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CNN International: U.S. Officials Confirm Israel Raids Inside Lebanon; Biden: "We Really Have To Avoid" Regional War; Israeli Defense Minister Vows to User "All" Means Against Hezbollah; Biden Speaks About Hurricane Helene Response; Governor: Communities Have Been "Wiped Off The Map"; Vice Presidential Candidates Prepare For Tuesday's Debate; Donald Trump To Visit Storm Areas in Georgia; Border Between Italy and Switzerland Being Redrawn. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired September 30, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning or good evening depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.

Ahead on CNN newsroom, ramping up attacks, Israel launching new strikes in Lebanon after killing Hezbollah's leader. We are live in Tel Aviv and Beirut.

Plus, a 500 mile path of destruction, Hurricane Helene's wrath leaving behind devastated communities across 6 states. We're going to take you live to Asheville, North Carolina, one of the hardest hit communities.

And a VP's showdown, Tim Walz and J.D. Vance in the final day of preparation before what could be the last debate of this election cycle.

But we begin with the clear signs yet that Israel may be preparing a grounds invasion of Lebanon as its warn Hezbollah intensifies. A U.S. official just told CNN that the U.S. believes a limited incursion could be imminent. Amid the relentless air strikes, Israeli special forces have already carried out small raids into Lebanese territory in recent days. According to U.S. officials who are now confirming that information, calling the raids very precise and very small.

Israel's defense minister also hinted today that a ground invasion could be coming. During a visit to troops in Northern Israel he said that IDF will use all means to accomplish its mission, including forces from the air, from the sea, and on land.

Meantime in Beirut. Chaotic scenes as Israeli air strikes hit within Beirut city limits for the first time during this war. Hezbollah is vowing to fight on despite losing its Chief Hassan Nasrallah and other senior leaders in Israeli attacks.

It released this video of rocket fire on Northern Israel and says that it is confronting Israel in support of Gaza and in defense of the Lebanese people. Hezbollah says that it will choose a new leader soon.

Meantime, Israel's main backer, U.S. President Joe Biden, says that he hopes that a wider war will be avoided. He says that he will speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the conflict soon. The Pentagon meantime taking no chances, saying that it plans to further reinforce its defensive air support capabilities in the Middle East.

Mr. Biden spoke briefly to reporters yesterday about efforts to try to prevent an all-out regional war. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Has to do. We, we really have to avoid it. We've already taken precautions relative to our embassies and personnel who want to leave. And -- but, we're not there yet, but we're working like hell with the French and many others.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: All right. We have team coverage for you. We are joined now by CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson. He is in Tel Aviv and also Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak.

Nick, first to you. What more do we know about these raids in Lebanon? What more are you hearing?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, they're elite special forces what we understand, and they have limited incursions going across the border inside of Lebanon to gather intelligence on potential Hezbollah targets there. So the these are very limited.

But, of course, we also understand from, sources in the United States that, officials there that there is an expectation that this growing number of IDF forces along the border, the elite 98th division of commandos, the, Golani Brigade that the defense minister was meeting with today, telling them that it's a very important first step, the killing of the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, but he said we will use all of our components available to us.

And he said, looking at the troops and talking to the troops, you are part of those elements that we will use. So the growing indication is that following on from the special forces, intelligence gathering raids across the border that there will be a larger force that may have a limited incursion.

And the question will be what does a limited incursion look like? And we've been talking to our sources about that over the past week as the IDF has really signaled with all the videos they've released of a buildup of the reserve forces, a buildup of tanks and armored personnel carriers along the border, what does that look like? And what they say to us is the commit buildup of the reserve forces, a buildup of tanks and armored personnel carriers along the border, what does that look like? And what they say to us is the commitment is to make sure that Israeli citizens, the 60,000 plus who've been evacuated from the border a year ago can go back. What does that look like? They say they don't know specifically. But the houses that Hezbollah fires their shoulder launch rocket attacks at the Israeli homes just across the border would be a prime sort of real estate that the IDF would want to deny to Hezbollah, sort of try to create a 1 or 2 kilometer buffer zone.

[11:05:00]

We don't have details on that, but that's the expectation that's been created in the conversations we're having with our sources about the steps that might come immediately after the news that we're gathering today. What it looks like in a week's time or a few weeks' time is impossible to say. But a limited incursion could mean denying Hezbollah access to the places that it launches small attacks across the border.

So that that is sort of one of the main questions, Nic, sort of what that might look like in terms of how limited and sort of what that looks like on the ground. But also, what about the phrase that we've heard that this could be imminent? Imminent is sort of ambiguous and a little vague. Any sense of sort of what that could look like?

ROBERTSON: So I think that, look, if we go back and look at the IDF's incursion into Gaza after October 7th what there were at the beginning of that were limited special forces raids across the border to gather intelligence. Well, 2 or 3 days later, that became a permanent force across the border.

So we seem to be in that sort of window now of special forces already operating. You would expect intelligence doesn't stay useful for very long. That you go across, you get intelligence about where Hezbollah might be. They could move somewhere else the following day. So I think you can expect these limited incursions to follow on within the next couple of days.

That's an expectation. It doesn't mean it definitively is going to happen. But I think if you look at the way the IDF has operated, you know, in the past year in Gaza, that's the way they began there, and it would seem likely they have very much the same units there: Golani, the 98th Parachute Division, so they have the same units. You would expect similar tactics.

SOLOMON: OK. Nic Robertson, great to have your insights and our perspective to help us understand that a little bit more. Now let me bring in Kevin Liptak who's in Washington for us.

Kevin, we know that Biden, says that he plans to speak to Netanyahu to try to avoid a wider war. What more can we expect here?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. And this -- when they do talk, if they do talk, will be their first conversation in more than a month. And, of course, preventing a wider war is something that President Biden says he's been trying to do really for the last year, and there have been moments where it seems like one is on the horizon and only to be scaled back.

Now is one where the administration is very much worried about what could happen next. And, certainly, this talk of a limited ground incursion into Lebanon is something that American officials are watching quite closely.

And in their conversations with the Israeli government, they have, you know, stressed the need to deescalate the situation along the Israel- Lebanon border to try and prevent this wider war from breaking out.

Of course, President Biden, before the strike in Beirut that killed the Hezbollah leader had been trying to negotiate this 21 day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. He had worked on that with the French on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last week.

And American officials had thought that Israel was on board with that only to have Netanyahu come out the next morning and essentially brush it off. And then, of course, the strike occurred the next day after that. And so you do hear a level of frustration, among American officials at how this is playing out.

Certainly, no one inside the White House is shedding any tears for Hassan Nasrallah, but there is a sense of disconnect at the moment between the United States and Israel at how all of this is being carried out.

For President Biden, I think, this all sort of demonstrates the limits of his influence in the region, his limits with the Prime Minister, and certainly this has been true in Gaza for the last year as the president tries to work towards a ceasefire and hostage deal there. But you also see it taking place on the border with Lebanon. And President Biden, I think certainly watching that very closely.

In those comments that you played earlier, it is clear that the president is trying to lower the temperatures in the region, but how exactly he does that at this moment seems a little bit unclear.

SOLOMON: Kevin, I mean, with the election just weeks away, obviously, Biden is no longer at the top of the ticket, but, I mean, his Vice President is. How is the administration balancing this possible all- out war in the Middle East, with now just weeks before Americans head to the polls?

LIPTAK: Yeah. You really can't think of anything Kamala Harris wants less than a full regional war in the Middle East. And, certainly, this has been a vulnerability first for President Biden when he was the Democratic candidate and now for Harris herself, and she does kind of get it from both sides.

[11:10:00]

There are those on the Left who think that the Biden Administration is putting too much support behind Israel, and then there are those on the right who think that they aren't supporting Israel enough. I think where those two sides merge is the sense that this is a conflict that is entirely outside of President Biden's control, and that is a very politically vulnerable position to be in for the Democrats.

And for Kamala Harris, I think it is a struggle because she hasn't necessarily differentiated herself from President Biden in this area. Every time she's asked about the conflict in the Middle East, she points back to the efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal. Those talks have been stalled for quite some time, and she hasn't said necessarily how she would unlock them. And so this is a difficult moment.

And I think for former president Trump, it allows him to cast the Biden Administration, the Biden-Harris Administration, is one that doesn't have a full handle on global events. And I think, certainly, when you talk to Biden Administration officials, you know, they won't say this publicly and they won't even necessarily say it on background.

But sort of at their most frustrated moments, they do wonder if the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to create an environment that would be favorable for Trump because he knows he has a very strong ally in Trump if he were to become president again. So this is all wrapped up in politics certainly, and I think it just speaks to how fragile the situation is at the moment.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And, Kevin, I imagine this is something that will likely come up tomorrow night when the two vice presidential candidates square off in debate. I imagine this will be a very sort of potent topic with this sort of unfolding, before our eyes in real time.

LIPTAK: Yeah. And I think, you know, for these two vice presidential candidates they're obviously not going to be responsible for foreign policy if they were to become president. Neither of them has a particular degree of experience on the foreign stage.

But I think, you know, as voters look to these tickets, the Democratic ticket and the Republican ticket, they do want to look for vice presidential candidates who would be able to step into that role if they were called upon to do it.

When you think back to the first debate between Trump and Harris, foreign policy actually took up, to my eyes, a surprising amount of time during that debate, just given it is not always at the forefront of voters' minds. And I think in in those exchanges you did get a sense of how different these candidates would be when it comes to foreign policy, certainly in the Middle East, but also, in Ukraine as well.

And I think for the Walz-Harris ticket, the one that will be represented on the stage tomorrow night, there is a struggle to sort of to say how they would handle this situation in a way that would come to some kind of resolution, because it is evident, and it looks like, you know -- actually Biden's speaking right now. So --

SOLOMON: Yes. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: I spoke with -- for a couple of hours with leaders yesterday affected by this hurricane and Governor Kemp of Georgia, Governor Cooper of North Carolina, county officials of the Big Bend region of Florida, and other leaders in South Carolina and Tennessee, about the broad and devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene.

It's not just a catastrophic storm, it's a historic history making storm, entire Southeast and Appalachia. Damage from the hurricane stretches across at least 10 states, winds over a 120 miles an hour in some places, storm surges up to 15 feet, and record flooding. Communities are devastated. Loved ones waiting, not sure if their loved ones are OK, and they can't contact them because there's no cell phone connections.

Many more folks in this place have no idea when they'll be able to be returned to their home, if ever, if there's a home to return to. We're keeping our -- we're keeping them all in our prayers and all the lives lost, and those particularly unaccounted for, there's nothing like wondering, is my husband, wife, son, daughter, mother, father alive?

And many more who remain without electricity, water, food, and communications, and whose homes and businesses have washed away in an instant, I want them to know we're not leaving until the job is done. I also want you to know, I'm committed to traveling to the impacted areas as soon as possible, but I've been told that it'd be disruptive if I did it right now.

We will not do that at the risk of diverting or delaying any of the response as such needed to deal with this crisis. My first responsibility is to get all the help needed to those impacted areas. I expect to be there -- excuse me, I have a cold. I expect to be there later this week. I and my team are in constant contact with governors, mayors, and local leaders.

Head of FEMA, Deanne Criswell, is on the ground now in North Carolina. She's going to stay in Nashville and Appalachia that plays your reason for the foreseeable future. There's been reports of over a 100 dead in consequence of this storm, and there are reports of up 600 people unaccounted for because they can't be contacted.

[11:15:00]

God willing they're alive, but there's no way to contact them again because of the lack of cell phone coverage. I've directed my team to provide every available resource as fast as possible to your communities to rescue, recover, and to begin rebuilding.

In addition to FEMA, it includes the Federal Communications Commission to help establish communications capability, The National Guard, The Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Defense are going to provide all the resources at its disposal to rescue and assist in clearing debris and delivering lifesaving supplies. So far that's over 3,600 personnel deployed. That number is growing by the day.

I quickly approve requests from governors of Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, and Alabama for an emergency declaration, and I approved additional requests for the governors of North Carolina, Florida, South Carolina, and for disaster declaration to pay to pay for debris removal, provide financial assistance directly to survivors.

FEMA and the Small Business Administration are there to help the residents whose homes and business were literally destroyed, washed away, or blown away, And the federal search and rescue teams have been working side by side with state and local officials and partners in very treacherous conditions to find those who are missing, and they'll not rest until everyone's accounted for.

I want to thank all the first responders and everyone who's been working around the clock. One of the brave teams who's volunteered to be there is from San Diego County Fire Department, set to travel all the way from California to North Carolina to help. But on their way, they were in a terrible car accident in Louisiana. We pray for their full recovery, but it was a bad accident.

We know there's more to do and will continue to surge resources including food, water, communications, and lifesaving equipment. We'll be there, as I said before and I mean it, as long as it takes to finish this job.

Let me close with this. As President, I've seen firsthand the devastating toll that disasters like this take on families and communities. I've been on the ground, many disasters ever since I've been President. Excuse me. And I've heard dozens of stories from survivors about how it feels to be left with nothing, not even knowing where and when you're back on track.

I'm here to tell every single survivor in these impacted areas that we will be there with you as long as it takes. For the sake of yourself -- excuse me -- and your families, I urge everyone, everyone returning to their communities and home to listen to local officials and follow all safety instructions. Take this seriously. Please be safe. Your nation has your back, and the Biden-Harris Administration will be there until the job is done.

God bless you all, and I'm thinking of those who are still wondering where your loved ones are. Thank you.

REPORTER: Will you need to have a supplemental to help the people in the southeast, Mr. President?

BIDEN: Say again.

REPORTER: Will you need to ask Congress for a supplemental?

BIDEN: That's my expectation. Yes.

REPORTER: Do you know roughly how much do you think --

BIDEN: Not yet. It's been -- this is historic storm. It's devastating. They've not seen anything like this before, and some of our back to back, three storms in a row. So it's really, really devastating.

REPORTER: Would you have -- is it asking Congress to come back for a special session --

BIDEN: That is something I may have to request, but no decision has made yet.

REPORTER: Do you have a sense of where you'll go and when you are able to go, sir?

BIDEN: Yes. I told the governor of North Carolina to go down -- and I expect to be down there by Wednesday or Thursday. It'd be clear for me to go. You guys have traveled with me. You know, there's an entourage. It's -- this can be disruptive.

REPORTER: Mr. President --

REPORTER: (CROSSTALK) for President Trump to be down there today in Georgia? Is that disruptive?

BIDEN: I don't have any idea.

REPORTER: On another issue, the other side of the world in the Middle East, it's our understanding --

BIDEN: I'm going to stick with this.

REPORTER: What's that?

BIDEN: I'm going to stick with this subject. But go ahead. I've --

REPORTER: Well, it's the fact that Israel may be now launching a limited operation in the Lebanon. Are you aware of that? Are you comfortable with their plan?

BIDEN: I'm more aware than you might know, and I'm comfortable with them stopping. We should have a ceasefire now. Thank you.

REPORTER: President --

REPORTER: Would you expect Iran to retaliate?

REPORTER: On the hurricane, Mr. President, why weren't you and Vice President --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: All right. We've just been listening to U.S. President Joe Biden there. He spoke for -- about 5 to 6 minutes there, mostly about Hurricane Helene relief efforts. Just a few takeaways he talked about.

Actually let's go back --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Is it not important for the country to see --

(END VIDEO CLIP) SOLOMON: All right. I missed that that last bit. We'll -- but we'll

see if our control room can communicate to me what exactly he was asked, because the conversation did shift to the Middle East toward the end.

[11:20:00]

But back to Hurricane Helene, he said a few things. He talked about the 100 people, that we know of who have been killed, but he also said there are 600 people who are unaccounted for. He said, god willing they are alive, but communication is so poor that they cannot be accessed. They cannot be communicated with. And that just sort of gives you a sense of the level of damage and destruction that is still present in Western North Carolina.

He talked about FEMA. He talked about the FEMA Administrator being there on the ground until, the foreseeable future. He talked about funding toward the end. And this is where I want to bring back in my colleague, Kevin Liptak, who is in Washington for us.

Kevin, sort of walk us through there was a question about whether he plans to ask for a supplemental funding, from Congress, whether he plans to, ask Congress to come back. Talk us through the politics of the moment and what you heard.

LIPTAK: Yeah. Well, I think for any president, a hurricane like this is a test of executive management skills, and president Biden certainly is aware of that and was aware of the reason why he needed to come out and deliver this kind of speech today to demonstrate to the people on the ground in these places, but also to the country at large that he is on top of it, that his officials are trying to do what everything they can do to get help to the people on the ground there.

And you heard him say, when he was asked, if he thought that congress would have to pass additional money, and he said that he thought that they would, but he didn't have a figure yet. And those figures are always some something of a difficult thing to come up with. This is actually, you know, the one of the first big hurricanes of this year. So FEMA hasn't necessarily expended all of its money yet, but nonetheless, president Biden saying there that he thinks that they will need more money, to try and remedy the situation.

And it was also interesting because he was asked about former president Trump's visit today to Georgia where he will be, touring some of the storm damaged areas. President Biden said that he was also going to visit some of these areas, but he wanted to wait because of his large entourage that he didn't want it to impact the first responders to impact the emergency recovery efforts. He said he would go later in the week, potentially as early as Wednesday.

President Trump is going today, and he was asked whether that was too early, essentially, whether that was a good idea. And he basically said he didn't want to get into that, really trying to separate this from politics. Of course, Trump has been fairly critical already of how the Biden- Harris Administration has been handling the storm 5 weeks before an election. That is almost inevitable. There is a long history of hurricanes and presidential politics, sort of intersecting in the final month before the campaign.

And I think that's one of the reasons one of the many reasons president Biden wants to get out today to really demonstrate that he's on top of things. At the end of the day, there's only so much a President can do.

Inevitably, there will be people who don't get the help they need, who don't get the help they need from the federal government, but President Biden right now saying that he's doing everything he can to make sure that happens.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Saying we are not leaving them until the job is done. Kevin Liptak, thank you. Let's take a short break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:25:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ROY COOPER (D-NC): This is going to be a tremendous effort in the short run, but looking at it at the long run with the hundreds of roads that are destroyed, communities that were wiped off the map, we have to make sure that we get in there, are smart about rebuilding, doing it in a more resilient way. But right now, we're concentrating on saving lives and getting supplies to people who desperately, desperately need them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Communities wiped off the map, that is North Carolina governor Roy Cooper talking about the devastation Hurricane Helene left behind. At least 115 people killed across six states, with 100 of roads washed out in North Carolina, many mountain communities like Asheville are now isolated. It's a scenario that until now was unimaginable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIAN TORRES HARWOOD, STORM SURVIVOR: I mean, it's pretty scary. You don't expect it. We weren't really prepared. I thought it was going to rain for a while, and that's about it. And then power went out, started to flood, almost got into our house. I mean, it's really bad. And there's a lot of people that are passed away, and so it's really bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: At last check, at least 280 roads were closed throughout the state. So many people are trying to pick up the pieces after losing everything. One man saying the life we built here is gone.

CNN's Rafael Romo with more now on the ground in Asheville.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're standing in one of the hardest hit areas here in Asheville, North Carolina. We're surrounded by mud. And if you can see behind me, that fast food restaurant is surrounded by mud as well. There are other establishments, businesses here that are surrounded not only by mud, but also by debris.

And then many things that were carried by the force of the floodwaters like this barrel or container that ended up here in the middle of this gas station where we are. And if you multiply the scene around me times dozens, maybe 100, you begin to get an idea of what Western North Carolina is facing right now.

I was also noticing, for example, that this gas pump, when you look at the screen, it has sand inside, which means that the water level was at least this high at one point. And we have been hearing for from state officials who have said that they set up a system by which they bring water and food to here in this community, Asheville.

And then because many roads are impassable they need to airlift those supplies to get the people that are in need. Governor Roy Cooper earlier said that there are 19 -- at least 19, search and rescue teams from out of state trying to help in the effort. Add to those teams an additional three teams with the federal government, and you begin to get an idea of the kind of massive operation that is going on right now.

Also, the main problem for this community and others here in Western North Carolina is that people have no water or power, and it's making the situation desperate day by day. Another problem is that there are many people who still have no cell phone service, and much less Internet. Those people have been unable to communicate with loved ones in other states.

According to county officials here, they said that they have received so far about a 1,000 missing people reports to the 9/11 system. Rafael Romo, CNN, Asheville, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: All right. Thanks to Rafael there. I want to now welcome into the conversation Gerard Albert III. He is the Rural Communities Reporter for Blue Ridge Public Radio in Western North Carolina. He himself was trapped for a couple of days by flooded roads.

Gerard, great to have you today. First, can you just give us your sense? You've been on the ground reporting there, what is it like? What's the situation on the ground?

GERARD ALBERT III, REPORTER, BLUE RIDGE PUBLIC RADIO: Yeah. I don't think anybody thought it was going to be this bad. That's kind of been the overarching theme is that, we've lived here for so long, and it's never flooded here. We've never seen it like this.

I mean, like you had heard roads are impassable, counties are still trying to get to people to do rescue missions. And, yeah, the biggest issue in Asheville, which is the biggest city in the area, is that there is no running water.

SOLOMON: And talk to me about just the state of power from what you can tell, from your reporting, the state of electricity, communications in general?

[11:30:00]

ALBERT III: Yeah. Power is very spotty. I think it's in the tens of thousands of people that are just without power at all. The counties that I cover in this part of the state have said by the end of the week there should be -- they're expecting, most of the power to be back on in those counties.

The big problem has been the cell service. You know, when I was, in -- stuck in the part of the state that I was in, Transylvania County, there was no cell service for days, and there still is none. Here in Buncombe County, where Asheville is, there is some. But the cell service and the or the lack of it is a huge problem and obviously causing a lot of anxiety for people, who live here.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Can you just tell us a little bit more? I mean, how did that happen? You were you were trapped as you just said. How did that happen? And ultimately, how did you get out?

ALBERT III: Yeah. I'd gone down on Thursday, booked a hotel and made sure they had a generator just so I could file my stories and whatnot. That's the area of the state that I cover. It's about 45 minutes to an hour south of Asheville. It's a bit more rural. And, there's a road that goes straight from Asheville down to Brevard and at certain points the rivers were just rushing over the bridges.

There was 2 or 3 feet of water, over the road, and it was just completely impossible. I tried on Friday, and then I tried on Saturday again. And then through word-of-mouth, because that's all you had out there was, was able to hear that the route was opened back up, and I was able to get back to the interstate that way and find my way back to Asheville and have some cell service.

SOLOMON: And, Gerard, when you're when you're talking to folks there, I mean, do you get the sense that people were caught off guard or they didn't expect it to be so bad? I mean, what's your sense in talking to people there, just about sort of how this came in so ferociously?

ALBERT III: Yeah. It's exactly that. It's I mean, I've heard the term 500 year flood thrown around so many times this past weekend, but the residents and the elected officials here, everybody says it's never been this bad. I mean, the area that I was in has had generations of families there who've lived off creeks and off rivers, and they didn't leave because, you know, they said, oh, we've had 100 year storms, and nothing's ever gone in here, and their communities are just inundated with water. So nobody thought it was going to be this bad. SOLOMON: OK. We'll leave it here. Gerard Albert, III. We know that,

reporting under these conditions is especially difficult. We appreciate you coming on to help us understand and our viewers understand, what's happening on the ground there in Western North Carolina. Thank you.

ALBERT III: Thanks so much.

SOLOMON: All right. Turning now to the US presidential election and tomorrow night's one and only debate between the vice presidential candidates. Republican J.D. Vance and Democrat Tim Walz will face off exactly 5 weeks before election day.

Tim Walz is said to be preparing with mock debate sessions. J.D. Vance is also in intense prep sessions, but has also downplayed the importance of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Governor, how are you feeling about debate prep? Going Well?

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), 2024 VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Going great, this is the fun part right here. Thank you guys for coming out.

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), 2024 VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You get out there, you talk to people, you talk about the issues that matter. We don't need to -- we don't need to prepare for a debate with Tim Walz.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: And Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, as Kevin Liptak mentioned a short time ago, he's going to visit Georgia later today. He is set to receive a briefing on the devastation of Hurricane Helene and help distribute relief supplies. Mister Trump is expected to speak in just a few hours from now.

But joining us now from Washington is CNN's Kristen Holmes. Kristen, what can we expect to hear from Trump today in Georgia? What are you hearing?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, remember what Kevin just said, which was essentially that hurricane politics has been a big part of presidential politics for years, and that's exactly what we expect to hear when it comes to Donald Trump.

There is a reason that he is in Georgia. He was originally supposed to be holding a rally to give some messaging remarks. Instead, he has changed his course to do this sort of disaster relief. He's going to tour a specific area. He is going to visit an emergency response center, and then he is going to deliver remarks.

Now it's not really a secret what he's going to say because he's been saying it now for the last 3 days. He has criticized not only Joe Biden, but obviously his rival, Kamala Harris, for not being on the ground in these specific states like Georgia, like Florida, like North Carolina. You actually heard Biden kind of responding to that when he gave his remarks, saying there was a reason that he hadn't been to any of these disaster areas yet, it was because of the fact that they had told him, they being either the administration or the state's administration, that it would be too many resources that had to be around him for him to travel to that state. It would take away from the resources needed of the victims of that devastation.

[11:35:00]

But, of course, it is a presidential year. We are getting closer to an election, so you can expect to hear Donald Trump hitting the administration for not doing enough, for not being on the ground, for not being in Washington DC.

And, Rahel, I just want to say one quick thanks. You mentioned that debate tomorrow, which is really going to be a pivotal moment for that part of the campaign. And even though Vance is playing down the preparation, I just got off the phone from a senior adviser of his who basically said that they believe that Walz is a very good debater.

They were not playing it down at all, saying expect him to take the stage, expect him to hit hard, and that they have been prepping Vance pretty meticulously to get ready for that debate tomorrow.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Really interesting. Smerconish had a segment over the weekend where he talked to the last people who debated both of them or people who have debated both of them. Very interesting exercise in sort of what might -- what might go down tomorrow night. Kristen Holmes, thank you.

All right. Still to come for us. Death and destruction in Lebanon as Israel attacks multiple fronts targeting Iran backed militants. We're going to have details ahead on Hezbollah's shrinking leadership.

Plus, Lebanon's prime minister says that 1 million people are now displaced amid the escalating crisis in the Middle East. We'll take you to the streets of Beirut, coming up next.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. You're watching CNN newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. We now want to return to our coverage of the growing tension in the Middle East as Israel ramps up its attacks on multiple fronts against Iran backed militants.

U.S. sources say that Israeli forces have conducted targeted raids inside Lebanon. This was a scene in Beirut earlier. You can see the destruction left behind after an Israeli strike. This marks the first hit within the Lebanese capital's city limits since the Israel-Hamas war broke out. The strike happened near the Kola Bridge, which is a major intersection in Beirut, more than 2,000 kilometers away from there.

Israel confirms it also carried out air strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. And despite a growing number of senior Hezbollah figures being killed, the group vows to continue fighting Israel. The White House's National Security Spokesperson saying, they are preparing for a response from Iran or any of the militants that it backs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATION ADVISER: The rhetoric certainly suggests they're going to try to do something. I mean, they're just coming, out of Tehran, but, we don't really know. We're watching this very, very closely, to see, how -- if and how, Hezbollah and/or Iran may react as well as the militia groups in Iraq and Syria. We have to be prepare for some sort of response.

[11:40:00]

We have to make sure that we are ready, and we and we are. We believe we have the force capability we need in the region.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: All right. Let's go to CNN's Jomana Karadsheh who joins us live from Beirut, Lebanon. Yet again, Jomana, you have some new reporting on those who are being displaced in Lebanon. What have you learned?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Rahel, as is the case with every war that we cover, you see that it is the civilians who bear the brunt of these wars. And here, we're seeing it in so many different ways, so many crises that have been unfolding. You look at the number of people who have been killed in a matter of days.

Lebanese authorities say that more than a 1,000 people have been killed, many of them are civilians, women, and children. You've got thousands of others who've been injured and not all just in a matter of days.

You also have those who have been forced out of their homes, by these air strikes in the south of the country, in the eastern, Behar region, as well as the southern suburbs of Beirut, this being 1 or used to be one of the most, heavily populated parts of the country.

And what we saw on Friday, Rahel, this is when the you have that massive explosions that killed the leader of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah and others and the air strikes that continued intense bombardment of the southern suburbs that night. What we saw is this mass exodus of people running for their lives.

We were out on the streets, of Beirut at about 3 o'clock in the morning, Friday into Saturday, and we saw so many families, across the central part of the city as well as the western part of the city, people who just carried whatever they could grab and ran out in search of safety. We saw women carrying their sleeping children. I mean, it was unbelievable scenes that we saw, that night.

And days later, a lot of these people are still out on the street.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KARADSHEH (voice-over): War has arrived to Beirut, and this is what it's done to so many of its children, exhausted and homeless, they now sleep on the streets and parks like this one. Most here fled the densely populated southern suburbs where Israel's rained down bombs on Hezbollah targets. But like every war, it is the innocent who paid the heaviest price.

Abeer's home was hit in one of the strikes. She grabbed her little girl and ran, and they've been out here since.

ABEER, DISPLACE LEBANON (via translator): I've never fled my home before, not even in the 2006 war, the single mother says. But now I have a child. The children are terrified. Far from the air strikes, 8 year old Betul (ph) tells us she's very scared. The roof was falling on us, she says. Every time my mom would tell me they're not going to strike, they would. I wish the war would stop.

Betul plays with new friends she's made. Children trying to escape a new reality. They're too young to understand. But beneath their playful giggles, trauma and fear so deep, 10 year old Fatima can't hold back her tears.

The whole country is being destroyed, she says. Born in Syria, she fled war a baby. Beirut's the only home she's ever known. My dad was killed in Syria, she says. I only have my mom. I'm scared my mother and siblings will also get killed. Syrians, Lebanese, and migrant workers all found themselves with nowhere to turn but this park.

Schools now house the displaced, but there are too many in search of shelter, and this all happened so fast. A million people, the government estimates, have been displaced in a matter of days.

We found many Lebanese families like this one camped out on the side of the road. For 5 days, they say, there was no room for them at government shelters. Their disabled young girl sleeps in the car. The rest have mattresses outside. No toilets or showers here. They've heard their home is still standing, the women tell us, but their neighborhood is devastated. Our area has been emptied out, Uma Ahmed (ph) says. There's no one left.

In the heart of the capital in Martyrs' Square, the remnants of crises past with a poster that reads, Beirut never dies. And here, many more with no roofs over their heads. For how long, no one really knows, but they fear this may only just be the start of a long war.

Mfozi (ph) fled barefoot. It was real horror, she says. Airstrikes were all around us. People were collapsing and fainting. She only grabbed her medication and these tissue packs, her livelihood. She sells them for about $0.50. Although he escaped Syria, her home there is gone. Wherever we go, she says, death follows us.

It's all just too much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[11:45:00] KARADSHEH: And, Rahel, we're talking about a million people, that's according to the Lebanese government, forced out of their homes within a matter of days. That's nearly 20 percent of Lebanon's population. And just to put that number into perspective, officials that we've spoken to here say back in 2,006 during that 34 day between, war between Israel and Hezbollah, about 600 to 800000 people were displaced.

And right now, you are looking at these figures of about a million in a few -- in less than 2 weeks who have really been displaced from their homes. The government is trying its best, trying to set up shelters, but this is just happening so fast. And for a government that doesn't have much resources, it has really been a struggle. And the fear is that, this is only just the beginning.

And, you know, with the talk of potential ground incursion, with the potential of this going on for a long time, the fear is that they're going to see these numbers growing even further. According to the Prime Minister, this is the largest number of people who've been internally displaced in this country within Lebanon in the country's history.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And as you pointed out in your piece, they're really important piece, Jomana. It is the civilians who, often, take the brunt of war. Jomana Karadsheh, thank you for the important reporting.

Well, still ahead, Hurricane Helene's devastating toll on North Carolina. Will the storm weary communities face more flooding as they try to recover?

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SOLOMON: Well, many people's lives have been turned upside down by Hurricane Helene's powerful impact in North Carolina. At least 115 people have across six states, and officials say that that death toll will likely rise.

Flooding and washed out roads have trapped thousands of people in North Carolina's mountain communities, leaving them without power and access to food, supplies, and mobile service.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: This is a devastating catastrophe of historic proportions. People that I talked to in Western North Carolina say they have never seen anything like this. This is just truly unprecedented in in the devastation that we have seen here.

The good thing is that we are prepared for disasters. We have 24 shelters that are up now, providing assistance to people. The biggest issue we're finding now is getting the food and the water to people because we're having to do so much of that by air.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: And the number of people remain unaccounted for in the state amid the cell phone and Internet outages. And worth just underscoring what the governor said there that this is unprecedented. Those living in these high elevation towns have never seen flooding like this before.

Let's get to Meteorologist Elisa Raffa who joins us now. And, Elisa, there are fears that even more rain could be on the way.

[11:50:00]

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. I mean, the rivers too will take time to recede and drain out as well. I mean, just seeing some of these videos and the images of the damage it's really hard to put it into words. I mean, this is a lake and there is so much debris just sitting in it from an entire town that just got washed away, Chimney Rock, North Carolina. Just really hard to look at these images.

And this is what happens when you get 2 to 3 feet of rain that comes down incredibly quickly and runs down the mountains into the landslides. This is what's left of the tropical showers. Most of them are to the north from, DC up towards Southern Pennsylvania there going into the Virginias.

A couple of showers around Charlotte, but that's what's left out of Helene. So the heaviest rain is out of the way, which is some good news. The showers that are left here are pretty light.

We do have, some of these rainfall totals that have just been, again, just unprecedented record setting in this area here in the mountains where, you know, from Asheville over towards Boone, we're measuring this rain here over 10 inches. We're talking about feet from Asheville over towards Boone. You see this pink area here. I mean, we're talking in excess of 10 to 15 inches of rain. Just some incredible totals in the mountains. And, again, because of the terrain, that's what causes the problems with the landslides and the very quick destruction.

We've had some rain totals approach 30 inches in North Carolina. Mountain Home, 17 inches. Grandfather Mountain, 15 inches. Nearly a foot in Greenville, South Carolina. Asheville as well also got about a foot of rain. So just incredible to see these totals come down in a matter of hours, and that's what causes the destruction.

Rivers are still at major and moderate flood stage, not just in the mountains, but downstream as well. This water has to go somewhere, so the rivers will start to rise even close to the coast as we go through the next couple of days. So we'll have to watch for some of that some of that river flooding, again, even in parts of Central and Eastern South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia as this water gets displaced and needs to go somewhere. So something to keep in mind as the rivers just continue to just stay pretty aggravated.

This is a look at the rain that we can get as we go through the day today. We've got a slight risk of level 2 out of 4 for an additional inch or 2 of rain. So, again, not huge amounts, but they don't really need any. Rahel?

SOLOMON: OK. Meteorologist Elisa Raffa, thank you. And we have some sad news to bring you. The NBA's Basketball Hall of

Famer, Dikembe Mutombo, has died of brain cancer. The fan favorite born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was known on the court for his defensive dominance and off the court, he was known for his playful personality and generous philanthropy.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says that Mutombo poured his heart and soul into helping others. Dukanbe Mutombo was 58 years old. We'll be right back.

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[11:55:00]

SOLOMON: And before we go, one more thing. The border between Switzerland and Italy is being officially redrawn. It's due to melting glaciers changing the natural elements of the shared border. The two countries have agreed to change the border under the Matterhorn Peak. It's one of the highest summits in the Alps and overlooks a popular skiing destination. The approval process is already underway in Italy. And as soon as both parties sign the agreement, the new border regions will be made public. Switzerland's glaciers lost 4 percent of their volume last year alone.

Well, on that note, thank you for your time today. Thank you for spending some time with me. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. Stick with CNN "One World" that's coming up next.

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