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Length: 9:40
PAULA ZAHN: ...coming in
from Haifa, the Lebanese-Israeli border, and Beirut.
We start off in Beirut right now, where explosions
have been rocking the southern part of the city once
again tonight.
Michael Ware is there and joins me now, just about
the same time last night it happened there as well.
What do we know about these latest explosions?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, as I'm
speaking to you, Israeli jet fighters are circling
overhead. We can hear the dull roar of their engines
as I speak.
What we had about two hours ago here in Beirut was
four explosions, airstrikes by the Israeli air
defense -- air force. What they were hitting was
unknown targets in southern Beirut in the traditional
strongholds of Hezbollah.
We had an Israeli leaflet drop earlier this
afternoon, warning residents in certain areas within
these suburbs to evacuate, an ominous sign of things
to come. Could this be what is laying ahead?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WARE (voice-over): As a wave of Israeli bombing
brought the sounds of war back to Beirut, Hezbollah
did not let it go unanswered.
HASSAN NASRALLAH, HEZBOLLAH LEADER (through
translator): If you hit our capital, we will hit your
-- the capital of yours -- of your entity. If you hit
Beirut, the Islamic resistance will hit Tel Aviv, and
is able to do that, with God's help.
WARE: That threat came on a day of frightening
escalation in the war, with battles raging in
southern Lebanon, as Israel threw 10,000 troops into
the attack, pressing deeper onto Lebanese soil over a
wider front, maintaining a grip on one border village
and striking out to 20 more.
Despite the intensity of the fighting, Hezbollah gave
no sign of withering -- a spokesman warning, not one
Israeli soldier could be left in Lebanon under any
cease-fire.
As if to make their point, the guerrillas' batteries
launched more than 200 rockets across the border, a
reminder to Israel they can still inflict casualties.
Lebanon is also paying a high price. And, in most of
the country, life has been completely disrupted. Gas
lines continue to grow. And some medicines remain
scarce. The prime minister says a quarter of his
nation's three-million-plus population are displaced,
and the war is turning his government to ruins.
FUAD SINIORA, PRIME MINISTER OF LEBANON: It is taking
an enormous toll on human life and infrastructure,
and has totally ravaged our country and shattered our
economy.
WARE: That economy remains threatened -- the Israelis
refusing to let much-needed fuel tankers pass through
their naval blockade and contemplating the expansion
of airstrikes.
In the wake of Nasrallah's statement, the Israelis
immediately countered: Should rockets fall on Tel
Aviv, they will target even more of Lebanon's
infrastructure -- an exchange of threats that could
take this war down a much more ominous turn.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: Michael, at the top of your report, you talked
about the leaflets the Israelis were dropping to warn
civilians in Beirut that the campaign was expanding.
Is there any evidence they have heeded those warnings
and tried to get out?
WARE: Well, no, it's difficult to say.
The leaflets were only dropped shortly before dusk.
And, as night fell, clearly, travel to these areas is
extremely difficult. Already, the bulk of the
civilian population in these areas has evacuated,
some through choice, some because their homes were
simply destroyed. However, I ventured down there
earlier in the afternoon, and there was still clearly
a Hezbollah security presence -- Paula.
ZAHN: Michael Ware, we will come back to you as you
get more information on this latest round of
explosions. Thanks so much.
ZAHN: We now have Michael Ware up, out of Beirut.
Michael, describe to us what is going on in Beirut
right now.
WARE: Paula, right now, Beirut is under heavy Israeli
barrage from fighter jets circling overhead. Within
the space of the last 10 or 15 minutes, at least 10
Israeli bombs had fallen on the city. Once more, it's
to the south of the city, the southern suburbs.
However, it is hitting an area that is not regarded
as a traditional Hezbollah stronghold. It's a small
area, a very poor Shia community, which is nestled
against Beirut's International Airport.
So I say again, there's been at least 10 strikes in
the last 15 minutes or so -- Paula.
ZAHN: Now, does this happen, you think, to be the
same area where the Israelis had dropped leaflets
advising the civilians to get out?
WARE: No. This is one of the strange things. This is
not an area that was notified earlier this afternoon
by the Israelis to expect bombardment, and therefore
to evacuate. This is an area that was not warned. But
it's a very small area, very contained. So to have as
many as 10 bombs dropped on top of it, in such quick
succession would be having an enormous impact on the
people living there -- Paula.
ZAHN: You say this is not a traditional stronghold of
Hezbollah, and yet the Israelis have continued to
tell us that they are not targeting civilians, but
Hezbollah has burrowed itself into areas where these
civilians live.
WARE: Well, this is entirely possible. It can be any
number of things. Obviously, it's too hard to tell
right now, at quarter to 4:00 in the morning here,
with the bombing still under way and the jets
circling over me as I speak to you, Paula. So it's
very, very hard to determine, but we do know, of
course, like any guerrilla insurgency, Hezbollah
moves constantly, always shifting its locations --
Paula.
ZAHN: And Michael, before we let you go, wasn't there
an expectation you might see these kinds of
airstrikes escalate in advance of any sort of U.N.
resolution being cobbled together and voted on?
WARE: Absolutely. I mean, this has been on the cards
for some time. In fact, while you were just asking me
that question, I'm not sure if you could have heard
it, but there was yet another bombing. We're starting
to hear them much more distinctively now, and the jet
activity does seem to be increasing feverishly --
Paula.
ZAHN: And how many miles away would you say those
bombs are dropping from where you're standing now?
WARE: It's difficult to say. I would guess that it's
at least five or six kilometers from our current
position here, so three or four miles -- Paula.
ZAHN: All right, Michael Ware, please stand by if it
is safe, we'll come back to you after this short
break.
ZAHN: And we are back with more breaking news. New
explosions in Beirut as we speak. Our crews have
counted at least 10 explosions in the last 15 minutes
or so south of the central part of Beirut. Let's go
straight back to our own Michael Ware, who is on duty
there.
Michael, describe to us what you have seen, what you
have heard.
WARE: Well, Paula, right now, Beirut is a city under
attack. Whilst there's still many lights on
throughout the capital, much of it remains in
darkness. Just a few miles away from us, Israeli
warplanes are attacking unknown targets. The barrage
has been quite intense. We've now had 11 airstrikes
in the last 15 minutes or so, bringing a total of 15
attacks this evening in the last three hours. There
was another one just then, Paula. So we're now at 16
airstrikes. And the jets are still buzzing overhead.
ZAHN: We're looking at that picture very closely. You
can make it about the center of our screen when the
last one went off. What do you think is being
targeted?
WARE: It's very hard to say. My guess will be that
these are what you could call targets of opportunity.
By and large, the infrastructure of Lebanon that the
Israelis sought to destroy has been destroyed in most
part. The infrastructure, the obvious infrastructure
of Hezbollah -- its headquarters, its public offices
-- they, too, have been destroyed. So what I suspect
these are, are targets that have been identified by
intelligence. They know that someone's moving. They
can see some activity, or they have specific
information that someone or something has relocated
to a specific building or house -- Paula.
ZAHN: We should make it clear, Michael, and you have
in previous reports, that this is happening south of
central Beirut, but today the head of Hezbollah said
if central Beirut is struck, Hezbollah will retaliate
by firing on Tel Aviv. What has been the reaction
there to that threat? How seriously is that threat
being taken?
WARE: Look, Paula, it's being taken with the utmost
seriousness. That's one thing that everyone here on
both sides of the border in this conflict have come
to understand, that when Hezbollah leader Sheikh
Hassan Nasrallah makes a threat, he has carried it
through. So I think that there will be some
repercussions to follow from Hezbollah -- Paula.
ZAHN: Michael Ware, thanks so much. Michael once
again confirming that he has seen himself and heard
some 16 explosions in an area in the southern suburbs
of Beirut in just the last 15, 20 minutes -- or 17
now, alone.