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CNN Saturday Morning News

Gaza Militants Propose Midnight Cease Fire; Nawar Sahili Interview; Sirens Reverberate Around of Haifa; Doctors Work in Line of Fire in Middle East

Aired July 22, 2006 - 11:30   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Randi, you got the latest developments out of the Middle East. What do you have?
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I do, coming out of the Gaza Strip, we have word from the Associated Press that senior Palestinian officials are reporting that militants in the Gaza Strip have agreed to stop firing rockets at Israel, at midnight, which, midnight there would be in about six hours or so. They're seven hours ahead of us. So senior Palestinian officials once again reporting that militants in the Gaza Strip have agreed to stop firing rockets at Israel at midnight.

Now this is not Hezbollah forces; this is Hamas, want to make that clear. But once again, developments just constantly streaming in here to the CNN international desk and to our desks here, so we are wanting to bring that to you as soon as we can. Once we get more, we're trying to confirm it for ourselves here at CNN, once we get more details, we'll bring those to you. Richard?

NGUYEN: All right, thank you Randi.

LUI: Thanks Randi.

NGUYEN: Well, Israel's attack in Lebanon are drawing most of the attention. But its offensive in Gaza has been going on even longer. The battle with Hezbollah began with the capture of two Israeli soldiers on July 12th. The violence in Gaza started more than two weeks earlier when Palestinian militants captured an Israeli soldier.

As CNN senior international correspondent Matthew Chance reports, Israel has been conducting raids in Gaza ever since.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The grim task of retrieving remains of the latest casualties in Israel's raid to free its captured soldier here in Gaza. Four members of one family blown apart by Israeli fire in clashes with Palestinian militants.

We'll not give the soldier back unless Israel releases all our prisoners this family member says. And we'll ask Hezbollah not to give the soldiers they're holding either until Israel releases Muslims, Arabs and Palestinians.

Prisoners, Arab and Israeli, are now at the core of this Middle East coast crisis. Israel has about 10,000 in its jails. Many have murdered and bombed or plotted against the Jewish state. Some are held without trial -- been there for 26 years. In Gaza there's even a ministry of prisoners dedicated to their release. There's only an acting Palestinian minister from Hamas. The regular one is a prisoner himself in Israel.

ATIF EDWAN, ACTING MIN. OF PALESTINIAN DETAINEES: All of this closes eyes, regarding their suffering, but when the Israeli soldiers are captured by some Palestinians, they'd rather just open his eyes and tried to pay very important attention to this issue.

CHANCE: For Hamas, the Israeli soldier everyone is watching is a valuable bargaining chip.

(on camera): How many prisoners do you think that you can expect to get back in exchange for Gilad Shalit?

EDWAN: I hope all of them, thousands, I hope so.

CHANCE (voice-over): There have been deals in the past. Jamal was convicted of terrorism in Israel and sentenced to 30 years but after serving 12, he was back in Gaza with his family freed in a political deal. There must now be another he says before the soldiers being held by Hamas and Hezbollah are handed back too.

JAMAL MUKAHHAL, FORMER PRISONER: I'm sure and nobody (INAUDIBLE) will accept another solution. The hope of the prisoners is in Gilad.

CHANCE: A hope Israel has yet to fulfill. So far Israel has adamantly refused to negotiate either with Hezbollah or with Hamas here in Gaza for the release of its captured soldiers. To do so it says may encourage further abductions. But the military action hasn't set them free either and at some point, a deal may have to be done.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Gaza.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: So the showdown between Israel and Hezbollah erupted 11 days ago when Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers. Now earlier, I spoke with Nawar Sahili, a Hezbollah member of Lebanon's parliament. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAWAR SAHILI, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANESE PARLIAMENT: Hezbollah is a resistance movement, a popular resistance. We have captured Lebanese and the Israeli prisoners. We have territory occupied by Israel, so if you don't have any more territories occupied by Israel, if you don't have any prisoners in the Israel prisons, why should we attack? We are not attacking.

We are only having reaction. This is the first time in the history you are looking for political resolution before cease fire. You wait until those dead and those injuries and this destruction and then after you see for the cease-fire and all over the world, you make a cease-fire and then you go to the political solution, not the political solution before the cease-fire. This is something illogical.

NGUYEN: Talking about political solutions, I want to ask you one more thing. The U.S. ambassador, John Bolton, ambassador to the UN, said and we'll quote here, we cannot disdain (ph) Hezbollah and Hamas without ignoring those who back them with weapons, financing and political support. There's his quote. Obviously, he is referring to Syria and Iran. Has Hezbollah spoken with its contacts in those countries and will they intervene whether it be diplomatically or militarily?

SAHILI: Surely, they will not intercede militarily. We are Lebanese movement. We're a Lebanese group. We're all Lebanese and our target is the freedom of Lebanon. Only our aim is Lebanese, without any conditions. Iran doesn't intercede directly or support us politically. We're Lebanese 100 percent.

NGUYEN: Hezbollah says it will not accept the Israeli terms for a cease-fire, which basically means returning those two kidnapped soldiers and dismantling. What kind of realistic cease-fire or agreement does Hezbollah see in the future?

SAHILI: Like I told you before, we now seek for a cease-fire without any conditions and after the cease-fire, we are ready to have indirect negotiation for the two soldiers and for our (INAUDIBLE) Israeli prisoner and after that, we seek both a political solution, inside Lebanon, something Lebanese, that can be discussed in the cabinet or from the table where there is all the political parties in Lebanon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LUI: And, of course, we'll continue to follow developments there for you in the Middle East all day on CNN's this week at war. Tonight though, an in-depth look at the escalation and violence in Lebanon and the outlook for diplomatic solutions. John Roberts hosts that at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

Then for you at 8:00 Eastern, Anderson Cooper hosts "CNN Presents, Inside Hezbollah," next, a special Middle East crisis edition of "Larry King Live", then at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, Anderson Cooper is back live from Beirut, with a special edition of "Anderson Cooper 360." Continuing coverage of the Middle East crisis all evening here on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

And the war in the Mideast, unfiltered and uncensored, from web cams to blogs. How the Internet is covering that crisis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We have some breaking news to tell you about. Let's go straight to CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney. She is in Haifa, at least she was when we last checked. What do you have Fionnuala?

FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Betty, within the last minutes, we heard sirens which reverberate around the city of Haifa. They usually last for about a minute or so, and then we wait for the usual explosion, so it happened.

We have heard two explosions, and this is about the eighth air- raid siren warning that has gone out over the city in the last six hours or so, and certainly an indication that Hezbollah are still capable of firing missiles. The air raid sirens only sound when the radar detects that a missile or missiles are on their way and in this case, it has usually been Katyusha rockets and that gives us about 30 seconds before usually the first explosion lands.

Now about an hour and a half ago, we had another air raid siren warning and we saw seven Katyusha rockets land in an open area. No injuries were reported and indeed no injuries have been reported here in Haifa. But yesterday, several rockets also fell in the city and around it and there were several injuries. And only last Sunday after another barrage of rocket attacks, eight people were killed, so an indication that things are very tense still here in Haifa and indeed across the northern band of Israel. Betty.

NGUYEN: Fionnuala Sweeney in Haifa today as those air raids continue to go off, several of them. Stay safe, we'll be speaking with you soon. Thank you Fionnuala.

LUI: Now here's another update on what we know right now about the Middle East crisis. Israeli tanks rolled into southern Lebanon today. The Israeli defense forces have been warning villagers in that area to evacuate. But they say this morning's cross border operation was a pinpoint attack not the beginning of a larger ground war.

Israeli air strikes meanwhile have hit several transmission facilities, disrupting television and phone service in northern Lebanon. The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation says one of its workers was killed in that and two others were hurt in the attacks as well.

President Bush discussed the Mideast crisis during a phone call with the Turkish prime minister this morning. The White House says the conversation centered on humanitarian aid and secretary of state Rice's upcoming trip to the region.

NGUYEN: Scenes from the Mideast crisis are playing out on TV screens all around the world. But some of the rawest material can be found on the Internet. Bloggers don't have to conform to journalistic standards of objectivity. So what you see can be biased, but it can also be passionate and very real. Randi Kaye gives us a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These (EXPLETIVE DELETED) are killing everybody here.

KAYE (voice-over): It's the war in Lebanon unfiltered.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED). KAYE: Video posted online by bloggers, residents and stranded tourists, raw and very direct. This video apparently of Israeli air strikes was shot by 24-year old Bassem Mazloum from his home in the Bekaa Valley, 40 minutes for Beirut.

VOICE OF BESSEM MAZLOUM, LEBANESE BLOGGER: The uncensored version of my video with me swearing pretty much tells you how scared I was when they just started hitting close to home and you can't even hear that. Basically by the time you hear it, it is either too late or just the time has gone. I mean if you hear it, you know you're alive, basically.

KAYE: We talked to Mazloum via web cam from New York. The jerky image, proof of the fragile communications these days from Lebanon.

MAZLOUM: They are pretty much launching from the jet and I've seen them and heard my fair share of explosions. The after shocks are very intense and so it makes you think. I mean what if it does hit you? I mean what's it going to do to you?

KAYE: If anyone in Lebanon might be sympathetic to Israeli, Mazloum seems to fit the profile. He was born in Lebanon, but raised in Canada and America. He count Israelis among his friends in the United States and says he firmly believes Hezbollah should be disarmed, but missiles blowing up in the next neighborhood have a way of hardening your views and his blog, like most originating from Lebanon these days is consumed by civilian suffering and why the U.S. is not pressuring Israel to stop.

MAZLOUM: The lack of effort to stop this basically, what I could call a massacre, it is intense. It gets to you slowly. It just starts eating at you and takes something away from you. I'm scared about my relatives here, all the friends that I made here.

KAYE: Opinion, information, raw footage, passion and fear. It is all there for anyone with an Internet hookup.

MAZLOUM: It's going to be a rough night here today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well, Randi Kaye joins us now to talk more about this story. Randi, the blogger in that story clearly angry. Who was his anger directed at and why doesn't he leave Lebanon?

KAYE: We asked him both those questions Betty. Apparently, Mazloum, he blames the U.S. He's very angry at the U.S. He says that the U.S. is looking for another war on terror, another Iraq, if you will. He's also angry at Hezbollah and he says that he hasn't seen any of its members dying there in the streets. What he's seeing are Lebanese citizens who are being killed.

If you look at his Web site certainly, he captures some of the most horrific images. You saw a few of them in the story there. And in terms of him not leaving, he's decided not to leave because he says it would be just too painful. He would worry too much about all the family and friends that he would have to leave behind. So he would worry too much about their safety, so he says that he is willing to sacrifice his own.

But on another note, I just want to update you on the story coming out of the Gaza Strip I mentioned a short time ago. Militant groups in the Gaza Strip have agreed to stop firing missiles at Israel at midnight Saturday, which would be about five hours from now in that region. That is according to the Associated Press reporting that, coming into CNN's international desk here, that the unilateral cease- fire would be aimed at ending Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.

As you may recall, that began June 28th, just three days after the militants had raided an Israeli Army post, killing two soldiers and capturing one. More than 100 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict since June 28th since it began in the Gaza Strip, from daily attacks, daily bombardment by Israeli air strikes. So they're certainly looking to put an end to that. Is this a step toward peace? Well, Hezbollah taking notice of this, we don't know. We'll continue to monitor it though. Betty.

NGUYEN: All right, Randi, thank you, wearing many hats and of course, we'll see more stories like the one that we just spoke about, coming up on "Anderson Cooper 360" tonight. There is a special edition of that show as Anderson anchors live from Beirut with the latest on the Mideast crisis. That's at 10:00 p.m. only on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

LUI: CNN Saturday is coming up at the top of the hour. Fred, what have you got for us?

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good to see you. Of course, we're going to continue the momentum here on covering the Middle East crisis. We're going to explore the strategies, the military strategies of Hezbollah as well as Israel. And while the rockets and the missiles fly overhead, what is it like to be an ordinary citizen living in say the port city of Haifa?

We're going to be talking to one man who talks about why he's vowing to stay as he has done so for the past three years, given that his daughter, a 17-year old, died during a suicide bombing attack there in Haifa. We're going to have his personal account.

NGUYEN: Some really insightful stuff, thank you so much, for that Fredricka. We look forward to it. Well, this week in Israel, rockets rained down, but we want you to check this out, a couple being married in a bomb shelter. We're going to try to put that picture up for you and tell you the great story. That's coming ahead. I guess you'll have to wait on that picture. Stay tuned. There it is. There's the picture. We're going to tell you all about it when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LUI: Hezbollah rocket attacks injured at least 39 Israelis in Haifa yesterday, three of them critically. The wounded are not out of jeopardy yet though, even when they get to the hospital. CNN's Paula Hancocks reports from Haifa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This woman just lost part of her leg in a rocket attack, her limb brought in the ambulance behind. Doctors move the line of beds outside, ready for the next casualties close behind. Some are in shock, others clearly closer to the impact. But the patients are not out of danger even inside. The hospital is close to Haifa's sea front and very close to where rockets have hit before.

RAFAEL BEYAR, DIR., RAMBAM MEDICAL CENTER: This is the first time ever in the history of this hospital, that it has been under real attack, not far away from this region itself.

HANCOCKS: The air raid siren is barely audible in the children's leukemia ward. A loud speaker tells patients to go into a safe (INAUDIBLE). There's no bomb shelter in this hospital, just ordinary rooms away from windows. Just minutes after the rockets hit, contractors rush once again to cover north facing windows to prevent them from shattering.

This used to be the maternity ward, but it faces north, which means it faces Lebanon. Now since rockets have been falling regularly on Haifa, that department has been moved further into the hospital. Doctors tell me that is the plan to try and leave as few patients as possible on this side of the building.

Sammy was in critical condition when he arrived here at the beginning of the week. A pellet from a Katyusha lodged in the wall of his heart. He tells me, he's scared every time he hears the siren. He's scared the next rocket will hit him. Doctors have no choice but to keep working literally in the line of fire.

DR. ALON BEN NON, HAIFA SURGEON: When you treat a patient, this patient becomes the center of your world. You don't do, you don't think about anything else. It doesn't matter if you were bombed or there is siren. There's the patient, the team and that's it.

HANCOCKS: Doctors work feverishly inside to treat the wounded, whose relatives wait in anguish outside.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Haifa, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: With explosions going off, you may think a celebration would be the last thing on the minds of people in the Mideast. But one Israeli couple, you see them there, decided they're not going to let rocket fire stand in the way of their wedding plans. Oh, no, the pair slashed the guest list and moved the ceremony to a new and say appropriate location, an underground bomb shelter. They say the ceremony should show Hezbollah terrorists that not even 20,000 missiles can destroy the happiness of the bride and groom.

People on both sides of this crisis are feeling it, but life must go on and I think that's a really nice look at what people are doing there. Continuing with their lives, whether it be a wedding or any other special occasion. What we're looking at now, though, Richard is a live picture. Speaking of life must go on, of a mosque in northern Israel as the sun starts to set in the Mideast.

LUI: That's right, 7:00 p.m. there as they have had another busy day, day 11, closing up for those in Israel and Lebanon. We'll see how the rest of the day goes for them.

NGUYEN: You're watching CNN SATURDAY. There's much more to come with Fredricka Whitfield. She is next, so stay with us. We'll be right back after this break.

LUI: Have a good morning.

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