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Israel Begins Limited Ground Operation in Southern Lebanon; At Least 128 Dead as States Attempt to Recover from Helene; Presidential Nominees Make Appearances Amid Helene Cleanup; Deadline Passes to Prevent Port Workers Strike; Israel Launches Ground Offensive in Southern Lebanon; Lebanon: About 1 Million Displaced by Fighting; Pete Rose, MLB's All-Time Hit Leader, Has Died. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired October 01, 2024 - 00:00   ET

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

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COATES: He raised money to build a hospital in Congo. He funded a tuition-free school near where his parents grew up. All with a single goal in mind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIKEMBE MUTOMBO, NBA LEGEND: My life's mission is to continue to change the living condition of the people in Africa. I may have not won a championship, but I'm a champion to so many people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: And he was. He died after battling a brain tumor, surrounded by his family. Dikembe Mutombo was 58.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: It is 7:00 a.m. in Lebanon where Israeli troops are now conducting a limited ground operation. The Israeli military says it's conducting targeted raids in southern Lebanon. The IDF says they are targeting villages close to the border that pose immediate threats to communities in northern Israel. Israeli officials say there will be, quote, "no long-term occupation" of southern Lebanon.

The Israeli army released this video that it says shows preparations for the ground operation. The U.S. says Israel informed it of a number of operations including the ground incursion and on Monday night, a White House National Security Council spokesperson told CNN that they support Israel's right to defend itself, while warning that mission creep is a real risk.

And CNN's Paula Hancocks is live in Abu Dhabi. She joins us now.

So, Paula, what is the latest on Israel's limited ground operation into southern Lebanon.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, we have a team along the border in northern Israel and they have reported that they have seen explosions, that they have heard artillery fire in southern Lebanon. In fact, the operation itself started a few hours before it was announced by the Israeli military. And it happened also just shortly after the National Security cabinet in Israel agreed the next phases. So sign and off on the next phases. And this clearly is what that next phase was.

So what we've heard in a statement, a short statement from the IDF, is that it is a targeted and limited ground operation. It's the first time in 18 years that the Israeli military has gone into southern Lebanon in this kind of format. We know that in recent days there have been special forces going into the area, preparing for this eventuality. Now we have heard that it will be limited. We have Israeli officials telling our team on the ground that they are not interested in a long term occupation, and surprisingly they have not given many details on the operation itself.

They could not be pressed on the duration of this operation or in fact how far into Lebanon they would be going. Now we've heard from the military that it would be a number of villages along the border itself which they believe pose a threat to northern Israel. The Israeli prime minister says the operation -- that the goal of this operation is to allow tens of thousands of Israeli residents to be able to move back to their homes in northern Israel.

Now, of course, in Lebanon, the feeling about this is very different. There are concerns that a limited operation in Israel's eyes will be nothing like in the eyes of the Lebanese. They remember back in 1982 that Israel publicly said it was going to be a limited operation and they then occupied southern Lebanon. They went as far as Beirut as well, encircling that part, the western part of the city and there was an occupation.

And of course just recently we heard from the Israeli military that there would be a limited operation in Rafah in the south of Gaza, as there was much international criticism of that operation and one of our teams has been into Rafah since and has seen that much of this did he has been destroyed. So there are concerns on the Lebanese side of the border as to what this limited operation will look like -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Paula Hancocks joining us live from Abu Dhabi.

Well, joining me now from Washington is retired U.S. Air Force colonel and CNN military analyst, Cedric Leighton.

Thank you, sir, for being with us.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: You bet, Rosemary. Good to be with you.

CHURCH: So what exactly is a limited ground operation and what can Israeli ground forces achieve that airstrikes can't?

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LEIGHTON: Yes. So limited ground operation really depends on the Israeli definition of what that term actually means. So what we think it means is that they're going to go in to specific areas. They say that they're going after specific villages and specific targets, and that they will in essence make those useless for Hezbollah so that Hezbollah cannot use launch sites, that they cannot use staging areas for attacks on northern Israel.

The whole idea is to secure the northern part of Israel so that those 60,000 or so Israelis that have been forced to move from that area can go back to their homes. And as far as, you know, what that would look like on a permanent basis really depends on how successful this operation, this targeted operation is. If they find that they cannot mop up Hezbollah positions, get rid of Hezbollah weapons, do things like that, then they will have to find another method and that could include some degree of occupation of the southern part of Lebanon.

Whether or not that means that it goes up to the Litani River, that of course is another issue, would be another phase in this conflict if it happens, and would require further government approval in Israel if they were going to do that.

CHURCH: Yes. So looking at that, what are the risks involved in a military operation like this for both Israel and the people of Lebanon, especially given the U.S. is concerned about what they call mission creep, that it won't be as limited as Israel has suggested.

LEIGHTON: Yes. And the U.S. has certainly had experience with mission creep and several of its wars within the last 50 or so years. So the United States definitely knows what it speaks of in this case. Mission creep for the Israelis could very much be a quagmire. In other words, they get entangled in southern Lebanon. They cannot dislodge completely Hezbollah forces and they have to stay there for a long time.

It'd be a larger version of what we're kind of seeing in Gaza, or at least risk seeing in Gaza at this particular point in time. For the people of southern Lebanon this could very well mean that they have to abandon their homes and that of course is something that they've already had to do in many cases. And it really risks destabilizing the country from an economic standpoint and certainly a governmental standpoint.

And that's a major, major problem for stability in that part of the Middle East. So this type of operation is very risky. It is something that cannot be done very cleanly unless you know exactly what you're going after and you can achieve the results that you're seeking very quickly. And those results are semi-permanent.

CHURCH: Right. And Colonel, Hezbollah's communications systems were severely degraded as a result of Israel's recent audacious attack on Hezbollah phones and pagers. So how might that impact their response to this Israeli ground incursion do you think?

LEIGHTON: Well, the Israeli attack, Rosemary, was very deliberate. The attack on the pagers and the walkie-talkies, that was something that they did very carefully because what they were trying to do was to disrupt what's known as the command and control system of Hezbollah so if they can't communicate, they can't act, at least that's the theory behind actions like this. And so when it comes to this particular situation, Hezbollah is going to find it very difficult to communicate with each other.

They may be able to install landlines at least on a temporary basis to communicate with some elements, but that's not a very flexible communications method, and it's very risky for them to go to cell phones, even satellite phones. So that becomes something that makes it more difficult for them. And then they may have to result to very old- fashion methods, which would include couriers and basically communications methods from the 19th century.

And if that is the case, then their operations, their ability to respond to Israeli actions is very much a slowed and if that happens, then they can't really respond to quick movements by Israeli forces.

CHURCH: And as you mentioned, Israel is now fighting on two war fronts, isn't it? In Gaza and in Lebanon. How inevitable is all-out war across the region, given Iran has vowed to retaliate for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the airstrikes on Lebanon?

LEIGHTON: It really depends on what Iran does next. So you're right, Israel is basically in a two front war and the Israelis would probably argue that it's a multi-front war. Some people say six fronts, you know, it's at least three fronts if you include the West Bank as well. So there are, you know, certain things that the Israelis are trying to do. And this is basically part of a broader strategy to eliminate what one could call the ring of fire that Iran tried to set around Israel.

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The fire we're talking about their proxy forces. You've got Hezbollah in Lebanon, of course. You've got Hamas in Gaza, you've got the Houthis in Yemen, and you've got the various proxy militias in places like Syria and Iraq. And if any one of those elements leaves or is somehow disengaged from the fight, then that ring of fire becomes less strong and less able to in essence contain Israel. And what the Israelis are trying to do is to break out of that ring of fire.

If they do that, then it weakens Iran's position considerably and Iran will not be able to respond in the same manner that Israel, for example, conducted their operations with Hezbollah. If Iran response is going to be in asymmetric fashion, either with targeted assassinations or a cyberattack or some other smaller action that will not quite meet the threshold of the kinds of actions that we've seen that the Israelis conducted reasonably.

CHURCH: Colonel Cedric Leighton in Washington, many thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Syria says Israeli strikes in Damascus a short time ago have killed three people. The Syrian Defense Ministry says Israeli planes and drones targeted the city in the early morning hours. Video posted to social media shows an explosion next to Syria's telecom building. Syrian state media says a well-known television anchor and two others were killed. When asked about the strikes, the Israeli military said it does not comment on reports in foreign media.

Here in the United States, the dead toll from Hurricane Helene has risen to at least 128 as the recovery begins and search and rescue efforts continue. North Carolina has reported the most deaths with 56.

CNN's Isabel Rosales spoke with residents of Asheville, one of the hardest hit cities, about how they are managing.

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ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With devastation this widespread, a view from the air brings into focus the full scope of the destruction brought by Hurricane Helene. Heavy trees and downed power lines are blocking major roadways, hampering the delivery of badly needed supplies. An overturned semi-truck laying upside down in the river and numerous landslides all spotted from above.

CNN flew by helicopter with a non-profit serving inaccessible towns badly in need of aid. On the ground in Black Mountain outside of Asheville, city manager Josh Harrold says it could take years to get over this devastation.

JOSH HARROLD, BLACK MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA CITY MANAGER: It's catastrophic. Black Mountain may never look the same again. It's just total destruction.

ROSALES: But just getting by for now, the focus for so many. It's hours of waiting for gas at the few pumps that are still running.

MICHELLE COLEMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ASHEVILLE DREAM CENTER: Here's your first car.

ROSALES: In Asheville, lines of cars waiting for basic supplies.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just rough. It's hard to see in a city like this.

ROSALES: Some families tell CNN they've run out of drinking water, and without electricity, their food is rotting.

Gary O'Dell is sharing everything he's got. His home with his daughter who lost it all to the catastrophic floods. And even life-saving oxygen tanks with his neighbor.

GARY O'DELL, NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENT: My next-door neighbor ran out of oxygen. He's in worse shape than I am. That's my problem. I've got lung cancer now, too. And you don't, you know, you don't realize, you know, oxygen is very important.

ROSALES: Non-profits teaming up to serve 2,000 residents in the first four hours.

COLEMAN: How are you guys doing? ROSALES: This is one of the first semitrucks full of desperately

needed supplies to arrive in Asheville.

COLEMAN: This is the most devastating thing I've ever seen in our whole city. I think the loss of life. The fact that if you don't have cash, you can't get anything. We've gone to stores, water is out, ice is out. People slept overnight at gas stations like I feel like we've never seen this.

ROSALES: And three days into this disaster, North Carolinians praying that more help is on the way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES (on-camera): Historic Biltmore Village would have been entering their busiest season right now in October. This would have been a busy gas station. Instead, they're dealing with all of this mud, thick mud, and horrible debris left all over the place from Helene. This right here, this steel thing. It reads streel tank for oil burner fuels and other combustible liquids. It's dangerous stuff just thrown about all over the place.

But really the need is what's sticking out. The need of so many people for basic everyday goods, food, water, fuel, medicine, baby formula. Neighbors are helping one another just to survive day by day. Meanwhile, people stuck up in the mountain tops they need even more help.

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They're getting -- receiving those items that they so desperately need via helicopter. But this is going to be a long road of recovery and we are not out of the woods yet.

Isabel Rosales in Asheville, North Carolina, CNN.

CHURCH: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump both made appearances on Monday to address the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. Harris visited the FEMA headquarters in Washington while Trump was in southern Georgia.

CNN's Eva McKend and Kristen Holmes have the latest on how both presidential nominees are responding to the disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: We know the vice president is receiving regular briefing. She gave brief remarks at FEMA headquarters where she described the destruction as heartbreaking. She acknowledged the loss of life, the loss of homes, those without power, and pledged the full support of the federal government.

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I planned to be on the ground as soon as possible but as soon as possible without disrupting any emergency response operations because that must be the highest priority and the first order of business. To everyone who has been impacted by this storm, President Biden and I, and all of the folks behind me, are with you.

We will continue to do everything we can to help you recover and to help you rebuild. No matter how long it takes.

MCKEND: And this comes at a time when the campaign has had to pivot. She was going to stay out on the West Coast a little longer for campaign events, but she came back early to be able to address the impact of this weather event. We also know that the vice president is in conversation with the governors, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Georgia's Governor Brian Kemp.

Harris reiterated that she plans to visit impacted areas as soon as possible without disrupting emergency response operations. And she also spoke about the importance of rising to the moment of this crisis. A clear indication that she wants politics out of this.

Eva McKend, CNN, Washington.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the former presidents team said this wasn't a political trip that he was going down there to survey the damage, Donald Trump has made everything about this storm and the aftermath inherently political. He has commented on social media essentially saying that the federal government, without having any proof of this, was not helping these Republican areas.

He also said the federal government, Joe Biden specifically, Kamala Harris, was leaving people to drown in these various areas. And while he was on the ground, he implied that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, a Republican, was having a hard time getting in touch with President Joe Biden, something that Brian Kemp himself seemed to dispel.

Take a listen to what Trump said and then what Kemp said about his conversations with Joe Biden.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The governor is doing a very good job. He's having a hard time getting the president on the phone. I guess they're not being responsive, the federal government is not being responsive.

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R), GEORGIA: I just spoke -- the president just called me yesterday afternoon. I missed him and I called him right back. And he just said, hey, what do you need? And I told him, you know, we got what we need. We'll work through the federal process. He offered if there's other things we need just to call him directly, which I appreciate that.

HOLMES: Donald Trump has also been hitting Kamala Harris and Joe Biden for not being on the ground. One thing to note here, this often happens in the aftermath of this kind of a storm. The sitting president, sitting vice president, doesn't want to travel to the area because they don't want to divert resources from what is happening with search and rescue or what is happening on the ground to help with those recovery efforts.

And they don't want to take that away because they are on the ground. But we have since learned that Joe Biden says he will be in North Carolina. Donald Trump himself also scheduled to be in North Carolina on Friday. Unclear what that trip will look like in terms of whether or not he will visit any of those disaster areas.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The U.S. vice presidential nominees will hold their first and so far only scheduled debate Tuesday night. Their face off comes just five weeks before the election, and it could be the final debate of the campaign season. Democratic nominee Tim Walz has told people he is nervous about doing debates, but says he hopes voters will know that he and his running mate Kamala Harris are, quote, "just doing our best for folks."

Republican nominee J.D. Vance and his wife arrived in New York Monday where the debate will be held. As for his strategy, the senator from Ohio has said he'll use the debate to, quote, "prosecute the case against Kamala Harris."

CNN will have special coverage of the vice presidential debate. Jake Tapper and Erin Burnett will get things started Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in New York. That's 7:00 a.m. Wednesday in Hong Kong.

[00:20:02]

The deadline has just passed for dock workers at several major American ports to go on strike with no word of a last-minute breakthrough. The U.S. economy isn't the only one that could be seriously affected. Just ahead, what it could mean across the globe.

Plus why a judge in Georgia has struck down the state's strict abortion ban. We're back in just a moment with that and more.

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CHURCH: A check on our top story now. Now the Israeli military says it's begun a limited ground operation against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, marking a new phase in their war. We are looking at this live picture here.

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A CNN team near the border has witnessed explosions, plumes of smoke, and artillery fire, and it is unclear how long this operation is expected to last. Israel says it has no plans for long-term occupation.

Well, just moments ago, the deadline passed for workers at American ports from Maine to Texas to go on strike. There's been no word of any last-minute agreement to keep members of the International Longshoremen's Association from walking off the job at 14 major U.S. ports on the East Coast and the Gulf Coast. Ports in the western U.S. are not affected. Last-minute efforts to come to an agreement with the U.S. Maritime Alliance failed.

The USMX, as it's known, represents major shipping lines. It asked for an extension of the current contract so talks could continue. It offered a 50 percent wage increase to dock workers, but the union called the offer unacceptable.

New York's governor says the effect on the U.S. economy could be devastating.

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GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D), NEW YORK: The stakes are very high. The potential for disruption is significant. We're deeply concerned about the impact that a strike could have on our supply chain. Especially when it comes to critical goods like medical supplies and others.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Joining me now for a closer look at the potential impact of a strike is Professor Harley Shaiken from the University of California, Berkeley.

Appreciate you joining us.

HARLEY SHAIKEN, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY: Very nice to be here.

CHURCH: So now that the deadline has passed and a strike looks likely at this juncture, it hasn't happened, hasn't been declared at this point, but the major concern, of course, is how this might impact not only the U.S. economy but also the global economy. How bad do you think this could get if a strike goes forward?

SHAIKEN: If the strike goes forward, which it is going as we speak, it will have a very damaging effect on the U.S. economy to be sure, but it will tangle global supply lines. One major qualification to that, if it's a short strike, the damage is real, but far less severe than if the strike goes beyond a week or two. The estimates are that the U.S. economy will lose $3.8 billion to $5 billion a day. That's real money, and half the container traffic coming into the United States will be halted.

CHURCH: And the problem of course this comes in the aftermath of all of the problems associated with the pandemic. It comes just five weeks before a U.S. presidential election. The timing could not to be worse in fact. So talk to us about how long you would expect the dock workers to be on strike and how likely it is that they would actually make a deal once the realization, the reality of this is apparent on both sides?

SHAIKEN: Well, things look very grim right now, but I don't necessarily think that's the longer-term reality. There's no way to accurately predict it, but we can say part of the problem is the talks stalled. They've largely not been at the table since June. But in recent hours, the employers, the maritime alliance, came up with a new offer. They raised their offer from 40 percent to 50 percent raise over six years.

The union is demanding 77 percent so they're still wide apart but now the strike is costing both sides significantly. The Longshore workers are losing income so that points to the fact that a settlement is certainly possible. The union wants to make the point and get a better offer. The maritime association earned in the three months between April and June $10 billion, which is double what they earned in the previous three months.

So the money is there and both sides are in the midst of creating considerable economic pain and possibly changing the course of a presidential election in the United States.

CHURCH: Yes, there was a lot at stake here.

Harley Shaiken, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

SHAIKEN: Thank you.

[00:30:05]

CHURCH: A judge in Georgia has struck down the state's abortion ban. The judge declared the law unconstitutional, writing in his order that "Liberty in Georgia includes," quote, "the power of a woman to control her own body, to decide what happens to it, and in it, and to reject state interference with her healthcare choices."

Governor Brian Kemp and state lawmakers passed the law in 2019, leading to protests across the state. The law effectively prohibited abortions beyond about the first six weeks of pregnancy. It had been blocked from taking effect until the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Well, much more to come on our breaking news out of the Middle East, the latest on Israel's limited ground operation in Lebanon and its airstrikes on Beirut. That's just ahead. Stay with us.

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[00:35:24]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Want to get you up to date on our breaking news this hour. Israel's military says it has launched a limited ground operation against Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon.

The IDF says the terrorist group poses a real and immediate danger to Israeli settlements on the Northern border. But it stressed there will be no long-term occupation.

A CNN team close to the border heard the sounds of outgoing artillery fire, drones, and helicopters.

And in Beirut, explosions lit up the night sky, followed by plumes of thick black smoke. Lebanese officials report at least 95 people were killed within a 24-hour period.

Well, meanwhile, Syria is blaming Israel for an airstrike on Damascus. The state news agency says a prominent TV host and two others were killed. Israel says, it doesn't comment on reports in the foreign media.

So, let's bring in Alon Pinkas, former Israeli consul general in New York. Thank you so much for joining us.

ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL IN NEW YORK: Thank you, Rosemary. Always good to be with you.

CHURCH: So, I did want to find out what your reaction is to this news of Israel's limited ground operation and to U.S. concerns that it may not be as limited as Israel suggests?

PINKAS: Well, exactly. I mean, the U.S. concern is exactly articulated, because the question is, what is the definition of limited? Is it the employment of the forest? It -- is it the scope of the operation? Is it the duration?

Because we know how these things are planned, and we know how these things eventually transpire. And they're quite different.

If the idea, Rosemary, is to degrade Hezbollah's fighting capabilities in shooting rockets and mortars from within Lebanese villages in the Southern part of the -- the country toward Israeli towns and settlements in the North of Israel, then that's understandable from a military point of view.

But if this evolves into a larger operation that includes carving out some kind of a security zone, then we're in a completely different ballgame.

CHURCH: And let's look at that. I mean, what do you see are the risks involved in a military operation like this for both Israel and, of course, the people of Lebanon, as well?

PINKAS: Well, that's a -- that's a bit -- well, the people of Lebanon have been held -- sort of held hostage by a state within a state named Hezbollah.

And they -- you know, they're like 49ers. They like to be 49 percent. They don't want the 51, the responsibilities of governance that are associated with being 51 percent. So, they stay supposedly under 50 percent.

But effectively, Lebanon is a failed state, and Israel knows that there is no one to talk to or to negotiate with in Lebanon.

So, that raises the question which you hinted in your question and your remark, and that is what exactly does Israel want to do here?

OK, so there's a limited operation. Let's call it an incursion and not a permanent security zone presence that would be established. Let's assume that's the case. You go in, and you really go out. Because a ground operation, Rosemary, does not eliminate and does not really address the issue of Hezbollah's long-range missiles. They still have a formidable capability of launching those.

Now, yes, Hezbollah's top echelon layer of -- top layer, I'm sorry -- of military command has been eliminated, including Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah the other day and 15 to 20 other top officials.

That doesn't mean that they do not have a chain of command. That doesn't mean that they do not possess a major arsenal of long-range missiles.

So, such an operation has to be aligned with some kind of a political goal. I think that Israel expects some kind of foreign intervention -- American, not military. Diplomatic. American, possibly French. Maybe under the auspices of the U.N.

Otherwise, if that doesn't happen, then we are looking at a long long- term semi-occupation of Southern Lebanon. And you know what? We've been in that movie. We've been in that scenario before. It never ends well, never.

[00:40:05]

CHURCH: Right. And of course, the situation right now is Israel is fighting on two major war fronts: in Gaza and in Lebanon. And Iran is vowing, as you mentioned, to retaliate for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and for the continuing airstrikes on Lebanon.

How concerned are you and others in Israel that this could widen to an all-out war across the region?

PINKAS: Well, you know, the concern is there, because escalation tends to spiral out of control. However, let me provide you with a sort of a heretic point of view here.

The Iranians have been restrained until now, Iran has not retaliated for the Israeli assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran a few weeks ago. They vowed to, yes. They pledged, yes.

But I think that Iran is undergoing -- I have no pretense, Rosemary, of -- of knowing what the Iranians are thinking or what their strategic planning process at this moment is.

But I do see signs, I do see clear indications that they are undergoing, you know, a recalibration of policy.

Remember: Iran does not fight for its proxies. Its proxies usually fight for it. And the proxy has been degraded militarily significantly. And Iran is now doing a new calculus or is trying to figure out a new calculus of how to do -- how to do this in a way that would not drag Iran into a Middle East war, because I think the Iranians don't want that.

CHURCH: Alon Pinkas, joining us from New York. Many thanks. Appreciate it.

PINKAS: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Israel says Hezbollah rocket attacks have forced about 60,000 people from their homes in Northern Israel, while in Lebanon, the government reports about 20 percent of the population, or a million people, have been displaced.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (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 in 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.

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

"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 airstrikes, 8-year-old Patul (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."

Patul (ph) 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 fears so deep. Ten- year-old Fontanay (ph) 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 five 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's been emptied out," Omana (ph) says. "There's no one left."

In the heart of the capital, in Martyrs Square, a remnant 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.

Emphose (ph) fled barefoot. "It was real hard," 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.

[00:45:06]

Emphose (ph) escaped Syria. Her home there is gone.

"Wherever we go," she says, "death follows us."

It's all just too much.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And you are watching CNN NEWSROOM. Just ahead, Major League Baseball bids farewell to its all-time hits leader. The life and troubled times of Pete Rose.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: We are keeping a very close eye on the situation in Southern Lebanon, where the Israeli military has launched a ground operation.

[00:50:08]

It says the mission will be targeted and limited and will focus on Hezbollah threats to nearby Israeli settlements.

Explosions and artillery fire have been ringing out. Israeli officials did not indicate how deep troops would venture into Lebanon, or how long the operation might last but did say there will be, quote, no long-term operation -- occupation, I should say, of Lebanon.

All right. Want to turn to Beijing now, where China is celebrating 75 years of communist rule.

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CHURCH: A weeklong national holiday is underway, full of festivities, but looming large are lingering concerns about the economy.

Newly announced stimulus measures have given the Chinese stock market a boost, but the real-estate industry is still in trouble.

Also, President Xi Jinping has been repeating calls for China and democratically ruled Taiwan to, quote, "reunite."

We will have a live report from Beijing on that issue next hour.

Well, lawmakers in Japan are set to formally vote in a new -- vote in a new prime minister next hour. Shigeru Ishiba is a former defense minister and longtime member of Parliament. He was voted to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party last week after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida decided to step down.

Ishiba will have a lot on his plate on day one, unveiling a new cabinet and getting his party ready for snap elections later this month.

Baseball's all-time hit leader, Pete Rose, has died at the age of 83. His achievements on the diamond would have earned him a plaque in the Hall of Fame, but his behavior off the field got him a lifetime ban from the sport instead.

CNN's Andy Scholes looks back.

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ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the field, Pete Rose did everything all out. His famous head first slides excited fans, earning him the nickname "Charlie Hustle."

PETE ROSE, FORMER MLB PLAYER: I played the way you're supposed to play. That's all I did. I played the game the way you're supposed to play the game.

SCHOLES (voice-over): During his 24 seasons in the majors, Rose collected three batting titles, was a 17-time all-star at five different positions, won the Most Valuable Player award and three World Series rings.

But his most memorable achievement came in 1985 when he broke Ty Cobbs' all-time hits record. It's a record that still stands today.

Rose retired in 1986 but remained manager of the Reds for three years. But in 1989, his storied career took a dramatic and shocking turn, one that tarnished his baseball reputation forever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The odds finally caught up with Pete Rose, and judgment day arrived this morning. After six months of denials by him, delving by baseball, and delays through the courts, Pete Rose was banished from the game for life.

ROSE: My whole life has been baseball; helping baseball. And I know I messed up in baseball, but I got suspended from baseball, not for betting on baseball. I got suspended on baseball for hanging around with undesirables. Undesirables are bookmakers.

Because in Cincinnati, when you wake up, you can't go make a bet unless you make an illegal bet. That was my problem.

SCHOLES (voice-over): Rose received a permanent ban from baseball after it was determined that he not only gambled on games while he played for and managed the Reds but that he bet on his own team.

ROSE: I'm not going to sit here and whine about the mistakes I made, because I'm the one that was wrong. I'm the one that's paying a price.

The most truthful thing I could ever say is I'm sorry I bet on baseball.

SCHOLES (voice-over): In 1990, Rose also served five months in prison after pleading guilty to two charges of filing false income tax returns.

ROSE: In this country, if you're penalized, you do something and you do your sentence, go on with your life.

SCHOLES (voice-over): Though Rose's play on the field would have put him in the Baseball Hall of Fame decades ago, his off-field issues prevented that from happening.

And having the game he loved taken from him was something Rose struggled with for the remainder of his life.

ROSE: I can't answer why I've never been given a second chance. I don't know. But I'm ever given a second chance, I won't need a third. I'll be the happiest guy in the world.

And I believe baseball is a better sport if I'm in it I believe that.

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CHURCH: Major League Baseball posted on social media: "Deepest condolences to Pete Rose's family, his friends across the game, and the fans of his hometown of Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Montreal, and beyond, who admired his greatness, grit, and determination on the field of play. May he rest in peace."

One of the best defensive players in NBA history has died. The league says Dikembe Mutombo succumbed to brain cancer on Monday at the age of 58.

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He led the league in blocked shots for five consecutive seasons. The eight-time all-star was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.

The seven-foot-two-inch center was known for his deep, booming voice and his signature finger wag.

Mutombo was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and devoted his time to humanitarian work in his home country.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama posted on social media, "Dikembe Mutombo was an incredible basketball player, but he also inspired a generation of young people across Africa. And his work as the NBA's first global ambassador changed the way athletes think about their impact off the court."

I want to thank you so much for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more news right after this break.

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