Return to Transcripts main page
Isa Soares Tonight
Growing Fears of Wider Regional War; Civilians Attempting to Flee Lebanon; Airstrikes Rock Central and Southern Beirut; Israel Issues More Evacuation Orders for Southern Lebanon; Nearly 50,000 Dock Workers Strike for Third Straight Day; Dominican Republic to Deport Thousands of Haitian Migrants. Aired 2:00-3p ET
Aired October 03, 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: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, Israel intensifies its strikes on
Lebanon, aid workers say the country's shelters are overflowing as people flee their homes. Also ahead, U.S. President Biden says he's open to
Israeli strikes on Iranian oil facilities, but says retaliation won't come today.
I'll discuss with a former U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon about what could come next. And the Dominican Republic set to start massive deportations of
Haitian migrants living illegally in the country. We're live in Santo Domingo this hour. But first, a Lebanese Minister says Israel's offensive
on Hezbollah is destroying his country, urging an immediate ceasefire.
But the war is only escalating today with powerful new strikes on Beirut. And these are the latest pictures on the latest strike, in fact, in
southern suburbs considered a stronghold of Hezbollah. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(EXPLOSION)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: In an earlier attack, the IDF says it hit Hezbollah's Intelligence headquarters. These day time strikes coming after a terrifying night for
the people of Beirut, the very heart of the city was hit for the first time since 2006. Lebanon says nine people were killed, including seven medics.
And some shelters in Beirut as we've been hearing are overflowing as people flee their homes to escape the fighting. Israel has now broadened
evacuation orders in southern Lebanon to include 76 villages in a sign the ground war may expand. And amid all this, Israel also weighing a response
to Iran's unprecedented missile strikes this week.
It says the retaliation will be quote, "very strong", and quote, "come soon". U.S. President Joe Biden says administration is in discussions about
possible targets. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you support Israel striking Iran's oil facilities, sir?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're in discussion of that. I think -- I think that will be a little -- anyway.
UNDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have plans to allow Israel to strike back against Iran?
BIDEN: First of all, we don't allow Israel, we advise Israel and there's nothing going to happen today. We'll talk about that later.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's get more on all of this, we're joined now by Ben Wedeman in Beirut and Nic Robertson, who is for us in Tel Aviv. Ben, let me go to you
first, because it does seem as we've just laid out that these strikes despite us hearing from the IDF, that there would be limited, localized and
targeted are becoming more frequent, more intense and more expansive, not just in southern Beirut, but like we said, in the heart of Beirut.
What can you tell us about today's strikes and whether civilians, Ben, were given any prior warnings here?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, overnight day, Isa, there were a variety of strikes including that one you mentioned
in the heart of Beirut, in the Bachoura neighborhood, a very crowded working class neighborhood. There were no warnings, and as you mentioned,
nine people killed.
And many of those people in that area had actually fled from other parts of Beirut and southern Lebanon as well, thinking they might be safe. So, the
fear is that, Israel has already twice hit Beirut outside the sort of the calmly boundaries of the southern suburbs that it's expanding its strikes
within the capital proper.
And so, what we're seeing also is an intensification of strikes down south. Now, what's interesting is that Hezbollah claims to be putting up quite a
fight, you know, on their telegram channel, their media telegram channel. They list all the strikes they conduct. And I was just counting them, there
were more than 15 strikes on gatherings of Israeli soldiers, we're already hearing one Israeli soldier has been killed, perhaps more will be announced
as the day goes on.
But this is the situation where Hezbollah does its best. It is -- knows guerrilla warfare, they've been preparing for an Israeli incursion or
invasion for more than a decade.
[14:05:00]
So, it appears that the Israelis are running into a certain amount of stiff resistance along the border. But of course, as these Israeli strikes go on,
the toll is rising.
For instance, the Minister of Health today said that in the last three days, 40 firefighters and medics have been killed. We thought, that's Gaza
numbers basically. And in addition to that, as you mentioned, they are putting additional evacuation orders, two villages in the south, and the
fear is that this is a repeat of what we saw going on in Gaza, where the Israelis ordered people to leave certain areas, and there's no indication
when or if there will be able to go to their homes again or even if they'll have homes to go back to. Isa?
SOARES: Yes, and that is a concern. So, Nic, let me go to you. I mean, Ben touched on that, on the fact that the IDF is facing resistance there from
Hezbollah, facing projectiles from Lebanon. Just give us a sense of what you're hearing because I'm also seeing the ninth soldier has been killed in
these battles. What can you tell us, Nic?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, eight soldiers killed yesterday, 47 injured, a very high number as Israel begins this sort
of on-the-ground limited targeted raids across the border. This is how they described their border operations as limited, localized, targeted raids.
We're yet to see if that expands and grows into anything else. But already, you know, they appear to be going over on foot. Those are the images that
the IDF sends back from pictures with their troops. The IDF is characterizing this as something that's small and they come back, and
therefore, it's a very high toll that we're hearing already.
This is not troops that are, you know, miles inside of Lebanese territory according to the IDF. So, I think this gives us a sense that there's a
stiffer resistance and obviously, a much greater price to pay than the IDF is paying by dropping bombs on Beirut and other Hezbollah targets.
And it was interesting today, the army chief of staff, General Herzi Halevi, was at the border today and he said that he'd already read through
the review of how these soldiers had died yesterday, and what he said was that he -- what he saw were commanders leading from the front, that when
there was a firefight, they led from the front.
And I think we were noting yesterday that there were many staff sergeants, first sergeants, captains, among those killed of the Israeli -- of the --
among the IDF casualties and death toll. And that was because we've heard it now from the -- from their commanding officer, if you will, that they
were putting themselves in the firing line.
But it's very clear, you know, when you hear a speech like that coming from the Chief of Staff, what he is doing there is sort of giving a role model
to the rest of the forces to carry on a pep talk, a morale talk. But he's also said very clearly that they will continue with these operations, and
that they're targeting, they say Hezbollah infrastructure along the border.
So that they're -- so that the Israeli civilians who live along the border, the 60,000 can go back. But the fact that the Chief of Staff was there
today talking about those deaths and also saying that there already been a review into how they had died. I think that tells you that how hard that
has actually hit.
SOARES: Yes. Nic and Ben, thank you to you both, thanks very much. Well, U.N. humanitarian worker in Lebanon says residents are dealing with extreme
trauma and fear, as you can imagine, as the war escalates. Our Jomana Karadsheh talked with people in Beirut today, many say they no longer feel
anywhere in the city is actually safe. Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): We are in the heart of Beirut just hours after a rare Israeli strike, and the fear
and the anxiety here is palpable. It's the first time an Israeli strike hit the center of the city since all-out war between Lebanon and Israel in
2006, and even then, strikes like this were rare.
This is the second time this week that we've seen attacks outside the southern suburbs, Hezbollah's seat of power. The target appears to have
been a Hezbollah-affiliated health authority office in a residential area, and several medics were killed. This happened in the middle of the city, in
the middle of the night with no prior warning, a terrifying development for the people of Beirut.
Even here outside the American University, in this cultural and commercial neighborhood, people say they no longer feel safe.
UNDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're getting scarier because it feels like by the day things are escalating, and we don't really know what area is safe
anymore.
[14:10:00]
I feel like in Gaza, it started the same way and then it escalated --
KARADSHEH: Exacerbated --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. So, you always worry like --
KARADSHEH: About the bombing --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will it keep on going?
KARADSHEH: And reaching Gaza --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will the West speak out or are we just another country in the Middle East?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the thing like the unknown. We don't know how long this is going to stay. This war, how long is it going to extend? Is it
going to be just limited to the south or is it going to be all over Lebanon?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, we're literally paralyzed. We cannot do anything. We have to stay at home and everything is deteriorating. Our
future are a little -- we have a blank idea about our future. We don't know what will happen next.
KARADSHEH: The Lebanese have seen it all, conflicts and crises and many fear this is the beginning of a long war. Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Beirut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: And that is the concern, and joining me now from Washington is Jeffrey Feltman, he's a Visiting Fellow in International Diplomacy at
Brookings, and he served as the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. Ambassador, welcome to the show.
As we've just laid out, you were ambassador during the 2006 war, I wonder as you look, what's happening now at this aerial offensive, with this
ground offensive in southern Lebanon. What you -- what stands out to you really in terms of differences and the similarities here?
JEFFREY FELTMAN, VISITING FELLOW IN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: What strikes -- what strikes me are the differences. This is
far more dangerous than 2006 was. Two-thousand-and-six was a devastating war triggered by Hezbollah cross-border raid into Israel that killed and
kidnapped Israeli soldiers, and lasted for 34 days, ended in a stalemate.
And both Hezbollah and Israel have spent the last 18 years implementing the lessons learned from that stalemate. Hezbollah's arsenals are bigger, they
have more sophisticated weapons, longer-range weapons, and they become battle experienced by propping up Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria.
The Israelis, for their part, have kept their eyes on Hezbollah and have worked on penetrating them in terms of their Intelligence, which we've seen
in results of that. Already, in the last two weeks, there have been more Lebanese killed than were killed in that entire 34-day war.
So, when I look at this, I find this -- the signs to be quite ominous that this is going to be far worse than the war was in 2006 in terms of the type
of devastation that could --
SOARES: Yes --
FELTMAN: Be brought upon Lebanon. And the Hezbollah -- even though Hezbollah has been -- Hezbollah leadership has been decapitated, their --
SOARES: Yes --
FELTMAN: Military capabilities have been degraded, they still have considerable abilities to hit back at Israel, and particularly, the Israeli
troops in the south.
SOARES: Yes, and they're putting up a fight as we've just heard from our Ben Wedeman in southern Lebanon, ninth Israeli soldier being killed just
today. And back in 2006, it was also ambassador, called a limited operation, and it lasted what? Thirty four days. And like you said, it was
a stalemate.
As you look at what's unfolding here, do you think that this will be any different or any shorter, and just speak to the impact on the region here,
the potential impact on the region.
FELTMAN: Well, I think that the Israelis are trying not only to achieve the type of stability that would allow the 60,000-plus Israelis to go home,
which is an enormous political humanitarian issue in Israel. But I think the Israelis are also trying to change the strategic balance in the entire
Middle East.
Hezbollah was not only a Lebanese, you know, political party, militia, and our definition, a terrorist organization, it was Iran's first line of
defense. So, by degrading Hezbollah's military capabilities, at least in the short term, Israel is also degrading Iran's deterrence capabilities.
So, this does have enormous ramifications, terrible humanitarian consequences for Lebanon, but it also has strategic implications for the
region at large --
SOARES: Yes --
FELTMAN: As Israel tries to rebalance the powers in the Middle East.
SOARES: Let's focus on that because we've heard part of the strategy is to escalate to deescalate, right, ambassador? But we have heard a lot in the
last few days of military strategy and we've seen military achievements. You've named a couple, but we haven't seen what I haven't heard thus far,
maybe you have, is a plan for peace neither in Gaza nor in Lebanon. Does that worry you? And do you believe that diplomacy can turn this around
where -- because so far, it seems to have failed.
FELTMAN: It worries me tremendously. And I keep thinking of that famous David Petraeus quote after the U.S., you know, misguided invasion of Iraq
in 2003. Tell me how this ends. Because does Israel really want to occupy Gaza again indefinitely, and occupy the West Bank indefinitely with a
hostile rescued population and occupy southern Lebanon definitely. I can't imagine any Israeli politician would see that as being particularly
attractive.
[14:15:00]
The war right now against Hezbollah in Lebanon has great popular support. So, it's one time where the Israeli strategic objectives, the Israeli
tactical of getting people home, the public opinion and Netanyahu's personal interest in maintaining his position --
SOARES: Yes --
FELTMAN: In power all coincide. How long will that last if the casualties rise or if it becomes clear that there's an indefinite occupation in three
different -- in three different geographic areas with no horizon for a political settlement.
SOARES: Yes, let's broaden this out to the region, because -- and I think it's important we bring Iran. We've talked about Hamas, Hezbollah, let's
talk about Iran. President Biden -- and you would have heard this, ambassador, made it very clear just yesterday, I think, that he wouldn't
want to see any of the Iran's nuclear sites being targeted.
We are currently waiting to see how Israel responds. But I want to play what Ambassador John Bolton, who served as you well know, as national
security adviser under President Donald Trump, had to say about this. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BOLTON, AMERICAN LAWYER & FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Even if that's his opinion, why do you tell Israel's adversary --
and by the way, America's adversary in Tehran, what you're not going to do. Let them worry about it. You can make the decision, but telling them what
you're giving up or what you hope the Israelis give up is just a failure of diplomacy 101.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: What do you make of those comments and the criticism that's been leveled on President Biden?
FELTMAN: Well, you'll see a great division in this country. Not only between Republicans and Democrats, but within the parties about what --
SOARES: Yes --
FELTMAN: Should happen in the Middle East. But what I take away from all this is, we are not in the driver's seat. You know, the Biden
administration called for -- called for something other than a full-scale invasion of Rafah many months ago. There's a full-scale invasion of Rafah.
They announced that we were on the threshold of 21-day ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, to allow a Gaza ceasefire negotiations to sort of
ripen, that didn't happen. And of course, the -- how many times have we heard that the Gaza ceasefire hostage release, humanitarian surge deal was
on the threshold, and it hasn't happened. So, I simply --
SOARES: Yes --
FELTMAN: Don't think rightly or wrongly, we're in the driver's seat right now.
SOARES: And very briefly, why are we not -- why is the United States not in the driver's seat then? Does it speak more to the relationship between
President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu -- that's been frosty or does it show perhaps, point more to lack of leverage and influence of the United
States in the region. How do you read that?
FELTMAN: I think it's a combination -- it's a combination of things. I think that the Israelis truly and understandably feel that they have to
deal with the existential threat on their northern --
SOARES: Yes --
FELTMAN: Border. The existential threat is the most powerful partner of Iran on their northern border. So, there's an existential -- should we and
not face united -- it's essential issue. We have a friendship and --
SOARES: Yes --
FELTMAN: Partnership with Israel, but it's not the same. And there are politics. Who is going to tell Netanyahu today, you shouldn't go after
Hezbollah, you shouldn't try to defend yourself -- you know, just try to defend yourself 33 days before U.S. elections. It just -- it doesn't work
politically for us, and it doesn't work either politically or strategically for Israel.
SOARES: Yes, and we heard President Biden say we don't tell Israel, we advise it. Ambassador, really appreciate you taking the time to speak to
us. Thank you, sir.
FELTMAN: Thank you.
SOARES: Meantime, we are seeing the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza overnight. The Ministry of Health there says 99 people were killed in
the past 24 hours, and only 200 others injured. In Khan Younis, officials say victims are trapped under the rubble, and emergency teams aren't able
to reach them.
Nearly, one year since the war started, the death toll in Gaza stands at almost 42,000 with nearly 97,000 people injured. That is according to the
Ministry. And still to come tonight, U.S. President Joe Biden is touring the extensive damage from Hurricane Helene. We'll have a live report on his
trip, that's coming up. You are watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:00]
SOARES: Well, U.S. President Joe Biden is getting a firsthand look at the damage in the southeastern part of the country after Hurricane Helene. He
arrived in Florida earlier today, and is soon expected to survey the damage in southern Georgia. This follows President Biden's tour of devastated
areas in North and South Carolina on Wednesday, we bought you that here at this time yesterday, where he pledged federal support.
Helene has killed at least 200 people across six states. His visit comes as two investigations are now underway in Tennessee, 11 people at a plastics
factory were swept away by the floodwaters with only five rescued at last report. According to the "Associated Press", several workers have said they
weren't allowed to leave before the flooding.
Joining us now from Florida, CNN's Arlette Saenz. And Arlette, the President, as we showed viewers in the last 24 hours, has really been
touring and seeing some of the -- seeing some of the damage firsthand. Today, he continues that. Just give us a sense of what we've heard from
him, and what support principally is being offered to these states who have been so deeply impacted here?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Biden is spending the second consecutive day touring damage in the southeast after
Hurricane Helene ripped through these states. Just one week ago today, he traveled here to Florida, it's for several events. He did an aerial tour of
one of the devastated areas, and then was on the ground in Keaton Beach.
That is a residential community that saw the majority of its homes completely destroyed by Hurricane Helene. While he was there, he received
an operational briefing from FEMA and local officials to hear about the damage and also try to assess what more these communities need.
It's worth noting that the President, while he was in Keaton Beach, was there with the state's Republican Senator Rick Scott. The two men have a
long -- very long political history with one another, but they seem to have put politics aside for the day to come together for this tour and briefing
of Keaton Beach.
The state's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis was not joining Biden today, he was serving at different part of the state. But once the President is
done here in Florida, he's now moving on to southern Georgia, the Valdosta area, which also was hard-hit by this hurricane. It comes at a time when
Biden is trying to show that the federal government is here, not just for the preparations ahead of this tour, but also to deal with the recovery and
response after it.
President Biden has declared disaster declarations in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. And he has also said that the federal government will be
paying and reimbursing the states' 100 percent for debris removal and other emergency-related services. It really comes at a time when this hurricane
in some ways has emerged as a political flashpoint.
Former President Donald Trump has tried to criticize, sometimes making false claims about the federal government's response. And so, what Biden
and Harris, who has also traveled to the region, are trying to show is that the federal government is here trying to help in these devastated
communities going forward.
President Biden has insisted that this is not just a short-term recovery that the government will be here for the long haul as well.
[14:25:00]
SOARES: Arlette Saenz there for us, thanks very much Arlette. And with only a few weeks left until the November election, in fact, 32 days if
you're counting, Donald Trump's January 6th case is back in the spotlight. Special counsel Jack Smith's newly unsealed 165-page document provides the
fullest picture yet of his case.
And it argues actions Trump took to overturn the 2020 election were in his private capacity, not as a President, but as a political candidate.
Therefore, Smith argues Trump is not entitled to protection from prosecution that the Supreme Court justices identified, if you remember,
back in July.
CNN's Katelyn Polantz is tracking this new filing, she joins us now from Washington D.C. And Katelyn, this new filing, I mean, I saw it yesterday
when the news broke. It is detailed, it is lengthy. What does the special counsel just lay out in this? Just break it down for us.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME & JUSTICE REPORTER: Yes, this isn't an ordinary legal filing in court. This is the fullest summation of the evidence
against Donald Trump. The case against Donald Trump, that the Justice Department has, and that they want to take to trial and present to a jury.
So, it's a 165 pages. The thesis that Donald Trump was acting on his own behalf, for his own personal gain as a candidate and not the President
after the 2020 election, as he was sewing discord and trying to claim the election was fraudulent. That is the legal argument they're making, and
they need to make that because they're going to have to convince both the trial judge and then quite very likely the Supreme Court, that this was all
private activity by Donald Trump.
Here's how they write about it. "When the defendant" -- that's Trump, "lost the 2020 presidential election, he resorted to crimes to try to stay in
office. At its core, the defendant's scheme was a private criminal effort in his capacity as a candidate, the defendant used deceit to target every
stage of the electoral process.
The defendant used these lies to inflame and motivate the large and angry crowd of his supporters to march to the Capitol and to disrupt the
certification proceeding." That's the case that they want to present to the jury. They also lay out in this filing, how they're going to do it. They
say they have his tweets and they can prove that it was Donald Trump writing and sending those tweets, including one, harassing Mike Pence on
January 26 as the rioters were closing in on the Capitol building, they also have witnesses who will testify against him and have laid that all
out, even Pence's own notes.
SOARES: Katelyn, I know you'll stay across it for us, appreciate it, Katelyn Polantz there. And still to come tonight, foreign nationals race to
evacuate Lebanon after Israeli airstrikes forced up to a million people from their homes and the humanitarian situation grows even more desperate.
That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:00]
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Welcome back, everyone. Returning now to the crisis unfolding in the Middle East as the region awaits Israel's
retaliation against Iran for Tuesday's ballistic missile strike.
U.S. President Joe Biden says he is in discussions about possible targets, which could include Iran's oil reserves. But he has made clear that he does
not support an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites.
Israeli strikes continue to hit Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. And as regional tensions escalate, more and more civilians are trying to get out,
that includes American citizens. In the last hour, the State Department briefing -- had a briefing. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW MILLER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: What we have tried to do is be responsive to the situation as it changes. So, when there were
ample commercial flights available, we were urging American citizens to take them. When the number of commercial flights shrunk, we first worked
with the remaining carrier to make seats available. And when we found that there were still more American citizens that wanted to leave, we organized
our own flights. And we'll continue to do everything that we can to help American citizens who want to leave get out safely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Our U.S. Security Correspondent Kylie Atwood is following developments from the State Department in Washington. And, Kylie, I know
that the State Department had organized chartered flights. It was supposed to be for today. Do we know if those have left and how many people we're
talking about here?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the second plane left today. Yesterday, there was one plane. Today, there was a second plane. In
total, about 250 Americans and their direct family members were on those flights out of Lebanon.
The State Department says that they will continue to organize flights of the like such -- so long as they see the demand from the Americans in
Lebanon that there need to be these flights. They're also working with the commercial flights that are going out of the country to try and get seats
on those planes for Americans.
So, effectively, the State Department is trying to respond to the demand signals that they're getting in. They've given out a form for any Americans
in the country to reach out to the State Department, to learn more about the efforts underway to provide them with, to provide them with support to
get them out of the country. So, we'll continue to watch this space very closely.
It's also a very delicate one because sometimes there are Americans who want to leave and then they decide they want to stay because they have
family members there. So, this is typically a situation that is delicate and can have different degrees of certainty when it comes to if people
actually want to leave the country or not.
SOARES: And the last two days or so, I'm sure you saw this Kylie, on Christiane's show, Christiane Amanpour's show, she was speaking to the
Lebanese foreign minister. I want to play a little clip of what he said and then I'll ask you for the reaction. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Are you saying Hassan Nasrallah had agreed to a ceasefire just moments before he was
assassinated?
ABDALLAH BOU HABIB, LEBANESE FOREIGN MINISTER: He agreed. He agreed. Yes, yes. We agreed completely. Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire. But consulting
with Hezbollah -- with the Hezbollah, the speaker, Mr. Berri, consulted with Hezbollah, and we informed the Americans and the French that that's
what happened.
AMANPOUR: So --
HABIB: And they told us and that Mr. Netanyahu also agreed on the statement that was issued by both presidents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: So, you had him there say that he informed the Americans. What is the State Department saying about this, Kylie? I know they had a
briefing. Were you able to question them on this?
ATWOOD: Yes, I asked them this specific thing. They're taking issue with what he's saying, at least part of it. They're saying that, if this was
ever agreed to by Nasrallah or by Hezbollah, the United States, the officials who were in New York last night for the -- last week, excuse me,
for the U.N. General Assembly were never made aware that that was the case. The spokesperson saying quote, "I can tell you if that's true, it was never
communicated to us in any way, shape, or form."
Now, he also went on to say that perhaps Hezbollah and Nasrallah had, you know, internally communicated that they would be on board to certain
Lebanese officials. It never made its way to the United States. But as far as U.S. officials are aware, they never knew that there was a definitive
yes on behalf of Hezbollah and Nasrallah.
[14:35:00]
SOARES: Appreciate it. Thank you very much. Kylie Atwood there. Well, Israel has expanded evacuation orders in Southern Lebanon, telling
residents to save their lives and leave their homes immediately. A further 25 villagers have been told to evacuate, bringing the total to 76 villagers
in total. The evacuation area now reaching up to 45 kilometers, as you can see there, inside the country.
But the threat, of course, extends much further. The United Nations says about 1 million people in Lebanon have been displaced just in recent weeks,
and it has triggered several countries to ramp up efforts to evacuate their nationals from the country, the U.K., Australia, France, Canada, China and
Spain, among those countries of the United States, you heard that from Kylie, chartering flights as well as evacuating people by boat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just feel bad for all those people I left behind. You know, all those friends, my kids' friends. It's been tough. It's been
very tough to leave them behind. I don't know if we're going to see them again or not, and hopefully they are in safe places.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I should go back because I have a university and everything, but I'm not sure when the situation will get better. It's very
messy. No one knows what's happening.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was not the plan of life. This was not the plan to leave the -- to leave home, to leave country. But where can we go?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, meanwhile, for those left behind, the humanitarian situation is becoming increasingly dire. For more on the situation in Lebanon, I'm
joined by Ettie Higgins, UNICEF's Deputy Representative in Lebanon.
Ettie, I really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. This has been a particularly unsettling and brutal day, I think it's fair to say
today in Beirut and also in Southern Lebanon. We've seen more airstrikes today. What are you -- what is your team seeing? What are you hearing in
Beirut and around Beirut?
ETTIE HIGGINS, UNICEF LEBANON DEPUTY REPRESENTATIVE: Well, good evening from Beirut. Indeed, the past 10 days have been really a living nightmare
for many people in Lebanon, not just in the south, but also here in Beirut. The southern suburbs, and indeed for the first-time last night, inside
Beirut we're hit for the last -- for the eighth and seventh consecutive night.
So, people are absolutely terrified. We could hear the jets last night coming in and the airstrikes not far from where I stand now. So, really,
people were absolutely terrified. UNICEF has a team here on the ground, and we were supposed to go and do distribution today of essential relief items,
but it was 100 meters from where one of the airstrikes took place last night. So, it was not safe.
But our team spoke to the people in the shelter who said that the children, even today, were absolutely traumatized from what had happened last night,
and we're even afraid to venture outdoors in case more airstrikes would be coming for them. So, we're really seeing a humanitarian catastrophe
unfolding of an enormous magnitude.
SOARES: Yes, and as we heard from our correspondents, Ettie, at the top of the show that some of those strikes didn't even come with any warnings,
right? And that is incredibly concerning, of course. We understand about a million people have been displaced, and we've also heard, and I wonder if
you can expand on this, that the shelters are full and are overflowing. Is that what you're seeing, Ettie? Just give us a sense of what you're seeing.
HIGGINS: Yes, exactly. So, since last week, we saw a -- what I could only describe as a sea of humanity leaving the south of Lebanon. And now, as
well from the southern suburbs of Beirut, looking for a safe space. The government, together with international and local organizations, have
worked to open over 800 shelters. But these shelters, as soon as they're open, they're already full.
Up until now, we still have people who are sleeping out in the open. We have people who are sleeping on streets. And we've been saying this since
last week, but we cannot keep up with the pace of the crisis. We have children and their mothers. We have children with disabilities, older
people who fled with literally just the clothes on their backs, who didn't have time to pack any essential belongings, who don't have water, who do
not have food.
And as you said, many left without any notice. There could have been a building nearby that was struck and they essentially just pull their
children out of bed in their pajamas at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning to seek safety.
So, what we're trying to do is to deliver essential relief items, such as blankets, clothes, food, water, just the basics to sustain them. And also
supporting the hospitals. We've had 10 hospitals that have been hit, that have been damaged. We've seen thousands injured, 10,000 injuries. And
tragically, we've had over 125 children who have been killed and we suspect that number may be higher.
[14:40:00]
We've also seen paramedics and doctors and healthcare workers who have been targeted. Almost 100 have been killed. And today, as well, we've seen
essential water pumping stations that have been destroyed. So, UNICEF has delivered fuel to many of these, but it's coming at really great risk to
our teams.
And yesterday. I spoke to some of the mechanics who are repairing some of these damaged water pumping stations and sadly, four of them have also been
killed while trying to do these essential repairs to connect water, the most basic of life for hundreds of thousands of people.
SOARES: And, Ettie, you know, Israel has said that this would be limited, we don't know if that's in terms of time, geography, but we saw what limit
has been has done in Gaza, right? I've spoken to some of UNICEF colleagues who have been in and out of Gaza. I wonder whether you fear that Lebanon
may go the same way here.
HIGGINS: That is what is on everyone's minds. And when we speak to some of the children, I was in some of the shelters yesterday, their mothers tell
us that, well, we're hoping we can go home next week, or we're hoping that the schools will reopen. Now, we have over 2.2 million children that are at
risk of going of having their education interrupted, which is going to last a lifetime already.
Lebanon has been suffering from a multitude of compounding crises over the past five years, a huge economic meltdown. We -- Lebanon has been hosting
1.5 million Syrian refugees for over a decade as well as the COVID crisis and the Beirut blast in 2020.
So, this is really one further crisis that the country simply cannot afford, and it's rapidly escalating from a humanitarian crisis to a
humanitarian catastrophe.
SOARES: Yes, the strain that's putting also in the health system. Ettie, really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Thank you very much.
Now, families of Israeli hostages in Gaza have left empty chairs at the dinner table for this year's Rosh Hashanah celebrations in honor of loved
ones who are still being held captive. In addition to personal tributes, campaigners set up a giant banquet, you can see there, and fake headstones
near the private residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call for the release of those hostages.
The demonstration marked the start of the Jewish New Year at sunset yesterday, with the holiday ending at nightfall tomorrow. About a hundred
people who were kidnapped by Hamas are still believed to be inside Gaza.
And still to come tonight, the Dominican Republic plans on deporting thousands of Haitian migrants from the country. Our reporter has the latest
on the decision and the reasoning behind it. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:00]
SOARES: Well, Britain says it is going to give up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, located in the Indian Ocean. Britain has controlled the
region since 1814 and detached Chagos Islands from Mauritius in 1965. It evicted almost 2,000 residents to make way for an airbase there. The new
agreement will allow Mauritius to resettle displaced people, but the U.K.'s military base on one of the islands operated with the United States will
still be protected.
On top of escalating tensions in the Middle East and a natural disaster at home, port strikes on the east as well as Gulf Coast are adding to the
October surprises and threatening economic chaos in the lead up of course to the U.S. election just in five weeks.
For the third straight day, nearly 50,000 dock workers continue their industrial action over pay and automation. Depending on the length of the
walkout, some U.S. factories could grind to a halt while they could be shortages, of course, of some goods. The strikes aren't expected to impact
toilet paper supply, though. That hasn't stopped some, though, from panic buying, as you can see there. With the economy a big issue for voters, the
pressure will build, of course, on President Biden and Kamala Harris to resolve the situation ahead of the election.
Well, Former President Donald Trump says if elected, he will take away the temporary protection status for Haitian migrants living in Springfield,
Ohio, which shields them from deportation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have to remove the people and you have to bring them back to their own
country. They are -- in my opinion, it's not legal. They have to be removed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, you would revoke the temporary protected status?
TRUMP: Absolutely, I'd revoke it. And I'd bring them back to their country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What if they won't receive them?
TRUMP: They will.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like, they're not --
TRUMP: Well, they're going to receive them. They'll receive them. If I bring them back, they're going to receive them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, Trump and his running mate, J. D. Vance, have spread baseless conspiracy theories about Haitian migrants abducting, if you
remember, eating pets in Springfield. During his presidency, Trump's attempt to have tens of thousands of Haitians get their status terminated
came under intense scrutiny.
Well, Haiti's neighbor, the Dominican Republic, is also trying to deport a massive of Haitians. The government said Wednesday that it will expel up to
10,000 Haitians a week. A spokesman told reporters the decision was made after noticing a, quote, "excess," their words, of migrants entering
illegally and that they increase it due to the U.N. fight against gangs in Haiti. Gang violence has left nearly 700,000 Haitians homeless.
Let's get more on this story. I want to bring in CNN's Jessica Hasbun, who joins us from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. And, Jessica, just
explain to our viewers here the reasoning for the decision to expel all these Haitians.
JESSICA HASBUN, CNN REPORTER: Let me tell you, Isa, it comes as to no surprise Dominican Republic authorities announced this just yesterday that
they would start these massive deportations of Haitians living illegally in the country, expelling, like you said, 10,000 undocumented Haitians a week.
We're talking about the Dominican president, Luis Abinader, has been very adamant about his decision, saying that he would explain detail later, but
for now, he needs to protect the sovereignty of Dominican Republic. I want you guys to listen what the president had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUIS ABINADER, DOMINICAN REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We could see at the United Nations that the process of support to the Haitian
National Police was slow. And that is why we said at the United Nations that if they did not act quickly, we were going to take special measures.
Today, we are starting to take those special measures.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HASBUN: That number would quadruple the numbers that Dominican migration authorities have been reported. Up until September, just last month,
Dominican authorities had deported roughly about 172,000 Haitians to their country. These actions come as no surprise. Dominican authorities have said
once and again, in the U.N., just a couple of weeks ago, just last week, they said, well, that the forces, that multinational force, that is in
Haiti, has not been efficient up until now, and that's why they've decided, well, to take upon themselves to limit the access of Haitians to the
Dominican Republic.
They've talked about reinforcing the Dominican border, more vigilance, more trucks on the streets and on the ground, and that's growing concern for the
Haitian community here in the Dominican Republic.
[14:50:00]
I'm at the Haitian embassy, and I spoke off camera to most of these Haitians here, and they're very concerned about what's happening. And just
a few hours ago, the Haitian foreign minister said that they're going to be taking measures as well to help and assist their Haitian nationals here in
the Dominican Republic because they are also concerned and they're hoping that the human rights aspect will be respected here in the Dominican
Republic. Isa.
SOARES: Very concerning indeed. Jessica Hasbun, appreciate it. Thank you very much, Jessica.
And still to come tonight, the secret behind the smile. Researchers discover why dolphins often look like they're grinning. Want to see the
answer to that, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Well, Britain's Prince and Princess of Wales are getting -- are helping, I should say, a teenager with cancer to achieve one of her
photography dreams. Six-year-old Liz Hatton, wants to take part in as many photography experiences as possible while she battles a rare form of
cancer. Liz photographed the recipients of royal honors for a special ceremony hosted at Windsor Castle. Princess Catherine has recently of
course returned to public duties after finishing her own cancer treatment.
There are also scenes of celebration at St. James's Palace where Britain's King Charles showed off his dance moves with members of the Commonwealth
diaspora. And it comes ahead of the king's visit to Samoa later this month for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. The summit will see
delegations from 56 nations congregate in Samoa. I wish we had sound to come hear some of that.
Are you, like my producer, one of those people who think Christmas celebrations start too early? If so, you aren't alone. In fact, the Queen
of Christmas says it's OK to wait.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is your captain speaking. Welcome aboard Mariah. We are headed to the North Pole.
MARIAH CAREY, SINGER: Not yet. Sorry. People (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: I kind of agree with her, isn't it? Halloween, has it, Thanksgiving, we have a long time to wait, of course. Mariah Carey posted
that video on her Instagram, urging fans to just wait a month or so before you take out the Christmas decorations or play this tune that you won't
stop hearing for months on end.
[14:55:00]
The Grammy winner is known for her smash hit, "All I Want for Christmas is You." In recent years, Carey has posted clips of the song and declaring the
start of the Christmas season.
And a new study has concluded that just like us, dolphins sport a smile when they are in a playful mood. Researchers, look at this, observed the
animals in an effort to find out how they communicate to ensure play fights aren't confused for real aggression. That is the question.
What they found was that dolphins used an open mouth gesture really akin to a grin when playing in pairs. The same expression was not used in
interactions with humans and rarely when alone leaving researchers to conclude that the smile is used to show when dolphins are eager to interact
with others.
I don't know about you, but I feel that every time I look at them, they're always smiling. So, it's a very good sign because they're a beautiful
creature.
That does it for us for this hour on the show. Do stay right here. Newsroom with Jim Sciutto is up next. He's live for us in Tel Aviv. You'll have the
very latest on the ground, including the strikes, the force that we have seen today in Beirut.
Stay right here. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
