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Isa Soares Tonight
U.N. Warns Lebanon Risks Same Fate as Gaza; Israel Expanding Mobilization of Reserve Soldiers; Growing Concerns of Humanitarian Crisis in Lebanon; Two Men Arrested Over Suspected Antisemitic Attack; Passengers Face Long Security Lines at Many U.S. Airports. Verdict Reached in Landmark Social Media Trial; U.S. and Iran Offer Competing Narratives on War; U.N.: Lebanon Must Not Become the Next Gaza. Aired 2:00-3p ET
Aired March 25, 2026 - 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, we begin the hour with breaking news, a
verdict day in landmark social media addiction trial. We'll bring you the very latest.
Then mixed messages from Washington and Iran over -- cast -- questions over the status of possible talks as U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to
deploy more troops to the region. Plus, Lebanon must not become the next Gaza.
That is the warning from the U.N. as a dire humanitarian situation unfolds in Lebanon. I'll speak with the UNICEF team working on the ground in
Beirut. But first, tonight, there has been a landmark decision in a U.S. trial involving Meta, that is the owner of Facebook and the owner of
Instagram, as well as YouTube owned, of course, by Google.
A California jury found YouTube and Meta liable for $3 million in damages. We are expecting a news conference, I'm not sure if we've got the image
there from that news conference yet outside the courtroom soon, of course, as soon as that gets away, we'll bring it to you.
These are live images outside Los Angeles there as we wait, of course, for the presser. But let me give you some context in the case, because the case
involves testimony from a young woman who claimed the company's apps caused addiction as well as depression by design.
Let me bring in Sara Fischer, she knows this ruling upside down. And this Sara, is a significant ruling, a huge moment. So, talk us through what the
jury has determined, and what this means for these tech giants going forward.
SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: The jury determined that these companies were liable for the impact on this young woman's mental health. And the
reason that matters is, there are thousands of like-minded cases all around the country that are being brought against tech giants like Meta and
Google, as well as Snapchat and TikTok.
And this particular case sets a precedent that allows those cases essentially to move forward. Anyone that wants to sue these tech giants now
for damages, essentially has a blueprint that they could point to, which strengthens their case.
You have some firms like TikTok and Snap that opted to settle out of fear of being found guilty, but this is going to be hugely problematic. Even if
3 million doesn't sound a lot right now, it's important to note that one, they might be expected to pay more damages because there's a future hearing
that will determine future penalties. And two, they might face thousands of other cases just like this.
SOARES: Seeing that, you know, I think jurors found Meta to be 70 percent, Sara, responsible for the plaintiff's harm, and YouTube was 30 percent to
blame. But this is being characterized a big tobacco moment, right? For the social media industry.
And like you said, this -- it may change the several trials we've got underway. Just -- can you just take us back on this particular -- the
question of the harming -- the mental health of now -- of this 20-year-old woman.
Talk us -- talk us to what we heard because they're accused of intentionally designing addictive features, right, Sara? So, we've been
hearing about a month of testimony, week of deliberations. Talk us through what came out of that.
FISCHER: Yes, so it's not just that these platforms had addictive features like automatic video replay, tailoring their algorithms towards topics that
would target young, vulnerable, especially women, things like eating disorders or things related to their imagery.
One of the things that came out in this trial was the use of filters to beautify young women. But it's not just the addictive nature. That's one
piece of it.
The other piece of it is that the jury found that these tech companies didn't do enough to warn their users, or to stop them, or to put things in
place to prevent some of this content from reaching them, even though they knew that this was a problem.
And I think one of the reasons that Meta in particular is being asked to pay an even heftier fine here is because there had been over the past few
years, whistleblowers that have come out and shown and said Meta had an understanding of the power of Instagram, in particular, in influencing
young people and young women in these ways.
And so, I think the big takeaway here is the jury found that not only are these platforms in some ways addictive and harmful, but that they don't do
enough to stop that addiction and that harm.
[14:05:00]
SOARES: Then it does seem like a lot of money, but I think for these companies, it's a small amount of money. And like you quite rightly said,
this is just beginning, right? It's just one of potentially -- one of many trials that we're going to see coming forward.
Sara, we're going to be across this press and we're keeping an eye, of course, on that. If we have that screen from Los Angeles where we are
expecting to hear as soon as that gets underway, we'll bring that to you and monitoring that.
But Sara Fischer, really appreciate you coming on and breaking this -- all this breaking news down for us. A huge moment, of course, a significant
ruling for the tech industry.
We're going to leave that for a moment and really focus on what a story that we've been focusing on for several weeks now, coming into fourth week,
and that is the competing narratives we've been getting in the last 48 hours or so, from the United States and Iran over efforts to end the war.
While President Donald Trump says Tehran wants to make a deal, Iranian officials have yet to confirm that there are actually talks going on. An
Iranian military spokesman seemed to taunt the White House, asking for U.S. is negotiating with itself.
So, the question we're asking tonight, where does the truth lie? Iranian state media says Tehran is responding to 15-point proposal from the United
States by laying out its own conditions. We'll talk about those in a moment because they include a guarantee that Iran can exercise sovereignty over
the Strait of Hormuz and the payment of war damages.
Two senior administration officials tell CNN, the White House is trying to set up a meeting in Pakistan this weekend to discuss an off-ramp to the
war. Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to travel there for those talks.
And amid all the chatter about negotiations, the United States is sending another 1,000 U.S. soldiers to the region, and they're going to join
thousands of marines and sailors -- if you remember, we've been telling you about who were already deployed to the region.
Here is what the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had to say just moments ago. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Our military efforts grow more successful with each passing day, steadily degrading Iran's ability to
terrorize merchant ships. For all of these reasons, we are very close to meeting the core objectives of Operation Epic Fury and this military
mission continues unabated.
From the outset, President Trump and the Department of War estimated it would take approximately 4 to 6 weeks to achieve this critical mission,
twenty-five days in, the greatest military the world has ever known is ahead of schedule and performing exceptionally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And let me tell you what else we heard from Karoline Leavitt before I go to Jeremy and more on this. Karoline Leavitt said, it's been a
resounding military triumph. She also said that Iran has been defeated militarily.
She also added that President Trump does not bluff, and is prepared to unleash hell on Iran, her words, and she warned that Iran should not
miscalculate again. Let's get more on this. I promise we'll bring you Jeremy Diamond who is in Tel Aviv, our senior international correspondent,
Fred Pleitgen is here with me in the studio.
We're getting lots of lines coming in now from Karoline Leavitt, but I think that, Fred, to you, the back-and-forth for viewers watching us for
the last several days -- oh, Jeremy is with me here. For the last several days, it is -- it's hard to make sense of what's going on, right?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes --
SOARES: It's hard because one side says one thing, he said-he said. What - - first of all, tell us what you're hearing from the Iranian side.
PLEITGEN: So, as far as the Iranians are concerned, yes, there are contacts going on between Tehran and the Trump administration. No, they are
not direct. And the Iranians certainly don't qualify these as being full-on negotiations.
I think there has been an acknowledgment that the United States has essentially stated some of the things that it wants to get out of all of
this, what they would consider the circumstances to end the war with Iran and the Iranians, as you note, seem to be sort of floating some of the
things that they want as well.
Whether or not that means that they're close to a meeting, it's very difficult to ascertain because it would be hard to see the American Vice
President traveling all the way to Pakistan, unless the two sides were very close to reaching an agreement.
SOARES: And these 15 points that the U.S. President put forward, and then Iran has come out with their --
PLEITGEN: Yes --
SOARES: Own list. Talk us through those.
PLEITGEN: Well, it's hard to say. No one really knows what exactly these 15 points are, but one of the things to go by maybe, is what was talked
about in negotiations in the past. Of course, one of the big factors will no doubt be Iran's nuclear program.
Whether or not there's going to be nuclear enrichment and the sort of stockpiles, I think one of the things that could be a lot smaller issue
than many people think is actually the highly enriched uranium, because the Iranians in the past have said that they are willing to dilute that
uranium.
Whether it's in Russia, whether it's in Iran, I'm not sure that they would give it to the United States, I highly doubt that. But the whole talk of a
possible commando operation into the Natanz nuclear facility is something that the U.S. could definitely also get at the negotiating table --
SOARES: Yes --
PLEITGEN: If there is -- if there is an agreement. Both sides have also said, and I think this -- I don't know if this is part of the 15 points
that was floated, what the Iranians are floating or how much they've actually floated to one another.
[14:10:00]
But both sides seem to agree that they want this to be the end of the major conflict between the United --
SOARES: Right --
PLEITGEN: States and Iran. They want something that is --
SOARES: So, that's a starting point --
PLEITGEN: Lasting, and I think that's something that both sides can agree on.
SOARES: Let me -- let me bring Jeremy into this. I mean, Jeremy, you know, you've been covering this. We've been on back-and-forth. I mean, this is
pretty head-spinning the back-and-forth -- but we're seeing between both sides and we're trying to read the tea leaves.
But it's interesting because as we hear the diplomatic tea leaves and we try to read this at the same time, we're hearing from the U.S.
administration that about a 1,000 U.S. soldiers are being sent to the region, it's on top of the other -- the other personnel that we've seen in
the last week.
And we've just seen in the last what? Half an hour or so, Karoline Leavitt basically declining to promise that President Trump would actually get
congressional approval authorization before deploying troops. So, how should we read this moment? How are you interpreting? What are you hearing
from the Israelis?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, in so many ways, it is very similar to what we saw in the lead-up to February 28th when Israel and
the United States carried out those first strikes on Iran.
Remember, in the days and weeks before that, we saw this massive military build-up in the region that was certainly being used as kind of a cudgel in
those negotiations with Iran that were taking place. But it was also, at the same time, a very credible military threat, and one that ultimately,
Israel and the United States decided to carry forward.
And what we also saw at the time was the Israeli Prime Minister publicly going along with President Trump's efforts at diplomacy at the time, giving
him the space to do that and seemingly, quietly, confident that ultimately, the United States would join Israel in carrying out strikes against Iran
and putting us into the war in which we now find ourselves.
And once again, we have heard the Israeli Prime Minister publicly say, listen, President Trump believes the time is right to transform the
military gains into diplomatic successes. He has publicly given him that space.
But privately, we understand from Israeli officials that there is concern about the possibility of these negotiations, about the possibility that the
President might agree to a month-long ceasefire in order to carry them forward.
What there is also inside the Israeli government right now is a lot of skepticism about these diplomatic efforts, skepticism that Iran is in a
different place in any way to actually agree to the terms that the United States has put forward here.
And that is indeed what we are starting to hear via this senior Iranian official speaking to Iranian state media.
SOARES: Yes, and so, Fred, let me ask you this, because we have heard from Iranian military source warning that Tehran could open additional strategic
front, and they're talking about the Bab al-Mandab Strait. What is this?
So much of what we've been doing is focusing on the Strait of Hormuz. What do we know? Because it connects the Red Sea to the gulf, right?
PLEITGEN: Yes, exactly --
SOARES: To the Gulf of Aden.
PLEITGEN: Yes --
SOARES: This is a clear warning to the United States. Don't step this up. Don't step this up, right?
PLEITGEN: Yes, I think the Iranians are sending very clear warnings, first of all, to not step this up. And then, second of all, to certainly not
start a ground invasion either. And we look at the Bab al-Mandab, obviously also one of those places where the Iranians can definitely project power.
And as you see, Yemen is right there as well. And of course, the Houthis --
SOARES: The Houthis, yes --
PLEITGEN: Very much on the side of the Iranians and have said that they are going to get involved in this conflict. So, the Iranians, definitely
they're saying that they can project power, not just in the Strait of Hormuz, but in the Bab al-Mandab as well, and saying that they're going to
do that.
I think one of the things with this -- with this talk of a ground invasion, it is certainly something that makes the diplomatic efforts, I think very
difficult because the Iranians, if they -- if they are right now putting together a negotiating position, they're seeing these troop build-ups
happen.
They're seeing these ships. And that's the kind of pressure that for them, they feel that they need to react to --
SOARES: Well, they've been there before, right? Because --
PLEITGEN: They need to up their own -- yes, they've been there, they've been there before, but a ground invasion is obviously something completely
different --
SOARES: Yes --
PLIETGEN: And of course, what the Iranians are saying is look, first of all, you can -- you can try to put those troops on the ground, but they'll
be on Iran's turf fighting on Iran's terms. It's a very difficult terrain to try and have a foothold in. Even the Kharg Island --
SOARES: Yes --
PLEITGEN: The Iranians are saying no American troops would ever be safe on Kharg Island, because it's -- I mean, it's very close to Iran. It's not a
very big place, there's not much cover there. So, the Iranians definitely very wary of what is going on, especially for all the reasons that Jeremy
just said --
SOARES: That Jeremy outlined --
PLEITGEN: Because it looks very much like the run up to the -- to the initial war that happened where the military build-up was going on,
diplomatic efforts were going on as well. But in the end, all of that fell apart.
SOARES: Jeremy, Fred, so great to have your analysis here, really important. Thank you very much to you both. Well, let's stay with this. And
we're thankful to have with us Aaron David Miller; a former Middle East negotiator for the U.S. State Department who played, of course, a pivotal
role in the historic Oslo Accords between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
[14:15:00]
He's currently a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Aaron, great to have you back on the show. As you heard there from
our correspondents, we are hearing competing narratives hard for many of us, including our viewers, to make sense of what is happening.
The question then becomes, where then does the truth lie? Help us -- help illuminate us here, Aaron.
AARON DAVID MILLER, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: I mean, look, if you -- if the war stopped today, despite the
tactical achievements that both the -- and the impressive achievements of the U.S. military and what the Israelis have done, it would be considered a
tactical success, but a strategic failure.
And right now, I think we are betwixt in between. On one hand, you have negotiations hoped for, planned. You may even get a meeting or two. There's
absolutely no way under these circumstances, given the competing red lines between Tehran and Washington.
Forget the Israelis for the moment, because whatever --
SOARES: Yes --
MILLER: Donald Trump agrees to, Netanyahu is going to accept. There's no way you're going to get a negotiation and an agreement right now. That
leaves escalation, coercive force, and I think you really are trapped. The Straits are the thing.
SOARES: Yes --
MILLER: This was a trilateral affair between Iran, Israel and the U.S. It's now become a global and international crisis, this war of choice that
Trump waged has now become a war of necessity. If he doesn't open up the Straits, and fundamentally stop the Iranians from deciding what or who gets
through, this will be more than a defeat. It will be a strategic defeat.
SOARES: And it does --
MILLER: That means he's in a box.
SOARES: Yes, and that was going to be my question. I mean, it sounds like he's boxed himself in, and it doesn't seem like he really has much of a
choice here, Aaron. I mean, does he go deeper into the war or does he get a concession out of Iran?
So far from what we've heard, it doesn't look like they are ready for negotiation. I mean, where do you -- do you agree with that? And if so,
where does this leave the President?
MILLER: I mean, what -- I mean, what matters to Donald Trump? That's the question that I think, the subtext of your question --
SOARES: Yes --
MILLER: What matters to Donald Trump? He's not on the ballot in November. The Republicans are going to lose the House even before this happened. He
said it in the wake of Venezuela. He said the only constraint that exists is the constraint within my own mind, my own morality.
Right now, negotiations will not work, the Iranians are going to demand a price that Donald Trump is not prepared to pay, and that leaves him with
the reality of having to mount a major operation, not just to open the Straits, but to keep them open.
What, 500 miles of coastline with almost 2 million Iranians on the literal, exposing American forces, not with Tomahawk missiles and cruise missiles,
but actually Americans in theater on the ground? It's mind-boggling.
SOARES: Then I suppose it begs the question, how much will we be focusing then, Aaron, on diplomacy? I'm only asking this, given what we've -- the
conversations we will just be having with our correspondents, right?
We're seeing a lot of military movement from the United States. The President, I suppose, the question then becomes, is the President
negotiating in bad faith, or is he keeping his options open here?
We heard Karoline Leavitt just before we came on air, basically saying that the President would, decline to -- promise that the President would seek
congressional authorization before deploying troops in Iran, saying that at this moment, it's unnecessary.
MILLER: Congressional authorizations unnecessary, or deploying troops in the gulf is unnecessary.
SOARES: Declined to promise the President -- would seek congressional authorization before deploying troops in Iran.
MILLER: Right, look, the issue is not whether or not you can get a meeting. We've seen the results of the diplomacy conducted by the
President's best friend and his son-in-law.
SOARES: Yes --
MILLER: We've seen the results with Russia and Ukraine. There are no results. We've seen the Israeli-Palestinian thing. Yes, phase one was
implemented, but no prospect of implementing phase two.
And I think you have to face the reality the Iranians believe they have leverage, and they will demand -- look, negotiations could work if Trump is
prepared to create what I would call a balance of interests, which is how negotiations really do succeed.
Each side meets their requirements and they walk away with wins. That's not Donald Trump's conception of a negotiation.
[14:20:00]
His conception is I win, you lose. And right now, the Iranians aren't interested in negotiating. And I think that forces Trump basically into
continuing to knock on their door as the demand doer. He keeps saying they're desperate for a deal. He's the one who floated the 20-point plan.
SOARES: Yes --
MILLER: He's the one who is willing to deploy the Vice President to Islamabad. He's the demand doer. Because he knows he's in a box, and he
can't find a way out. Problem with wars of choice that are not defined and no sense of what the unanticipated consequences of such a war would be.
Did he really believe the regime was going to collapse? He's going to find an Iranian Delcy Rodrguez. My colleague at Carnegie, Karim Sadjadpour,
argues that what he's found is an Iranian Kim Jong-un. That's who he's dealing with --
SOARES: If anything, millions -- yes -- if anything, you know, those who have now taken over from, you know, following the decapitation by Mossad
are more -- are more extreme, more hardline.
MILLER: I think the paradox here is killing Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, a bad man responsible for so much blood.
SOARES: Yes --
MILLER: Has paradoxically created a situation where you don't have legitimate figures who are prepared to make decisions. And the ones that
are prepared to make decisions have no flexibility.
SOARES: Aaron, you don't give me much optimism at this hour --
MILLER: I wish --
SOARES: I just don't see --
MILLER: I wish I could see the world in that way.
SOARES: Yes --
MILLER: I mean --
SOARES: But you think coming out of it -- yes, go ahead, wrap -- let me -- final thought from you, Aaron --
MILLER: No, I mean, look, you know, Jack Kennedy described himself as an idealist without illusion. That's where I am.
SOARES: Yes --
MILLER: But if you're going to change things, you need to see the world the way it is, not just the way you want it to be.
SOARES: Yes.
MILLER: And that's the problem here. He banked on a set of assumptions that made sense to him in the wake of Venezuela, and what he's finding are
that those assumptions are basically tethered to a galaxy far away, not to the realities back here on planet earth. And now we find ourselves in this
situation.
SOARES: Valuable insight as always, Aaron, so good to have your perspective, Aaron David Miller there, thank you very much, good to see
you.
MILLER: Thanks so much for having me --
SOARES: Appreciate it --
MILLER: Thanks so much --
SOARES: Appreciate it. We're going to continue on this story and still to come tonight, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing to
fundamentally change the situation in Lebanon amid an escalating war with Hezbollah. What that means coming up.
Plus, some improvements through the Strait of Hormuz. We'll have the latest data on ship movement in the region and the impact of oil prices. Of
course, there's been so much volatility following, of course, the back-and- forth between Iran and the United States.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:25:00]
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. More oil tankers and cargo ships are passing through the Strait of Hormuz. That is according to Marine Traffic,
a ship-tracking service. Iran says it will allow countries safe passage through the critical route in exchange for a fee.
We'll get more on that for you in just a moment. And this comes at a critical time, of course, for global supply with the Philippines declaring
a state of emergency over a lack of energy resources, over in Japan, officials have released 30 days' worth of oil from its strategic reserves.
And this comes as crude oil prices have fallen slightly. As you can see, there's a live look at the market. Let's get more on this from our business
economics reporter Anna Cooban, who joins me now at the -- at the stamp.
And Anna, just bring me up to date then on where we are on the markets because we've seen so much volatility there with you at the podium. Just
talk us through.
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS & ECONOMICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, there seems to be some light relief today. Some optimism at least among markets.
I mean, we can see everything in the green. A few days ago, this would have all been red.
They're up in the U.S. not by a huge amount, but still up, and then European markets a similar story. Asian markets also closed in the green
today. And you've mentioned oil, the sort of -- the commodity that we're all watching. This is down. This is again some relief.
Now, this is because of the optimistic sort of noises coming out of the White House around potential peace talks. Obviously, we've had a bit of
back-and-forth with Iran as to the progress with that, but nonetheless, we have heard the story has shifted in that direction, and that data that
we've seen that more ships, not a lot, but more are getting through that Strait of Hormuz.
But I think, you know, as much as I love reporting on markets, Isa, and it's sort of, you know, what I have ahead in every single day,
fundamentally, a lot of the time, that's about confidence, predictions and feelings.
And I think that in order to get the measure of a crisis, you need to understand what's happening on the ground. And I want to point you to a
very particular region that's particularly vulnerable, and that is Asia.
So, there have been a number of energy-conserving measures that have come out in the past few weeks. I want to highlight a few of them. The
Philippines, you mentioned, the first country to declare a state of emergency.
They have told government workers, have a four-day work week and don't turn your air conditioning down below 24 degrees Celsius. Try and conserve
energy.
And then Thailand over here, they're saying, you know, no overseas trips for government workers and work from home. China is interesting because it
is a fuel exporter around the Asia region. They have limited their exports of fuel like jet fuel and diesel because they want to keep their strategic
reserves full as much as possible.
They're anticipating potential shortages. And then South Korea, they're saying, people, please, take shorter showers. And they have introduced a
fuel price cap for the first time in 30 years. But I want to give a special mention to Japan.
Now, Japan is really vulnerable. It's particularly vulnerable. Around 90 percent of its oil comes from the Middle East region. We've had that
release of that oil from the strategic reserves, the announcement today.
But also, they are saying -- they're urging people, please don't panic buy, don't panic, buy toilet roll as they've been seeing because people are
worried about potential shortages of consumer goods. So, yes, markets, they're in the green.
There's some optimism here, but I think fundamentally, Isa, people on the ground and in Asia, particularly, are still really feeling this crisis.
SOARES: Yes, one investor is telling me we're not through -- we're not out the woods yet. And that just speaks volumes given what we are seeing, of
course, in the equity markets and in the oil markets. Anna, I really appreciate it, thank you very much there.
And still to come tonight, the Israeli military says it's expanding what it calls a buffer zone in southern Lebanon as the U.N. warns the country risks
the same fate as Gaza. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:00]
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. The U.N. Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, is urging an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah,
saying Lebanon cannot become the next Gaza. But if anything, signs point to an escalation of war instead. Here you see Israeli vehicles near the
Lebanese border after the IDF announced plans to take control of a large part of southern Lebanon. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is
determined to dismantle Hezbollah. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We have created a genuine security buffer that prevents any ground incursion into
the Galilee and our northern border. We are now expanding this buffer zone to push back the anti-tank threat against our communities and territory. In
essence, we are creating a border safety belt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, Israel is also expanding airstrikes across Lebanon, now hitting fuel stations as well. Hezbollah says it will not negotiate with
Israel while Lebanon is under attack, saying that would amount to forced surrender.
Our Nick Paton Walsh has been on the story. He joins us now from Beirut. So, Nick, let me pick up where Netanyahu, Prime Minister Netanyahu is at.
When he says we are creating a border safety belt, a security buffer, what does that actually mean in real terms?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I think it remains to be seen exactly how far deep into Lebanon this Israeli
security buffer zone, essentially a short- or longer-term occupation of part of their territory, will indeed lead to. Netanyahu was clear that they
are resolved, he said, to fundamentally change the situation inside of Lebanon and that they are remaining focused on dismantling Hezbollah.
Now, dismantling isn't quite the same as disarm, which was how his defense minister referred to their goals here over a week or so ago. But clearly,
for many Lebanese here, there is a particularly aggressive Israeli assault underway, one in which the defense minister said they will clearly target
bridges across the Netanyahu River. That is the natural geographical boundary for a large part of southern Lebanon that weeks ago Israel told
civilians to forcibly evacuate from.
At the same time, as you mentioned, there are now gas stations that are being hit. We also heard from Lebanese state media of two paramedics being
killed in uniform by Israel in the town of Nabatea as well, joining a list of medical emergency services targets that have been hit over the past week
or so we've seen ourselves.
And so, I think the concern amongst ordinary Lebanese is that we are seeing an expanding Israeli list of targets potentially here, a clearly quite
extensive series of ambitions for Lebanon in southern Lebanon, sorry, for Israel in southern Lebanon. And at the same time as well, on the far-right
side of Israeli politics, the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, just talks about the possibility of annexing, occupying all the way up to the
Litani River.
[14:35:00]
Now, since the initial bridges were blown in the last 48, 72 hours or so, we've seen population, a depopulated city of Tyre potentially empty out
more, but still explosions, Israeli strikes hitting around that particular city and indeed strikes continuing here around Beirut as well, particularly
in the southern suburb of Dahiya, where Hezbollah have a significant presence.
But ultimately, I think there are possibly, according to my colleagues reporting out of Tel Aviv, concerns that we may see some sort of, in the
Israeli viewpoint, some kind of ceasefire to enable a deal to be made with Iran. Does that impact Israel's separate conflict with Hezbollah, initiated
by Hezbollah in their desire to avenge the death of Ayatollah Khamenei as part of this original war? Well, I should point out that we are technically
had a ceasefire in late 2024, one in which Israel continued to hit targets inside Lebanon at will.
So, this, a decades-long conflict, an issue that Israel has sought to significantly change, that remains their goal today. How viable that really
is, given how embedded in political and social life, and military life, of course, Hezbollah inside Lebanon indeed are, we simply don't know at this
point. But many Lebanese deeply concerned about the possibility of a significant ground invasion, particularly with Israel calling up hundreds
of thousands of reserves. Isa.
SOARES: Yes, yes. And we've heard the U.N. secretary general today basically saying, warning that Lebanon cannot become the next Gaza. Give us
a sense, Nick, and I know you've done excellent reporting on the ground, and we've shown your reporting here on air, on the impact this is having on
just daily life of so many people, many of whom have been displaced twice, three times over, right?
WALSH: Yes. I mean, look, you go around the capital here, a place where I lived for many years, and you see just the number of tents on the streets,
you know, businesses shuttered, buildings empty, the power cuts that occasionally hit around here too. There's an enormous impact on the economy
of the last years' worth of damage that conflict and other issues have done here too.
We headed to the south ourselves on the other side of the Litani River. It is greatly depopulated, but many simply don't have the financing to move
themselves up towards Beirut or safety further in the north and staying closer to Tehran and other places as well. There's a huge concern about the
simple viability of returning home given the damage being done by the conflict right now, and I think also too there is a wider concern amongst
Lebanese society of the sort of tipping point that they're ultimately at.
And it's not a similar goal, but it is the same words. Lebanese government has said they want to disarm Hezbollah, and so has Israel. And while the
Lebanese government lack the means to do that, that is a relatively new ambition in terms of how starkly it's being put here. But we're still in
this moment where Hezbollah's fight against Israel risks huge amounts of damage to the rest of Lebanon. That is already occurring.
But Israel also risks potentially giving Hezbollah some traction in society again indeed if they cause such a violation of Lebanese sovereignty, such
damage to civilian infrastructure here, that Lebanese begin, like they did in 2006, to potentially look to Hezbollah again as somebody able to hold
back the Israeli advance.
So, a lot moving here. As I say, a decades-long issue that has failed to have any resolution over multiple conflicts. Is it any different this time?
It's unclear. I think what is different is the sheer sense of fear here about the growing target list Israel has amongst civilian infrastructure,
medical resources it seems too, and how that's leaving people deeply worried about the weeks ahead, Isa.
SOARES: Yes. So, many layers, of course, in your context it's so valuable. We're going to stay on the humanitarian front in Lebanon. Nick, appreciate
your life for us in Beirut.
And let's stay with this story and focus on Lebanon. UNICEF says it helped deliver life-saving supplies to some communities cut off by war in southern
Lebanon. I want to talk more about the humanitarian crisis that Nick really just was telling us about there.
I'm joined now by Marcoluigi Corsi. He's UNIF's -- UNICEF's, pardon me, representative in Lebanon. Marcoluigi, thank you for coming on the show.
Let me get a sense from you of really what you are seeing, what your team is seeing on the ground, because I was seeing today from the Norwegian
Refugee Council that one million people have now been displaced in Lebanon. That's, what, nearly one in six.
Do we have Marcoluigi? Marcoluigi, can you hear me? No? I don't think we have him. Look, what we're going to try and do, we're going to try and
check his connection. Clearly, as you can see, he is there. But he can't hear us. So, we'll try and fix that and we'll try to reconnect with
Marcoluigi.
In the meantime, I want to turn our attention to you in the U.K., because two men are under arrest in connection with a suspected anti-Semitic attack
in north London. Police say they were arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life. If you remember, this was over Monday's incident
outside a synagogue. Several ambulances belonging to a Jewish volunteer rescue were on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.
[14:40:00]
If you remember, this was over Monday's incident outside a synagogue. Several ambulances belonging to a Jewish volunteer rescue organization were
set on fire. And the investigation into the attack is ongoing. Police say security camera footage suggests at least three people were involved.
Well, in Denmark, a major election defeat for Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. According to Reuters, Frederiksen has now submitted her
government's resignation to the king. And this comes after her campaign focused on bread-and-butter issues rather than her handling of the crisis
over President Trump's ambitions towards Greenland.
We're going to take a short break, try to reconnect with Beirut and back after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Well, it is another day of frustration and long lines in America's airports. A shortage of TSA agents caused by the prolonged shutdown of
Homeland Security. As many airports operating with less than half the normal number of course of security lines. Congressional negotiators say
they're getting closer to a deal to restore TSA funding. But until they do, the travel nightmare really does go on with some busy airports reporting
lines as much as four hours long.
Now, we don't ordinarily report on local elections in the U.S. But what happened in Florida on Tuesday is pretty notable. Democrat Emily Gregory
won a state house election in a district that had been seen as reliably Republican. In and of itself, that is notable. But not a big deal.
So, here is why this story is making headlines. The district happens to include Donald Trump's Florida home, Mar-a-Lago. Essentially, a Democrat
won in Mr. Trump's backyard. It is worth noting that Trump voted in the election, sending in his ballot by mail, even though he has repeatedly
railed against mail-in balloting, as you know.
Well, I promised you just before we went to break that we'd try and bring you the humanitarian perspective, of course, of what is going on in
Lebanon. We have fixed our connection with Marcoluigi Corsi, who is UNICEF's representative in Lebanon. Marcoluigi, do you have me? Can you
hear me?
MARCOLUIGI CORSI, UNICEF REPRESENTATIVE IN LEBANON: I can hear you well. Good evening.
SOARES: Wonderful. Thank you very much for taking the time to speak to us. I was asking before we went, before we couldn't connect, you know, the
staggering figures that we're seeing from the Norwegian Refugee Council. I think 1 million people have now been displaced. That is nearly one in six
people. Just give us a sense of what you are seeing on the ground, what your team is seeing on the ground.
[14:45:00]
CORSI: Yes, indeed, we are close to 1.1 million people displaced, 30 percent are children. And as the conflict escalates, particularly in the
south and eastern part of the country, you have massive of people displaced, fleeing their home without nothing, including here in the
southern part of Beirut. So, this is creating a lot of pressure on the public system, on the system to provide services, basic services to meet
their basic needs.
So, just a fraction of the people who are moving, they are accommodated in about 600 shelters, but the majority are actually in host communities or
really living on the streets. So, the problem is that the longer the conflict lasts, the more pressure will be on the services.
At the moment, really the basic needs are around water and sanitation, hygiene, protection for the children, learning. The schools have been
closed now for three weeks. Most of these shelters are actually schools. So, there is a massive need in terms of continuing the learning for the
children, at least to give them back a sense of normalcy.
We should not forget that the majority of these kids, they were the ones that went through the same nightmare just 18 months ago when there was, in
October, November 2024, the same kind of escalation.
SOARES: Yes, and that's such an important point, the conversation I had a few weeks ago. And I wonder if you could expand on that, you know, because
for many of these children, we've seen footage from UNICEF, for many of these children, of course, this is renewed trauma, right, Marcoluigi, they
have lived this 15, what, 15 months ago or so? Speak to the psychological impact this is having on so many of these children who might not know when
they're going back home next.
CORSI: That's right. The trauma is there. When -- you know, when you go around, you meet children in different shelters. First of all, they tell
you, this is exactly the same place where I was 18 months ago. And you see that some of them, they are completely lost because they live close to
areas where there continues to be bombardment across -- every day. So, the trauma is very much there.
What we have done together under the leadership of the government, we have mobilized volunteers, psychologists, to make sure that the psychological
support for the families and the children is there. But of course, this -- you know, it will last. It's not going to disappear just because we are
providing now. The trauma comes back. That's why it's important that the kids get back to their normal life, particularly in terms of the learning,
the learning space that has to be provided. That now is the urgent need for the humanitarians.
SOARES: Yes. I mean, as we were hearing from our correspondent, you know, just, what, five minutes ago or so, Marcoluigi, Israel is expanding really
its mobilization. So, it doesn't look like we are nearing an end. I know that UNICEF runs a program for injured children. I believe that you've
worked on treating something like 20 children. Can you talk us through some of the injuries that you've seen?
CORSI: Look, I mean, I think I've been in this business for many years, but what I saw through this ACWA program, which is Indeed Support Children
Injured, they come here with massive injuries, and not only massive injuries, but, you know, they -- in the -- during the transportation from
where they are, because the majority of these kids that come from the south and eastern part, they go through several resuscitations.
And what is the most, let's say, scary, is that what the medical people, they don't know, in the sense that they don't know what they don't know.
And that's when the kids get to the hospital, they have to be resuscitated several times. They have to go to the operating room several times. And
some of them, you know, they will never recover. So, this is really something that is very, very powerful in terms of emotional.
You speak to them, some of them, and the first question that they have is like, is there justice? What is humanity? When they have lost their
parents, they have lost their siblings, and you don't have an answer to them. So, in addition to, of course, the scars, the wounds, and then the
disability that we carry with them throughout, they will also have the deep sense of injustice of what happened to them.
SOARES: Yes, where is humanity? A very good question indeed. Something that many of us very often ask here on the show. Marcoluigi, really
appreciate you coming on the show. And, Marcoluigi, of course, you're there for us from Beirut. Thank you. We're going to take a short break. We'll see
you on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:00]
SOARES: Welcome back. NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie is speaking out about her missing mother and future plans to return to work. Guthrie taped an
interview with friend and colleague Hoda Kotb. The two discussed the February 1st disappearance of Nancy Guthrie from her Arizona home. Savannah
Guthrie has taken time off from work to be in Arizona and helping the search for her mother. Here's part of that conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, "TODAY" SHOW HOST: Someone needs to do the right thing. We are in agony.
HODA KOTB. "TODAY" SHOW HOST: Yes.
GUTHRIE: We are in agony. It is unbearable. And to think of what she went through. I wake up every night in the middle of the night. Every night. And
in the darkness. I imagine her terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Thinking of Savannah, and all her family. And that full interview will air Thursday. And Friday.
Well, a new era for the Church of England and Anglican community worldwide here in the U.K.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MOST REV. SARAH MULLALLY, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY: I am Sarah, a servant of Jesus Christ. I come as one seeking the grace of God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Dame Sarah Mullally has now been enthroned as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury. Among those in attendance at today's service, the
Prince and Princess of Wales, as you can see there, as well as the British prime minister, Keir Starmer.
And finally, tonight, a competition showcasing the beauty of our natural world. And this was the amazing winning picture, as you can see there, for
the Natural History Museum's Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award. As you can see, it was captured by photographer Joseph Stephan. It shows a
young Iberian lynx playing with, let's just say, an unfortunate prey, as you can see here. Joseph spent three days camouflaged in a hide in central
Spain to try and get this and took the spot against 60,000 submissions. Congratulations to him.
And among the runners-up, I want to show you some of them. This heartwarming image, as you can see, of a polar bear mum and her cubs right
around her, you know, resting in that summer warmth there in the Hudson Bay coast. That is in Canada. And it depicts an increasingly lair site of
survival amid a shrinking sea, of course.
[14:55:00]
Next, in this striking contrast between a group of pink flamingos, as you can see right at the bottom, and human power lines. And this is in Walvis
Bay in Namibia. I also want to show you this shot of sick a deer in Japan, which shows the head, as you can see there, of a rival male, lodged onto
its antler there and slants right off the top, resulting from what we just assumed, a gruesome fight.
And I want to take you back to Canada, because two young -- oh, my God, this is just so cute. Two young bear cubs, as you can see there, were
caught wrestling in the headlights of a quiet road there. This is by Will Nicholls of Jasper National Park. Really, really beautiful image there,
captured by Will Nicholls.
Fellow nature enthusiasts will be pleased to hear that the London's Natural History Museum is going to exhibit the top 100 submissions until July 12th.
I think this has to be one of my favorites.
That does it for us for tonight. Thank you very much for your company. Do stay right here. "What We Know" with Max Foster is up next. We will have
the very latest, of course, on the back and forth between Iran and the United States on the diplomacy. Thank you, your company.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
