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Length: 24:46
WOLF BLITZER: Once again,
John, thanks very much. An excellent report as usual.
Let's go to Beirut right now. Michael Ware is our
reporter on the scene there. Michael, we're getting
new information. I know you have been working this
story all day on that Israeli commando strike into
the northeastern part of Lebanon, in Baalbeck, what
would be described as a hospital. The Israelis saying
it was really a Hezbollah headquarters, if you will.
Give our viewers a sense of what we know.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Wolf, driving
out to this Hezbollah stronghold, there was a host of
things to be learned. I mean the first thing was the
complete absence of Hezbollah fighters on the street.
(EXPLOSION)
WARE: Wolf, I'm not sure if you can hear that, but
that sounded like an Israeli air strike here in
Beirut, certainly a large explosion. But in
Baalbeck--
BLITZER: Well, hold on one second, Michael, I just
want to make sure that you're OK and that you're not
in any danger. We of course could hear that. Whatever
it was, it was an explosion, a powerful explosion. We
saw you clearly flinch. If you sense that you're in
any danger, let us know and we will continue this
conversation down the road.
WARE: Absolutely, Wolf. I think for the time being
that our position here is fine. But in Baalbeck, the
other thing to notice was that it clearly is the
Hezbollah heartland. There's no question about the
support of the people in the Bekaa Valley. It was
displayed overtly in all manner of ways.
The other significant thing was, it was instructive
to see the relationship between this support base and
the Lebanese army. There's a Lebanese army presence
there very, very clearly, but it's so obvious that
these Lebanese army units either de-conflict with the
presence of Hezbollah, if not actually coordinate.
The other thing is this town, this stronghold, this
command and control center or logistics base is
nestled right against the Syrian border. And seeing
the terrain for yourself, you come to appreciate how
difficult, if not impossible, it will be to close
these smuggling routes that are bringing in the
materiel and weapons that Hezbollah so desperately
needs. But what we found at the scene of the raid is
it clearly is a hospital, however, it does not have
inpatients. It's an E.R. clinic.
So that explains the absence of patients. We were not
allowed in the hospital itself. We were only allowed
on its outskirts or outer perimeter. There was clear
signs of the battle that had raged. Locals claim 16
civilians were killed. The Israeli Defense Force say
that they can account for 10 deaths, all of them
Hezbollah fighters. So the accounts still differ --
Wolf.
BLITZER: Michael, let's get back to that loud noise
we heard when you first got up on the screen tonight.
It sounds like an explosion. Could be Israeli air
strikes. Is it an area, based on what you can see, in
south Beirut? Because that, as you know, has been a
familiar target in recent weeks, although it hasn't
been necessarily a target by the Israeli Air Force in
recent days; a stronghold, if you will, of Hezbollah.
WARE: Yes, as you rightly point out, Wolf, southern
Beirut is one of linchpins of the Hezbollah
infrastructure within this country. And certainly
that explosion, be it from Israeli air strikes or be
it from some other means, does appear to have come
from that direction. So first glance, first take, one
would assume that this was an Israeli air strike, but
that's subject to confirmation -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Twenty-four hours after the Israelis resumed
their air strikes full speed ahead. Michael Ware, be
careful over there, reporting for us from Beirut.
[further transcript coming soon]