now acknowledging, guess what, the Iraq situation may be on the verge of the civil war.

CAFFERTY: Well, and then we had those frightening pictures of those thousands of Iraqis -- Maqtud al-Saad (sic) -- can't get his name right...

BLITZER: Muqtada al-Sadr.

CAFFERTY: Al-Sadr, the guy who caused us trouble before, demonstrating in support of Hezbollah. So it's getting more tense over there by the day.

BLITZER: Jack, thanks very much. Jack Cafferty with "The Cafferty File." I'll see you Sunday on "Late Edition." Among my special guests, President Bush's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. "Late Edition" airs 11:00 a.m. Eastern.

I'm Wolf Blitzer. Let's go to New York. "PAULA ZAHN NOW," Carol Costello filling in for Paula -- Carol.

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