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Isa Soares Tonight
Israeli Official: Nasrallah Was Target Of Beirut Strikes; Rescue Workers Comb Through Rubble After Beirut Strike; Israeli Official Confirms That Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah Was The Target Of Massive Airstrikes In Beirut; Rescue Workers Comb Through Rubble After Beirut Strike. Aired 2- 3p ET
Aired September 27, 2024 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: Hello and welcome, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, I want to go straight to breaking news in Lebanon, in Beirut. An
Israeli official confirms that Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah was the target of massive airstrikes in Beirut just a short time ago. Lebanon state
news agency says six buildings were completely destroyed in the densely- populated southern suburbs.
Israel says it targeted Hezbollah central headquarters, which it says was built under residential buildings. The blast was so powerful, they shook
the entire city as huge plumes of thick black smoke as you can see there, rose in the skies. It is now after nightfall and rescuers are on the scene
looking, as you can see there for any survivors.
Lebanon's Health Ministry says at least two people were killed and 76 others injured. But it expects those numbers to rise. And we still don't
know whether Nasrallah is among the dead or was even in the area at the time. The strikes happened -- and the context is important here. The
strikes happened just after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the United Nations, vowing to continue fighting Hezbollah.
Gives a rather fiery speech, he's now cut short his trip and is expected to return home. Now, I want to go straight to our region, to our reporters,
we've got the very latest for you. Let me -- we have Jomana Karadsheh in Beirut, Jeremy Diamond in Haifa in Israel, and Nic Robertson is in Tel
Aviv.
Jomana, let me get to you first. Just give me -- give us a sense of the magnitude of this blast, because you and the team on the ground, give us a
sense of what they heard and what authorities are telling you, because as we just stated, this is a densely-populated area.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Isa, just after 6 O'clock local time, we were on a roof of the building where we
are, and we heard these massive consecutive explosions that shook this building and pretty much the entire Lebanese capital. And then we saw that
thick plumes of smoke coming from the southern suburbs of Beirut, Dahiyeh, as you know, one of the most densely-populated parts of the country.
And since then, of course, we have heard the reporting from Jeremy, they are being told by an Israeli official that the target of that strike was
the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah. And right now, we have not yet heard anything from Hezbollah officially, no statements yet.
We do not know if Nasrallah was indeed there, what his status is right now, all we do know from Lebanese authorities after those massive strikes that
leveled six buildings, at least according to the state news agency, is that at least two people have been killed, 76 others injured.
But if you look at those images from the scene, that huge crater there, and you know, it's after -- it's nighttime now and you have rescue workers
still on the scene. The number is likely to rise. These -- this strike as Lebanese colleagues here have pointed out, this is the biggest Israeli
strike they have seen in the Lebanese capital since the 2006 Israel- Hezbollah war.
And it has certainly put this entire country on a knife's edge right now as they wait to hear if Hassan Nasrallah was there, if Hassan Nasrallah has
been killed, if he was injured. I mean, even the fact that he was targeted in this strike alone, Isa, is a very dangerous escalation. I mean, it
doesn't even begin to describe the situation that the entire country right now awaits to hear, but you know, most certainly, this is going to change
things dramatically in this escalation. And what you know, both Israel and Hezbollah --
SOARES: Yes --
KARADSHEH: Haven't called a war yet, but as we heard from the -- from Lebanese Minister yesterday saying that his country is facing a full-
fledged war.
[14:05:00]
Well, I think things are taking -- are going to take a much more dangerous turn going forward.
SOARES: Yes, and as you're talking, we are seeing live pictures from Beirut, and yes, we showed viewers a plume of smoke, but this is -- you
know, this is images coming out to us in Beirut, four minutes past 9:00 in the evening as you were saying. Six buildings leveled, you can see there,
the workers using bare hands, trying to find any survivors.
Incredibly, really concerning picture. And Jeremy, let me bring into this conversation -- of course, we know we've heard from the IDF that Nasrallah
was the target of the strikes. IDF has been going after Hezbollah's commanders now for days. What is the IDF saying about one -- about whether
they were successful here.
And also, do you have any more information, Jeremy, about the ammunition used here, just so we understand the scope of this?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Israeli security official I spoke with said that Nasrallah was the target of this strike,
but that the Israeli military was still conducting what they describe as a battle damage assessment, which is the post-strike assessment carried out
by the IDF to determine what the casualties are and whether or not they successfully took out the target that they sought to kill, in this case,
Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah.
And I understand that, that battle damage assessment is still very much ongoing, so unclear what the fate of Hassan Nasrallah actually is. Now, in
terms of the ammunitions used, nothing official from the Israeli military, but what is clear is that the IDF said that they targeted what they
described as the central headquarters of Hezbollah underground, beneath a residential neighborhood.
And when you look at, when you consider that, you put that together with the enormous booms that were heard across Beirut, the large plume of smoke,
and now these images that we are showing our viewers of the enormous destruction on the ground, at least six buildings flattened. This all
points to the use of very heavy ammunitions by the Israeli military.
And we know that in the past in Gaza, for example, when they have sought to take out these kinds of targets that are underground, beneath existing
structures above ground, they tend to use those enormous 2,000-pound bombs. We don't know whether those were actually used in this strike.
But certainly, there are indications that they could have been used and the damage does appear to be consistent with that kind of size of ammunition.
And we know from those strikes in Gaza again that when these bombs are used, there are enormous casualties and there are also enormous civilian
casualties because when the targets are underground, the buildings above ground in which there are most likely many civilians, those are likely to
be flattened as appears to be the case here. And that death toll that we are learning, that initial death toll is very likely to rise --
SOARES: Yes --
DIAMOND: Very quickly.
SOARES: That is indeed the fear. Let me bring in Nic to the conversation. And Nic, you know, this is certainly not the de-escalation that the U.S. or
even France right, have been calling for, trying to work on this potential -- working on this 21-day ceasefire for the last few days.
And that seems to be quite honestly evaporating right in front of our very eyes. And as -- and now we are seeing initial reaction from the Iranian
Embassy in Lebanon. I'm going to read you part of what they've just put out. This is from the Iranian Embassy, "the Israeli regime once again
commits a bloody massacre, targeting heavily-populated residential neighborhoods, spewing false justification to try and cover up its brutal
crimes.
There is no doubt that this reprehensible crime and reckless behavior represents a serious escalation that changes the rules of the game, and
that its perpetrator will be punished and disciplined appropriately." And that is the fear right now, isn't it? That, this perhaps is potentially the
turning point. How do you assess this, Nic?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, I think the key word in that sentence from the Iranians is appropriately because, this is a
word that can be used to mean, we'll choose the appropriate moment and a means of our choosing, which means that won't be now or appropriate might
just mean, then we escalate.
In the way that the Iranians have been very careful and calibrated all along and Hezbollah has been careful and calibrated all along so far. It
may not mean that this speaks to an immediate escalation by Iran, of their involvement. And of course, everyone has been worried about this as the
tensions and the bombings and the strikes and the decimation of Hezbollah's leadership over the past week or so by Israel has ratcheted it up day-by-
day-by-day.
[14:10:00]
There's been the concern all the time, how will Iran respond? What will Iran do? And we heard at the UNGA, the Iranian President talking about the
need for the international community to take a position against Israel, a unified position. So, will they opt for -- to try to bolster that position
and have some kind of diplomatic response --
SOARES: The slide --
ROBERTSON: To will they turn to a military response, and the same true therefore about Hezbollah. I mean, how will they choose to respond to this?
But absolutely, the notion as you --
SOARES: Apologies to interrupt. Are we looking --
ROBERTSON: Yes --
SOARES: At some live images? I just want to have a quick look at this, it seems that rescuers around -- surround and celebrating the fact that
there's a little girl there, seems that they've been trying to rescue using bare hands, and I can see rescuers with a little girl on their arms. Let's
listen in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
SOARES: I can see a little girl there being carried by one of the rescuers, of course, is just unbelievable to see this, it is 9:10 in the
morning -- in the evening, this happened what? Two hours or so ago. Two girls we're seeing, taken out by emergency services. We'd heard from the
Health Ministry that two people were killed, 76 others injured, and we've just heard from Jeremy, that potentially, given the blast, let's look at
these images there quickly run with -- looks like a toddler to me they've just rescued, it is absolutely unbelievable to see these images.
But the fear is, really, Nic, as Jeremy was saying that while there are two people killed, 76 injured, there are still hope that they can find people
in a very densely-populated area, Nic, and apologies for interrupting.
ROBERTSON: No, not at all. I mean, the -- what we're witnessing right now, I can't see the images, but it sounds like one of those, you know, tiny
miracles, so, you look to the devastation there and the scope and scale of what the rescue workers are faced with in the dark, as less images I saw,
they're working in the dark with flashlights.
Maybe they have a bit more lighting on there now, but this looks like the tiny miracle, and I'm sure everyone in Beirut and around Lebanon will be
hoping right now, these small children that their parents, if they were with them have survived as well. You know, what we've seen over the past
week is Israel specify that it's been targeting particular Hezbollah commanders in this sort of same suburb, southern suburbs of Beirut, where
Hezbollah has a presence.
The IDF has said we're going after this person, this target here in this building, and there have been civilian casualties in this building. But
also a day or two days later, Hezbollah admits that, that commander was in that building, and that commander -- or they don't admit that he was in the
building, but they admit that he died.
They never admit to where these particular senior commanders may have -- may have fallen. They're very obscure about that. But nevertheless,
civilians are dying as the IDF tries to strike senior commanders in Beirut. And this, I think by the fact that the IDF came out on this occasion and
announced that they were targeting in this area underneath and made a point of saying that Hezbollah was hiding among the civilian population, which
they continue to say was an indication that the civilian death toll could be huge.
But there's also an indication it would appear by their own calculus is, whatever those calculus are, that this particular target was worthwhile,
the high collateral. But what we have seen by Israel's tactics particularly in Gaza and in other places, that a high collateral is something that they
are often willing to take, this though, is an escalation that you mentioned, the Iranians.
This is sure to draw an increase in escalation from Hezbollah side, even if it's limited -- or the Iranian side, this does absolutely raise the specter
of huge escalation, and of course, it's scorches any idea, anyone's belief that they could possibly be discussing --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: Of a ceasefire in the immediate aftermath of this --
SOARES: Yes, indeed, Nic, stay with us. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up-to-date with the breaking news. An Israeli official confirming
to us here on CNN that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the target of a massive airstrike in Beirut just a short time ago. The state -- Lebanese
state news agency was saying six buildings were completely destroyed in what is a densely-populated area.
[14:15:00]
We have seen emergency services, rescue workers combing through the rubble. We just played -- we saw live right here on the show, emergency services
carrying out -- finding under the rubble it seems like two little girls. I want to show you the moment of the impact, the moment of that explosion,
have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(EXPLOSIONS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: That large plumes of smoke, we know now six buildings were flattened. I want to bring in Trita Parsi, who joins us now, I think we
still have Nic as well. Trita, first to you. How do you see -- just your reaction first of all to what we've seen just in the last two hours, and
put it into context given what we heard from Netanyahu, what? Four hours or so ago.
TRITA PARSI, CO-FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, QUINCY INSTITUTE FOR RESPONSIBLE STATECRAFT: I think the key thing to keep in mind here is that
just 48 hours ago, President Biden and France's Macron put forward a 21-day cessation of hostilities plan that they hope the Israelis would sign on to,
at least, they studied it. Netanyahu very promptly rejected it, and while in the U.S., while at the U.N. building appears to have given the order for
this.
Once again, we are seeing that if the United States under Biden actually wants to put an end to this, wants to avoid an escalation, particularly
avoid a regional war that could drag the U.S. into it, which appears to be Netanyahu's plan, then asking nicely and issuing these different statements
of absolutely no consequences.
As long as Biden continues to provide the weapons and the political and diplomatic protection, we will see Netanyahu continue to escalate until he
gets the war that he has been seeking. So, it is really on the United States at this point, there is no other country that actually can put
restraint on Israel and prevent it from escalating on-and-on again and bring about a complete war of the entire region.
SOARES: And we have yet to hear comment from the United States on this. We know that both the United States, as you said, Trita, and France have been
working tirelessly in the last 48 hours to -- on this 21-day ceasefire. But there seems clearly not seeing eye-to-eye or some confusion between those
sides.
But as you were talking, we are looking at the aftermath there off the ground following this airstrike. Emergency services searching through the
rubble, which is 20 minutes or so past 9:00. The question I suppose here now, Trita, is, you know, there were -- Hezbollah, we know from the IDF
that there were -- the target was Nasrallah.
We do not know if Nasrallah was even in the building. We -- that is not clear at this stage. The question then becomes, if he is still alive, how
does it -- does it retaliate? What happens next?
PARSI: That is of course a $64 million question, but let me just say one thing first. I don't think it is correct to say that the United States and
Biden has worked tirelessly to avoid this escalation, because the United States is providing the weapons, the 2,000-pound bombs, the Intelligence,
the political protection, the money, just $9 billion allocated yesterday --
SOARES: And Trita, pardon me, that wasn't my -- sorry, let -- I should have corrected, it's -- it wasn't me saying it, it was a quote from them,
they've been working tirelessly in the last 48 hours, so, yes, you're quite right. Continue.
PARSI: Fair enough, thank you. In regards to what the next response is, if we take a look carefully at what the Iranians and Hezbollah have done, it's
very clear. I think Nic also pointed to it, very calculated and designed to avoid escalation. They're not the ones looking for a major war. That's not
to say that they are not profoundly hostile to Israel, but they're not the ones that are looking for a regional war in this situation.
The statement that the Iranians gave that you read up indicated that this changes the rules of engagement. What I worry about is that if we see what
Hezbollah has done so far and what the Iranians have done in terms of the retaliation they did in April, they specifically targeted military
installations.
In the Iranian case, they appear to have even given a heads-up to make sure that there were no soldiers there at the time. If this is an indication of
a change of rules of engagements, given that both Iran and Hezbollah have shown their capability of breaking through the Israeli air defenses.
We may now unfortunately see that the response from Hezbollah will be much more indiscriminate, in fact, on par with the indiscriminate nature of what
Israel has been doing in Lebanon and in Gaza, and so, that will lead to --
SOARES: Let me ask --
PARSI: Massive casualties on both sides.
SOARES: Let me ask you this. I've heard -- I've spoken to some analysts on the show who said this is what -- in fact, one on this hour, roughly
yesterday, Trita, he said that is potentially what Netanyahu wants to -- in order to justify boots on the ground in Lebanon.
[14:20:00]
And your thoughts on that? Do you agree with that -- with that analysis?
PARSI: That is certainly what I'm hearing from folks on the Israeli side, that they believe that this is a strategy by Netanyahu to get Hezbollah to
do something that would really rally the Israeli public behind him, because while there has been support for Israel's bombardment in Gaza because of
October 7th, it has not been the same when it comes to Hezbollah.
Mindful of the fact that Hezbollah was not behind, they did not know of October 7th. So, there seems to have been a pattern, and many in Israel are
pointing this out of Netanyahu trying to goad Israel -- sorry, Hezbollah or Iran into doing something with civilian casualties that would justify this
large award that he has been seeking.
And again, as long as the United States is not putting any restraints on Israel, then this is the path that unfortunately will be continued.
SOARES: Fears of course, that this may be a tipping point, it seems like every day, it is -- we're seeing escalation after escalation. Trita, really
appreciate you coming on the show on this breaking news. Thank you very much. And we'll continue, of course, our breaking news coverage on that
strike on Lebanon, we'll be back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: We are following breaking news out of Beirut. We have heard from Israeli officials confirming to CNN that Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah
was the target of really a massive strike in Beirut that flattened some six buildings have been completely leveled. We have seen rescue workers on the
ground in what is a very deeply-populated -- densely-populated area trying and using their bare hands to rescue anyone they could find.
We saw two -- one toddler and one child slightly older been rescued just in the last 15, 20 minutes of course. The critical question at this point is,
was Nasrallah -- yes, he was a target, but was he even there? Was the IDF successful in this? The other question that's being asked at this time is
the casualty, the toll, the human toll, given the scale of this blast.
I want to bring in Yezid Sayigh; he's a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. Yezid, just give us a sense here in Beirut of
what -- whether you felt it, you heard it of anyone else -- anyone else you know, was anywhere close to it.
[14:25:00]
YEZID SAYIGH, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE MIDDLE EAST CENTER: Well, I don't yet know of anyone who was particularly close to it. I was in a part of
Beirut that's relatively peaceful. I definitely heard the bombings, I heard what I immediately calculated was about ten explosions, maximum, 12 within
three or four seconds. So, it was clear that they were timed to land and impact altogether in order to cause the massive, you know, sort of
percussion impacts underground.
Of course, at that point, I couldn't work out exactly what it was. It didn't sound like normal bombs to me, and I couldn't see smoke from where I
was in Beirut and I couldn't hear aircraft, but that's the nature of the acoustics in an urban environment. Yes, so, I didn't feel the actual tremor
of it, and that might again be because of particular nature of these ammunitions that were used.
SOARES: And for those viewers and those of us who may not know this area, I remember our correspondent Jomana in Beirut saying this is a densely-
populated area we've heard in the last -- we've heard in the last hour or so, that two people were killed, 76 others injured.
But do you expect the death toll to increase substantially, given of course, not only the magnitude of the impact, but also how densely-
populated it was?
SAYIGH: Oh, I think that is extremely likely.
SOARES: Yes --
SAYIGH: I doubt anyone has a -- you know, good idea of how many people were still living in those buildings at that time, and looks from the
photographs as if these were more or less imploded, you know, brought down so extensively that people -- the rescue workers, they're going to have to
sift through, you know, sort of piles of rubble, reduced almost to dust in order to find people.
So, yes, the toll will rise and of course, we're going to find out at some point how far down into the earth these ammunitions exploded and impacted,
and just what there was further down and is there.
SOARES: You know, I will get to the politics of it, but you're in Beirut, just speak to the moods in the country because you know, for so -- for so
long in the last few months, we've been talking about the tit-for-tat by -- close to the border between Hezbollah and Israel. Now, it's in the capital.
What are people -- I mean, how are they feeling?
We've seen large groups of people, an exodus of people leaving in parts of -- leaving their homes with their loved ones. What is the fear right now?
SAYIGH: Well, there's clearly a very widespread sense of fear among, you know, civilians, families. I've heard of people, families living say, in
southern towns whose kids were at university in Beirut and who wanted the kids to join them, even though joining them might be actually not the
sensible thing, but this overwhelming feeling of needing all to be together at this time, or people coming to Beirut to pick up their kids. I mean,
that's one example.
SOARES: Yes --
SAYIGH: There's a lot of different conflicting feelings. There's clearly a lot of solidarity. I mean, there are Shia families, to put it bluntly from
southern suburbs of Beirut and from the south of the country, who have been hosted in homes and schools right in sort of the very northern Christian
towns and people going to help them out, help women with, you know, sanitary pads and things.
SOARES: Yes --
SAYIGH: I mean, there's a surge of that kind of feeling, is also clearly I think, sense of bewilderment and anger among some of the Shia displaced
persons towards basically Hezbollah, and also --
SOARES: Yes --
SAYIGH: I think there's the potential for some kind of sectarian backlash here and there among various communities.
SOARES: That's interesting. Let's bring us to the politics of this, because I think that's really interesting. Of course, as you've heard, the
IDF basically saying that Nasrallah was the target. We do not know if Nasrallah was hit. We do not know if Nasrallah was there at this stage. How
-- if he was, we, you know, we keep hearing that, you know, Hezbollah is a bit like a hydra, you take one hand, another one grows, but he was -- he is
the leader of Hezbollah. What would it mean you think, Yezid, if he is targeted, if this assassination and if this is -- this is for Nasrallah?
SAYIGH: Well, first off, I say that I think the Israelis appear to have calculated that whether they actually kill Nasrallah or not, they wanted to
do something that was, you know, very brazen, very daring, very dramatic. And to say, we're willing to go to the full length of chasing Nasrallah
down wherever he is.
Anyone, if we don't get him this time, you can expect more of this kind of thing. I think there was a deliberate attempt to do something this
dramatic, you know, on this stage whether or not they actually got Nasrallah.
[14:30:00]
And I think this is part of a sort of dual strategy which is part military. In other words, actually destroying capabilities and killing commanders and
so on, but is partly also psychological. There there's a clear dual strategy here.
The other thing about the politics is that this -- you know, Hezbollah has taken a big beating and they've lost a lot of their senior commanders --
military commanders in particular, not so much their political commanders. And it's very noticeable that Iran has not stepped in in any way to defend
their ally or their proxy. And I think that's sending a message to Hezbollah supporters and to Shia population and others in Lebanon.
I've heard that there's anger towards Iran for not actually helping them out. And so, I think there are going to be costs for Iran as well as for
Hezbollah in which will start to build up over time. But Hezbollah may well double down because it can't afford either to stop shooting back --
SOARES: Yes.
SAYIGH: -- or to accept (AUDIO GAP). And so we're sort of stuck in a position where the Israelis are in a sweet spot where as long as they sort
of the world says well this is not a full-scale war, then Israel can do almost anything else as long as it appears to be targeting Hezbollah
commanders and leaders and missile depots. And in a way, you know, everything's okay as long as they stay within those limits even though what
we're seeing is over I think by pretty much every other standard.
SOARES: Yes. I like that you broke that down into the military and the psychological aspect and the political. What the previous guest I was
speaking to was talking about the strategy from -- this is his analysis by the way -- the strategy from the Israeli's side is that perhaps they are
goading Hezbollah to retaliate and to retaliate heavier, heavier handedly in order to get boots on the ground into Lebanon.
Is that your sense? How do you -- speak to that aspect of it. How does -- how does Hezbollah retaliate here? It has been weakened. We've seen that.
You touched on that. But how does it -- how does it go about retaliating?
SAYIGH: I think it all boils down to the scenario we've seen from last October and all the way through which is Hezbollah for its various
political calculations and reasons, its solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, and all this feels that it has be seen to be fighting Israel. At the
same time it doesn't want to go full out, full on -- you know, sort of bringing out its most capable weapons, precision-guided missiles and
whatever else it may still have.
And I think that that fundamentally hasn't changed. But Hezbollah is caught between the risk that were to bring out its heaviest guns once they're out
and they're used. Then if that's not enough then they've run out of options and they're going to look weak. But on the other hand, if they don't defend
themselves far more vigorously and Iran doesn't defend them, then Hezbollah also suffers the perception among many people that this highly potent
professional and capable non-state actor is not in fact that capable anymore and is not that professional.
And so again, it's being put in a position where it has pretty much no winning strategy here.
SOARES: Yes.
SAYIGH: And one day we'll look back and (AUDIO GAP). You know, Hezbollah never wanted to be in this position. And basically, Hamas' attack on the
7th of October is what set these whole events in motion for Hezbollah.
SOARES: Yes, indeed. Incredibly dangerous moment. Yezid, I really appreciate your analysis and expertise. Thank you very much.
We are going to continue on this breaking news. We'll be back after a very short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:37:09]
SOARES: If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date. The breaking news that we have been following in Lebanon and a major Israeli
air strike in Beirut. Have a look at this. That's about three and a bit hours ago. The Israeli military says it targeted Hezbollah's central
headquarters and more specifically Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. An Israeli military official says the IDF is still working to verify whether
Nasrallah was killed.
The strikes flattened several buildings. We've been told six buildings in fact. And sent large plumes of smoke as you can see there into the skies
above the southern suburbs of the capital. A U.S. official says the United States did not play a role in the operation and that Israel only notified
the U.S. after the operation was already underway and Israel had planes in the air.
Meantime, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now returning to Israel a day early from New York where he spoke at the U.N. General
Assembly and had this message for Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER, ISRAEL: I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran. If you strike us, we will strike you. There is no place
-- there is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach. And that's true of the entire Middle East.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And about an hour and a bit after that, that's when we saw their explosion. Ben Wedeman is with us. And Ben, as you join us, we were just
replaying some of the video we saw in the last 20 minutes or so of rescuers really going through the rubble, rescuing the tiny little toddler, two
little girls just in the last 20 minutes.
You're outside the American University Hospital. Give us a sense of what you are hearing given the scale of these strikes.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We're actually outside the Rafik Hariri Hospital in Beirut. But the strikes massive, the
biggest Beirut has seen since the 2006 war. Now, we just -- we've got preliminary numbers from the Ministry of Health who say two dead, 76
wounded. But apparent -- there were six buildings that were apparently completely flattened.
And this is in an area of Beirut that I've been to many times. It is extremely crowded. There are people everywhere. Many of them Syrian migrant
workers or Palestinian refugees who have nowhere to go. That area is crammed with people. So, this is a very preliminary number of dead and
injured.
We're at this hospital where we've seen some injured arrive. I spoke to a doctor. He couldn't give me numbers but he said they're minimal so far.
What we have been seeing is that people have been coming to donate blood steadily throughout the evening.
Now, obviously this comes -- just as you said, the strike came just an hour after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave his speech in the U.N.
It was notable that not once did he mention the word ceasefire. Neither relating to Gaza, nor to Lebanon. And certainly, this represents a major
escalation going back many years.
I've heard Hassan Nasrallah give many speeches in which he said that strikes on Beirut are a red line. Now, we've had at this point according to
seven strikes on Beirut since January, five since last Friday, but this is by far the largest. And we can safely assume that Hezbollah is going to
strike back and strike back hard.
Now, we're waiting for some sort of confirmation from Hezbollah regarding the status of Hassan Nasrallah, whether he was there or not. But certainly,
this raises tensions dramatically.
Just one last thing. The Iranian Embassy here in Beirut has put out a statement saying that this strike, in its words, changes the rules of the
game and it is vowing revenge. So, this is clearly an escalation that is going to make the already very difficult situation even worse. Isa?
[14:41:35]
SOARES: Indeed. Indeed. And I appreciate it. Thank you very much. We'll come back to you as soon as there are any more developments. Let's get some
analysis really on the day's developments. The last few days in fact I think is important.
I want to bring in former State Department and Middle East negotiator Aaron David Miller. Aaron, good to see you. Just give us a sense of what you're
seeing. You know, as you join us here, we're looking at rescue workers combing through this rubble. Many are using bare hands. We saw two little
girls, children being rescued in the last 20 or so minutes. But this is a huge blast, six buildings flattened. How do you interpret uh the intentions
and the consequences here, Aaron, more importantly as well?
AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER MIDDLE EAST NEGOTIATOR, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: Well, the intentions I think are clear perhaps than the implications of
this. I think over the last several months, the IDF has been pressing Prime Minister Netanyahu on their assessment that the northern front is really
the key strategic problem for Israel, not Hamas. The Prime Minister said today in his speech, he all but said that Hamas has been totally defeated.
I think the Israelis are really not -- no longer fighting a two-front war. I think they reasoned that the largescale ground operations in Gaza have
come to an end. They're now refocused on Lebanon.
And two additional calculations I think informed their view. Number one, I think they persuaded themselves that no amount of diplomacy is going to get
Nasrallah's attention. The Americans are not going to be able despite the best of intentions, no matter how talented the American negotiator is, that
there is insufficient urgency on the part of Hezbollah without a ceasefire in Gaza.
So, they have made a calculation I think to focus now almost entirely on Lebanon. And the final piece of it is in the -- in the wake of October 7 --
and this has been supported across the board in Israel. Benny Gantz, Yair Golan who now heads the new Democratic party which is essentially what
remains of the Israeli left and center left has also talked about a grand operation.
So, Netanyahu's numbers are rising. He clearly believes that preempting and striking his Hezbollah, striking their comms, striking their intelligence
network, striking their leaders. Now, is this a tipping point? Yes, it's a tipping point. Whether Nasrallah is killed or not -- and Yezid Sayigh, a
colleague of mine in Cairo told you, I think his analysis is absolutely right --
SOARES: Yes.
MILLER: That this is psych -- this is a psychological blow. It's psyops as well. If Nasrallah is -- was not killed, then he must have persuaded
himself that the Israelis are capable of tracking exactly where he is and it's only a matter of time. So, I guess the question is what is Hezbollah's
response? And I think they're really caught --
SOARES: Yes. And what would it be?
MILLER: They're caught in a bind. They use their precision-guided missiles. They could launch 3,000 missiles a day. In the summer of '06 they launched
3,000 in 34 days. So, they could devastate Israeli population centers, infrastructure projects, diesel facilities, electrical grids.
But then you're talking about a massive Israeli retaliation and Hezbollah must take into account the constraints of the Lebanese public. 30 percent
may well support Hezbollah, but -- and after that, maybe -- after this strike maybe more. But can Hezbollah afford a massive retaliation that is
going to kill thousands of Lebanese and destroy what's left of a -- of a -- of an already failing economy? It's a real bind for them and Iran is
providing no help it seems to me as yet to relieve them of this dilemma.
[14:45:15]
SOARES: Yes. So far we've heard rhetoric, but as we head along, I guess there's lots of anger as well with some many -- some in the country
thinking that Iran should have done more. This is from one of our guests in Beirut. Aaron David Miller, I appreciate it as always. Thank you, Aaron.
We're going to stay across this breaking news story. We'll back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: We've been following breaking news out of Beirut this hour. I want to bring in our Kylie Atwood who is in D.C. to try and get some reaction.
And Kylie, I wonder what the reaction has been from the United States. I saw in the last 20 minutes or so that Israel notified the U.S. only moments
ahead of Beirut strike. What more are you hearing?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. So, what we've learned from U.S. officials is that there wasn't a very advanced
heads up that they got from Israel that they're going to go ahead with this precision strike against the Hezbollah headquarters targeting of course as
we have now learned Nasrallah, but that there was some communication from Israel to the United States as this effort, as this strike was underway as
we understand it.
So, to give you some context here, when we have previously asked U.S. officials about strikes that Israel has carried out against Hezbollah or
against Hamas, they have routinely said listen, that is their decision, it's not ours. They -- we aren't controlling what the Israeli military does
but this is a different one. This is one that could dramatically change the conflict right now, could dramatically escalate things.
So, the fact that the United States wasn't given an advanced heads up on something that could really turn this potentially into a greater conflict
is incredibly noteworthy. We're still trying to report out some more details in terms of who knew what when, you know, who notified uh the U.S.,
and who it was on the U.S. side that found out. All of those details will work on, you know, in the coming hours here.
But we'll also be watching to see what U.S. officials say publicly about this. The Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in New York right now. It's
his last day there for the U.N. General Assembly. He met with Israel Prime Minister's top official Ron Dermer just last night. And this afternoon he
will have a press conference. So, we'll watch and see exactly what he says about the strike that was carried out. That will be the highest-level Biden
Administration official that we hear from yet. That's at 3:30 local time here.
SOARES: Well, we'll keep an ear out and eye out for that of course. In the last 24 hours we were talking about a possible ceasefire, 21-day ceasefire,
right? Things have changed very rapidly. And the fear is that this will -- could escalate even further.
[14:50:09]
Kylie, I appreciate it. Thank you very much.
We'll take a short break. We'll see you in the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: And we continue to follow breaking news out of Beirut for you this hour. We've heard in the last few moments from Israel's ambassador to the
United States. And he was asked about today's strike in Lebanon. Here's part of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANNY DANON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: It was a meeting of bad people. Bad people coming together plotting another attacks against
Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Right. So, you heard him there. We also heard from the IDF saying they were targeting Hezbollah, a Hezbollah's terror organization that
served as the epicenter of Hezbollah's terror, and this was their headquarters. And we have shown you -- in fact, let me show you the moment
o of the -- of that blast. Let me play that if we have it. Can we play that?
Nic Robertson joins me now. And Nic, just for context for our viewers, we know six buildings have been leveled, two dead, 76 wounded. We have seen
rescuers combing through the rubble. We've seen two children you and I were talking being rescued. But the fear is given the size and the scale of
this, the casualties will increase. Just bring us up to date with the very latest.
ROBERTSON: Yes. Look, I mean, the very latest if you will does start at the top with the warning from the IDF saying that there were civilians in the
building that Hezbollah was underneath them, their command and control was underneath. You only have to look at the plumes of smoke to see how high
they go and the color that they are to get an idea of just how deep the target was below those buildings.
And so therefore that makes any rescue that much harder because the these bombs that will have been used to reach a very deep bunker that appears to
have been the intention here will have had delayed fuses on them. They will have -- they will have gone very deep. That brings in a lot of -- a lot of
sand, a lot of debris. So although people in the surrounding buildings and perhaps this is why at the moment the death toll that we understand is
relatively low, two people and the casualty rate 70 -- more than 70 people injured, because they're more likely in the surrounding buildings. And it's
going to be very hard for the rescue workers to really -- to get deep in and find out what's going on.
And of course, during this time, you know, the speculation mounts was Hassan Nasrallah in the building. If he was there, who was with him and the
likelihood. And I think look, the longer it goes and the -- and that death toll is still low, I don't think it means the ultimate death toll is going
to be low. I just think it means it's so hard to get deep enough in the debris from these comp -- what appear to be complex bombs in this
targeting.
SOARES: Yes. It is going to be a very long night as rescuers sift through the rubble and the dust there, of course. The fear is of course regardless
of whether Nasrallah is in there or not is of escalation and what will happen next. How Hezbollah may escalate or react to this, retaliate to
this.
Nic, I appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Do stay right here. We will continue on this breaking news story out of Beirut where our team spread out across the region. "NEWSROOM WITH JIM
SCIUTTO" is up, live next from Tel Aviv.
END
