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New Israeli Air Strikes In Beirut, As IDF May Be Preparing For Ground Invasion Of Lebanon To Fight Hezbollah; U.S. Officials: Israel May Send Ground Troops Into Lebanon; Killing Of Hezbollah Leader Deepens Fears Of Wider Conflict; Aired 1-2a ET

Aired September 29, 2024 - 01:00   ET

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

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[01:00:47]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from New York, this is CNN Newsroom with Paula Newton.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Paula Newton.

It is 8:00 a.m. in Beirut, where fears are growing that the exchange of missile fire between Israel and Hezbollah could now turn into a ground war. U.S. officials say Israeli troops have mobilized and are moving to the border with Lebanon in what could be, could be preparation for a ground incursion. Israel is saying that a ground offensive is only one option that is currently being considered the IDF continued their air offensive on Saturday, with blasts hitting close to the Beirut airport.

Saturday strikes in Lebanon reportedly killed more than 30 people and wounded close to 200 others. Hezbollah, for its part, fired back, saying it launched missiles toward Jerusalem, prompting a response from Israeli air defenses, police say pieces of an interest intercepted missile crashed in the suburbs. All that is happening after Israel killed Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah, prompting new fears of a wider war in the region.

Now, Hezbollah is pledging to continue its fight, while Iran says Israel will face, quote, "a crushing blow" for the killing. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country is now one step closer to achieving its military goals.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BENJAMIN NETENYAHU, ISRAEL PRIME MINISTER (voiceover): The elimination of Nasrallah is a necessary condition for achieving the goals we have set, returning the residents of the North safely to their homes and changing the balance of power in the region over the years. Because as long as Nasrallah lived, he would quickly restore the capabilities we took away from Hezbollah. That's why I gave the directive, and Nasrallah is no longer with us.

(END VIDEOTAPE) NEWTON: Our reporters are standing by to bring us right up to date.

Elliott Gotkine is in London. Paula Hancock joins us from Abu Dhabi and Elliot first to you. What more are you learning about Israel's next moves, potentially. And crucially, what has stated are its strategic goals when it comes to Hezbollah.

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Paula, look, we know that Israel's main strategic goal, or stated strategic goal is to create the conditions that enable the 60,000 plus Israelis that have been displaced from their homes in the north of Israel, to enable them to return to their homes. They've not been able to do so for the best part of the year since Hezbollah began firing on Israel on October the eighth in solidarity with the Hamas-led terrorist attacks a day before. So that's the stated goal, but I think so spectacular have been some of the tactical achievements by Israel in terms of the pager explosions, the walkie-talkie explosions, and then the assassination of Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and much of Hezbollah's military top brass that it will feel that now is the time to try to degrade Hezbollah, not once and for all but certainly for the foreseeable future, and at the same time, remove what is effectively Iran's first line of defense against Israel, and to try, which has been trying to deter Israel from carrying out strikes on Israel's nuclear facilities. So that's kind of one of the strategies in the north.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said something interesting. We saw one of the clips from his statement on Saturday evening. What he also said was the elimination of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, advances the return of our own residents to their homes in the north. It also advances the return of our hostages in the South, as he puts it, as he put it, the killing of Hassan Nasrallah and the fact that Hezbollah appears to be reeling from all of these many Israeli attacks, that without Nasrallah being able to come to the rescue in Netanyahu's words, that that will make Yahya Sinwar The leader of Hamas and the architect of the October the seventh attacks, that will make him more likely to return the hundred or so Israeli hostages, about a third of whom are believed to be dead already, to return them to Israel after almost a year in captivity. So those are some of the strategies of Israel. And of course, the possibility of a ground incursion remains very much alive.

Israel has said so itself. Herzi Halevi, Israel's top General said to troops that they should prepare for such an eventuality. A spokesman told Wolf Blitzer that was a possibility, and from the U.S. perspective, a senior administration official and other U.S. officials tell CNN that they see the possibility of a limited Israeli ground incursion, but that they sense that Israel has yet to make that decision, and that polar is a decision that Israel will not take lightly, given the debacle that took place the last time there was an Israeli ground incursion in 2006 something that Israel's own State Commission of Inquiry subsequently described as hasty and poorly planned. Israel will not want to make the same mistakes again. Paula.

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NEWTON: Yes. Which again, brings the question of, What does a limited incursion look like, if that's even possible? Paula, now to you, Hezbollah, of course, is vowing to respond, but the question this hour is how it is clearly still reeling from the assassination of its leader, obviously dealt a brutal blow to his military capabilities, and then waiting in the wings is Iran.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, Israel has learned many times in the past that assassinating a leader does not eradicate a movement. They have been assassinating Hamas leaders for decades now, and yet, it was the ground invasion into Gaza that weakened that movement ultimately. So I think there is an understanding that this is a massive demoralization for the Hezbollah group, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it is going to have a direct impact on its operational capabilities. It is still a significant threat to Israel. It is still a significant military force in the region.

And of course, as you mentioned, you do have to consider what Iran it's its main funder and supporter would be willing to do. We've heard from many former and senior U.S. officials saying that they believe this assassination and what is happening now does make it far more likely that there will be a wider conflict. But also pointing out that that one senior U.S. official said they believe that Iran will intervene if they feel that they are about to lose Hezbollah. So that could be the key. If Hezbollah does seem to be suitably weakened in Israel's eyes, then maybe that would encourage Iran to get involved as well, and that does become a far wider and more dangerous conflict.

Now we've had a statement from Hezbollah. They have said that they will continue to fight despite what has happened. We've also heard from the Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations calling for United Nations Security Council emergency meeting on what has happened. But we've also heard from the Iranian Supreme Leader saying that the fate of this region now rests on the resistance groups, and at the top of that is Hezbollah.

So what this is really pointing out to is that this is not just about one group. It is not just about Hezbollah and the leader of that group. There are many other militias around the region that could step in now and give more support to Hezbollah, and we've certainly been hearing that support vocally around the region. Let's listen to one Palestinian leader.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAJIDA AL-MASRI, FORMER PALESTINIAN MINISTER (voiceover): If Netanyahu thinks that the assassination of the great leader, the master and the icon of the resistance, Saeed Hassan Nasrallah, will impact the resistance and will impact our ability to continue our struggle. Then he is delusional, and we will see that he is in the coming days. On the contrary, this will inflame the resistance and the fighters and their willingness to struggle.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS: Hezbollah also saying that they did launch a long-range missile from Lebanon to the Jerusalem area, and the IDF did confirm there were sirens and there was an interception in that area. So it's also a reminder that that Hezbollah does have an awful lot of these long range missiles in reserve. We really haven't seen that part of the equation at this point. There was one that was intercepted close to the Tel Aviv area, which Hezbollah said was targeting the Mossad, Mossad headquarters at that point. But it is a reminder as well that there is an awful lot of arsenal that can reach further into Israel that Hezbollah has not really used up until this point. Paula.

NEWTON: Yes, and we will wait and see what that response is, as it will likely will come. Elliot Gotkine, Paul Hancocks, for us. Thank you, both.

Now, other Middle Eastern leaders are also expressing sorrow and outrage over Nasrallah's killing. Syria's government is condemning the Israeli strike that killed the Hezbollah leader and a large number of innocent civilians in Beirut. Palestinian Authority President, meantime, Mahmoud Abbas says he gives heartfelt sympathies to the Lebanese Government and any civilian casualties. Jordan's Foreign Minister says his country will hold Israel fully responsible for the catastrophic consequences of its attack on Lebanon and Egypt's Foreign Minister spoke out at the UN. Listen.

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BADR ABDELATTY, EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (voiceover): We staunchly condemn the Israeli escalation. It's dangerous, and it knows no limits. It is pushing the region to the brink of the abyss. We categorically reject and strongly condemn Israel's current aggression vis a vis Lebanon. This is a flagrant violation of Lebanon's sovereignty, its territorial integrity, its unity, and its political independence.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now, we will assist the Middle East Bureau Chief for the Los Angeles Times, and he joins me now from Beirut. It is good to have you here as we continue to try and parse what is going on on the ground. And you have seen the reaction there, as you have reported, there is shock, fear, and unfortunately, right, that unshakable dread about what comes next. What is at stake for civilians in Lebanon, and they know all too well what has gone on in Gaza for the last 11 months?

NABIH BULOS, MIDDLE EAST BUREAU CHIEF, LOS ANGELES TIMES: Well, so of course, I mean, already, if you go to the south of the country, you can see white sways of the area there, just utterly, you know. I mean, obliterated, the house is gone, etc. If you walk around Beirut, you can see the effect already as well, with hundreds of people just sleeping on the pavements. I mean, yesterday I did a quick drive around the city and basically all around Beirut's waterfront areas like the Corniche near to by the public beach area near Dosha. I mean, you just see basically people sleeping on the sidewalks in parks and public spaces.

And most of those have been, I mean, they were residents of the Bahia, which was the Beirut. I mean, the Beirut southern suburbs that are dominated by Hezbollah. That area, too, I should tell you, is now a ghost town. I actually dared to drive around the periphery yesterday and go a little bit closer in, and you could see just columns of smoke everywhere, of course. But more to the point, the whole area was just completely emptied of civilians, transfer clothes.

Obviously, you could see no lights. It was quite an eerie situation, because this used to be a very, very crowded neighborhood in Beirut with its own rhythm and its own personality, and now it's very much a ghost town. So you can see the effect firsthand when it comes to, I guess, the military defeat. And what that means, I suppose, is that now that we talk about a ground invasion, there is a fear of repeating history in Lebanon you know, when we go back to the previous Israeli occupation of South Lebanon and parts of Beirut.

NEWTON: You know, I read your account of going through that neighborhood, and few people have been there, especially given the destruction. You are quoting people there as saying that, look after this. How can we feel anything? And you spoke to another who said, The future is gone. Given everything that you've seen and heard, and I understand that we are just really in the first few days after this. Did Hezbollah miscalculate here? Did they assume that their arsenal, their tactics, amounted to deterrence when it didn't deter Israel at all?

BULOS: Well, it's worth noting that for a long time, Hezbollah leaders have talked about this notion of the equation deterrence, or rules of engagement. In Arabic, they would say (inaudible). And the idea was here that they would basically, they had established an equation with Israel since 26 whereby if Israel struck a, I mean, if they killed civilians or they struck a Lebanese city, that Hezbollah would strike Israeli cities and attack Israeli civilians.

And the fact of the matter is that, for every time Israel has escalated in the last 11 months, Hezbollah blinked in the sense that, yes, it would lob additional rockets, yes, it would love additional missiles. But escalations were not really, or the responses perhaps, were not equal to Israel's escalation in each case.

And frankly, at some point it just seemed that Israel understood that this notion of deterrence was no longer there, and that the arsenal, although in theory, impressive, you know, hadn't been used. And so I think at that point the feeling was since there was no deterrence, that they could go for it. And indeed they did. And the result is, what we see now. All which is to say is that, yes, it's great to say that you have a deterrence and that you have a missile or that you have a missile arsenal, but if you're not willing to use it at some point, then it really is a questionable idea.

NEWTON: And to follow up on that, do you believe Hezbollah can retaliate in a forceful way now, or is this really going to be up to Iran to, in its words, avenge Nazrallah's death?

BULOS: Well, the question is, finally, I mean, right now, Hezbollah can still fire these rockets on Northern Israel. Indeed, it did yesterday, right? I mean, I haven't seen any today, but potentially that would continue, and that alone would, I suppose it'd be a problem in terms of letting residents return to Northern Israel. Now, in terms of actually mounting a serious attack in response, I

don't know. I actually don't think so, because the fact is, leadership is now decimated, as far as I can tell, and we still haven't heard anything of a new leader, and this is now more than 48 hours after the killing of Nasrallah. And so the fact is, you know, if they don't, regrew quickly and we see some kind of action, I don't think we'll see anything more than the low level stuff that we have been seeing for the last 11 months unfortunately.

[01:15:17]

NEWTON: Really interesting perspective there, and we remind everyone that so many civilians in Lebanon, once again caught in the middle. Nabih, I really thank you for your perspective, and we'll continue to check in with you.

Now after the break, U.S. politicians react to Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah's deaths. Our Breaking News coverage continues right here on CNN.

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NEWTON: Leaders in the United States are reacting Israel's killing of the Hezbollah leader strike. They say they did not know about in advance. Now U.S. President Joe Biden is hailing Hassan Nasrallah's death as a measure of justice, but he is still calling for a ceasefire.

He states, "The United States fully supports Israel's right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and other Iranian- supported terrorist groups. Ultimately, our aim is to de-escalate the ongoing conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon through diplomatic means." His vice president echoes his statement. Kamala Harris says, "Hassan Nasrallah was a terrorist with American blood on his hands. Across decades of leadership of Hezbollah destabilized the Middle East and led to the killing of countless innocents. People in Lebanon, Israel, Syria, and around the world. President Biden and I do not want to see conflict in the Middle East escalate into a broader regional war. Diplomacy remains the best path forward to protect civilians and achieve lasting stability in the region."

[01:20:16]

Now meanwhile, U.S. officials say they see the possibility of a limited ground incursion into Lebanon as Israel moves forces to its northern border. The White House says it is keeping a close eye on Israel as it tries to anticipate Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu's next moves. Oren Liebermann, explains what the U.S. believes may happen next.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. sees the possibility of a limited Israeli ground incursion into southern Lebanon, according to two U.S. officials, but crucially, the U.S. believes Israel hasn't made a final decision on whether to carry out a ground incursion into Lebanon. Now, Israelis have signaled quite openly that they're preparing for that possibility. The top Israeli General said as much on Wednesday, and crucially, a senior Israeli official said on Friday, just before the strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, that Israel hopes it doesn't have to carry out a ground incursion into Lebanon. But the officials say that the U.S. has seen the mobilization of more Israeli forces the clearing of areas along Israel's northern border that would be in preparation for a ground incursion. So that possibility is widening, is growing as the U.S. continues to try to head off a regional war and tries to signal to Israel that a ground incursion is very much not the way to proceed here.

Crucially, and this is important to note. Israel's goal when it comes to Lebanon and Hezbollah is not the elimination of Hezbollah or the destruction of Hezbollah completely, that would almost certainly require a very large ground incursion. Its goal here is to return more than 60,000 residents to their homes in northern Israel, which they have been displaced from basically since October 8 and since Hezbollah started firing rockets and drones into northern Israel. The question, of course, is, what does it take to make that happen? At what point did Israel feel comfortable doing that? And that's where a ceasefire, an agreement, may very well be necessary, and that's why the U.S. keeps pushing in that direction. Still, Israel very clearly has the advantage over Hezbollah, and it's going to push that advantage.

Israel has long believed that another war with Hezbollah was inevitable. Basically, ever since the end of the 2006 warrant because of that, the Israeli security establishment has been working on its intelligence when it comes to Hezbollah, working on preparations and plans for that war. And now that it seems we're at that point, Israel is very much pressing the advantage that it has, how far it will go. That's what the U.S. is trying to figure out, and that's what it seems Israel itself is trying to figure out, as we see the continuation of Israeli strikes in Lebanon. The displacement of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians in southern Lebanon, in Beirut, and beyond. U.S. trying to steer off the regional war. But of course, part of that question is, what does Iran decide to do at this point?

The U.S. has significant forces in the region, a carrier strike group in and around the Gulf of Oman in the Persian Gulf, an amphibious ready group in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. They've had fighter squadrons, additional fighter squadrons in the Middle East for several months now, and President Joe Biden ordered Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, to further enhance force posture. So we'll learn over the next several days what exactly that entails.

The region bracing for a response. The U.S. State Department pulling some personnel from Lebanon. That being said, a NEO a noncombatant evacuation order, the evacuation of U.S. citizens from Lebanon that has not been ordered yet the region very much bracing for what comes next. Oren Lieberman, CNN in Washington.

NEWTON: U.S. Republican leaders, meantime, are celebrating Nazrallah's death in social media posts on Saturday, in a joint X statement with other GOP officials, House Speaker Mike Johnson called the Hezbollah leader a quote, "puppet of the Iranian regime," and he praised the Israeli Defense Force for delivering justice to Israeli victims. Meantime, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell says, "Israelis, Americans, Lebanese and Syrians are safer without him on the battlefield.

Joining me now from Los Angeles, CNN Political Analyst Ron Brownstein. He is also the senior editor for The Atlantic. And Ron, I am glad to see you. I'm glad that you're going to help us out here. I mean, look, it has been weeks now, and most principally in the last few hours, that I have been schooled by Middle East analysts when I say that the Biden administration looks impotent when it comes against Netanyahu, and clearly the way he wants to press ahead in both Gaza and now in Lebanon. They say no, no, no, no. This has nothing to do with impotence, that it's calculated. So if we try and then reflect this on to the campaign, can you explain what's at work here? Because this continued refrain from both Harris and Biden that there needs to be a ceasefire certainly doesn't seem like anyone's listening.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Well, look, this has been the pattern for 30 years. I mean, Bill Clinton left the meeting with Netanyahu famously saying, Who's the blank, blank superpower here, you know, particularly with Democratic presidents, Netanyahu has a long history of, kind, of taking their advice and then, you know, depositing it in the in the trash as he walks out the door. So Biden has been put himself in this position, really over time. I mean, he talked about the bear hug after October 7. He thought he could influence in Netanyahu by, you know, embracing him, that people who work for Clinton and Obama were dubious of that. I think the events of the events of the past year has, you know, confirmed that.

[01:25:44]

No one in American politics will mourn the death of, you know, the leader of Hezbollah. But the question of whether Israel has a kind of landing, you know, an end game for this escalation of military activity, both in Gaza now and in Lebanon is a genuine one. And Biden has, I think, put himself in an incredibly weakened position by refusing to impose any real consequences on Netanyahu for all of the times that he has said one thing and done another with the U.S., about U.S. advice.

NEWTON: Yes. And that reluctance to do anything seems to continue for both Trump and Harris, though Ron what are the risks to their campaigns if they are seen as being too critical of Israel?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Neither one really wants to take, you know, take that chance, and it's striking. I mean, it is still more striking for Biden and Harris, because the overwhelming majority of their voters are deeply disaffected from the way Netanyahu has prosecuted this war. I mean, there was one poll a few months ago he had a 6% approval rating among Democrats, and three-quarters of Democrats in various polls have wanted them to cut off offensive military aid to Israel.

I mean, all of that is really just in the background. I think Harris, on a lot of fronts, has put tremendous focus on seeming tough. You saw the way her border speech went on Friday, where she talked about her role in prosecuting transnational gangs. And she does not really, I think want to accept in the you know, the most fleeting ways signal any daylight, any more willingness to confront Netanyahu than Biden has done. She does not want to let Trump portray her as, you know, someone who is kind of soft in pursuing these challenges in the Mideast.

But I think the people around her certainly, and I think the broad range of experts in the Democratic Party are deeply concerned about the direction this is heading, even as they may cheer some of the Israeli successes on the battlefield and disabling a terrorist organization, or at least debilitating a terrorist organization.

NEWTON: Yes. And you do mention her speech at the border there. I mean, look, her border policy looks more like the Republican policies of old. This could be a different era. How far to the right has she stepped in terms of policy? And could this be a winning move, or does it risk alienating her own, you know, faithful who are looking at her, going, these border policies seem, in your words, pretty tough.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. I mean, I think there's a little bit of both. The Biden administration, the fact is, the challenge of the border has changed. Under the Biden administration, you know, the challenge has not been so much people sneaking in in the dark of night, hoping to melt away into the population in Phoenix or Los Angeles or Houston. The challenge is people openly presenting themselves for asylum because they know that the process takes years, and while their cases are being adjudicated, they can stay in the U.S. and after a few months, begin to work.

The Biden administration took a long time to kind of acknowledge that change in the problem on the ground, but when they did, they announced a significant shift in policy which has had a significant effect. I mean, the number of encounters on the border have gone from about 250,000 a month at the end of last year to 50,000 a month now. Now, Harris has basically signaled that she will continue in that direction, extend that direction. This is still not the Trump policy, though, Paul, I mean, because, I mean Harris, in her speech, was talking about making the asylum process, though, more difficult. Work better, more judges, more border agents to make that initial determination of people's claims of asylum, to kind of move things through the process more quickly. That isn't Trump's goal.

Trump's goal is to basically shut it off, the shut-off immigration into the country, particularly, I think, of people from nonwhite, you know, predominantly minority countries. And when Vance -- when JD Vance, said the other day that even the Haitian people here under temporary protected status, which is a program signed into law by George H. W. Bush that 89 senators voted to create, including Mitch McConnell and Chuck Grassley and even Strom Thurmond, that I think gave away the game. Their goal is simply to reduce immigration. It's not to make the immigration system work more efficiently.

[01:30:22]

So there's still a difference. Yes, Democrats have repositioned themselves in some ways. I think, you know, they've kind of adapted to reality. They're facing a different challenge on the ground. They have new policies to meet it. They are to the right of where they were for most of the Biden presidency, but it is still a long way from Title 42 and remain in Mexico and all of the other measures that Trump and mass, much less or less mass deportation that Trump is offering.

NEWTON: And Ron, before I let you go, the polls continue to tighten, especially in those battleground states. I mean, I was looking at the numbers in Wisconsin and Michigan. It could not be closer. Do you think now, as you have schooled me for years, that it's going to come down to ground game for each party now.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Look, this is extraordinarily close. I mean, we are looking at more, you know, we're down to only about six or seven states that are true swing states, but boy, those states are really on the knife's edge, and that polling today continue this really striking pattern that we have seen even when Biden was in the race, which is that Democrats are largely holding their support in these swing states among white voters, compared to 2020 but they are continuing to poll below where they were among nonwhite voters.

And you know, the challenge for Trump is going to be the Republican Party of Pennsylvania doesn't really have a lot of experience finding two young black men on the block in Philadelphia who want to vote for Republican presidential candidates. Same thing about Detroit and the Republican Party in Michigan. Harris has the challenge in turn of turning out, in particular, younger voters who are beginning to show more enthusiasm, more interest in the campaign, also more support for her, but who were deeply disengaged from Biden and are frustrated about their economic situation, same with many relatively younger black and Latino voters.

So yes, as always, the question of who comes out to vote is critical. We in the media focus a lot on the 4, 5, 6 percent of voters who say in Paula, they're pretty certain to vote, but don't know who they're going to vote for. There were 80 million people who are eligible and didn't vote in 2020, and that is the bigger prize for the candidates. People have a pretty good idea of who they would vote for but aren't certain if they're going to come out and vote.

NEWTON: Yes. Not a small slice of the electorate there. Ron Brownstein, always good to see you. Appreciate it.

Now, a reminder to watch CNN's special coverage of this week's vice presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance, Jake Tapper and Aaron Burnett will get things started at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday in New York at 7:00 a.m. Wednesday, Hong Kong time.

Days after Helene slammed ashore, the storm is still wreaking havoc on the southeastern United States. Inland areas far from the Gulf Coast are enduring catastrophic conditions, the ongoing emergency in Asheville, North Carolina, when we come back.

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NEWTON: And welcome back. You are watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Paula Newton.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are receiving briefings on the impacts of the storm that was Hurricane Helene, which is still causing chaos in places far from the Gulf Coast. The death toll now stands at 61 people, with nearly 3 million still without power across five states.

Now, officials say a Tennessee dam that was in danger of collapse is thankfully holding, but many roads and bridges right across the region remain closed due to flooding or landslides and unfortunately, more rain, if you can believe it is expected this weekend.

In western North Carolina, meantime, emergency services are just overwhelmed. You can see why there. In addition to flooding, they are coping with mudslides and extensive structural damage. Teams spent Saturday carrying out dozens of search and rescue operations in and around Asheville. That was just around Asheville, there are other parts of the state that are still in trouble. Earlier, CNN spoke with Mike Cayse, the fire chief for Asheville, North Carolina, and got the latest on the situation on the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE CAYSE, FIRE CHIEF, CITY OF ASHEVILLE: I can tell you, the city of Asheville is in dire straits right now. We have had three or four days now some significant rain. Fortunately, the rain has stopped now, but all the cascading events that come from that are starting on the are starting to pile up. We've lost communications capabilities. We it's very difficult for us to move around the community. Many, many of the roads are closed. Trees are down. We're clearing those as quick as we can. And a lot of the critical infrastructure that we become used to every day in normal times is now gone, and we have to work around it. And all of that is bringing on numerous cascading events as we work through all this.

Asheville sits in a bowl in a valley at about 2100 feet, 2200 feet, and we have mountains all around us that rise upwards of 6000 feet. So even when the rain stops in the city of Asheville, all that rain that collects on those mountains has to drain somewhere, and it drains into the city itself. So that was a complicating factor for us.

We're still in the search and rescue mode. We're going to probably go through that for the next couple of days before we start doing targeted searches for the list of people that we have that are is growing for missing people. But our biggest need right now is to take care of the people that live in this community. We need water desperately. We have yet to receive any water. We're have ordered water food. We have relief crews coming to try to give their our crews that have been working overnight for three days straight now some rest, but basically, we're looking to give the basic needs of our community to them, so water and food and shelter are all high on our priorities still even three days into this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Mike Cayse there and we wish them well. They got a lot on their hands.

Okay. More than 1,000 killed, more than 1 million displaced. We'll have more on the impact of Israeli strikes on Lebanon. That's straight ahead.

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[01:43:34]

NEWTON: We want to bring you up to date on our breaking news story on the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The U.S. says Israel is moving troops to the border with Lebanon, a possible sign of preparations for a limited cross-border incursion. Now, Israel says a ground operation is only one option it's considering.

Meanwhile, the two sides traded more fire Saturday, including Israeli strikes on Beirut. Lebanon says more than 30 people were killed and close to 200 wounded, and that's on top of about 1,000 people who were killed last week, and Lebanese health workers now are struggling to keep up. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. MOHAMMED DAOUD, TRAUMA SURGEON (voiceover): The number extent and severity of the injuries that we've seen, which I believe the whole world has seen, are terrifying. The medical and nursing staff are overwhelmed, and we appeal to international organizations for help. Our survival depends on it.

MARWA QUBAISI, NURSE (voiceover): We left our families, our children, everyone so that we could provide humanitarian and nursing services and stand by our people who are sacrificing, who lost their homes and were forced to leave. It's very tiring. We worked 36 hours without sleep.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now, all of this is happening after Israel killed Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, raising fears of a wider war in the region. Hezbollah says it will keep fighting while Iran is pledging to deliver what it says will be a crushing blow against Israel. Now, as the death toll from the conflict rises, Lebanon says about 1 million people have been displaced by Israel's attacks since Monday, many of them are not fighters, but just ordinary people who are now forced to live in the streets. Michael Holmes has our report.

[01:45:15]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES (voiceover): Several loud booms and then silence until the screams. Friday's strike, Israel's military says a precise hit on Hezbollah's headquarters to take out its leader. The same plot home to several residential buildings with several children pulled from the rubble. In the confusion that followed, there were claims that Hassan Nasrallah could have survived. Saturday, after hours of uncertainty, confirmation from Hezbollah that he had not.

On the streets of Beirut, people reacting in shock to the news. One woman falling to the ground crying, inconsolable. "Another Wales, I swear he hasn't died. He hasn't died. The Syed will remain among us. He promised us he would pray in Jerusalem and bring victory for Gaza."

People in Gaza too mourning the loss of a man many viewed as a fighter for their cause.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I woke up to the sound of crying. He was the best man in Lebanon. He defended a Palestinian. Because a lot until now, I'm still saddened by his loss, and I cry a lot for him.

HOLMES (voiceover): Reaction very different in Latin Israel, where beachgoers celebrated the news.

While Israeli air strikes continue and Hezbollah launches more missiles in retaliation, the death toll in Lebanon continues to climb. The Israeli Defense Minister insisting Israel's war is not with the Lebanese people.

YOAV GALLANT, ISRAELI DEFENCE MINISTER: To our enemies, I say we are strong and determined. To our partners, I would say our war is your war, and to the people of Lebanon, I say our war is not with you. It's time to change.

HOLMES (voiceover): But in Lebanon's capital and southern Lebanon, about a million people have been displaced, many forced onto the streets with few belongings, moved there either by fear or by one of the numerous evacuation orders issued by the IDF in recent days. Health officials say more than 800 people have been killed in just over the last week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We fled from our homes, and God only knows if we will go back to our homes. God only knows. May God protect the people who were displaced from their homes and those who fled Baalbek in the south and all the areas affected by the war.

HOLMES (voiceover): And there is no sign of when a return home or a return to normalcy could happen.

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NEWTON: Our thanks to Michael Holmes for that report. Now UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez says he's deeply alarmed by the significant escalation in Beirut over the past 24 hours. He said that it has been a worrying escalation, and called for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages. He said, "The cycle of violence must stop now, and all sides must step back from the brink. The people of Lebanon, the people of Israel, as well as the wider region, cannot afford an all-out war, and we will be right back with more news in a moment.

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[01:52:31]

NEWTON: Embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams heads back to court next week. Next week, Adams pleaded not guilty to five federal corruption charges Friday, and he says he has no plans to resign. The decision may be out of his hands. New York Governor Kathy Hochul may make the decision for him. CNN, Gloria Pazmino has more now. Gloria, what more are you hearing about this case?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The mayor kept a pretty low profile here in New York City on Saturday, he went to church. When he was entering church, he was asked whether or not he would resign. The mayor did not answer the question, but we know from his comments in the past few days that he has no intention of stepping down and that he is going to fight these charges. At least he has said that he has every intention to do so. And we got a chance to listen and learn a little bit about what the defense in this case might look like.

The Mayor was arraigned on Friday. He declared himself not guilty, and his lawyer spoke to reporter outside of the federal courthouse, saying that the gifts and the luxury travel and the airline upgrades that are outlined in the indictment were nothing more than that, just gifts and free upgrades. He said that the political donations that the mayor received were secured by staffers who did not tell the mayor that they were taking donations from foreign nationals.

So we're starting to see just how the mayor may potentially be defending himself in this case. I want you to take a listen to Alex Spiro, who is representing Eric Adams shortly after the arraignment on Friday. Take a listen.

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ALEX SPIRO, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: This case isn't even a real case. This is the airline upgrade corruption case. There are no emails, text messages, or any corroboration whatsoever that the mayor knew about anything having to do with these campaign donations. The entire body of evidence is one staffer, one staffer that says there was a conversation. What you have not learned is that that staffer has lied, and the government is in possession of that lie.

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PAZMINO: Now, Spiro is referencing a former Eric Adams staffer who we now know is cooperating with the government. Now the question in all of this, beyond the indictment and beyond the charges, is how the mayor is going to survive the political fallout that has resulted from all of this. We know that he does not plan on stepping down, but Governor Kathy Hochul is the only person who has the legal authority to remove him, and our sources close to the mayor had told us that she was looking at the legal language just to make sure that she was keeping her options open.

[01:55:25]

This weekend, we are also hearing from the Reverend Al Sharpton. He called on Hochul not to use that power, saying that the mayor deserves the right to due process and that there is no political precedent here in the city for removing a sitting mayor. That, of course, will be, would be a very politically fraught choice for Governor Hochul to make. So we will see just how this plays out over the next several days.

Of course, in the meantime, the mayor has to get back to the work of running the city, and the question is whether or not he's going to be able to do that successfully, while he also defends himself from these very serious charges.

NEWTON: Our thanks to Gloria Pazmino there for that report. The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully launched from Florida's Cape Canaveral Saturday, a two man team is now on the way to bring two NASA astronauts home from the International Space Station. Now, astronauts sunny Williams and Butch Wilmore you'll remember, have been stranded on the ISS since June, after their Boeing Starliner capsule was deemed too risky for the flight back to Earth. Now the dragon is due to link up with the ISS at about 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Sunday. And NASA, astronaut and Russian cosmonaut will now join Williams and Wilmore for five months of work aboard the floating lab. All are due to head home by February.

All right, I want to thank you for watching. I'm Paul, and I'll be back with another hour of CNN Newsroom right after a quick break.

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