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>>> HELLO, EVERYONE, AND WELCOME TO "AMANPOUR AND COMPANY."
HERE'S WHAT'S COMING UP.
>> YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE BEFORE IT FALLS INTO THE ABYSS OF A LONG WAR.
>> BENJAMIN NETANYAHU SPEAKS DIRECTLY TO THE LEBANESE PEOPLE, PUSHING HIS PLAN TO RESHAPE THE MIDDLE EAST.
WHAT DOES THE GOVERNMENT THERE THINK?
I ASK RAMI MORTADA, THE LAB NEEZ AMBASSADOR HERE IN THE UK.
AND -- >> YOU WANT TO PICK A FIGHT WITH MOTHER NATURE, SHE'S WINNING 100% OF THE TIME.
>> A HISTORIC HURRICANE BARRELS TOWARDS FLORIDA.
WE GET THE LATEST ON THIS DEADLY SUPER STORM, THE SECOND IN TWO WEEKS.
PLUS -- >> THEY WERE SEEING MONTHS, LEADING UP TO THE OCTOBER 7th ATTACK, BASICALLY PRACTICE DRILLS.
>> THE WOMEN WHO TRIED TO WARN AN THE HAMAS INVASION.
WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTER ANAT PELED SAYS HOW THE MASSACRE OF FEMALE SOLDIERS CAME TO SYMBOLIZE OCTOBER 7th FAILURES.
♪♪ >>> "AMANPOUR AND COMPANY" IS MADE POSSIBLE BY -- THE ANDERSON FAMILY ENDOWMENT.
JIM ATTWOOD AND LESLIE WILLIAMS.
CANDACE KING WEIR.
THE SYLVIA A.
AND SIMON B. POYTA PROGRAMMING ENDOWMENT TO FIGHT ANTI-SEMITISM.
THE FAMILY FOUNDATION OF LEILA AND MICKEY STRAUS.
MARK J. BLECHNER.
THE FILOMEN M. D'AGOSTINO FOUNDATION.
SETON J. MELVIN.
THE PETER G. PETERSON AND JOAN GANZ COONEY FUND.
CHARLES ROSENBLUM.
KOO AND PATRICIA YUEN, COMMITTED TO BRIDGING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
BARBARA HOPE ZUCKERBERG.
JEFFREY KATZ AND BETH ROGERS.
AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.
THANK YOU.
>>> WELCOME TO THE PROGRAM, EVERYONE, I'M CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR IN LONDON.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 49 DAYS, PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN AND ISRAELI'S PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU SPOKE ABOUT THE RAPIDLY EXPANDING WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST TODAY.
IT'S A TIME OF EXTREME TENSION, WITH THE U.S.
APPEARING TO LOSE INFLUENCE OVER ITS ALLY ISRAEL'S INTENTIONS ABOUT TAKING ON HAMAS, HEZBOLLAH, AND IRAN.
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE AND VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS ALSO JOINED TODAY'S PHONE CALL, WHICH WAS SAID TO FOCUS ON HOW ISRAEL WILL RESPOND TO TEHRAN'S MISSILE ATTACK.
DEFENSE MINISTER YOU'VE GALLANT SAYS ISRAEL IS CLOSELY COORDINATING WITH THE UNITED STATES, BUT IN THE END, WILL MAKE ITS OWN DECISIONS.
GAZA, THOUGH, WHERE ISRAEL STARTED ITS COUNTEROFFENSIVE, REMAINS UNDER FIERCE ISRAELI BOMBARDMENT.
IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE BESIEGED ENCLAVE, PALESTINIANS ARE TRYING TO FLEE WHILE UNDER FIRE.
AND OUR JEREMY DIAMOND REPORTS.
>> Reporter: CIVILIANS FLEEING A WAR ZONE.
SUDDENLY SPRAYED WITH BULLETS.
THE ISRAELI MILITARY ORDERED THESE PEOPLE TO LEAVE NORTHERN GAZA AND MOVE SOUTH, BUT THE HAIL OF BULLETS THEY FACED NOW A TESTAMENT TO WHY SO MANY ARE CHOOSING NOT TO LEAVE.
OR SIMPLY CANNOT.
9-YEAR-OLD DANA IS AMONG THOSE WOUNDED IN THE ATTACK.
HER PINK SHIRT SMEARED RED WITH HER OWN BLOOD AFTER SHE WAS SHOT IN THE NECK.
AT THE HOSPITAL, HER MOTHER SAYS AN ISRAELI DRONE OPENED FIRE AS THEY WERE FLEEING SOUTH.
"IT STARTED SHOOTING INTENSIVELY," SHE SAYS.
"EVERYONE WAS RUNNING, THERE WERE SO MANY BULLETS.
EVEN MY CHILDREN'S BACKPACKS WERE FULL OF BULLETS."
THE ISRAELI MILITARY DECLINED TO COMMENT.
BUT THE ATTACK CAME AS IT ORDERED NEARLY ALL OF NORTHERN GAZA TO EVACUATE, EVEN AS IT SAYS ITS RENEWED GROUND OFFENSIVE IS FOCUSED ON JUST ONE CITY, JABALYA.
BUT MANY ARE TRAPPED, LIKE 15-YEAR-OLD ZAMZAM.
"FOR ANYONE WHO HEARS MY VOICE, HELP US, TRY TO GET US OUT," SHE PLEADS.
SHE SAYS HER MOTHER WAS KILLED BY ISRAELI FORCES.
"I WATCHED HER TAKE HER LAST BREATHS AND I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING," SHE CRIES.
CALLS FOR HELP ARE FLOODING INTO GAZA'S AMBULANCE SERVICE.
BUT THIS MEDIC EXPLAINS HIS TEAM WILL BE SHOT AT IF HE TRIES TO MOUNT A RESCUE.
"THE TANKS ARE THERE, THEY WILL FIRE AT THE CARS.
JUST GET TO THE STREET AND I WILL REACH YOU QUICKLY," HE PROMISES.
INSIDE THIS HOSPITAL, A DIRE SITUATION RISKS GETTING WORSE.
AS 17 PEOPLE WOUNDED IN AN ISRAELI STRIKE POUR INTO THE HOSPITAL'S EMERGENCY ROOM, THE HOSPITAL'S DIRECTOR SAYS HE'S BEEN GIVEN 24 HOURS TO EMPTY THE HOSPITAL.
"THE ISRAELI ABOUT HI IS NOW DEMANDING THAT WE EVACUATE THESE PATIENTS AND MOVE THEM ELSEWHERE.
THIS WILL ENDANGER THEIR LIVES AND IT IS A CATASTROPHE FOR THESE CHILDREN."
HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS NOW WARNING THAT THE MILITARY'S SWEEPING EVACUATION ORDERS RISK FORCING 400,000 PEOPLE OUT OF NORTHERN GAZA AND INTO A HUMANITARIAN ZONE THAT IS ALREADY OVERCROWDED AND UNDERRESOURCED.
"WHERE DO WE GO?"
THIS WOMAN ASKS.
IN SOUTHERN GAZA, THERE ARE ASSASSINATIONS, AND IN WESTERN GAZA, THEY ARE FIRING SHELLS AT PEOPLE.
WHERE DO WE GO?"
GAZA CITY, OTHERS SAY THEY WILL NOT LEAVE.
"I WILL DIE AND NOT GO TO THE SOUTH.
I HAVE 20 FAMILY MEMBERS, I HAVE CHILDREN.
WHERE DO THEY WANT ME TO GO?"
HE SAYS HE WOULD RATHER DIE THAN BE DISPLACED FOR A SIXTH TIME.
>> JEREMY DIAMOND REPORTING THERE.
NOW, AS ISRAEL BROADENS ITS OFFENSIVE AGAINST HEZBOLLAH IN LEBANON, NETANYAHU SPOKE DIRECTLY TO THE LEBANESE PEOPLE.
>> STAND UP AND TAKE YOUR COUNTRY BACK.
YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY THAT HASN'T EXISTED IN DECADES.
AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE CARE OF THE FUTURE OF YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN.
YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE LEBANON BEFORE IT FALLS INTO THE ABYSS OF A LONG WAR THAT WILL LEAD TO DESTRUCTION AND SUFFERING LIKE WE SEE IN GAZA.
I SAY TO YOU, THE PEOPLE OF LEBANON, FREE YOUR COUNTRY FROM HEZBOLLAH, SO THAT THIS WAR CAN END.
>> THIS MESSAGE FOUL LOPES A SIMILAR VIDEO THAT NETANYAHU SENT TO THE IRANIAN PEOPLE.
A CLEAR INDICATION THAT THE ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER SEEPS NOW, AS HE SAYS, AS THE CHANCE TO REMAKE THE MIDDLE EAST.
NOW, RAMI MORTADA IS THE LEBANESE AMBASSADOR TO THE UK.
HE'S HERE ON-SET.
>> THANK YOU.
>> I WANT TO ASK YOU, AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SOVEREIGN GOVERNMENT OF LEBANON, WHAT YOU MAKE OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF ANOTHER COUNTRY URGING YOUR PEOPLE, ESSENTIALLY, TO SHAKE OFF HEZBOLLAH?
>> WELL, THIS IS CYNICAL PROPAGANDA.
I THINK IT WILL FALL ON THE DEAD BODIES THAT HEKILLED, MORE THAN 2,000 IN THE LAST WEEK.
IT WILL FALL ON THE DEMOLISHED HOSPITALS THAT HE ORDERED.
IT WILL FALL ON THE 1.2 DISPLACED THAT HE MANAGED, MADE SURE THAT THEY WOULD BE DISPLACED.
IT WILL FALL ON THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS THAT HE'S CAUSING IN THE COUNTRY, AND THE IMMENSE PAIN AND KILLING.
THIS IS CYNICAL PROPAGANDA, AND I THINK THE LEBANESE STILL HAVE IN MIND THE SUCCESSIVE WARS THAT ISRAEL LAUNCHED AGAINST LEBANON AND THE SUFFERING THAT IT HAS -- IT HAS CAUSED.
>> YOU'VE HEARD AND I'M SURE YOU KNOW HEARD YOUR COUNTERPART FROM ISRAEL HAS SAID ON THE RADIO THAT, FROM ISRAEL, THAT -- THAT THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REMAKE AND RESHAPE THE MIDDLE EAST.
WOULD YOU WELCOME THAT?
I MEAN, LET'S FACE IT, YOUR COUNTRY APPEARS TO BE, ESSENTIALLY, HELD HOSTAGE BY A MILITIA.
I MEAN, YOUR ARMY IS NOT IN POWER, YOUR GOVERNMENT HAS NOT BEEN -- THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO ELECT A PRESIDENT, BECAUSE OF OPPOSITION FROM HEZBOLLAH.
DO YOU FEEL THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A MOMENT WHERE YOU, AS A SOVEREIGN PEOPLE, ARE ENABLED TO TAKE BACK CONTROL, SO TO SPEAK?
>> WELL, DEFINITELY.
THERE NEEDS TO BE RESHAPING OF THE MIDDLE EAST, AND OF LEBANON, BUT THIS HAS TO BE HOMEGROWN.
THIS NEEDS TO BECOME FROM WITHIN, FROM LEBANON.
THERE IS A WILL FOR CHANGE, FOR REFORM IN LEBANON, THAT IS IN THE MAKING, BUT IT WILL DEFINITELY NOT COME FROM THE ISRAELIS, AND I THINK THE MIDDLE EAST, THAT THE ISRAELIS WANT TO SHOW, THEY'RE NOT HIDING IT.
THEY SHOW THAT ON THE MAP THAT NETANYAHU SHOWED AT THE U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THE EVIL AND THE BLESSING.
THEY WANT A MIDDLE EAST FREE FROM A PALESTINIAN STATE.
THEY WANT A MIDDLE EAST WHERE ISRAEL WOULD HAVE THE SUPREMACY.
AND THIS IS A DELUSIONAL GOAL.
I THINK THE MIDDLE EAST WE WANT TO SEE IS A MIDDLE EAST OF PEACE, A MIDDLE EAST OF OPPORTUNITY, A MIDDLE EAST OF ECONOMIC GROWTH.
THAT'S THE MIDDLE EAST WE WANT TO SEE, AND UNLESS AND UNTIL THERE IS PEACE AND REAL PEACE, THERE IS NO WAY THAT THE MIDDLE EAST COULD BE RESHAPED.
AND ISRAEL STANDS TODAY WITH THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT AS OPPOSITE TO ANY PROSPECT FOR PEACE, AND I THINK THAT PARTLY EXPLAINS WHY THEY'RE EXPORTING THE CONFLICT TOWARDS NEW FRONTIERS TO DISTRACT ATTENTION OF THE FACT THAT THIS CURRENT GOVERNMENT IN ISRAEL IS UNABLE TO DELIVER ANY PLAN FOR PEACE OR ANY STRATEGY.
THE ONLY STRATEGY IS A FOREVER WAR STRATEGY.
>> SO, THEY SAY, I MEAN, THERE'S -- THERE ARE A LOT, EVEN THEIR AMERICAN BACKERS WILL SAY, WHAT IS THE EXIT STRATEGY, WHERE IS THE POLITICAL STRATEGY THAT THIS MILITARY STRATEGY WOULD BACK UP, SO, A LOT OF PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT THERE SHOULD BE SOME KIND OF STATED POLITICAL OBJECTIVE FOR GAZA AND FOR -- BUT THEY WOULD ALSO SAY, AND THIS IS THEIR TERM, THAT THERE IS A RING OF FIRE AROUND ISRAEL, AND LET'S JUST TAKE FROM YOUR COUNTRY, HEZBOLLAH, WHICH, AS YOU KNOW, STARTED FIRING INTO ISRAEL ON OCTOBER 8th, A YEAR AGO, IN SUPPORT OF HAMAS.
IT WAS AT THAT POINT AN UNPROVOKED ATTACK, AND IT HAS CAUSED CASUALTIES AND THEY ARE STILL FIRING INTO CERTAIN PLACES, INCLUDING TODAY.
DO YOU FEEL, AGAIN, THAT YOU ARE DISEMPOWERED?
OKAY, THERE'S A BIG POLITICAL ISSUE IN THE MIDDLE EAST, BUT YOU HAVE A GROUP THAT YOU HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO CONTROL.
IT'S NOT YOUR ARMY.
RIGHT?
AND SO, HEZBOLLAH IS DOING THIS, AND BRINGING DOWN WHAT NETANYAHU ADMITTED HIMSELF.
HE SAID IT.
>> THE ISRAELIS ARE GOOD AT TAKING A SNAPSHOT.
>> NO, BUT THIS IS SERIOUS.
WHY DIDN'T HEZBOLLAH FEEL IT HAD TO PUT LEBANON AT RISK BY -- IT FELT THAT IT WAS ABLE TO, RIGHT?
>> WELL, WE AS LEBANESE GOVERNMENT WERE NOT PART OF THIS DECISION-MAKING, BUT HEZBOLLAH WILL TELL YOU THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO PLAY OUT THE FALSE PROPHET EQUATION FOR THE ISRAELIS, TO HOLD THEM BACK, AND TO STOP THEM FROM COMMITTING THE CRIMES THEY ENDED UP COMMITTING IN GAZA.
WE IN THE LEBANESE GOVERNMENT WERE NOT PART OF THE DECISION-MAKING OF WHAT HAPPENED ON THE EIGHTH OF OCTOBER, BUT THINGS COME IN A CONTEXT IN THIS REGION.
IT'S NOT THAT THE ISRAELIS ARE ALWAYS GOOD AT TAKING A SNAPSHOT EVENT AND ACTING AS IF HISTORY STARTED ON THAT DATE.
PRIOR TO OCTOBER 8th, THE ISRAELIS OCCUPY AND STILL OCCUPY PART OF OUR LAND.
THEY WERE UNDERTAKING DAILY INCURSIONS OF OUR AIR SPACE.
IT'S NOT THAT IT IS A SNAPSHOT MOMENT THAT ANYTHING MATTERS, ONLY ON OCTOBER 8th.
AND YET, WE HAVE SAID, SINCE THE EARLY BEGINNING, WE WANT A SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION FOR THE SITUATION IN SOUTH LEBANON.
WE HAVE ALL THE INGREDIENTS FOR THAT.
WE HAVE A U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION THAT CAN ADDRESS ALL THE CONCERNS.
WE HAVE A U.N. PEACEKEEPING FORCE, AND WE WOULD BE READY TO ADDRESS ALL THE CONCERNS AS LONG AS OUR CONCERNS ARE ALSO ADDRESSED.
IT SHOULD BE SYMMETRICAL, AND UNLESS AND UNTIL IT IS SYMMETRICAL, THERE IS NO WAY ANY ARRANGEMENT COULD WORK.
SECURITY IS BASED ON MUTUAL SECURITY.
>> HOW DO YOU DO IT?
BECAUSE THERE WAS A RESOLUTION, AFTER THE 2006 WAR.
AND IT HASN'T REALLY -- I MEAN, THEY HAVEN'T PUSHED BACK, AND YOU HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO ENFORCE, RIGHT, PUSHING HEZBOLLAH BACK 20, 30 KILOMETERS BEHIND THE RIVER.
>> THAT'S WHAT I SAID.
>> RIGHT, RIGHT, SO, WHO IS GOING TO DO THAT?
WHO IS GOING TO DO THAT?
>> THAT'S WHAT I SAID.
IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SYMMETRICAL.
THE ISRAELIS NEVER OBSERVED 1701.
SINCE 1701, I THINK THEY -- THEY HAD 35,000 INCURSIONS INTO OUR SOVEREIGN -- >> YOU MADE THAT POINT.
>> THEY CONTINUE TO OCCUPY PARTS OF OUR TERRITORY.
WHAT WE'RE SAYING TODAY IS THAT WE PUT ALL THESE ELEMENTS TOGETHER AND ADDRESS THEM, AND COME UP WITH THE SOLUTION THAT ADDRESSES ALL -- ALL CONCERNS.
>> DO YOU THINK THAT -- WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS FALLING ON RECEPTIVE EARS IN ISRAEL?
OR IN THE UNITED STATES?
BECAUSE WE SAW THE DEPUTY LEADER, I THINK THAT'S WHO HE IS, OF -- OF HEZBOLLAH, SAY YESTERDAY THAT THEY WOULD BE WILLING, THEY TALKED ABOUT A CEASE-FIRE.
>> YEAH.
>> BUT HASN'T THAT HORSE BOLTED FROM THE BARN?
I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING A HUGE BOMBING CAMPAIGN, GROUND INCURSIONS, POTENTIAL, I DON'T KNOW, YOU TELL ME, OCCUPATION AGAIN OF SOUTHERN LEBANON.
THEY'VE ALREADY RAISED A FLAG IN ONE OF THOSE VILLAGES IN SOUTHERN LEBANON, THE ISRAELIS.
THEY'VE EXPANDED THE AIR CAMPAIGN.
>> THEY TRIED OCCUPATION BEFORE AND -- >> NO, BUT RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT NOW.
WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW ON THE GROUND?
>> WELL, IT'S A FULL-SCALE WAR SPARING NO CIVILIAN LIVES, SPARE NOTHING HOSPITALS, SPARING NO MEDICAL TEAMS, SPARING NO SUPPORT TEAMS.
IT'S A FULL-SCALE WAR.
AND BESIDES BEING BRUTAL AND VIOLENT, THIS WAR IS REALLY UNNECESSARY.
BECAUSE COUNTRIES GO TO WAR BECAUSE THEY WANT TO IMPOSE A POST-WAR ARRANGEMENT, EXCEPT THAT THIS TIME, THE ARRANGEMENT EXISTS UNDER THE FORM OF THE SECURITY COUNSEL RESOLUTION.
1701.
I KNOW THE ISRAELIS BELITTLE THIS RESOLUTION, BUT THIS RESOLUTION WORKED WELL, NOT WITHSTANDING THE VIOLATIONS FROM THE ISRAELI SIDE.
>> AND THE FIRING FROM HEZBOLLAH.
>> SINCE 2006, UP UNTIL OCTOBER 2023, THE LEBANESE BORDERS IN THE SOUTH WERE AMONG THE CALMEST IN THE REGION.
AND EVERYONE FROM OUR SIDE HELD BACK AND WE FULLY OBSERVE, OF COURSE, THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM TO DO -- TO DO BETTER, BUT AS I SAID, SECURITY IS BASED ON MUTUAL SECURITY.
>> DO YOU THINK NOW YOU HAVE A CHOICE -- OR A CHANCE, RATHER, TO HAVE ANOTHER ELECTION AND ACTUALLY ELECT A PRESIDENT?
WHICH HEZBOLLAH HAS BEEN BLOCKING.
DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO IMPOSE THE SOVEREIGNTY, OR THE POWER, OR THE AUTHORITY OF YOUR OWN NATIONAL ARMY OR NOT?
>> THIS IS LEBANESE INTERNAL DYNAMICS AND THERE IS NO WAY THAT THE ISRAELIS COULD TRIGGER SUCH A DYNAMIC.
BUT FOR THE SAKE OF THE COUNTRY, I KNOW, AS LEBANESE, I WANT MY COUNTRY TO ADDRESS ITS -- ITS CHRONIC CHALLENGES.
BUT THIS IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM THE WAR THAT -- THE AGGRESSION THAT ISRAEL IS LAUNCHES AGAINST LEBANON.
ACTUALLY, IT WILL LEAD TO THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.
IT WILL ENTRENCH HEZBOLLAH.
IT WILL INCREASE FRUSTRATION AMONG THE POPULATION, AND IT WILL PLAY TO THE BENEFIT OF WHATEVER HEZBOLLAH HAS BEEN SAYING FOR 40 YEARS, THAT YOU SEE ISRAEL ONLY UNDERSTAND THE LANGUAGE OF -- OF FORCE.
>> WELL, ON THE OTHER HAND, YOU REMEMBER NASRALLAH, WHO HAS BEEN ASSASSINATED, SAID TO THE LEBANESE PEOPLE, HE ASKED FOR THEIR -- HE APOLOGIZED AFTER 2006, SAYING THAT, HAD I KNOWN WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED, HAD, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE KIDNAPPED THOSE TWO -- I THINK IT WAS A KIDNAP, IN ANY EVEN, THEY TRIGGERED THAT WAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE DONE IT.
HE APOLOGIZED, BECAUSE IT CREATED SUCH DEVASTATION, AND -- >> YEAH, BUT DOES THIS JUSTIFY THE DEVASTATION?
>> I'M WONDERING IF HE WOULD HAVE APOLOGIZED FOR WHAT HE DID ON OCTOBER 8th, BECAUSE NOW YOU GUYS ARE SUFFERING THE BANKRUPT OF IT.
>> YES.
>> AND I JUST WONDER HOW YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING TO GET -- >> LET'S NOT FORGET WHY WE'RE SUFFERING.
WE'RE SUFFERING BECAUSE WE HAVE AN INVASION LAUNCHED BY THE AND, AGAIN, IT'S TOTALLY POINTLESS, ABSURD, AND USELESS, BESIDES BEING BRUTAL AND VIOLENT, BECAUSE THE POST-WAR ARRANGEMENTS ALREADY EXIST, AND THEY HAVE BEEN ON THE TABLE SINCE -- >> DO YOU THINK THEY WERE WORKING?
>> THEY WERE WORKING.
WELL, 2006-2023, ALWAYS, THERE IS ROOM TO DO BETTER, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE TO RESPECT THIS RESOLUTION.
IT NEEDS TO BE RECIPROCAL, AND WE SAID WE WOULD BE READY TO ADDRESS THEIR CONCERNS, BUT I'M AFRAID IT'S NOT ABOUT THE NORTHERN POPULATION.
THIS IS A PRETEXT, AS THEY DID IN GAZA, AS THEY DO EVERYWHERE, THEY JUST TAKE A FALSE PRETEXT IN ORDER TO LAUNCH -- AND THEY SAID IT, THEY WANT TO CHANGE THE STRATEGIC PARADIGM IN THE REGION.
>> IRAN, LEBANON, GAZA, AND THE WEST BANK.
>> THAT'S TOTALLY DESTABILIZING FOR THE REGION.
>> DO YOU THINK THERE'S ANY CHANCE -- YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE IT, BUT DO YOU THINK THERE'S ANY CHANCE THAT THIS WAR WILL ACTUALLY DEFANG THESE -- WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL THEM, MILITIAS, MILITANTS -- >> I'M AFRAID THAT IT COULD LEAD TO THE OPPOSITE OUTCOME.
THE WAY WE LEBANESE WOULD WANT TO DEAL DOWN THE LINE WITH THIS CALL IT UNCONVENTIONAL SITUATION IS AN INCLUSIVE LEBANESE CONTEXT, BUT YOU NEED TO ADDRESS THEIR GRIEVANCES, AND ISRAEL HAS BEEN DOING EVERYTHING TO MAKE OUR ARGUMENT HARDER AND HARDER WITH THEM.
WHEN THEY TELL US WHAT DO YOU INTENT TO DO, LEBANESE GOVERNMENT, WITH THE OCCUPATION IN THE SOUTH, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WITH THE -- WHAT CAN WE TELL THEM?
WE NEED TO HAVE COOPERATION FROM ALL PARIES IN ORDER TO BE ABLE -- >> SORRY, WHEN WHO TELLS YOU THAT?
>> WHEN THE MILITIAS OR THE NONSTATE ACT TOMORROWS YOU'RE REFERRING TO.
SO, IT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED IN AN INCLUSIVE LEBANESE CONTEXT, IN DUE COURSE, BUT THIS IS -- HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ISRAELI AGGRESSION.
THE ISRAELI AGGRESSION WILL LEAD TO THE OPPOSITE DYNAMIC BEING -- BEING ENCOURAGED.
DOWN THE LINE, WE WOULD NEED TO DEAL WITH IT, BUT THIS IS A SIDE SHOW.
THE ISRAELIS ARE MASTERS OF CREATING COLLATERAL DISTRACTION FROM THE ESSENCE OF THE -- OF THE PROBLEM, THE ESSENCE OF THE PROBLEM IS OCCUPATION.
THE ESSENCE OF THE PROBLEM IS BRUTAL AND VIOLENT ACT AGAINST LEBANON, AGAINST GAZA, AGAINST NOW, I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY WILL END UP.
WE WERE TALKING ABOUT A CEASE-FIRE IN GAZA, NOW WE HAVE -- WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TWO CEASE-FIRES, WE HAVE GAZA AND LEBANON.
SOON, MAYBE, WE WOULD BE TALKING ABOUT A THIRD CEASE-FIRE.
SO, IT'S TIME TO REVERSE THE TREND, AS I SAID, WE IN THE LEBANESE GOVERNMENT, WE DON'T WANT THIS WAR, AND WE WOULD BE READY TO COOPERATE IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THE CONCERNS.
ACCORDING TO THIS 1701.
WE HAVE A U.N. PEACEKEEPING FORCE.
WE ALREADY STARTED THE PREPARATION FOR ENLISTING 1,500 SOLDIERS, ADDITIONAL SOLDIERS TO SEND TO THE SOUTH.
AND THAT, I THINK, IS -- IS CONDUCIVE FOR SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION, BUT THE ISRAELIS HAVE CHOSEN A DIFFERENT PATH.
THEY NOW WANT TO CHANGE THE WHOLE STRATEGIC PARADIGM IN THE MIDDLE EAST, AND THAT'S TOTALLY DESTABILIZING.
>> AMBASSADOR, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING WITH US.
>> THANK YOU.
>> LEBANON'S AMBASSADOR TO THE UK.
>> THANK YOU.
>>> AND NOW, TO FLORIDA, AND CATASTROPHIC FORECASTS ABOUT THE CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE MILTON, WHICH IS EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL AS SOON AS THIS EVENING.
AROUND 7 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE NOW BEEN TOLD TO EVACUATE.
THAT'S MORE THAN THE POPULATION OF IRELAND.
THIS COMES JUST AFTER HURRICANE HELENE BATTERED THE STATE, AND AS THE RAVAGES OF CLIMATE CHANGE MAKE WEATHER EVENTS LIKE THIS MORE COMMON AND MORE SEVERE.
CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT BILL WEIR VISITED ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA, AS RESIDENTS WERE SCRAMBLING TO PREPARE, ALL WHILE STILL PICKING UP THE PIECES FROM HELENE.
>> BOTH PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY, THEY WERE ALREADY PICKING UP THE PIECES ON FLORIDA'S GULF COAST.
>> IT'S LIKE HYSTERICAL AND YOU CAN'T SLEEP, CAN'T EAT, ONE MINUTE, AND THEN YOU'RE LIKE, OH -- IT IS WHAT IT IS, YOU HAVE TO KEEP LIVING.
>> NOW, BETH CALDWELL MUST CUT SHORT HER SEARCH FOR HER MOTHER'S WEDDING RING TO EVACUATE FOR THE SECOND TIME IN AS MANY WEEKS.
>> YOU'RE SAYING YOU'RE REALLY WORRIED ABOUT FOLKS WHO MADE IT THROUGH THIS ONE, BUT MAY NOT -- >> WELL, YEAH, BECAUSE THE AMOUNT OF DEBRIS ON THIS STREET AND THE WINDS, EVEN IF IT SLOWS DOWN.
>> GOVERNOR DeSANTIS SAID THIS MORNING THAT EVEN WITH 24/7 DEBRIS REMOVAL, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE ALL OF HELENE'S DAMAGE CLEANED UP IN TIME FOR MILTON TO MAKE LANDFALL, AND THIS IS WHY.
THERE IS ONE FRONT LOADER OVER HERE WAITING TO FILL UP A LINE OF EMPTY DUMP TRUCKS THAT'S APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES LONG.
AND THIS BEACH WAS COVERED IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF FRESH SAND TO TRY TO PROTECT THIS COMMUNITY, WHICH JUST GOT WASHED AWAY.
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
>> WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU ABOUT HOW WE PREPARE AND HOW WE HAVE TO ADJUST TO THIS NEW EARTH?
>> THE FACT IS IS, YOU CANNOT ADAPT YOUR WAY OUT OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS.
>> SUSAN GREW UP AROUND THIS BUNGALOW, WHERE HER HUSBAND AND DEAR 90-YEAR-OLD FRIEND NANNY SURVIVED HELENE.
SHE'S ALSO A COMMUNITY CLIMATE ORGANIZER IN FLORIDA, TRYING TO CONVINCE OFFICIALS AND NEIGHBORS THAT THIS IS WHAT SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN WARNING ABOUT FOR GENERATIONS.
>> IT IS BEYOND CONTROL, IF WE DO NOT DRAMATICALLY ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM IMMEDIATELY.
BUT IF WE KEEP PUTTING CLIMATE POLLUTION AND BURNING FOSSIL FUELS, WE'RE JUST GOING TO MAKE A LOT OF THIS PLANET, IN GENERAL, JUST UNLIVABLE.
>> HERE IN DOWNTOWN ST. PETERSBURG, WE'RE ABOUT 24, 36 HOURS BEFORE LANDFALL, AND IT'S OBVIOUS THAT THE EVACUATION ORDERS ARE TAKING -- BEING TAKEN SERIOUSLY BY FOLKS.
YOU DO SEE SOME SOULS WALKING DOGS, A FEW CARS OUT, BUT MOSTLY EMPTY.
OFFICIALS DID VOICE SOME CONCERN ABOUT IN ADDITION TO ALL THE WORRIES, THE CONSTRUCTION TOWERS THAT ARE ALL OVER THIS GROWING CITY HERE IN THESE CATEGORY 4 WINDS.
THOSE COULD COME DOWN, AND THEY ADMITTED THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO DISASSEMBLE THEM BEFORE LANDFALL.
BUT HONESTLY, EVEN IF THEY WERE TO COME DOWN IN A WORST CASE SCENARIO, SO MUCH OF THIS AREA IS EVACUATED, IT MAY NOT COST A LOT OF LIFE.
WHAT IS REALLY WORRISOME IS THAT MOUND OF WATER BEING PUSHED BY CATEGORY 5 WINDS, LESS THAN 500 MILES AWAY FROM THIS PART OF TAMPA.
KEEP IN MIND, THE LAST TIME A MAJOR STORM HIT THIS PART OF FLORIDA, 100 YEARS AGO, THE POPULATION HAS GONE UP BY ABOUT 3.5 MILLION PEOPLE AND SEA LEVEL HAS GONE UP BY A FOOT.
>> AND THOSE ARE REALLY CRITICAL STATISTICS THAT I WANT TO DISCUSS.
JOINING ME WITH MORE, FROM TAMPA BAY, FLORIDA, IS THE TAMPA CITY COUNCIL MEMBER BILL CARLSON.
THANK YOU, FIRST OF ALL, FOR BEING WITH US.
I KNOW YOU HAVE AN EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY DIFFICULT JOB RIGHT NOW.
CAN YOU JUST TELL US WHAT'S HAPPENING?
YOU'RE IN AN EVACUATION CENTER, BUT YOU'RE STILL HAVING TO DEAL WITH -- WITH TRYING TO SAVE LIVES.
>> YES, WE'RE -- THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME ON HERE TODAY.
WE'RE CONTINUING TO TRY TO WARN ANYBODY WHO IS STILL LEFT TO GET OUT OF THEIR HOUSES.
NOW IS PRETTY MUCH THE END OF THE TIME THAT THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET OUT.
IF THEY'RE IN AN EVACUATION ZONE.
AND WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE ALL DAY, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND FIRE DEPARTMENT HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH EVACUATION ZONES A AND B TO TRY TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO LEAVE.
UBER HAS BEEN OFFERING FREE RIDES, BUS SERVICES HAVE BEEN ARDORING TO GET PEOPLE OUT.
AND SO, PRETTY SOON, WE'RE GOING TO BE AT THE TIME WHEN PEOPLE WON'T BE ABLE TO GET OUT.
>> AND WE'RE WATCHING NOW, AS YOU JUST SAID THAT, PICTURES, OVERHEAD PICTURES OF, I GUESS THE INTERSTATE, AS PEOPLE ARE LEAVING, AND IT LOOKS PRETTY PACKED.
ARE PEOPLE -- DO THEY GET IT?
OBVIOUSLY, SO MANY, BUT -- OFTEN THERE ARE HOLDOUTS, THERE ARE THOSE THAT DON'T THINK IT'S GOING TO HARM THEM, OR THOSE WHO HAVE NO CHOICE, NO ABILITY TO, WHATEVER, BUY TICKETS OR HAVE A CAR TO -- JUST TO GET OUT.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT -- ABOUT THAT KIND OF POPULATION?
>> SURE.
FLORIDIANS, I'M A FIFTH GENERATION FLORIDIAN.
WE'RE USED TO HURRICANES COMING THROUGH SEVERAL TIMES A YEAR, SO, WE ALWAYS THINK WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET THE BAD ONE, AND EVERY TEN YEARS OR SO, WE DO.
TAMPA BAY HAS BEEN LUCKY.
WE HAVEN'T HAD A BAD ONE SINCE 1921, BUT WE JUST GOT HIT TWO WEEKS AGO WITH THE STORM OF THE CENTURY.
AND NOW, WE'RE GOING TO GET HIT WITH THE NEXT STORM OF THE CENTURY, JUST TWO WEEKS LATER.
PEOPLE ARE STILL TRYING TO DEVASTATION FROM A COUPLE WEEKS AGO.
THEIR HOUSES AREN'T EVEN PUT BACK TOGETHER, THERE'S PIECES OF THEIR HOUSES AND THEIR FURNITURE AND APPLIANCES ARE MANY TIMES LAYING OUT IN THE FRONT YARD, BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT HASN'T HAD TIME TO PICK THEM UP IN THE WEEK IN BETWEEN, AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO FACE MASSIVE FLOODING AGAIN AND RAIN AND WIND.
>> YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AGAIN AT THOSE PICTURES, TOO, OF ALL THE RUBBLE THAT IS STACKED, AS YOU JUST DESCRIBED, OUTSIDE PEOPLE'S HOUSES, AND ON THE SIDE OF THE STREET.
WHAT DO YOU THINK, YOU KNOW, MIGHT -- COULD THAT IN ITSELF ADD TO THE, YOU KNOW, TO THE -- TO THE DANGER BY THE WIND CREATING, I DON'T KNOW, MISSILES OF A SORT, OF ALL OF THAT LOOSE DEBRIS?
>> SURE, THE WIND COULD.
WE FACED MASSIVE WIND BEFORE.
WE HAVEN'T HAD THIS AMOUNT OF DEBRIS IN THE YARDS.
BY THE WAY, THE CITY OF TAMPA IS STILL PICKING UP, I THINK UP UNTIL 3:00 THIS AFTERNOON, AS LONG AS IT'S STILL SAFE TO PICK ANYTHING UP.
BUT OTHER CITIES DON'T HAVE IT THERE YET.
THE BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HELENE AND THIS STORM IS THE -- THE MASSIVE STORM SURGE.
THINK ABOUT, IF YOU'RE STANDING UP IN YOUR HOUSE LAST WEEK, IF YOU WERE ON A FIRST STORY HOUSE, YOU WOULD -- YOU WOULD HAVE HAD SIX FEET OF WATER, UP TO EIGHT FEET OF WATER COMING INTO YOUR HOUSE.
AND SO, AS PEOPLE HAVE RIPPED ALL THAT APART, NOW THEY'RE FACING POTENTIALLY 15 FEET OF WATER.
AND IT'S GOING TO DEPEND ON EXACTLY WHERE THE STORM HITS.
THE LATEST REPORT SHOWS THAT IT WILL HIT JUST SOUTH OF TAMPA BECAME IN SARASOTA, BUT THE STORM ITSELF COVERS THE ENTIRE STATE.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHERE THE EYE HITS IS IF YOU'RE ON THE NORTHERN SIDE, YOU MIGHT GET LESS OF A STORM SURGE.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS STILL PREDICTING 12 FEET IN TAMPA BAY.
ALTHOUGH OTHER METEOROLOGISTS IN TAMPA BAY SAY THAT IF THE EYE GOES FURTHER SOUTH, WE MAY HAVE A LOT LESS.
BUT FROM THE EYE SOUTH, THEY'RE PROBABLY GOING TO FACE 15 FEET OF STORM SURGE.
WE HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN DECADES.
>> I MEAN, IT JUST SOUNDS AWFUL, 15 FEET IN THE MIDDLE OF WHERE YOU ARE.
CAN I JUST PLAY FOR YOU SOMETHING THAT -- YOU KNOW, GOES TO THE HUMAN DESPERATION ABOUT THIS, A PROFESSIONAL, A METEOROLOGIST, AS YOU WELL KNOW, WAS TALKING ABOUT THIS, AND -- AND ESSENTIALLY BECAME VERY EMOTIONAL.
I JUST WANTED TO PLAY IT.
>> IT HAS DROPPED -- IT HAS DROPPED 50 MILLIBARS IN TEN HOURS.
UM -- I APOLOGIZE.
THIS IS JUST -- HORRIFIC.
>> I -- I FIND THAT SO EXTRAORDINARY, I WONDER HOW YOU REACTED TO SEE SOMEBODY WHOSE JOB IT IS TO TRY TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND, HIMSELF BE OVERCOME?
>> IT'S TERRIFYING.
AND -- AND THIS IS THE SENTIMENT THAT WE'VE BEEN FACING THE LAST WEEK.
I HANDED OUT, OR, HELPED HAND OUT A COUPLE THOUSAND TARPS JUST A COUPLE DAYS AGO, AND MOST OF THE PEOPLE THAT CAME IN TO PICK THEM UP HAD -- HAD HALF THEIR HOUSE WASHED AWAY, AND THEY -- NOW THEY'RE FACING DEVASTATION AGAIN, BUT THEY WERE STILL SMILING AND UPBEAT, BECAUSE THE PEOPLE OF FLORIDA, THE PEOPLE OF TAMPA BAY ARE RESILIENT.
THEY KNOW THAT EVENTUALLY WE'RE GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS.
AND I MUST SAY, PLEASE, WHATEVER YOUR RELIGION IS, PEOPLE IN THE WORLD, PLEASE SAY A PRAYER FOR THE PEOPLE OF FLORIDA.
THEY NEED IT RIGHT NOW.
>> IT IS REALLY TERRIBLE, AND BEYOND HUMAN IMAGINATION, REALLY, ESPECIALLY THAT THIS IS HAPPENING WITH -- WITH, YOU KNOW, WITHIN TWO WEEKS OF TWO HURRICANES.
CAN I ASK YOU ABOUT THE WHOLE REALLY UGLY AND UNNECESSARILY POLITICAL LAYER THAT'S BEEN SPREAD ALL OVER THIS?
THE IDEA ABOUT, WHAT IS THE TRUST, FOR INSTANCE.
AS YOU KNOW, PRESIDENT BIDEN AND VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS HAD A BRIEFING WITH THE FEMA ADMINISTRATOR, JUST WITHIN THE LAST HOUR.
AND SHE HAD EXPLAINED ALL THE PREPOSITIONING OF EVERYTHING, FROM WATER TO -- YOU KNOW, TO AMBULANCES AND THE LIKE.
BUT SHE WAS ASKED BY THE VICE PRESIDENT WHETHER THEY NEEDED TO PAY ATTENTION TO ANY MISINFORMATION ABOUT EVACUATION AND STUFF THAT MIGHT BE CONFUSING PEOPLE.
AND THE MIN TRAIL OR THE SAID ADMINISTRATOR SAID, ON THAT ISSUE, IT'S OKAY, WE'VE GOT THE MESSAGE OF THE EVACUATION THROUGH, BUT ON OTHER ISSUES, THERE'S A LOT OF MISINFORMATION.
SO, ARE YOU CONFIDENT THAT EVERYBODY GETS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING TO THEM ON HAVING TO LEAVE?
>> FEMA, THE STATE, THE CITY, THE COUNTY, THEY'RE ALL COORDINATING RIGHT NOW, AND THERE ARE MANY, MANY RESOURCES, INCLUDING THE UTILITIES, RESOURCES, STAGE SOME OF THEM INSIDE THE HURRICANE ZONE, AND MANY OF THEM JUST OUTSIDE.
THEY'RE READY TO BE MOBILIZED AFTERWARDS.
FROM FEMA ITSELF, WHAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED IS HELP, ESPECIALLY WITH PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE INSURANCE, AFTER THE LAST STORM, WE FOUND THAT THERE WERE FAMILIES THAT HAD -- THAT HAD HOUSES THAT HAD BEEN IN THE FAMILIES FOR FOUR, FIVE GENERATIONS, AND INSURANCE IS SO DIFFICULT TO GET IN FLORIDA, THAT THEY COULDN'T AFFORD INSURANCE.
AND SO, THEY'RE HOUSES ARE WASHED AWAY, BUT THEY HAVE NO WAY TO REPLACE THEM.
THERE WAS A LADY I MET WITH, HER HOUSE IS 100 YEARS OLD, AND SHE HAS A SPECIAL NEEDS SON.
HE HAS VERY EXPENSIVE EQUIPMENT TO HELP HIM GET THROUGH HIS DAY, AND WHEN THE STORM CAME ACROSS, ABOUT EIGHT FEET THROUGH HER FIRST FLOOR, HE HAD TO PICK HIM UP AND CARRY HIM TO THE THIRD FLOOR TO KEEP HIM FROM GETTING WASHED OVER WITH WATER.
AND NOW SHE'S TRYING DESPERATELY TO REPLACE THE EQUIPMENT AND MAKE HER HOUSE HABITABLE, AND SHE DOESN'T HAVE INSURANCE.
SO, THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF THE KIND OF HORRIBLE SITUATION THAT WE'VE BEEN FACING.
>> FEMA ITSELF SAYS THAT IT IS CONFIDENT IT CAN DEAL WITH BOTH, YOU KNOW, BOTH HELENE AND MILTON.
I WANT TO PLAY A LITTLE BIT OF THE LATEST -- A LITTLE BIT OF THE LATEST PRESS CONFERENCE FROM YOUR GOVERNOR DeSANTIS, TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE HOPES ABOUT THIS -- ABOUT THIS HURRICANE, POTENTIALLY WEAKENING, BUT YOU KNOW, KNOWING THAT IT PROBABLY WON'T.
JUST TAKE A LISTEN.
>> THERE IS THE HOPE THAT IT WILL WEAKEN MORE BEFORE LANDFALL.
THERE IS HIGH CONFIDENCE THAT THIS HURRICANE IS GOING TO PACK A MAJOR, MAJOR PUNCH AND DO AN AWFUL LOT OF DAMAGE.
>> DO YOU HOLD OUT HOPE THAT IT MIGHT WEAKEN?
IS THAT WHAT PEOPLE HOPE?
>> I'M SURE THEY DO, AND SOME OF MY FRIENDS, EVEN ON MY OWN STREET, HAVE IGNORED THE MANDATORY EVACUATION ORDER AND THEY'RE STAYING.
WE PRAY THAT THEY ALL TURN OUT OKAY.
WE HAD PEOPLE, JUST FROM THE STORM SURGE, WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN THE WIND, WE HAD PEOPLE WHO WERE TRAPPED ON THE FIRST FLOOR OF THEIR HOUSES AS THE WATER ROSE.
THEY COULDN'T ESCAPE FROM THEIR HOUSES.
AND THEY HAD ALL THE OTHER ISSUES WITH APPLIANCES FLOATING AROUND AND HITTING THEM.
THE WIND, I JUST GOT A REPORT A FEW MINUTES AGO, THE WIND IS SUPPOSED TO BE 125 MILES AN HOUR, AND IT'S GOING TO DOWNGRADE TO A CATEGORY 3, BUT THAT'S STILL A VERY SEVERE STORM, AND IT'S A DIRECT HIT, MOST LIKELY, TO THE SARASOTA AREA.
>> YEAH, AND IT'S A HURRICANE.
CAN I JUST ASK YOU ABOUT THE ISSUE OF CLIMATE CHANGE, BEFORE WE TALKED TO YOU, OUR CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT BILL WEIR WAS EXPLAINING SOME OF THE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE FACTORS, AND ACCORDING TO "THE WASHINGTON POST", THERE WAS A -- SORT OF A HEAT WAVE, SO TO SPEAK, IN THE GULF OF MEXICO, WHICH HAS EXACERBATED THIS TERRIBLE HURRICANE.
A NEW STUDY OVER HERE BY THE IMPERIAL COLLEGE IN LONDON FOUND THAT MAJOR HURRICANES ARE MORE THAN TWICE AS LIKELY TO OCCUR NOW DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE, RAISING WATER, AIR TEMPERATURES, ET CETERA.
AND YET, THE GOVERNOR OF YOUR STATE HAS SIGNED A BILL EARLIER THIS YEAR ERASING MOST REFERENCES TO CLIMATE CHANGE FROM STATE LAWS, AND HIS POLICIES HAVE MADE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR CLEANUP, ENERGY COMPANIES TO OPERATE -- CLEAN ENERGY COMPANIES, RATHER.
DOES THIS -- I REALIZE YOU'RE IN THE MIDST OF AN EMERGENCY, BUT DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A MUCH BIGGER, MORE CONSISTENT STATEWIDE, NATIONWIDE, GLOBAL EFFORT TO TRY TO MITIGATE THE FACTORS THAT ARE MAKING THESE STORMS WILDER AND MORE FREQUENT?
>> YEAH, I THINK CERTAINLY WE NEED COORDINATION ON THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL, BUT AS YOU SAID, IT'S A WORLDWIDE ISSUE.
ONE OF THE SPEAKERS YOU HAD ON EARLIER, WHO IS AN EXPERT ON THIS, IS A FRIEND OF MINE, AND THE ISSUE THAT WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING IS THAT PEOPLE WILL START TO TAKE IT SERIOUSLY WHEN THE RISK MARKETS HAVE STOPPED COVERING RISKS.
AND SO, I MENTIONED THE PEOPLE THAT DON'T HAVE INSURANCE BECAUSE THEY CAN'T AFFORD IT, MORE AND MORE OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE ON THE COAST HAVE ENOUGH MONEY THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO HAVE INSURANCE, AND THEY DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A MORTGAGE.
AND SO, AS YOU -- AS IT BECOMES IMPOSSIBLE TO GET A MORTGAGE AND/OR INSURANCE ON THE COASTLINE, WE WILL START TO HEAR PEOPLE PAY ATTENTION TO THIS MORE.
THE OTHER THING THAT HAPPENED WITH HELENE, AND WILL PROBABLY HAPPEN AGAIN HERE, IS, WE'RE GOING TO LOSE A LOT OF THE MISSING MIDDLE HOMES.
SOME OF THE SMALLER RANCH HOMES, SINGLE FAMILY HOMES, FROM THE -- FROM THE 1950s AND '60s, WERE COMPLETELY WIPED OUT.
MOST LIKELY, THEY WILL BE REPLACED WITH LARGER HOMES FOR WEALTHIER PEOPLE.
AND SO, THAT JUST EXACERBATES THE HOUSING SHORTAGE FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS.
>> YEAH, IT'S JUST ONE THING STACKED UPON THE OTHER.
AND BEFORE I LET YOU GO, WE HAVE ABOUT 30 SECONDS, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN SEE OUTSIDE, WHETHER YOU RECENTLY LOOKED OUTSIDE OF YOUR WINDOW, WHAT'S -- WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
WHAT'S THE SENSE OF ANTICIPATION RIGHT NOW?
>> IT'S ALREADY RAINING, AND WE'RE GETTING BANDS OF RAIN, AND SO, THAT WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THE NIGHT.
ONE OTHER THING, JUST TO PUT IN, THINK ABOUT FLORIDA, IF IT WAS A COUNTRY, IT WOULD BE THE 15th LARGEST ECONOMY IN THE WORLD, AND THE STATE HAS MORE THAN 22 MILLION PEOPLE.
AND THE MAJORITY OF THEM ARE IMPACTED BY THIS, SO, THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS INTERNATIONAL ISSUE, NOT JUST A STATE ISSUE.
SO, THANK YOU FOR HELPING US ON THIS.
>> WELL, WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE TO TELL US, AND, OF COURSE, OUR PROGRAM IS BROADCAST WORLDWIDE, AS WELL AS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, SO, BILL CARLSON, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND WE WISH YOU AND EVERYBODY GOOD LUCK.
>> THANK YOU.
>>> NOW, A YEAR SINCE OCTOBER 7th, 101 HOSTAGES ARE YET TO BE BROUGHT HOME FROM GAZA.
THIS INCLUDES FIVE FEMALE ISRAELI SOLDIERS WHO WERE STATIONED AT THE NAHAL OZ BASE NEAR THE GAZA BORDER FENCE THAT DAY, AND HAMAS KILLED 15 IN THEIR UNIT.
MONTHS BEFORE THE ATTACK, THEY HAD REPORTED SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY BY THE MILITANT GROUP, BUT THEIR WARNINGS WERE IGNORED.
IN A RECENT REPORT FOR "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL," CORRESPONDENT ANAT PELED INVESTIGATES THAT FAILURE AND THE TRAGEDY THAT ENSUED, AS WELL AS THE WIDER IMPLICATIONS.
AND SHE DISCUSSES ALL OF THAT NOW WITH MICHEL MARTIN.
>> THANKS, CHRISTIANE.
ANAT PELED, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
>> BEFORE WE GET INTO THE DETAILS OF YOUR REPORTING, WE ARE SPEAKING NOW, WE ARE ACKNOWLEDGING IT'S BEEN A YEAR SINCE THE OCTOBER 7th HAMAS-LED ATTACK ON SOUTHERN ISRAEL.
THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF MEMORIALS, I ASSUME THERE WERE MEMORIALS HAPPENING THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
YOU WENT ONE OF THEM.
WOULD YOU TELL US ABOUT IT?
>> SURE.
I ATTENDED ONE MEMORIAL IN THE EVENING, IT WAS ORGANIZED BY FAMILIES OF HOSTAGES, AND BEREAVED FAMILIES, YOU KNOW, OF PEOPLE KILLED ON OCTOBER 7th.
AND THIS WAS A CEREMONY SEPARATE FROM THE GOVERNMENT.
THEY COULDN'T AGREE ON, YOU KNOW, A UNIFYING CEREMONY.
AND IT WAS JUST GIVING SPACE TO ALL THE STORIES, I MEAN, NOT ALL OF THEM, BUT A LOT OF STORIES OF VICTIMS, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO SURVIVED, RETURNED HOSTAGES, IT WAS JUST A VERY PAINFUL KIND OF WAY TO REFLECT ON A DIFFICULT YEAR THAT ISRAELIS HAVE HAD.
>> IT IS INTERESTING THAT THE GOVERNMENT WANTED TO HAVE ONE OBSERVANCE AND THE FAMILY MEMBERS, MANY OF THE FAMILY MEMBERED WANTED A DIFFERENT ONE.
CAN YOU JUST DESCRIBE -- WHAT WAS THE POINT OF DIFFERENCE, DO YOU KNOW?
>> DEFINITELY.
SO, BASICALLY, THE GOVERNMENT IS VERY CONTENTIOUS IN ISRAEL.
IT DOESN'T HAVE VERY HIGH APPROVAL RATINGS, AND POMMING SHOWS THAT IF ELECTIONS WERE HELD RIGHT NOW, NETANYAHU WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO FORM A COALITION.
THE FAMILIES COULDN'T AGREE WITH THE GOVERNMENT ON A COMMON CEREMONY, AND THE GOVERNMENT DECIDED TO HOLD A PRERECORDED CEREMONY, WITHOUT AN AUDIENCE.
AND THE FAMILIES FELT AND OTHER CRITICS FELT THAT THIS WAS TO AVOID PROTESTS DURING THE CEREMONY, AND THEY WANTED A LIVE AUDIENCE, AND SO, THEY TRIED TO, YOU KNOW, COME TO AN AGREEMENT, BUT AT THE END, THEY HELD THEIR OWN CEREMONY, AND IT GAVE VOICE TO THEIR PAIN.
>> INTERESTING.
THERE'S A LOT RIGHT THERE, ISN'T THERE?
>> YEAH.
>> WE WANTED TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT A REPORT THAT YOU FILED FOR "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL" THIS WEEK, TITLED HOW THE MASSACRE OF IGNORED FEMALE SOLDIERS CAME TO SYMBOLIZE OCTOBER 7th FAILURES.
I HAVE TO SAY, OF ALL THE THINGS THAT I'VE READ AND ALL THE REPORTING THAT I'VE SEEN ABOUT THE EVENTS OF OCTOBER 7th, THIS HAS TO BE JUST ONE OF THE MOST PAINFUL.
FOR SO MANY REASONS.
WHAT WAS THIS SPECIALIZED UNIT?
WHAT -- WHAT WERE THEY TASKED TO DO?
>> SO, THESE YOUNG WOMEN ARE KNOWN AS FIELD OBSERVERS, AND THEIR JOB IS BASICALLY TO WATCH BORDERS, SO, THEY WILL BE PLACED IN DANGEROUS AREAS, FOR EXAMPLE, NEAR THE BORDER WITH LEBANON, WITH GAZA, YOU KNOW, IN THE WEST BANK, AND THEY WILL HAVE TO LITERALLY SIT IN FRONT OF SCREENS AND THEY WATCH -- EACH WOMAN, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE BORDER AREA, AND A FEW HUNDRED METERS INTO GAZA.
AND THEY CANNOT TAKE THEIR EYES OFF THE SCREEN, IT'S FORBIDDEN.
IF THEY HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM, THEY HAVE TO BE REPLACED.
AND WHAT THEY DID IS, THEY BASICALLY JUST HAD TO ALERT, THAT MEANS, FORCES IN THE FIELD, THEY HAD PHONES AND RADIO NEXT TO THEM, AND IF THEY SAW SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS ON THEIR SCREENS, THEY WOULD HAVE TO ALERT THE FORCES IN THE FIELD THAT SOMETHING WAS HAPPENING.
>> WHY IS THIS AN ALL-FEMALE UNIT?
>> RIGHT, IT DIDN'T USED TO BE, BUT IT GOT CHANGED, I THINK AROUND 2001.
>> THE HEART OF YOUR PIECE IS THIS.
THESE SOLDIERS SENT REPEATED WARNINGS, REPEATED WARNINGS OF UNUSUAL AND SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY AT THE BORDERS.
YOUR REPORTING SAYS THAT THESE WARNINGS WERE SENT UP, THEY -- IT'S NOT THAT THEY DIDN'T SEE THEM, BUT THEY WERE REPEATEDLY IGNORED.
IN FACT, YOU FOCUS ON A NUMBER OF THE SOLDIERS, PARTICULARLY ONE NAMED MAYA.
WALK US THROUGH WHAT THEY WERE SEEING, FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T SEEN YOUR PIECE YET, WALK US THROUGH WHAT THEY WERE SEEING, AND WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THEY MADE THESE REPORTS.
>> YEAH, SO, MAYA IS ONE OF THE OBSERVERS WHO ACTUALLY SURVIVED, ONE OF TWO OBSERVERS WHO SURVIVED THAT DAY, AND WHAT SHE WAS TELLING ME, AND OTHERS WHO WERE NOT ON THE BASE THAT DAY, IS THAT THEY WERE SEEING MONTHS LEADING UP TO THE OCTOBER 7th ATTACK, BASICALLY PRACTICE DRILLS, SO, ONE YOUNG WOMAN TOLD ME THAT SHE SAW A TRAINING EXERCISE, INCLUDING A MOCK TANK, AND A FAKE KIDNAPPING GOING ON INSIDE GAZA, NOT TOO DEEP, BECAUSE THEN THEY WOULDN'T HAVE SEEN IT.
OTHER -- ANOTHER GIRL SAID THAT SHE BASICALLY SAW PEOPLE IN -- DRESSED IN ALL BLACK AND THEIR FACE COVERED, WHICH, THEY WERE TAUGHT TO IDENTIFY AS PART OF A UNIT, WHICH IS THE HAMAS ELITE UNIT, AND THEY WERE POINTING AT DIFFERENT OBSERVATION POINTS AND THEN DROVE AWAY.
AND THESE YOUNG WOMEN BASICALLY SAW TONS OF ACTIVITY, THEY SAW LARGE GROUPS OF PALESTINIANS COMING CLOSER TO THE FENCE, SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK.
THEY WOULD TRY TO BREACH, THEY WOULD BE ARMED, THEY WOULD PLAY WITH THE CAMERAS, AND THESE YOUNG WOMEN WERE ALERTING THEIR SUE PEER YORES THAT THIS WAS HAPPENING.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6th, IT STOPPED.
THERE WAS SILENCE THAT DAY.
AND THAT ALSO PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE RAISED ALARMS.
>> WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS SPACE, THIS GROUP OF SOLDIERS?
>> YEAH, IT'S REALLY TRAGIC.
ON OCTOBER 6th, THEY HAVE A CELEBRATION, THEY HAVE A PARTY, BECAUSE ONE OF THE GIRLS, IT'S HER LAST NIGHT ON THE BASE.
AND THEY HAVE A MEAL, IT GOES UNTIL 11:00 P.M. AND SO, THE GIRLS GET UP AT 4:00 A.M. AND AROUND 6:30, THEY START TO HEARSIRENS.
IT'S NOT USUAL SIRENS.
IT'S TONS AND TONS OF SIRENS, INDICATING THAT BARRAGES OF ROCKETS ARE COMING IN.
SO, WE HAVE THE SITUATION ROOM, WHICH IS WHERE THEY HAVE THEIR STANDS AND THEY SIT IN FRONT OF THE SCREENS AND WATCH THE BORDER WITH GAZA, AND SO, THOSE YOUNG WOMEN ARE WATCHING THE BORDER AND SUDDENLY, THEY SEE DOZENS OF MILITANTS BREACHING, HEAVILY ARMED RPGs, GRENADES, WE WOULD LEARN LATER THAT MORE THAN 150 WOULD BE -- WOULD COME IN.
AND INTO THIS BASE, ONLY THIS BASE.
AND SO THE YOUNG WOMEN ARE CALLING, YOU KNOW, KIND OF FRANTICALLY, WE HAVE SOME RECORDINGS OF THIS, CALLING THEIR SUPERIORS, CALLING THE FORCES IN THE FIELD, SAYING, GUYS, THEY'RE BREACHING, THEY'RE BREACHING THE BOARDER.
WHAT HAPPENS IS, THEY ALSO BREACH THE BASE, AND THEY WERE NEVER PREPARED FOR AN INVASION OF THE BASE.
SO, MAYA, WHO IS A SURVIVOR, TOLD ME THAT THEY BASICALLY HID, THE YOUNG WOMEN, IN A SMALL OFFICE, FOR SIX HOURS.
MILITANTS WERE OUTSIDE.
A FEW ARMED SOLDIERS TRIED TO KIND OF FIGHT THEM OFF, BECAUSE THESE WOMEN ARE ALL UNARMED.
AND FAILED.
AND THE MILITANTS THREW IN GRENADES AND SET THE SITUATION ROOM ON FIRE.
WHAT HAPPENS IS, BASICALLY, EVERYONE IS KILLED THERE, AND BURNED, BASICALLY, ALIVE.
MAYA MANAGES TO ESCAPE THROUGH A SMALL BATHROOM WINDOW.
SHE AND A FEW OTHERS.
NOW, ELSEWHERE ON THE BASE, WE HAVE THE REST OF THE OBSERVERS, WHO WERE NOT ON DUTY, THEY'RE IN THEIR PAJAMAS, AND WE HAVE VIDEOS OF THIS, THEY ESCAPED TO A SMALL CONCRETE SHELTER, WHERE THEY BASICALLY SEND THEIR PARENTS GOOD-BYE MESSAGES, BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTAND, THEY HEAR SHOOTING AROUND THEM, THEY UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION.
THEN THE MILITANTS ENTER, THROW GRENADES, THEY SHOOT AND THEY KILL EVERYONE EXCEPT FOR SEVEN YOUNG WOMEN WHO ARE TAKEN TO GAZA.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT BEFORE THEY WERE TAKEN TO GAZA, HAMAS MILITANTS MADE A VIDEO OF THEM.
BASICALLY, THEY'RE SITTING BLOODIED IN FRONT OF A WALL.
AND YOU CAN -- THIS VIDEO HAS COME OUT, AND YOU CAN WATCH IT, BUT BASICALLY WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT IS THE BODIES OF THEIR FRIENDS.
AND THAT HASN'T COME OUT.
AND THEN THEY'RE TAKEN TO GAZA.
SO, BASICALLY, THIS -- THEY'RE KILLED, THESE GIRLS WHO WARNED FOR MONTHS.
>> IT'S ALMOST DISRESPECTFUL TO TALK ABOUT THEIR NUMBERS, BUT JUST SO WE UNDERSTAND THE SCOPE OF THIS, HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE KILLED THAT DAY IN THIS -- THIS GRUESOME FASHION?
>> WE KNOW AT LEAST EIGHT OTHER MILITARY BASES AND OUTPOSTS WERE BREACHED THAT DAY.
AND IN THIS SPACE, OVER 50 SOLDIERS WERE KILLED.
OF THOSE SOLDIERS, 15 OBSERVERS, AND THEY WERE UNARMED.
AND SEVEN OF THE OBSERVERS, ADDITIONALLY, WERE TAKEN TO GAZA.
>> DO WE KNOW WHETHER ANY OF THESE WOMEN ARE STILL ALIVE?
>> SO, TWO HAVE COME BACK, ONE ALIVE, IN AN ISRAELI RESCUE MISSION.
ONE DEAD.
HER BODY WAS RETRIEVED.
THE FIVE REMAINING WOMEN ARE BELIEVED TO BE ALIVE, AND FREED HOSTAGES THAT I'VE SPOKEN TO SAW THEM IN GAZA WOUNDED BUT ALIVE, AROUND DAY 50.
SO, THAT'S MANY DAYS AGO.
>> MANY DAYS AGO.
>> BELIEVED TO STILL BE ALIVE.
>> JUST -- THERE'S SO MUCH HERE TO -- TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND, LIKE, FIRST OF ALL, WHY ARE THEY UNARMED?
>> YEAH, THEY WEREN'T CONSIDERED COMBAT SOLDIERS, SO, ONLY COMBAT SOLDIERS IN THE ISRAELI ARMY HAVE ARMS WITH THEM.
IF YOU ARE A COOK, IF YOU'RE INTELLIGENCE, YOU MAY NOT HAVE ARMS.
THAT'S ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT THE PARENTS ARE ASKING, AND THE IDF IS GOING TO HAVE TO INVESTIGATE.
>> WHY WAS THE BASE SO LIGHTLY DEFENDED?
THE OBSERVERS THEMSELVES WERE NOT ARMED, SO, YOU SAID THEY WERE CLASSIFIED AS NONCOMBATANTS, OKAY, SO, WHY WAS THE BASE, WHICH WAS AT A FORWARD POSITION, SO LIGHTLY DEFENDED?
>> WE DON'T HAVE A GOOD ANSWER TO THIS.
THE IDF IS CONDUCTING A MORE TACTICAL INVESTIGATION ABOUT WHAT WENT WRONG THAT DAY, AND IT HASN'T RELEASED THE RESULTS OF THAT YET, BUT WE -- WE DON'T KNOW.
THERE WEREN'T ENOUGH FORCES ON THAT DAY, IT WAS A HOLIDAY, IT WAS A WEEKEND, AND SO, IT SEEMED TO HAVE BEEN MORE EMPTIED OUT.
WE DON'T HAVE A GOOD ANSWER TO THAT.
THAT'S PART OF THE TRAGEDY.
>> AND THE THIRD AND MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION, OBVIOUSLY, WHICH YOU'RE REPORTING CLEARLY RAISES, WHICH THE FAMILIES CLEARLY WANT TO KNOW, WHY DID NO ONE LISTEN TO THEM?
>> YEAH, SO, FIRST, I'LL SAY THE PARENTS ARE VERY UPSET ABOUT THIS.
AND THESE YOUNG WOMEN HAVE BECOME A SYMBOL FOR ISRAEL'S INTELLIGENCE FAILURE OF OCTOBER 7th, WHICH IS THE WORST IN ITS HISTORY, AND THE FAILURE TO PROTECT THEM, THE OPERATIONAL FAILURE.
THERE'S TWO THINGS WE CAN TOUCH AT.
ONE IS STRUCTURAL.
SO, BASICALLY, AS I SAID IN THE BEGINNING, THESE WOMEN WERE NOT REALLY SEEN AS PART OF THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY, AND THE MILITARY.
SO, IN THE MILITARY, YOU HAVE 8200 UNIT, WHICH DOES KIND OF MORE FANCY TECHNOLOGY-BASED SIGNALS INTELLIGENCE, WHICH IS CONSIDERED VERY VALUABLE BY THE MILITARY.
AND YOU ALSO HAVE THE MOSSAD, ISRAEL'S SPY AGENCY, YOU HAVE THE SHIN BET, ISRAEL'S INTERNAL SECURITY AGENCY.
THESE WOMEN OVER THE YEARS WERE BASICALLY TAKEN OUT OF THAT COMMUNITY AND TREATED MORE AS KIND OF TACTICAL LOW LEVEL INTELLIGENCE.
WE DON'T REALLY NEED WHAT THEY'RE DOING, WE HAVE FANCY STUFF, WE HAVE CLASSIFIED STUFF THAT WILL TAKE CARE OF WHAT -- OF WHAT WE NEED.
AND SO, THESE WOMEN WERE BASICALLY ALERTING, AND AT ONE POINT, I SPOKE TO A YOUNG WOMAN WHO WASN'T ON THE BASE THAT DAY, AND SHE WAS A COMMANDER OF THE OBSERVERS, SO, SHE COMPILED INTELLIGENT REPORTS, AND SHE EVEN CALLED UP AN INTELLIGENCE NUMBER SHE HAD.
SHE ASKED, WHAT'S GOING ON?
AND THEY SAID, OH, NOTHING, YOU -- YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT.
SHE TRUSTED THEM.
SO, THAT'S ONE THING.
THAT'S ONE OF THE FAILURES.
AND THE SECOND THING, I MEAN, A LOT OF PEOPLE ASK ME, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE WOMEN, IS IT BECAUSE OF MISOGYNY?
I THINK IT PLAYS A ROLE HERE.
BUT I WANT TO SAY, ISRAEL HAS A REALLY BIG INTELLIGENCE FAILURE HERE, IT'S NOT JUST -- I THINK MEN WERE ALSO IGNORED THAT RAISED ALARM.
AND IT'S -- IT'S MORE COMPLICATED.
>> YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU'RE SAYING THERE WAS SORT OF AN ARRAY OF FAILURES THERE, OVERRELIANCE ON SORT OF HIGH TECH, YOU KNOW, HIGH TECH SORT OF INTELLIGENCE TOOLS AND SO FORTH, BUT YOU KNOW, HUMAN INTELLIGENCE HAS BEEN A HALLMARK OF ISRAELI DEFENSES FOR -- SINCE FOREVER, HASN'T IT?
YOU CAN SEE WHY PEOPLE ARE ASKING, IS IT -- THEY IGNORED WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY, BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE THESE WOMEN WOULD KNOW WHAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT.
I KNOW YOU INTERVIEWED INTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS IN THE COURSE OF YOUR REPORTING.
ARE YOU REALLY CONVINCED THAT GENDER WASN'T A FACTOR HERE?
>> NO, I THINK GENDER WAS A FACTOR HERE.
I THINK IT DID, THEY'RE YOUNG WOMEN, AND THEY WERE SEEN AS KIND OF THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL, DOING THE MOST BASIC JOB, AND NOT HIGH RANK, AND, YEAH, MAYBE JUST COMPLAINING AND, YEAH, I THINK MISOGYNY DID PLAY A ROLE IN THIS.
>> I KNOW THAT PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU HAS SAID THAT INQUIRIES SHOULD WAIT UNTIL THE MILITARY CAMPAIGN IS OVER, BUT IS THAT REALLY TRUE?
IS AN INQUIRY -- ARE THERE ANY INQUIIES GOING ON?
DO FAMILIES FEEL LIKE THE GOVERNMENT IS TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY?
>> THEY DON'T.
AND THEY'RE VERY UPSET ABOUT THIS.
ONE OF THEIR BIG DEMANDS IS TO OPEN A STATE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF INQUIRY THAT YOU CAN CONDUCT IN ISRAEL, AND IT HAS THE AUTHORITY TO KIND OF POINT FINGERS AND SAY, THIS PERSON SHOULD NOT CONTINUE IN THEIR POSITION.
BUT YEAH, THE GOVERNMENT HAS NOT COMMITTED, A YEAR LATER, TO OPEN SUCH AN INQUIRY.
THE ARMY IS DOING ITS OWN INVESTIGATION, BUT THAT'S REALLY TACTICAL.
THAT'S ABOUT IMPROVING ITS OWN, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE CONTINUE IN THE FIGHTING AND LEARN FROM THIS?
THE PARENTS HAVE TOLD ME THAT THEY WANT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE IN THE GOVERNMENT AND THE ARMY TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND THAT THERE SHOULD BE SOME SORT OF JUSTICE.
AND THE PARENTS HAVE REALLY, WITH THIS DEMAND, THEY KIND OF COME TOGETHER AS A GROUP, AND THEY'VE DONE ALL KINDS OF THINGS TO TRY TO GET THIS DONE.
THEY'VE SECURED MEETINGS WITH THE PRESIDENT, WITH THE PRIME MINISTER, WHO DID NOT COMMIT IN THEIR MEETING IN JULY THAT HE WOULD OPEN SUCH AN INQUIRY, AND ALSO SOME OF THE FAMILIES, INCLUDING ONE OF THE KIND OF LEADERS, AND HIS DAUGHTER DIED IN THE ATTACK, HE HELPED OPEN A CIVILIAN COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, WHICH IS KIND OF A MOCK INQUIRY, TO KIND OF PUSH THE GOVERNMENT TO OPEN ITS OWN, BUT THEY'VE ALSO HEARD WITNESSES, SO, THEY'RE TRYING ALL THESE TACTICS.
AT THE END, THEY DON'T FEEL LIKE IT'S GETTING ANYWHERE AND THEY'RE FRUSTRATED.
>> OBVIOUSLY, THE MILITARY CAMPAIGN IN GAZA HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A YEAR NOW, YOU KNOW, LITERALLY SINCE THE DAY AFTER THE OCTOBER 7th ATTACK, BUT NOW THERE'S A NEW FRONT OPENED IN LEBANON.
VERY ATTENTION-GETTING OPERATION, JUST RECENTLY INVOLVED PLANTING THESE EXPLOSIVE DEVICES IN THE PAGERS OF -- THAT WERE HANDED OUT TO, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN LEBANESE OFFICIALS AND SO FORTH, THEY WERE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, ASSASSINATE CERTAIN HIGH LEVEL OFFICIALS IN THIRD COUNTRIES WITH A FAIR DEGREE OF PRECISION.
AND YET -- AND YET THEY DIDN'T SEE THIS MASSIVE OPERATION BEING DEVELOPED ON THEIR OWN BORDERS.
SO, I'M JUST WONDERING HOW THESE RECENT EVENTS ARE LANDING WITH THESE FAMILIES?
>> IT'S PART OF THE STRUCTURAL FAILURES THAT THE COUNTRY IS DEALING WITH.
SO, ISRAEL, FOR YEARS, JUST INVESTED MOST OF ITS RESOURCES IN -- IN ITS NORTHERN BORDER WITH LEBANON, ESPECIALLY HEZBOLLAH, WHILE HAMAS WAS SEEN AS DETERRED BY THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT, THE MILITARY, THEY THOUGHT THEY WEREN'T AS CAPABLE, SO, THAT'S ALSO ANOTHER LAYER OF THIS THAT WE DIDN'T REALLY DISCUSS, BUT WE'RE SEEING THESE INCREDIBLE CAPABILITIES, INTELLIGENCE CAPABILITIES IN, YOU KNOW, IN LEBANON, WITH HEZBOLLAH, THAT TOOK YEARS AND YEARS AND RESOURCES TO BUILD.
SO, THAT'S PART OF IT, AND IT JUST KIND OF SHOWS THE DIFFERENCE HERE, YOU KNOW?
WE'RE SEEING SUCH IMPRESSIVE CAPABILITIES, AND JUST SUCH A DISASTER IN -- WITH GAZA.
THE SECOND THING I WOULD SAY IS THAT THERE'S STILL FIVE, YOU KNOW, FEMALE OBSERVERS IN HAMAS CAPTIVITY, AND SO, THE FAMILIES THAT I SPOKE TO FEEL THAT THEY'VE BEEN FORGOTTEN, AND ABANDONED BY THE GOVERNMENT, BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT HAS MOVED ON TO THIS NEW FRONT, AND, YES, IT SAYS THAT IT WILL PUT PRESSURE ON HAMAS, AND MAYBE IT WILL HELP SECURE A DEAL, BUT I'M NOT SURE THE FAMILIES BUY THAT SO MUCH ANYMORE.
I THINK THAT THEY FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE COUNTRY'S MOVING ONTO A NEW FRONT, AND GAZA'S BEEN LEFT BEHIND, AND THEIR LOVED ONES.
>> BEFORE WE LET YOU GO, CAN YOU JUST SUMMARIZE WHY THIS IS SO REFLECTIVE, YOU THINK, THIS PARTICULAR INCIDENT, IS SO REFLECTIVE OF THE BIGGER PICTURE, THE BROADER FAILURES?
THAT LED TO OCTOBER 7th.
>> SO, THIS IS THE WORST INTELLIGENCE FAILURE IN ISRAEL'S HISTORY.
AND, YOU KNOW, 1,200 PEOPLE WERE KILLED, AROUND 250 TAKEN HOSTAGE.
WE'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
AND HAMAS HAD CAPABILITIES.
ISRAEL DISCOVERED DETAILED MAPS OF MILITARY BASES, BUT IT'S NOT JUST HAMAS' CAPABILITIES, THERE'S A HUGE FAILURE HERE BY THE ISRAELI STATE, BY THE ISRAELI MILITARY, THE SECURITY ESTABLISHMENT, TO SEE THIS COMING.
AS ISRAEL KEEPS FIGHTING, AND THIS WAR KEEPS EXPANDING, WE'RE NOT -- WE'RE NOT, I MEAN, THE STATE HASN'T TAKEN TIME TO REALLY REFLECT AND SOCIETY HASN'T REALLY TAKEN ENOUGH TIME TO REFLECT ON THESE FAILURES, AND THESE WOMEN REPRESENT THE TRAGEDY AND THE COST OF WHAT HAPPENED, AND THEY'RE THE VICTIMS, AND THEIR FAMILIES, A YEAR LATER, JUST WANT ANSWERS.
THAT'S ALL THEY'RE LOOKING FOR, AND THEY CAN'T GET THAT.
THEY ACTUALLY HAD TO START INVESTIGATING THIS ON THEIR OWN, BECAUSE THEY FELT THEY WERE NOT GETTING ANSWERS FROM THE MILITARY OR FROM ANYONE ELSE, AND THEY REALLY JUST INTERVIEWED ANYONE THEY COULD.
AND BY THE TIME THE MILITARY CAME BACK WITH -- WITH SOME OF ITS FIRST ANSWERS, SOME OF THE FAMILIES ALREADY KNEW BETTER THAN THEM WHAT WAS GOING ON, BECAUSE THEY HAD JUST DONE THEIR OWN REPORTING IN A SENSE.
>> ANAT PELED, THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING WITH US.
>> THANK YOU.
>> AN IMPORTANT INVESTIGATION.
>>> AND FINALLY TONIGHT, EARLIER IN THE SHOW, WE SHOWED YOU THE TERRIFYING CAPABILITIES OF THE NATURAL WORLD, ESPECIALLY DURING THIS VIOLENT U.S. HURRICANE SEASON.
SO, LET'S NOW REVEAL SOME OF NATURE'S BEAUTY, WITH THE WINNING PICTURES FROM THE YEAR CONTEST, FROM ADORABLE ANIMALS TO KILLER PREDATORS, THESE PICTURES ARE JUST A HANDFUL OF THE ONES THAT WILL BE EXHIBITED AT THE NATURAL MUSEUM HERE IN LONDON.
FIRST PLACE GOES TO THIS EXTRAORDINARY IMAGE, WESTERN TOAD TAD POLES.
AN IMAGE CALLED "THE SWARM OF LIFE."
>>> AND THAT'S IT FOR OUR PROGRAM TONIGHT.
IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT'S COMING UP EVERY NIGHT, SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER AT PBS.ORG/AMANPOUR.
THANKS FOR WATCHING, AND GOOD-BYE FROM LONDON.
♪♪ >>> "AMANPOUR AND COMPANY" IS MADE POSSIBLE BY -- THE ANDERSON FAMILY ENDOWMENT.
JIM ATTWOOD AND LESLIE WILLIAMS.
CANDACE KING WEIR.
THE SYLVIA A.
AND SIMON B. POYTA PROGRAMMING ENDOWMENT TO FIGHT ANTI-SEMITISM.
THE FAMILY FOUNDATION OF LEILA AND MICKEY STRAUS.
MARK J. BLECHNER.
THE FILOMEN M. D'AGOSTINO FOUNDATION.
SETON J. MELVIN.
THE PETER G. PETERSON AND JOAN GANZ COONEY FUND.
CHARLES ROSENBLUM.
KOO AND PATRICIA YUEN, COMMITTED TO BRIDGING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
BARBARA HOPE ZUCKERBERG.
JEFFREY KATZ AND BETH ROGERS.
AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.
THANK YOU.
♪♪