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Deadly Rocket Attack in Northern Israel; IDF: Troops taking up Positions Near 11 Towns in Lebanon; New and Renewed Attacks in Iraq

Aired August 03, 2006 - 12:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, COMMANDER, CENTRAL COMMAND: The sectarian violence is probably as bad as I've seen it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Many people say it is already a fact, but U.S. officials today tell Congress Iraq is nearing civil war.

FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lethal barrage. Scores of Hezbollah rockets rain down on northern Israel. A number of Israeli civilians are killed.

GORANI: And bombed again. The IDF resumes its bombing campaign of the Lebanese capital as thousands of Israeli forces engage in fierce fighting in southern Lebanon.

Hello and welcome to YOUR WORLD TODAY.

I'm Hala Gorani, reporting from Beirut.

SWEENEY: And I'm Fionnuala Sweeney, reporting from Haifa, Israel.

Welcome to this special edition of YOUR WORLD TODAY.

We want to begin here with -- well, let us begin with the situation here in Israel.

It has been a very heavy day in terms of barrages of rockets coming into this country. More than 160 so far, and it is not yet sunset. At least seven people have been killed, and scores injured. One of the deadliest days in northern Israel in terms of killings by Katyusha rockets.

Let's go straight away now to Paula Hancocks. She joins us on the line from Acre, which isn't too far from here in Haifa, with what has -- the news of what has bee rather a deadly day there -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fionnuala.

Well, we're actually all inside at the moment. There has been another air raid siren. And we do believe we have just heard one rocket land fairly close by. We think it may be two. People listening out at the moment.

But, of course, this has been the scene of a very deadly day today. We have -- we know that about four people were killed just outside their homes.

Now, we understand that the sirens sounded, one rocket landed. And then after the siren ended, people came out to see what was happening. And that's when another rocket landed just nearby.

Four people killed, we understand. A father and child amongst that number. And also, three more have been killed in another town near Maalot, which is northeast of here. And we understand from Israeli radio that about 40 have been injured, and we also understand that another rocket has just landed here in Acre, we believe. And of those 40 injured, at least 10 severely wounded.

So, certainly, it's been a day of many rockets, following another day, which more than 250 rockets fell yesterday, which was all a record for the number of rockets. And, of course, this coming at the same time that the Israeli politicians are saying Hezbollah has been dealt a heavy blow. But certainly for the residents of northern Israel it doesn't feel that way at this point -- Fionnuala.

SWEENEY: Paula, I think there in your report when you describe how people came up from the bunkers only to find that another rocket had hit moments after they thought they were safe, how random these rockets attacks are, and in terms of where they are targeted and where they might land.

HANCOCKS: Well, that's what terrifies the residents up here so much, the fact that Hezbollah cannot really aim these rockets. They just aim it in an area where they believe there will be a lot of people.

And they're not radar-guided. They are, as you say, completely random. And this is what terrorizes the residents so much.

And the fact that as soon as these air raid sirens sound, you do see everybody running in sheer panic in the streets to get inside, to try and get into a bomb shelter, if there is one available. But we understand that the building that was nearby that was hit just about two hours ago didn't have a bomb shelter, so people were just hiding in a room which doesn't have windows.

This is what most people are doing -- Fionnuala.

SWEENEY: And, of course, the people of northern Israel dealing on a daily basis, becoming used to these rockets. And sometimes then relative lulls, after maybe a couple of days of heavy barrages.

What are people there saying to you, Paula, about the whole campaign, Israel's military campaign in southern Lebanon, and whether or not it must continue?

HANCOCKS: Well, I spoke to one gentleman who lives about 100 meters away from where one of the rockets lands, where there were some 40 (ph) people. And he said that he was very close by outside. He had come outside after the siren had finished to see what had happened. So he saw exactly what happened.

He said he was very lucky to be alive. But at the same time, he also said that he believed this campaign should continue. He was saying that Israel has been through this at different times before, and he said that the residents, although terrified and wanting this to end as soon as possible, were prepared to let it go on for longer if the threat of rockets hitting their towns in northern Israel would be depleted in the future.

So, interestingly, even as he was clearly traumatized and new of the people that had been killed, he was still determined that they should continue their operations in southern Lebanon.

SWEENEY: Reflecting the mood of most of the country here.

Thank you very much, indeed.

Paula Hancocks reporting from Acre, where rockets have continued to fall.

It's just north of the border -- just north of where we are in Haifa, close the border. But even closer to the border now is our Matthew Chance, who is standing by.

Matthew, an extremely heavy day in terms of rockets hitting northern Israel. What has it been like where you are?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's been a ferocious barrage, Fionnuala, going in the other direction as well out of the territory here in northern Israel towards southern Lebanon, a ferocious artillery barrage pounding towns and villages across that broad strip of territory in southern Lebanon that Israel has said has expanded its offensive into. There's fierce fighting under way between thousands of Israeli soldiers that have bee deployed there and Hezbollah fighters as well who are holed up in their strongholds, their dugouts, their tunnels, their bunkers, infrastructure which they've been digging into for the past six years since Israel ended its occupation of southern Lebanon.

All of the time they've been training for a battle like this. And so it's proving very difficult for the Israeli forces to root them out, but they are making ground -- what the Israeli military says is that they're spreading their offensive across a broad strip of territory, alongside -- along the south of southern Lebanon, north of the Israeli border. They say they intend to clear that of any Hezbollah fighters and then hold it until such times as a multinational force can be agreed and take over from Israeli forces on the ground -- Fionnuala.

SWEENEY: And Matthew, you've been there now for quite some time. And presumably, you've seen lulls in the fighting, and also escalations in the fighting.

Are you seeing more Israeli soldiers pour into the area over the last few days? Is it your sense that we're now well into phase two of this conflict?

CHANCE: Yes, I think it is. We've seen over the past several days, particularly, a real upswing in military activity.

A couple of days back, maybe a week ago, Israel called up tens of thousands of its reserve soldiers. A few days after that, it increased the amount of reserves it had called up.

It takes a few days to give them some refresher training. But then when they're ready for that, they can be deployed back in combat situations.

And indeed, that's the situation we've been in for the past 24, 48 hours. Those thousands of reserve soldiers coming online, as it were, becoming available for the Israeli military to deploy into combat. And that's why I think over the past few days we've really seen combat operations amongst ground forces pick up.

At the same time, there's a real awareness amongst the Israeli military officials that I've spoken to that the diplomatic clock is ticking, that there may well be a cease-fire agreement imposed on this situation by the international community. And so Israel wants to achieve its minimum objective as soon as possible, i.e., to push Hezbollah back from the Israeli border -- Fionnuala.

SWEENEY: All right.

Matthew Chance reporting live there from the Israeli-Lebanese border.

From Haifa, in Israel, to my colleague Hala Gorani in Beirut -- Hala.

GORANI: Yes, in Beirut, Fionnuala, thick clouds of smoke over Beirut for the first time in a few days. Israeli warplanes targeting the southern suburbs of this city.

Now, according to the Lebanese prime minister, the offensive is taking "an enormous toll on human life." Giving new casualty figures across Lebanon, 900 dead, some 3,000 wounded.

Let's bring in our Beirut bureau chief, Brent Sadler, for more on the offensive that has resumed in southern Beirut -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF: Thanks, Hala.

As you reported, the southern suburbs of Beirut, this is Hezbollah's traditional stronghold, again hit by an Israeli airstrike last night. At least four explosions heard, two of them sounding like they were bunker-busting-type bombs that would explode deep below the ground. There was an expectation that the Israelis would launch a response to that record number of rockets that Hezbollah fired into Israel in the previous hours.

Now, Matthew Chance there was talking about a possible phase two that we're seeing now, Hala, and I would concur with that assessment. If you look at the initial way this war kicked off, that was Israel using its air force, relying on its air force to bomb Hezbollah positions, areas around the southern suburbs of Beirut, and throughout the country. Clearly, that did not have the desired effect.

I think talking to political sources close to Hezbollah, the Israelis were really trying to eradicate the leadership, cut the leadership off from the fighters in the south. And according to my sources close to Hezbollah, that is far from the case.

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, I'm told, is still able to and is still active in making the command decisions to fire those Katyushas given the ebb and flow of what's happening on the warfronts along the border with Israel and Lebanon. He's still very much in control.

Hezbollah still saying that their fighting capability, despite the heavy bombardments and shelling by Israel now for some three weeks, Hezbollah -- and it's clearly being shown on the battlefield -- still able to inflict rocket attacks against the Israelis and kill Israeli civilians. That's been happening today.

In addition, Hala, talking to U.N. officials in the south, it's now becoming clear that the Israelis, by driving westward towards the Mediterranean Sea, now shelling, I understand, Hezbollah areas south of the port city of Tyre. It's emerging that the Israelis look like they want to carve out the kind of security zone, they would call it, that they had for nearly 18 years, a security zone that they withdrew from in May, 2000. And it seems to be that's what's emerging in terms of these military tactics and would explain why there is now stepped- up military activity, multi-fronts that the IDF has now engaged in with Hezbollah, as there is possibly a window closing over the next few days with some sort of cease-fire coming into play.

However, Hezbollah officials clearly point out that they would see the continued presence of Israeli forces, in whatever strip they carve out, as an occupation force, which would put us back to, effectively, square one, where Hezbollah would continue to attack them -- Hala.

GORANI: All right.

Brent Sadler, our Beirut bureau chief.

Now we want to show our viewers exactly what the Israeli bombings have done to those parts of the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital where they fell down on the ground. These satellite images of Beirut, take a look, were taken before and after the bombing began.

In the before images from July 12th, you can see the buildings and streets of the southern suburbs of Dahiye (ph) undamaged. The July 22nd pictures show buildings leveled and craters blown into streets -- the left hand of your screen, the right hand side of our screen.

Lebanon's minister of transportation and public works said nationwide the Israeli attacks have caused $2 billion worth of damage to infrastructure.

Now, Israel's bombardment is causing despair and anger along those Lebanese who are fleeing the violence. Tyre, a port city in the west, is just one area getting hammered by air raids. Residents have taken to the streets trying to block roads and protests this day. Others are blaming local authorities for inaction as they fret over the plight of their children.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The children and people are sleeping on the floor. When we go to municipal council to get food and other necessities, they tell us they're providing us help. But we don't see it.

They are all liars and cheats. Our babies are without food and without milk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SWEENEY: An Israeli military inquiry into the Qana bombings says intelligence had indicated the building was being used by Hezbollah. The inquiry states that information, had it shown that civilians were present, the strike would not have been carried out.

Well, the airstrike early Sunday leveled a four-story building used as shelter by Lebanese refugees. Lebanese officials saying at least 54 people, mostly women and children, were killed in the Israeli airstrike.

A preliminary Human Rights Watch investigation found that 28 people were killed and 13 were missing. The group also says an impartial international inquiry is needed on Israel's bombing campaign in Lebanon.

GORANI: All right. We're going to have a lot more ahead here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, including some news from Iraq this day.

SWEENEY: Also, we'll be talking to Palestinian refugees who fled Lebanon for safer ground in Syria.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SWEENEY: Welcome back. I'm Fionnuala Sweeney in Haifa, Israel.

GORANI: And I'm Hala Gorani in Beirut.

Now, with all of the fighting that's been going on in southern Lebanon, and northern Israel, as well, Iraq hasn't made headlines much lately. But there have been new and renewed attacks, sectarian violence in that country with horrifying new tactics. And there are new questions about whether Iraq is indeed sliding into a full-blown civil war. The matter is front and center before the U.S. Senate today, where high-level U.S. officials have been testifying, including the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SWEENEY: Well, now to Iraq, where some say it's descending into civil war. Some deny it is. Others say it already has slipped into civil war.

Harris Whitbeck has more on the day's events.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fionnuala.

There were more attacks today in Baghdad, again targeting civilians. A bomb went off in a busy square in one of the busiest shopping districts in Baghdad.

The explosion occurred at around 3:50 in the afternoon, a time during which shopkeepers were closing up their shops, a lot of activity on the streets. There were 10 people killed, and 32 others were wounded.

People also reacting to an attack which occurred yesterday on a soccer field in a Shia neighborhood, a poor Shia neighborhood in Baghdad. There were several players and spectators killed there. Among the dead were three teenagers. People reacting with particular shock to that incident, given that it occurred on a soccer field and that there were children who were involved.

The violence does seem to be on the rise here, Fionnuala. And it certainly seems to be random, and it seems to be targeting more civilians -- Fionnuala.

SWEENEY: Can I ask you, Harris, whether or not there's been any change in tactics on the part of Sunni and Shia in this war?

WHITBECK: No, we haven't really seen any change in tactics at this stage. What I can tell you -- the difference that we've seen, again, is the fact that there are more civilians -- or there are more targets where there are more civilians. So more civilians are being wounded and killed.

Now, there are different types of violence in Iraq. There's the sectarian violence, which obviously involves Shias, Sunnis, but there's also a lot of organized crime. A lot of the kidnappings that we've seen, there was just one massive kidnapping a couple of days ago. And a lot of those kidnappings have to do more with organized crime than with -- with politics -- Fionnuala.

SWEENEY: All right.

Harris Whitbeck reporting live from Baghdad.

Thank you.

Let's go now to Hala once again, who's standing by in Beirut -- Hala.

GORANI: Well, Fionnuala, the debate over Iraq hasn't escaped the attention of the U.S. Congress, of course.

Our Dana Bash is in Washington and has been following some heated exchanges at a congressional committee -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Hala.

Well, it has certainly been a riveting morning inside that hearing room here on Capitol Hill, where senators, members of the Armed Services Committee, are questioning top military commanders, as well as Secretary Rumsfeld. And what has made it most interesting is the fact that military commanders, in particular, have been giving really grim and rather sober -- sobering assessments of the situation on the ground in Iraq.

As we heard just a short while ago, General John Abizaid, the top commander in the Middle East, said that he sees the sectarian violence as bad, as he has seen it, and that Iraq could be moving towards a civil war. But he also was careful to say that he thinks that could be averted.

Now, in one of the series of questioning, Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, asked the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Peter Pace, about what he thinks about the idea of a civil war.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: General Pace, you said there's a possibility of the situation in Iraq evolving into civil war. Is that correct?

GEN. PETER PACE, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: I did say that, yes, sir.

MCCAIN: Did you anticipate this situation a year ago?

PACE: No, sir.

MCCAIN: Did you, General Abizaid?

ABIZAID: I believe that a year ago it was clear to see that sectarian tensions were increasing. That they would be this high? No.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BASH: Now, Senator McCain also said that he was quite upset about what he sees as a whack-a-mole approach that the U.S. military has towards what's going on in Iraq, talking about the fact that now they are moving more U.S. troops toward Baghdad. He said, you know, a short while ago it was Ramadi, Falluja. He said that he's not -- really not clear that there really is a real long-term approach and plan to dealing with the uptick in the violence and the insurgency.

Now, one of the other issues surrounding this hearing, Hala, has been the fact that Secretary Rumsfeld did not plan on attending until late last night. He had said, no, he wouldn't attend, he would rather talk to senators in private. But he had a change, of course, last night, and, of course, he is there, you see, talking to the senators.

One of the Democrats who was most outraged vocally about the fact that he wasn't planning to come was Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton from New York. And there was an exchange between she and the secretary, particularly about his leadership in conducting this war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: Well, I think it's fair to say that that collective common sense overwhelmingly does not either understand or approve of the way you and the administration are handling Iraq and Afghanistan. Under your leadership, there have been numerous errors in judgment that have led us to where we are in Iraq and Afghanistan.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Are there setbacks? Yes. Are there things that people can't anticipate? Yes.

Does the enemy have a brain and continue to make adjustments on the ground requiring our forces to continue to make adjustments? You bet. Is that going to continue to be the case? I think so.

Is this problem going to get solved in the near term about this long struggle against violent extremism? No, I don't believe it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, the secretary also went on to say, "I think it's going to take some time." But that -- there you get a sense of how the Democrats are approaching this situation.

It is, of course, less than three months before a U.S. election, and Senator Clinton, among others, are up for re-election. And they made mentioned of the fact that their constituents are quite interested to hear what the secretary has to say, and especially what the panel has to say about the key issue for Americans, is when U.S. troops can come home.

General Abizaid made clear that statements earlier last year about whether they could come home this year probably are not going to happen -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. Dana Bash on Capitol Hill.

Stay with us. You're with YOUR WORLD TODAY.

When we come back, I'll be speaking with a senior adviser to the Lebanese prime minister, Fouad Siniora, for perspective and reaction to the day's events.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta. More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes.

First, though, let's check on stories making headlines here in the U.S.

A reluctant Donald Rumsfeld facing tough questions on Capitol Hill, along with other military brass. The defense secretary sitting very close there to Peter Pace, and he is testifying at the Senate hearing about the war in Iraq.

It looks like Rumsfeld wanted to skip the public session, saying his calendar was too tight. But then he changed his mind. Rumsfeld reacted to calls for early troop withdrawals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUMSFELD: It wants to think about what would happen if our forces stay in Iraq, as opposed to the consequences if our forces were to leave prematurely. They want us to be divided, because they know that when we are united they lose. They want us pointing fingers at each other rather than point fingers at them.

I know there are calls in some quarters for withdrawal or arbitrary timelines for withdrawals. The enemies hear those words as well. We need to be realistic about the consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: And hearing that, America's top commander in Iraq warned that Iraq could fall into an all-out civil war if sectarian violence is not stopped.

To the crisis in the Middle East. Here's what we know right now.

Police say about 150 Hezbollah rockets have slammed into the northern part of Israel today. At least seven Israelis are reported dead. That makes it the second deadliest day of the conflict for Israeli civilians.

Israel resumes its bombardment of Hezbollah strongholds in southern Beirut. Looking at video now of the war-torn Lebanese capital. On the diplomatic front, they're working to diffuse the crisis. British Prime Minister Tony Blair says an agreement to end the fighting could be reached in the United Nations within days.

I have an update for you now on the U.S. reporter badly wounded in Iraq. CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier has been released from the hospital. You might remember Dozier was critically wounded in Baghdad back in May. The bomb blast killed two other members of her crew.

The CBS statement quotes Dozier as saying she still faces minor surgery and much more outpatient rehabilitation.

Extreme heat. Another scorcher today. Then the east is finally expected to get a break from the dangerous heat wave.

Our senior correspondent Allan Chernoff is in search of a cool spot right now, in fact, and we find him poolside.

Hello.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Daryn. If you can't make it to the beach, this is definitely the place that you want to be, the Astoria pool here in Queens, New York, the largest pool in New York City.

And as you can see, everybody here is nice and cool. They are having a great time. The water is absolutely fantastic.

We've actually got somebody here who has been going without air- conditioning. She is Denise Tyson Canal (ph).

Denise (ph), I under you did not have enough power in your building for air-conditioning the last few days?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, not at all.

CHERNOFF: So it must be an incredible pleasure to be in that pool.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it's very cool in here.

CHERNOFF: And you've been spending most of the day, yesterday, the day before?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Yesterday I was in Long Island. Today I'm here in the pool.

CHERNOFF: OK, great.

Well, enjoy the water, everybody.

This is a great pool. Really, the biggest pool in New York City. More than 54,000 square feet. And it could be packed later on today.

Daryn, back to you. KAGAN: I bet. Wall to wall people.

Thank you, Allan. Let's see what kind of relief is in sight. Reynolds Wolf has that for us -- Reynolds.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: More civilian suffering and more civilian death. Israel's ambassador to the U.N., Dan Gillerman, talks about what's being done to protect the innocent. That's ahead on "LIVE FROM" with Kyra Phillips.

Meanwhile, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break. I'm Daryn Kagan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Hello and welcome back to our extensive coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. I'm Hala Gorani in Beirut.

SWEENEY: And I'm Fionnuala Sweeney in Haifa, Israel. Here are some of the top stories we are following.

Now let's check that after a brief lull, Israeli war planes once again bombing Beirut. The Israel military say it's pounded Hezbollah targets in Lebanon overnight, with some 120 air strikes. Hezbollah hit back hard in northern Israel, unleashing a barrage of some 160 rockets. Israeli police say at least seven civilians have been killed, several others wounded.

GORANI: Well, at the same time, the ground offensive rages on. Thousands are soldiers are engaged in fierce clashes with Hezbollah fighters.

CNN's John Roberts has the view from the Israel/Lebanon border.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was another intense day in the Lebanese town of Aita Al-Shaab, just a couple of miles from where two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped back on July 12.

Israeli guns pounded Hezbollah bunkers on the western side of the town, sending columns of thick smoke pouring across the hillsides.

ROBERTS: The sounds of a fierce gun battle rolled up from the valley while Hezbollah took aim at Israeli positions on the high ground.

(on camera): This is probably one of the most dangerous places on the Israeli side of the border right now. We're at an outpost, a tank bunker overlooking the town of Aita Al-Shaab. You can hear in the background -- there is still artillery hits.

We hear the artillery flying very close overhead. This was a scene of a very fierce battle yesterday between Israeli military and Hezbollah guerrillas. The Israeli army lost three soldiers, more than 20 wounded. And it's clear today from what we're hearing today that the vicious fighting is still going on.

(voice-over): In other areas, the Israeli army is holding ground in preparation for an international stabilization force. An Israeli army video obtained exclusively by CNN, an armored personnel carrier fires fuel bombs to clear a Hezbollah outpost of possible booby traps. A bulldozer knocks over another Hezbollah watchtower while ground troops clear the remaining buildings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

ROBERTS: Israeli soldiers show off a missile launcher next to a mosque. Evidence they say that Hezbollah is using religious sites as cover. Another video obtained exclusively by CNN shows the bodies of what the Israeli military says are Hezbollah fighters. Israel claims it has killed more than 300 Hezbollah guerrillas in this three-week campaign.

Hezbollah denies that figure but hasn't said how many fighters it has lost. Israel says 36 of its soldiers have died. As diplomatic pressure mounts to bring an end to the hostilities, the question, how long will the combat last?

Major General Benny Gantz was the last Israeli soldier to leave Lebanon in the year 2000.

MAJ. GEN. BENNY GANTZ, ISRAELI ARMY: It can take a while. It can be done in a few days. It can be done in a few weeks. As everybody knows, we aren't going to go anywhere. So as long as we are here, we are willing to fight, and we aren't going anywhere.

ROBERTS: After a two-day lull, Hezbollah proved it still has plenty of rockets and the capability to fire them. More than 230 Katyushas landed in northern Israel, a new record by a wide margin. And Hezbollah struck deeper than it ever has before, with one long- range rocket that made it all the way to the West Bank; more fuel for critics here in Israel who complain that military waited far too long to go into Lebanon with a major invasion.

GANTZ: Those criticisms need to be talked -- will need to be talked later on. I think that for the moment, we have a war to win. We are doing it. And we'll discuss all those issues you know, as we are saying -- there is an expression, six after the war -- 6:00 after the war. We'll have tea and then discuss those criticisms.

ROBERTS: With the ground war now expanding dramatically, many more Israeli forces will join the fight. There is a nonstop flow of tanks, troops and armored personnel carriers toward the battlefield and an ever-intensifying effort day and night to drive Hezbollah back from the border.

John Roberts, CNN, along the Israel/Lebanon border.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Up next on YOUR WORLD TODAY, we turn to another war, the war in Iraq.

SWEENEY: The U.S. military trying a different approach with the Iraqi people. They're knocking on doors instead of crashing them down. We'll explain. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Well, let's get another angle on the conflict. Our Aneesh Raman is in Damascus, Syria.

And, Syria, Aneesh, has been sending signals it's ready to take part in peace efforts. Tell us more about that.

All right. We're having some technical problems there with Aneesh. We'll try to reconnect with him in just a little bit. But for now -- no, Aneesh Raman, can you hear me?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... over Hezbollah to try and curve the attacks that are going into northern Israel. The other issue that Syria faces is the fact that -- yes, Hala, Syria is really in an interesting position right now. The Spanish foreign minister here saying that Syria is using its influence over Hezbollah. Syria essentially says, though, if any deal isn't acceptable to Hezbollah, it isn't acceptable to Syria.

But at the same time, Syria has been trying to downplays it's relationship with Hezbollah from the start of this crisis. It has come under international pressure for that relationship. And we're really overall seeing the Europeans step in where U.S. will not, engaging with Syria, engaging as well with Iran. The French have been leading the talks to try and get Iran to use its influence over Hezbollah.

The other issue, as well, is that Iran and Syria are growing closer amid this conflict. They are growing more confident in their stance against the West. Iran's president in Malaysia at a meeting of Islamic countries there, saying that Israel should essentially be wiped off the maps, something he said before, and as well, saying countries should work to isolate the United States -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. Let's address the humanitarian situation now and the byproduct of this conflict in Syria. I understand you visited a Palestinian refugee camp there. Tell us about that.

RAMAN: Yes, we went there today. It's an area that has about half-a -million Palestinian refugees. Many of them have been here for a decade or two. Some of them were born in Syria. But what the issue is really for them is that the world is forgetting.

And I'm sorry, Hala, I think we have a pretty significant delay out of Damascus.

The issue for them is that the world is forgetting what is happening in Gaza. When you go there, you see posters of Arafat, you see poser of Sheikh Yassin, the former head and founder of Hamas. And there, we went to the market, and the people said, look, the entire world's attention is on Lebanon. They're forgetting what's happening in Gaza. Today alone, Israeli raids killed eight, four innocents, but also an 8-year-old child. And here's what one shopper told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): If the Palestinian problem doesn't get solved, no other problem in the rest of the world would be. The world's attention is being distracted with the war in Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan, resulting in continuous occupation of Palestinian land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: All right, Aneesh Raman there reporting for us from Damascus, Syria. We apologize for those technical problems. There was a bit of a delaying our signal with Aneesh.

Fionnuala, back to you in Haifa.

SWEENEY: Thanks indeed, Hala.

Well, let's move to Iraq now. And during a U.S. Senate hearing, top U.S. generals talked about a possibility that Iraq is moving towards civil war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. PETER PACE, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: Sir, I believe that we do have the possibility of that evolving to a civil war, but that does not have to be a fact. I believe that U.S. Armed Forces today can continue to do what we're doing, which is to help provide enough security inside of Iraq for the Iraqi government to provide governance and economic opportunity for their citizens.

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SWEENEY: But while talk of civil war echoes through the halls of Congress, on the ground, the role for American troops on the ground is shifting, and their strategy for containing the violence is changing, too.

Nic Robertson explains.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Fisher is in a hurry. Americans are under attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Americans are taking small arms fire. Contractors. And up by checkpoint 106. We're the closest thing in the area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we're going to go north on Detroit. It's at the 6602.

ROBERTSON: Fisher races to help. It's the road he just traveled.

LT. COL. THOMAS FISHER: Do you have any injured? I've got a medic.

ROBERTSON: As he arrives, details emerge. An IED, roadside bomb, hit a private security convoy, killing one contractor.

(On camera): The bomb appears to have been triggered by a pressure switch. We've just been to look in the hole, and there seems to be another explosive device in there. We've all pulled back.

(Voice-over): What we didn't know then is that insurgents hiding in bushes close to the road videotaped their attack. The tape showed up in Baghdad later in the day.

Some of Fisher's team believe they were the intended target.

That could have been you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I like to think that we're a little better trained. It wasn't, but it's just kind of the nature of the business out here.

ROBERTSON: Changing that violent nature of business is Fisher's priority. And he's trying new tactics to achieve it. Getting to know tribal and political leaders of all stripes to better understand what drives the violence. His area in Diyala Province, is a microcosm of Iraq's complex, ethnic, sectarian insurgent and militia problems.

FISHER: There's a tendency to try to oversimplify a lot of the issues that we face. And if you rush in without having all the facts or understanding really what the dynamics are that are driving a lot of the violence, you tend to -- well, as General Casey would say, rush to failure.

ROBERTSON: In October last year, U.S. officers toured (UNINTELLIGIBLE) town, not far from the IED that just missed Fisher.

Back then, they chased out insurgents, made the area safe, they said, by shelling local farms. They concede that peace didn't last. Fisher now says he understands why.

FISHER: Innocent people get hurt, which drives more men to anger, which is natural, which then they want to take up arms to seek revenge. And then you get into this vicious spiral.

If there are terrorists who are hiding on land that you own, we want you to tell us about it. Don't be scared.

ROBERTSON: In a dusty town in Diyala Province, north of Baghdad, one of Fisher's officers, Captain Chris Turner, is putting his commander's gentler tactics into action. He wants information, not new enemies.

CAPTAIN CHRIS TURNER: I want to know what you got arrested for. You've already served your prison time so tell me what you got arrested for.

ROBERTSON: Instead of knocking down doors in heavy-handed raids, he's knocking on doors, willing to forgive former enemies.

TURNER: Offering them that carrot, that, you know, no matter what happened the last couple of years, we understand you saw us as an occupying force, and you did what you thought was right.

Are you responsible for this too?

ROBERTSON: It is soft diplomacy. But with his carrot, Turner carries a very large stick. He is as ready to fight, he says, as he is to forgive.

TURNER: We're going to go through this village with a fine-tooth comb over the next couple of days. If I find bad guys and you're lying to me, I'm going to arrest you.

ROBERTSON: When fisher checks with Turner, results are mixed.

FISHER: What are the atmospherics of the town?

TURNER: Same as always. All the bad guys are not from my town.

ROBERTSON: Good advance intelligence landed several weapons caches. But the al Qaeda insurgents they were hunting appear to have fled.

Across the rest of his area, Fisher says his tactics are working. Attacks are down. Public perception of security is up. They've even headed off sectarian conflict by talking and getting others talking.

FISHER: We find ourselves more and more in a facilitator role because I'm not a Sunni, I'm not a Shia. I can listen to both sides. We approach all problems objectively. We go exactly with the facts that we have.

ROBERTSON: Facilitator or not, Fisher's troops are clearly still targets. On the dusty lanes, Turner's convoy drives over another IED. Wired wrong, this one doesn't go off, leaving these infantry to explode it safely.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Diyala Province, Iraq.

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GORANI: Coming up next on YOUR WORLD TODAY, we return to the Israeli-Lebanon border.

SWEENEY: The view from the trenches. Israeli troops dig in for a long battle with the enemy. Stay with us.

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GORANI: In Southern Lebanon, some 10,000 Israeli soldiers are locked in a bitter battle with hundreds of Hezbollah fighters. SWEENEY: And, as Anderson Cooper reports, they say they aren't about to let up until their goal of eradicating their enemy is achieved.

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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a forward base on the Lebanese border, Israeli troops prepare to join a battle already underway. They check their maps, their ammunition before rolling to the front.

(on camera): This is an armored engineering unit about to cross into south Lebanon. At this space, there's constant activity. New troops moving across the border and troops weary from battle coming back here for a few hours' rest.

(voice-over): With a major Israeli offensive already underway, however, there is little time for sleep. On a nearby hillside, Israeli units are hunting down Hezbollah and trying to bring back five Israeli soldiers wounded in combat.

You can see smoke rising from the Lebanese village of Aita al- Shaab. That is south Lebanon right over there.

(on camera): There's a military operation going on in that town right now. Israel is firing shells into the village, essentially to create smoke and provide cover for Israeli ground troops operating there right now.

(voice-over): We watch with Israeli soldiers as a tank moves toward the village. In the distance, a large cloud fills the sky. The fighting in Aita al-Shaab has been going on for three days now and shows no sign of letting up.

(on camera): What's the fighting been like?

ADAM DRAZNAN, ISRAELI SOLDIER: What's the fighting been like? It's tough. It's hard. But it's something you've got to do.

COOPER (voice-over): Adam Draznan just returned from battle four hours ago.

(on camera): Are you confident?

DRAZNAN: Confident? Of course I'm confident. Because I fight for something I believe in. And we'll go all the way unto the death.

COOPER (voice-over): Confidence may be high, but all these soldiers know the days ahead will be difficult.

Doron Spielman is a spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces.

(on camera): Overall, big picture, what does the operation look like?

CAPT. DORON SPIELMAN, ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESMAN: We're basically pushing Hezbollah out of the northern border with Israel, out of southern Lebanon. We don't want a ground assault that simply takes over southern Lebanon. We don't want to be there. So we're focusing on their high intensity areas. We remove them from the picture and we move on.

COOPER: It may sound simple, but it's anything but. After weeks of air strikes and artillery fire, the battle has widened. A determined army faces a determined enemy. And the fighting only grows more intense.

Anderson Cooper, CNN, along the Israel/Lebanon border.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SWEENEY: And that is it for this hour. Reporting from Haifa, Israel, I'm Fionnuala Sweeney.

GORANI: And in Beirut, I'm Hala Gorani. Thanks for watching. More news ahead here on CNN. Stay with us.

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