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CNN International: Israel Says Eight Israeli Soldiers Have Been Killed In Lebanon; Biden, G7 Leaders Holding Call On Middle East Crisis Today; Iran's Missile Attack On Israel Fuels Fears Of Broader War. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired October 02, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JESSICA DEAN, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello, and welcome to our viewers from around the world. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.
Ahead on CNN Newsroom, an unprecedented attack. Israel vows retaliation following Iran's largest ever attack on Israel, as fears of an all-out war reached new heights. We're live in Tel Aviv with the latest there. Plus, J.D. Vance and Tim Walz keep it civil on the debate stage. But, will the last expected matchup between the campaigns change any minds between Election Day? We're going to discuss with our panel. And viewing the damage, President Biden will get a firsthand look at Hurricane Helene's wrath, as he visits the hardest hit areas today.
And we begin with fears that the Middle East could be edging ever closer to a full-blown regional war. Israel is planning its response to an unprecedented missile attack by Iran, even as it intensifies a ground war in Lebanon. Israel's army saying it has clashed with Hezbollah at, quote, "close range" in southern Lebanon. And a short time ago, the IDF announced eight Israeli soldiers have been killed in combat there today. Israel adding more troops to the operation, despite calling it limited. It's also issuing more evacuation orders, urging Lebanese civilians to move dozens of kilometers north of the border.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding new security consultations today. He says Iran will, quote, "pay" for launching some 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, and what Iran says was retaliation for the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and others.
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One person was killed in Iran's attack. An Israeli military source says several missiles struck military bases, but insists there was no major damage. Iran says it's absolutely not interested in a broader war, but Israel is sure to respond, reportedly considering a number of targets in Iran, including its nuclear facilities.
Meantime, the Biden administration won't say if Iran's nuclear program is a legitimate target, but it says the United States is coordinating a response with Israel. A senior official telling CNN, the White House does not believe Israel has made any decision yet, but President Biden says the U.S. is in active discussions. He spoke out yesterday about the Iranian attack.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective, and this is testament to Israeli military capability and U.S. military. It is also a testament to intensive planning between the United States and Israel to anticipate and defend against the brazen attack we expected. Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel.
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DEAN: Let's get more now from Nic Robertson, who is in Tel Aviv, and Arlette Saenz, who is at the White House.
Nic, let's start first with you. We're getting these numbers of eight soldiers, eight IDF soldiers killed in that fighting. Tell us more.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. We know that some of them are from the Golani Brigade, which is one of the sort of elite, most battle-hardened, battle-trained units, the Egoz Unit and the Yahalom Unit as well. It's not clear precisely where this took place, although we do understand a rough location of some clashes at least along the border in the early hours of today. Hezbollah says that they have struck IDF forces in three different areas, three different villages along the border. The IDF has said that these were localized and targeted raids. In fact, the IDF releasing video of troops walking through the sort of rugged countryside, uphills, going into houses, searching houses, but this is a very deadly day.
A local hospital near that frontline at the border had declared a mass casualty event. A little earlier in the day, they had received some of the casualties. But, this number we are now hearing, the IDF saying eight soldiers killed. We also understand that many of these soldiers were captains, majors. They were of relatively senior rank, not uncommon for the IDF to have them in the frontlines, leading the fight, but a significant blow for experienced troops to be caught in this way, and a potential political blow for the Prime Minister as well. This is not what he or the IDF would have hoped for on the second day only of operations, ground operations inside of Lebanon.
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There has been so much talk about the lessons learned in 2006 of Israel's incursion during the 34-day war there of 1982, and Israel's troops on the ground inside Lebanon until the year 2000. 18 years they were there. Israel took high casualties when the troops were on the ground in Lebanon, and this is going to be a bitter reminder of that, as these troops just go across the border.
And of course, Hezbollah has been aware for the potential for this military action targeting them. This is what the IDF has been saying, targeting Hezbollah installations along the border, and the expectation along the border, as we discovered when we talked to local people yesterday, is Hezbollah would have been planning for this and preparing for it.
DEAN: All right. Nic Robertson, thank you so much for that reporting.
Let's go now to Arlette Saenz, who is at the White House. And Arlette, we know that this administration, the Biden administration, is coordinating with Israel on whatever that response might be to Iran. What more are you learning?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Jessica. Senior U.S. officials continue to be in constant contact with their Israeli counterparts, as they try to determine what the next steps and the Israelis' response to Iran will be. Now, President Biden is expected today to convene a call with the leaders of other G7 countries to specifically talk about the situation in the Middle East. That's according to a source familiar with the call. It comes at a time as the U.S. and other allies are waiting to see exactly how Israel might respond. You have heard President Biden say that they support Israel and also want to keep these lines of communications open to try to determine these next steps.
But, one question going forward is, what U.S. assistance in any type of response might look like? And you have heard publicly across the administration, from here at the White House, and at the State Department, that the U.S. does believe there will be severe consequences for Iran following this attack. Take a listen to what the National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had to say on that matter.
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JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: This is a significant escalation by Iran. We have made clear that there will be consequences, severe consequences, for this attack, and we will work with Israel to make that the case.
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SAENZ: Now, so far, a senior U.S. official tells CNN that the U.S. does not believe that Israel has made their final determination about how they will proceed. There is a hope that there will be some consultation between the U.S. and Israel before they make any final decisions going forward. President Biden has said that he does plan to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at some point. It's unclear exactly when that might come. But, one big question is, how much influence the U.S. will be able to have over this decision?
You'll remember, back in April, when Iran had launched that barrage of missiles and drones against Israel that were ultimately thwarted by the U.S. and other allies, that at that time, President Biden had essentially told Netanyahu to take a win. You only saw a very limited response from Israel in that moment. Officials acknowledged that this situation is much different. So, the administration is likely going to try to encourage the Israelis to take some type of measured response when they do, in fact, plan their response to Iran's attack. Yesterday, the State Department would not say whether they believed
Iran might target nuclear -- Israel might target nuclear facilities in Iran. They simply said they wouldn't comment on that matter. They weren't ruling anything in or ruling anything out. But, it does present a very tricky dynamic for not just Israel, but also the U.S., as they're trying to prevent this from really escalating into an all- out war in the Middle East.
DEAN: All right. Arlette Saenz at the White House, thank you so much for that.
People across Lebanon are bracing for the worst. The Prime Minister says more than a million people have been displaced after the Israeli attack.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is on the ground and has a look.
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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is just one of the latest buildings struck by Israel here in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Driving in here, we saw that this part of town is a ghost town. There are very few inhabitants still left here, as more than a million people have fled their homes in southern Lebanon, the Beqaa Valley and of course here in the southern part of Beirut, as Israel continues its air and now ground campaigns inside Lebanon. News from Israel says that the Israeli military is deploying an additional division to the Northern Front, indicating that what started as quote, unquote, "localized, targeted and limited raids inside Lebanon" may well become a full-scale invasion.
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This as the region, the Middle East, teeters on the abyss of full- scale war, after Iran's strikes on Israel overnight, Iran, of course, bracing for some sort of Israeli counterattack, while here in Lebanon, the death toll continues to rise. At this point, the death toll has exceeded the death toll from the war back in 2006.
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DEAN: All right. Ben Wedeman for us there in Lebanon. Thanks so much.
And let's get some perspective now from Miri Eisin. She is a Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism at Reichman University in Israel. She is also a colonel in the reserves with the IDF. Miri, thanks so much for being here with us. We appreciate it.
MIRI EISIN, SR. FELLOW, INTL. INSTITUTE OF COUNTER-TERRORISM AT REICHMAN UNIV.: Thank you for inviting me.
DEAN: I just first want to zoom out for a second and get your thoughts as someone who studies this and is well versed in all of this on where things stand today and where we might be headed. EISIN: At the moment, when I look at the big picture, I'm seeing the
Islamic regime of Iran having the rhetoric of saying that they're attacking, but for the first time in a very long time, they are in defense. And from my perspective, that's a good thing, not for Israel, but for the world. The Islamic regime of Iran not just overtly attacking Israel in the way that they did yesterday, but they are the ones that support, that give the ideology, that are the ones that give the training, and especially the ones that give all of the weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon, to the different Shiite proxies, both in Syria and Iraq, and to the Houthis in Yemen.
And from that perspective, the action that Iran took yesterday, it's not just bluster. I was in the safe room yesterday. That was a hectic time here inside Israel, but what they're doing right now is they're trying to show that they're still in the game. I am happy. I have to say this. When Iran feels that they need to be in defense, they cannot be the safe haven and the ideology for these terror entities and themselves calling for the annihilation of the State of Israel.
DEAN: It's -- yeah. And kind of piggybacking off of your thoughts about them being on their back foot, being on the defense right now, I spoke with the former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett over the weekend, and he was really making the case to the people of Lebanon, to the people of Iran to kind of stand up and essentially, in his words, take their government back. Take their country back. It was interesting messaging to hear from him. Do you think that we're going to continue to see Israel kind of pushing, or Israeli government trying to push something like that to really try to knock down this Iranian regime?
EISIN: So, I will say it in two different ways. One, Prime Minister Netanyahu chose yesterday, before all of these events, to address the Iranian people. After the events, he directly threatened the Iranian regime. But, I'm saying that he too, the Prime Minister in Israel right now, addressed the Iranian people. I'm very wary, both as a commentator, as a colonel, as an Israeli, about foreigners intervening in any kind of other country. I really do think that the Iranian/Persian people deserve a different regime than the Islamic regime of Iran, and that I say as somebody who looks in at the regime and what it does to people, to women, to everything.
Having said that, I don't know that we're the ones that have to make that change. And I don't know that the Islamic regime in that sense. I mean, they hear these voices. They're a harsh dictatorship, and it's very tricky. The only time that Israel directly intervened and tried to do that kind of regime change that we call it was what Ben Wedeman from before would remember very personally, 1982 when Israel entered into Lebanon, and at that time, part of that campaign was also with an element of regime change. That didn't end very well.
And I really do hope that we wouldn't take steps like that. I'd love to see the Iranian people take those steps, but that's up to them.
DEAN: And so, now we look to Israel again to see what this retaliation may look like. We know that they're coordinating with the U.S. government. What do you think is, I know you don't have a crystal ball, but just knowing what you know, what do you think it could look like and what's at stake here?
EISIN: I think there are two main possibilities, because I do think that Israel will respond. One is that you do something open and overt. That's something similar to what Israel did earlier this week against the port in Yemen. The Houthis in Yemen have been firing against Israel. Israel attacked the main port that they have as their stronghold. You can do something similar in Iran. You could do it on the Persian Gulf, on different types of what you would call both economic income for that Islamic regime, oil rigs or ports. That would be overt and open.
You can also do something that I heard before being mentioned, which is you go to sites where the Islamic regime, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, they're going to know that you attacked, you attack, but you do it covertly, and then in its own way, they know you did it, but they don't have to talk about it. You know you did it. You don't have to talk about it. That's a different way of addressing it. Hard for me to say right now which path it would go.
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As I said, I do think that we will respond just in the sense that I live in the Middle East, and the Islamic regime of Iran is hiding behind its proxies, and it's building on the idea that the world is now going to stop everybody from attacking Iran. They can't continue to get away with this. They can't continue to be the safe haven and the ideology for these terror entities around the world.
DEAN: And I know you also specialize in intelligence and military intelligence, and I do want to ask you, before we go, just about the intelligence that was needed to carry out these various Israeli operations over the last couple of weeks, going all the way back to the pagers and the walkie-talkies to where we are now, is pretty extraordinary. What does that sort of -- the fact that the Israelis have this intelligence, have been able to infiltrate these various groups, what does that tell you, and what might it mean going forward?
EISIN: So, two things. One, it does not erase the colossal failure of October 7th of those exact same intelligence communities. What it does show, to a certain degree, is where we were looking, and I put myself into that as well, Hezbollah, the Islamic regime of Iran, the Al-Quds Force, that northern arena, what we're in right now, both in the grounds campaign, in that air superiority, that's where Israel was focused, the IDF, and all the security arena, the intelligence community pretty much in the last two decades, from the 2006 war, even before and after. And it goes to show that when you're focused, when you look at an arena, when you understand the players, you can both infiltrate and impact in a very effective way.
I'm very proud of the things that were done, but I don't want to be like in that hubris. I'm very wary of us taking it too far. Hezbollah still has a lot of capabilities. They built themselves for the long term. They were fighting in Syria for many years. They are hardened terror militants. So, yes, we've done a lot. We've shown a lot of capabilities. And at the end of the day, it doesn't mean that we've erased Hezbollah, certainly not their ideology, and you still have behind them that Islamic regime of Iran, the supporter, the backer of the ideology.
DEAN: All right. Miri Eisin coming to us from Tel Aviv, thanks again for your time. We appreciate it.
EISIN: Thank you so much.
DAN: We have more to come on this fast-moving story, including details on Israel's vow to retaliate in the aftermath of Iran's missile attack. Plus, J.D. Vance and Tim Walz facing off on the Vice Presidential debate stage. Were there fireworks, or did Midwestern nice over the night?
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DEAN: Less than five weeks before the U.S. election, the Vice Presidential candidates squaring off Tuesday in a debate you could maybe describe as old school. It was mostly policy-focused and pretty civil. The showdown between Tim Walz and J.D. Vance began with a handshake and a question about whether they'd support a preemptive Israeli strike on Iran, as the threat of a wider war in the region looms.
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GOVERNOR TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Iran -- or Israel's ability to be able to defend itself is absolutely fundamental, getting its hostages back, fundamental, and ending the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), 2024 VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is up to Israel what they think they need to do to keep their country safe, and we should support our allies wherever they are when they're fighting the bad guys. I think that's the right approach to take with the Israel question.
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DEAN: The candidates sparred over the economy, reproductive rights and January 6, but most of their attacks were directed at the top of the ticket.
Let's turn to our panel now. CNN Political Commentator and Republican Strategist, Shermichael Singleton, and Democratic Strategist Antjuan Seawright. Great to have both of you here.
Shermichael, I just want to start first with you broadly. I was struck watching it last night, the amount of times they would agree with each other. They were cordial with one another. It was kind of a throwback. You hate to say it, but it's true.
SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, & REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I mean, Jessica, it was one of the best debates I've seen in a long time. And I was texting with a number of people, even folks who do not like J.D. Vance because of the politics, not necessarily him as a person, and they even said, God, it would be great if those two were the top of the ticket. I mean, I think the American people appreciated that great exchange of ideas that we saw last night, and maybe you disagreed with some of the points from Governor Walz, maybe you disagreed with some of the points from Senator Vance, but you heard articulate positions from two men who clearly prepared for this moment.
Now, I personally believe Senator Vance was the superior debater, but just, I got to be honest, I did not expect Governor Walz to do well at all, because this is a new stage for him, and I actually think he did OK.
DEAN: Yeah. And Antjuan, we have polling, that snap poll that we did, of who won the debate, and when you look at the numbers, again, it's pretty, very evenly split there. We asked people the question, is this going to change your vote? Is this persuading you? A very, very small number of people said that it really swayed them one way or another, one percent saying they changed their mind. It is interesting that both of them, by all accounts, performed pretty well. What do you think?
ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I think that's the goal of a Vice Presidential debate, is to not make a mistake that will come back to haunt the top of the ticket, or even the entire ticket. And I thought that Tim Walz did a great job of executing that. But, if you look at some of the other CNN numbers that I think are critically important, he went from four percent -- or eight percent to plus 24 percent favorability amongst Republicans. If you look at those who -- he increased his overall net favorability by four points. I think this actually moved the needle for Governor Walz, because both of them were introducing themselves in a new way to the American people. And so, in that case, everything matters.
And the fact of the matter is, when you -- I agree on the personality standpoint. I think they did a great job of reminding folks that personality and policy can go hand in hand. But, if you look at just the policy aspects of the debate, hands down, Governor Walz was most prepared, and he answered the question with truth, whereas J.D. Vance showed up to add more and more pages to the catalog of lies and misinformation that we've seen come from the top of the ticket.
And Shermichael --
SINGLETON: Jessica, I want to --
DEAN: -- I just -- go ahead.
SINGLETON: -- if I could rebut here --
DEAN: Yeah. Go ahead.
SINGLETON: -- just a little bit of a disagreement. I take Antjuan's point about Governor Walz increasing his net favorability in that poll. J.D. Vance needed to decrease his net negatives, and he accomplished that as well. I walked away from that debate thinking, OK, I like Governor Walz. He seems to be a fine gentleman. That doesn't mean I'm going to vote for Governor Walz, and I think that's going to be the perspective for a considerable number of Americans.
I also take Antjuan's point about him disagreeing with some of the answers that the Senator gave to some of the problems and how he and the former President would tackle them. But, overall, I think how robust J.D. Vance was and his nuance of understanding what it would take to address issues such as the economy and affordability. He talked about trade and how trade has overall been a net negative for working class people. We can go all the way back to the 90s with NAFTA, many economists now agree with that. So, in terms of the actual substance, I think that the Senator had a slight edge over the governor.
SEAWRIGHT: Shermichael, I would just point to prime examples of whether or not Donald Trump won the election. We all know that Donald Trump lost the election. J.D. Vance could not muster enough courage, or did not have the steel spine to say he lost the election. When it came to -- comes to things like the Affordable Care Act, we know Donald Trump and Republicans ran extensive campaigns on repeal and replace.
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Thank God for the late John McCain, his famous heroic act of putting the thumb down to vote against the measures to kill the Affordable Care Act. These are basic, fundamental things that I think most Americans expect their leaders, Democrats or Republicans, to just come with the truth on, and then he never answered the question about the Haitian migrants eating cats and dogs that he initiated the rumor -- kept the rumor going, started by his run to make Donald Trump just basic things.
I agree. We can have disagreements on the policy, but there is some things, as Americans, forget about Democrat versus Republican for a second, that we should just be fundamentally sound on one band, one sound.
DEAN: Let me play a clip of that moment about January 6, and then let's talk about it. Let's watch that clip.
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WALZ: I would just ask that. Did he lose the 2020 election?
VANCE: Tim, I'm focused on the future. Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 COVID situation? Had she tried --
WALZ: That is a damning non answer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Shermichael, Republicans, not all, but some Republicans, J.D. Vance, in that case, certainly the former President just will not accept that the 2020 election, they won't -- it's very hard for them to say it was fairly won by Joe Biden. What did you make of that particular moment? SINGLETON: Yeah. Look, I take Antjuan's point in that regard as well.
I think most people. I know a whole lot of Republicans who will say we lost the damn election in 2020. It is what it is, Jessica. If I were advising the Senator, knowing how the former President feels about that, although, as of late, he has acknowledged that he was beaten by President Biden, and he has even acknowledged that if he were to lose, he wouldn't run again. We'll see if that happens or not. But, if I were advising him and preparing him for the debate, I would have answered that question, or prepared him to answer the question by saying a part of the reason we are running is because we do not want a continuation of the Biden-Harris policies, and then I would have pivoted and moved on. I think that's probably the best way you can answer that question without angering Donald Trump, if that's something you're trying to avoid, if you're advanced.
But, I think you got to be honest in this particular case. I think most people accept, look, we lost the election. Time to move on and focus on the future. And I think there is a way he could have answered that effectively.
DEAN: Right.
SEAWRIGHT: Shermichael, the problem is Corey Lewandowski, senior advisor to the campaign, came on CNN this morning, and doubled down on not answering the basic question of whether or not Donald Trump lost the election, I think that's dangerous.
SINGLETON: Corey Lewandowski is running for President.
SEAWRIGHT: But, he is advising the President. And so, obviously they're taking cues from each other, because they're all rehearsing and repeating the same lie, the big lie, little lie, regardless, it's a lie, and it's a danger to, I think, elections as we move forward, because regardless of what the outcome will be, there will be a group of people in this country, because of the voices of Republicans in this moment, who will not accept the results unless Donald Trump is the declared winner.
And I think there are certain things Americans should agree on, Democrats and Republicans, that when we settle our differences at the ballot box, those results should be accepted.
DEAN: All right. Guys, we got to leave it here. Shermichael --
SEAWRIGHT: Antjuan, I don't disagree with you. I'm sorry, Jessica.
DEAN: No. I'll give you like 10 seconds.
SINGLETON: You know I don't disagree with you at all on that front. I think you're 100 percent correct. My only point is, in terms of tactics stylistically for a debate, I just think there was a way that J.D. Vance could have been honest without pissing off Donald Trump, if I got to be frank with my word.
DEAN: All right. All right. We're going to leave it there for Shermichael Singleton, Antjuan Seawright, my thanks to both of you. We'll see you soon. Thanks guys.
SEAWRIGHT: Thanks, Jessica.
DEAN: Just ahead, we're going to return to our coverage of the widening crisis in the Middle East, the fighting in Lebanon taking the life of several Israeli soldiers. That's according to the IDF. A closer look at the clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, that's next. Plus, Russia gaining control of a key town in Ukraine. We'll have a live report on why that is significant.
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DEAN: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.
Back now to our top story on the Middle East crisis. We have new video of U.S. Navy destroyers launching interceptors against Iranian missiles headed toward Israel Tuesday. Take a look.
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One U.S. Navy official saying the destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean successfully engaged multiple missiles fired by Iran. The Pentagon saying the destroyers fired around a dozen interceptors at the missiles during the Iranian barrage. The Israeli military says eight of its soldiers have been killed in Lebanon. Both sides saying there have been clashes in southern Lebanon between Israeli and Hezbollah units. Israeli planes continuing to carry out strikes inside Lebanon. This is the Lebanese village of Khiam. It's not far from the border with Israel, earlier Wednesday, and the IDF, which was -- which said this week it was staging a limited operation inside Lebanon, is sending more troops to join the incursion, as the Israeli Prime Minister vows Iran will be made to pay for its largest ever attack on Israel.
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Tehran says it fired around 200 ballistic missiles in a barrage that appears to have been mostly blunted by Israeli defenses with the help of the U.S. and its allies.
Let's bring in Steven Cook, a Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also the author of "The End of Ambition: America's Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East". Steven, thanks so much for joining us.
STEVEN COOK, SR. FELLOW, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: My pleasure.
DEAN: I think the question for so many people right now is, how will Israel respond to Iran and what comes after that? As you're kind of taking all of this and -- in, what do you see coming next? COOK: Well, I think the Israelis will be good to their word and
respond in a very significant way to the Iranians. The Iranians crossed three, at least, of Israel's red lines in its ballistic missile attack on Israel. It targeted population centers. It targeted Tel Aviv, and it targeted important Israeli military and intelligence infrastructure. The Israelis are likely to try to escalate in a way that forces the Iranians to back down, but that is a risky strategy. The Iranians have already said that a very significant Israeli response will result in a response in kind. And then, of course, we're seeing that regional conflict that people have been so worried about.
DEAN: And so, all -- in all of this, what is the U.S. role at this moment? We know that Israel is coordinating with the Biden administration on whatever its response is going to be. We also know that the U.S. government has, for months now, been trying to broker a diplomatic solution to what's going on before the recent escalation in the last couple of weeks. So, where do you see the U.S. role at this moment?
COOK: Well, it's clear that the Israelis have stopped listening to the United States on Gaza, or quite honestly, in Lebanon. Just last week, the Biden administration was calling for a 21-day ceasefire, but that was right before the Israelis killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The administration has vowed that it would help Israel -- help defend Israel and would take action against Iran if Israel were attacked.
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It's not a question now of the United States seeking to deescalate, but it is a discussion between Israel and the United States about what specific targets the Israelis are likely to hit in Iran. And there is a long menu of possibilities they can hit the regime leadership. They can hit energy infrastructure. They can go after missile batteries and missile launch basis. They can go after Iran's nuclear program. And you have heard from influential Israeli politicians that now is the time for Israel to go after Iran's nuclear program. So, this is an extremely dangerous moment.
DEAN: Yeah. And to your point, I think it's fair to say Israel appears to have no appetite to back down right now, for all of the reasons you kind of just laid out. Does that mean diplomacy at this moment in time is dead, essentially?
COOK: Well, there is no incentive for the Israelis to back down. They are interested in reestablishing their deterrence. And so, they're hoping that their escalation will force the Iranians to back down. They have dealt a very significant blow to Hezbollah, which is the crown jewel in Iran's Axis of Resistance. But, as we see today, that fight is hardly over. Israeli soldiers, as you mentioned, have been killed in the fighting in south Lebanon.
So, there is a long way to go. But, right now, the conflict, whether in Gaza or in Lebanon or between Israel and Iran, is none of those theaters are ripe for diplomatic resolution.
DEAN: All right. Steven Cook, thank you very much for your time and for your perspective. We appreciate it.
COOK: Thank you.
DEAN: Russia has gained control of a pivotal town in the east of Ukraine. That's according to a pro-Russian blog. Vuhledar has held out against Russian assaults for more than two years. This is a coal mining town that's important to both Ukraine and Russia, and it sits at the intersection of the eastern and southern battlefield fronts, making it a key spot when it comes to supplying the warring forces.
Joining us now with more is CNN's Clare Sebastian. Clare, what more can you tell us about this development?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. This is going to be a pretty big blow for Ukraine, Jessica, not only, as you say, because it's a strategic location that perhaps not as strategic as some other towns in the east. It is sort of where the eastern and southern fronts meet. The Russians have been concerned that it's sort of putting pressure on the roads that lead to Mariupol in the south, but the loss of it will also sort of open up that part of the defense of the Donetsk region, which we know one of Russia's key objectives is trying to take the whole of that region, which it has, it claims to have annexed, but doesn't fully occupy. So, there is that.
It's a town that's heavily fortified. Russia -- Ukraine, rather, has been defending it to the hilt for the past two years, holding off several major Russian attempts to take it. So, having gone through all of that, now to lose it is going to hurt pretty badly, even though this is a relatively small town, pre-war population of some 14,000 people.
But, I think more importantly at this stage in the war is what it reveals about the reality on the battlefield. We heard President Zelenskyy in Washington last week saying Ukraine is closer to peace than we think, trying to sell his victory plan. And meanwhile, Russia continues to take territory. It may also raise questions, of course, about the Kursk incursion, Ukraine's incursion into Russian territory, given that part of the motive for that was to try and ease the pressure on the other fronts, which certainly in the case of the Eastern Front, seems to have not worked. So, there is that altogether.
I think this comes at a very critical time for Ukraine in the war, looking ahead to the presidential election in the U.S., the prospect of what that means for new aid, now losing this territory amid efforts to restart some kind of peace process. It is a major blow. Jessica.
DEAN: All right. Clare Sebastian with the latest from London. Thank you so much for that reporting.
The death toll rises in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. And coming up, President Biden is set to tour that devastation. We're going to speak with one woman who is dealing with the storm's aftermath, when we come back.
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DEAN: The death toll from Hurricane Helene has risen to at least 180 people across six states. That's after 14 additional deaths were announced earlier today in Henderson County, North Carolina. Helene is the second deadliest hurricane now to hit the U.S. mainland in the last 50 years. In the coming hours, President Joe Biden will take an aerial tour of the intense storm damage in the Carolinas. He is also going to meet with first responders. President Biden predicting the recovery will cost in the billions of dollars, and is urging Congress to provide more funding for disaster relief.
Let's bring in Kat Carlton. She is the Executive Director of United Way of Henderson County in North Carolina, and she is going to join us from the city of Hendersonville by phone right now. Kat, thanks so much for being with us.
KAT CARLTON, EXEC. DIR. UNITED WAY OF HENDERSON COUNTY (VIA TELEPHONE): Thank you for having me.
DEAN: I know this is an absolutely -- we're looking at video of the devastation, and it is suffice to say this is truly, truly devastating to look at. Help people watching understand your current situation right now and your community's current situation.
CARLTON (VIA TELEPHONE): Yeah. Henderson County and neighboring counties throughout western North Carolina and beyond have been absolutely devastated by Hurricane Helene. I'm lucky to have service to talk to you right now. You may hear a generator in the background, a helicopter flying over. We are all doing the best with what we can. Communications and connections are cut off. Roads are destroyed, bridges are destroyed, and technology is very limited. And so, there is a lot of neighbors helping neighbors, communities helping communities.
And our county in Henderson County is doing an incredible job. They set up six distribution sites for resources, and we are working to mobilize and organize community resources to help improve lives of Henderson County residents here in Henderson County. As you mentioned, I'm Executive Director of United Way of Henderson County. I'm working closely with United Way of North Carolina, United Way of Asheville & Buncombe and others, as we all come together to support our communities.
DEAN: When I was talking to local officials over the weekend, when this was really fresh, I know they were having trouble accessing a lot of people because of the road closures, just an inability to --
CARLTON (VIA TELEPHONE): Yeah.
DEAN: -- literally get to them, and you mentioned the phones down, all that sort of thing. One of the needs they kept talking about was water, clean water for people to drink, things so basic like that. What are the biggest needs right now? Now that we've made it a little further into this week, is it the same or have things evolved? CARLTON (VIA TELEPHONE): Things have evolved, but it is largely the
same and that there are so many roads that do not have access. Two of my three potential routes into town are already got washed out. The third could be at any moment. There are people in neighborhoods that have zero access to power. Duke Energy and others are doing an incredible job, but it is a slow process. There are so many trees down. There are so many roads that are out, and people are trying to help their neighbors of who has gas to make sure the generator stays running, so the oxygen works, who has well water that can be -- a generator can be connected to, and we can all go fill up at.
And so, it's literally communities coming together with the gas, the generator, the water access that's available. Our city water has come back up, but it's boil only. And for people that don't have power, you can see the challenge in that. And so, it is getting a little better. Resources are starting to come in.
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But, we have a long road ahead.
DEAN: What can people do to help?
CARLTON (VIA TELEPHONE): There are companies that are reaching out that have access. Publix is bringing four trucks of water to us today. Richard from Clorox, he is sending some bags and bleach, different companies that have access to materials in bulk in Henderson County. We have a main distribution site we can coordinate them out of. United Way of Henderson County, we have started our Emergency Response Fund, three United Way of Henderson County. You can text UWHendo, H-E-N-D-O, the 41444, to distribute to that, and we're getting emergency funding out to the food pantries and nonprofits on the front line that are serving our community. So, funds is the fastest way to help us locally.
But, if you have access to bulk quantity supplies, and talking about water, hygiene supplies, nonperishable food, MREs that can be distributed through our resource sites. That is also incredibly helpful. Helicopters are going by regularly, doing airdrops around us. And so, we do have some highways that are coming in, and we can coordinate logistics with larger supply companies.
DEAN: Yeah. And I know the President will be doing an aerial tour. I just -- before we let you go, in terms of government response, local government, federal government, everybody in between, state government, how has that been? Are you able to effectively coordinate with everyone?
CARLTON (VIA TELEPHONE): Yeah. And it truly takes a village. In the last day or two, that has increased significantly. Again, our county and Henderson County has been doing an incredible job leading that. Well, at United Way, we're coordinating with all our local nonprofits and organizations. So, it truly takes a village, but we are starting to see it, and we really appreciate it, and we are going to continue to restock so that we can help people. Some people have not left their houses yet, may not be able to for some time, or don't have the gas to even leave yet. So, it's going to be a long road, but we are going to continue to stay here for our community.
DEAN: The beauty of community members helping each other, it is a really special thing, and I know it is really hard work. So, sending you all the best. Kat Carlton, thanks for joining us.
CARLTON (VIA TELEPHONE): Thank you.
DEAN: For more information about how you can help Hurricane Helene victims, you can go to cnn.com/impact.
Still to come, attacking Israel was a big mistake. That is the message Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sending to Iran, as fears grow over a wider war. We've got details just ahead.
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DEAN: We have new video of U.S. Navy destroyers launching interceptors against Iranian missiles headed toward Israel Tuesday. Take a look.
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One U.S. Navy official saying the destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean successfully engaged multiple missiles fired by Iran. The Pentagon says the destroyers fired around a dozen interceptors at the missiles during that Iranian barrage. Meanwhile, the Israeli military saying eight of its soldiers have been killed in Lebanon. Both Israeli and Hezbollah units say there have been clashes in southern Lebanon. And the IDF, which said this week it was staging a limited operation inside Lebanon, is sending more troops to join the incursion.
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It all comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows that Iran will be made to pay for its largest ever attack on Israel.
And joining us now is CNN Global Affairs Analyst Kimberly Dozier. Kim, great to have you here. First. I just -- I want to hear what you think about what comes next, what an Israeli counterattack could look like, and how the U.S. might factor into it.
KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, Israel, at any time has, just like the Pentagon, a number of potential targets singled out that it could strike, and I really think that this time they're going to do more than they did in response to Iran's strikes last April, hit a wider array, but still, they're going to carefully calibrate it so as not to cause major casualties. I think you're going to see possibly some of the nuclear sites that Iran has that are under construction. So, there is not inactive weapons program in there. They might hit something like that. That way, they can't be accused of hitting a nuclear facility that might spread nuclear material.
Surely, they will go after some of the sites where all of those ballistic missiles were launched in yesterday's attack, and they might go after energy infrastructure as well, because as costly as firing 180 some odd ballistic missiles from Iran at Israel would have been to Iran. Israel spent a lot of money in its various air defense systems, knocking most of those ballistic missiles out of the sky. So, they really want to send a message that this can't just be tit-for-tat. This can't just keep happening back and forth. They want Iran to think many, many times before launching another such strike. And I think they also want to damage some of the capability so that Iran needs to take a while to rebuild and reconstruct its launch facilities.
DEAN: Do you think that the U.S. government, the Biden administration, will be in alignment with Israel on that, whatever decision they make?
DOZIER: Yeah. We are hearing a very different message from Jake Sullivan, from the Biden administration in the aftermath of the Iranian strikes than we did last time. You might recall that last time when those 300 missiles, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and suicide drones struck Israel, it did very little damage. A child was injured in one of the strikes, but no one was killed. And Biden had said, take the win. This time, you heard Sullivan talk about serious ramifications, a serious response.
So, I think we're going to see Israel brief in some way the U.S. beforehand and the U.S. at least provide some sort of cover to whatever Israel decides to do. And that also helps play into the election here in the U.S., because one of the wraps that the Republicans have had against candidate Kamala Harris, the Vice President, is that she has been tough in some of her comments on Netanyahu. If the Biden administration backs whatever Israel is about to do, that stands her in better stead as well.
DEAN: And just in the next kind of 48 to 72 hours, Rosh Hashanah starts today and goes for the --
DOZIER: Yeah.
DEAN: -- next two days. What impact might that have in all of this, especially as we near to the one year anniversary of the October 7th attacks?
DOZIER: I think the response this time is going to be faster than last time, despite the high holiday in Israel. They don't generally take days off in a situation like this. So, I think as soon as Israel feels like it has briefed the U.S. and the weather conditions are favorable for whatever they are sending through the sky towards Iran, they'll execute.
DEAN: And then, what about -- and just before I let you go, because we are approaching the October 7th anniversary, where we are at this moment? Just give us a little bit of context of where we've been in the last year, and is this about where you thought we would be one year in?
DOZIER: Well, when you talk to Israeli military officials, current and former, they take some comfort in the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the impact on Hezbollah and its ability to threaten Israel in the north. But, that's not done yet. And they still haven't finished any sort of major investigations into the intelligence failure that allowed October 7th to happen. So, in terms of the military and the intelligence operatives and
operations inside Israel, people are still pretty chastened. They say that the success of what's happened in Lebanon shows you how Israel had been so focused on the north and not enough on what was happening in Gaza.
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Meanwhile, the families of the hostages are very upset that so much attention and manpower is now being focused on Lebanon, and that seems to have just knocked aside all chances of ceasefire negotiations and any release of the hostages from Gaza.
DEAN: Yeah. Yeah. Those hostages still there, and I know those families and those loved ones are just aching to get them home.
Kimberly Dozier in Washington, thank you so much. We appreciate it.
DOZIER: Thank you.
DEAN: And thank you so much for spending part of your day with me. I'm Jessica Dean in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is up next.
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