Hezbollah Strikes Targets 25 Miles North of Tel Aviv; Israeli Aircraft Kill More Than 20 People Near Syria
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, Israel launches a deadly wave of new airstrikes on Lebanon. More than 20 people are killed in one attack. We'll be live in Lebanon. And Israel buries its dead after Hezbollah fires more than 200 rockets at northern Israel. Some rockets land just 25 miles north of Tel Aviv. We'll go live to Israel with a special report.</s>ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT, news, debate and opinion for Friday, August 4th. Sitting in for Lou Dobbs, Kitty Pilgrim.</s>PILGRIM: Good evening, everybody. The war between Israel and Hezbollah sharply escalated today. Hezbollah fired more than 200 rockets at Israel. Some of those rockets landed deeper in Israel than ever before. At the same time, Israel launched some of its most devastating airstrikes of the war. One of those airstrikes killed as many as 24 farm workers near the Lebanese border with Syria. Matthew Chance reports from northern Israel on the deadly rocket barrage. Brent Sadler reports from Beirut on the intensifying Israeli airstrikes. And Barbara Starr reports from the Pentagon on Hezbollah's tactics. And we turn to Matthew Chance first -- Matthew.</s>MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kitty, thanks very much. A ferocious barrage of Hezbollah rockets raining down on towns and villages across northern Israel, as we've seen for the past several weeks. More than 200 landing in the space of just this day alone, including what may be the most dangerous of the missiles strikes so far, a rocket, or at least three rockets, according to police, landing just 25 miles north of Israel's biggest city, Tel Aviv, in the town of Hadera. It caused no injuries. But it is fulfilling, that Hezbollah promise made by the militia's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, to strike further and further into Israel, deeper and deeper into this country. In the meantime, a barrage going in the other direction as well. Israeli forces pounding Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon with artillery fire and tank fire, and, of course, with the thousands of Israeli troops that have been pouring into southern Lebanon over the course of the past several days. There are between 10,000 and 12,000 ground troops in southern Lebanon now, really working their way from village to village in southern Lebanon, extending Israel's control over what will be a broad strip of territory under Israel's control north of the Israeli border. Israel says it intends to stay in control of that area, until such times an Israeli -- rather, an international force is decided upon and until it is deployed on the ground. So, until then, there could be Israeli boots on the ground in southern Lebanon for quite some time -- Kitty.</s>PILGRIM: Matthew, how much progress is Israel making into Lebanon at this point?</s>CHANCE: Well, it's making a great deal of progress in terms of its advance and its military operations in southern Lebanon. It says it wants to push several miles into southern Lebanon to push the Hezbollah militia as far back as it and can and to hold on to that territory, to make sure that the Hezbollah guerrillas can no longer infiltrate Israeli territory in their ground operations to snatch Israeli soldiers, such as the instance that sparked this war off in the first place. From that point of view, they are making a good deal of progress. But at the same time, they have not managed to stop Hezbollah's ability to strike at towns and cities across northern Israel. As I mentioned, another 200 rockets coming in over the course of this day. No matter how hard they are hit, it seems, Hezbollah has retained this ability to strike at will against Israel -- Kitty.</s>PILGRIM: Matthew -- thanks, Matthew. Matthew Chance reporting. Well, today Israel blasted the southern suburbs of Beirut. Israeli aircraft also destroyed the last major highway into Syria. More than 20 people were killed in an Israeli air raid near the Lebanese-Syrian border. Brent Sadler reports from Beirut on today's escalating airstrikes.</s>BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF (voice over): Victims of an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon's northern Bekaa Valley, close to the Syrian border, are laid out in the dirt of Qaa. Many of the dead are low-paid Syrian farm workers loading fruit, say security sources, into a waiting truck when they were killed. Israel has repeatedly fired on trucks around the border region with Syria, suspecting Hezbollah of trying to re-supply its arsenal of rockets this way. Earlier it was a reported movement of trucks traveling along a major highway that may explain Israel's early-morning raids on a series of vital bridges north of the capital. The main coastal route connecting Beirut to Lebanon's northern border with Syria was bombed in sight of the famed Casino du Liban. Lebanese motorists caught by another deadly airstrike. This was the last high-speed link for people to enter and leave the country by road. Travel now restricted by slow-moving byways and detours. Some eyewitness report heavier than usual numbers of trucks traveling along this now battered road just hours before the strike. "My brother let one of the trucks pass him," says Camille Fakiya (ph), "a split second before the road went up in a big explosion." Under the flattened heap of a bridge that spanned this wide gully, a desperate search for more victims. A man is missing, and they think he's buried under the mountain of rubble. Bystanders in this Christian heartland of Lebanon watch in resentful silence, reeling from the shock. Camille Chamoun is a Maronite Catholic political activist. "Now that Israel has broadened the air assault," he explains, "hitting more of their vital interests, the politically divided Christians are now under pressure to unite and rally behind the defense of the country."</s>CAMILLE CHAMOUN, NATIONAL LIBERAL PARTY: Public opinion is today against Israel 100 percent from this area, although before people were, you know, divided, saying maybe it will come to a happy end. But this is absolutely -- it has no explanation.</s>SADLER (on camera): The punishing airstrikes may have achieved an Israeli military objective of strangling main supply routes into Lebanon from Syria for Hezbollah. But for the Lebanese as a whole, say government officials here, it's another devastating blow against a country that's been slowly dragged to its knees... (voice over): ... day by agonizing day, as Israel bombs more targets, close to, but several miles from, the heart of the capital. Lebanese are experiencing a growing sense of collective misery, fearing there's no realistic end to the conflict in sight. Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.</s>PILGRIM: Hezbollah rockets are landing deeper in Israel as the war escalates now. Now, on July 12th, Katyusha rockets struck Shtula, just inside the Israeli border. On July 13th, they reached Haifa, 20 miles from Lebanon. On the 28th of July, a powerful rocket hit near the town of Afula. That's 30 miles from the border. And today, at least two rockets hit near Hadera, which is about 50 miles into Israel. That is the furthest yet. Hezbollah is also firing bigger rockets at Israel than ever before. U.S. and Israeli officials say Iran and Syria are helping Hezbollah. Barbara Starr reports from the Pentagon.</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): U.S. war planners and intelligence analysts are watching closely to see exactly how Hezbollah is fighting Israel. And for good reason. As one U.S. Army general told CNN, "You're watching how we would have to fight Iran." The Pentagon needs to know if its forces are ready to fight Hezbollah-type tactics if it came to war with Iran or Syria.</s>DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Our people clearly are watching what's taking place. I think anyone whoever underestimated Hezbollah were few and far between.</s>STARR: Hezbollah has about 10,000 troops. Israel, nearly 500,000. But analysts say Hezbollah is using tactics and weapons to its advantage. First, Hezbollah has Iranian and Syrian-supplied fire power.</s>GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, COMMANDER, CENTRAL COMMAND: Hezbollah fields greater and longer-range weapons than most regional armed forces.</s>STARR: Its rockets have hit 50 miles inside Israel. If the target was a U.S. position, the U.S. military would be forced to commit manpower to defend it. Second, Hezbollah has forced Israel to fight on Hezbollah's home turf, and fight in civilian areas.</s>COL. THOMAS X. HAMMES (RET.), U.S. MARINE CORPS.: They have learned how to draw Israeli forces in close so that they take away most of the advantages the Israelis have and reduce it to a small unit on small unit fight in a built-up area.</s>STARR: Third, Hezbollah has shown it can challenge Israel's air power. Dropping bombs is killing Lebanese civilians and isn't defeating Hezbollah.</s>HAMMES: They have underground paths between buildings. They have bunkers they can retreat to. They've set up the houses so they are not fighting from the outside part of the house but more inside.</s>STARR: You know, Kitty, many of these Hezbollah-type tactics are really not new. Some of them date back to the Vietnam War and even beyond that. But a lot of military planners say this time it is different because Iran is involved. Iran has been training Hezbollah, the U.S. believes, and so the U.S. has to worry now about where Iran may next turn its attention to -- Kitty.</s>PILGRIM: Thanks, Barbara. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Well, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, said diplomatic efforts to end the conflict are making progress. The United States and France are trying to reach a deal on a United Nations Security Council resolution. Richard Roth reports from the United Nations -- Richard.</s>RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Kitty, the United States has been saying there may be a resolution for the Security Council in a number of days, and a number of days have gone by. But now things seems to be approaching some type of final stage. The United States ambassador, John Bolton, and his French counterpart have been meeting all day while the fighting rages in Lebanon. There is definite impatience here among other countries, but everybody knows the main players are the U.S. and France. They are still stuck on the timing and sequence of events that would occur. Yet, there's a lot of intensive dialogue behind the scenes. The U.S. ambassador was asked how he feels this time, unlike the Iraq war, France is working very closely with the United States.</s>JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMB. TO U.N.: It feels entirely natural. We have a profound interest in this, as does France, and I think it's important that we try to reach agreement. We've certainly always had agreement on the broad objectives. There's never been any question about that. And we would like to -- we would like to be able to come up with a co-sponsored resolution, and that's what we're moving toward here.</s>ROTH: Secretary-General Kofi Annan spoke by phone this afternoon with President Bush. He also spoke with Jacques Chirac, the French leader. And just within the last hour, Arab ambassadors met with the U.N. deputy secretary-general, concerned about the pace of events and wanting to get the latest on the resolution wrangle. Back to you, Kitty.</s>PILGRIM: On the issue of pace, Richard, there was some discussion of two resolutions versus one. What might that do to the pace? And is that still under discussion?</s>ROTH: There -- that could still very well happen. We were told by State Department sources and other diplomats that U.S. and France may be ready to present the first and significant resolution to other members of the Security Council sometime this weekend. That could lead to a vote early next week. The second resolution would be more of the finishing touches, the major principals to be lined up, because France and the U.S. disagree on what happens once there's some type of temporary cease-fire. The United States wants to sketch in a lot more details. France wants to get the guns to fall silent and then put some type of emergency force in there. But, what type of protection for that force? Would Hezbollah respect the resolutions -- Kitty.</s>PILGRIM: Important days for the U.N. coming up. Thanks very much, Richard Roth. Still to come, thousands of radical Islamists march in Baghdad. Are Iraqis supporting Hezbollah? We'll have a special report from Baghdad. Also, it's Senator Hillary Clinton versus Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. We'll go live to Capitol Hill. And Israel says Syria is helping Hezbollah attack Israel. We'll have a special report from Jerusalem and a live report from Damascus.