Interview With Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
ZAHN: Now on to the Israeli side of the front lines, where it has also been a very rough day. We continue our top story coverage with chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour, who we find tonight along the Israeli-Lebanese border -- Christiane.</s>CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Paula, despite this eight days now of the Israeli assault, trying to push Hezbollah back, it doesn't seem to have had a massive impact on their ability to fire rockets into Israel. According to sources, 120 were fired in today, one of the biggest barrages. And there was fierce clashes between the two sides as well.</s>AMANPOUR (voice-over): The fiercest clashes yet between the Israeli army and Hezbollah guerrillas are here in Avivim, right on the Lebanese border, Israeli tanks pitted against Hezbollah mortars and rockets. Israel has taken casualties in this operation. Two soldiers were killed, and the injured were loaded into an ambulance and rushed to the nearest hospital. All the while, sirens wail, warning of the next rocket salvo. And it's not just humans, but hardware, too. An Israeli tank is pulled, limping off the battlefield. The Israeli military says this action is aimed at taking out Hezbollah posts along the border. (on camera): Israel has sent in tanks to this battle, and we have been hearing the sound of outgoing tank fire. Meantime, around the hills in this region, peppered with smoke and flames, as Hezbollah rockets are still making their mark. (voice-over): Two children were killed when rockets hit the town of Nazareth. They have also again struck Haifa, Tiberias, and all this part of northern Israel. Villages and hillsides are billowing with smoke. Buildings here in Dishon are aflame. Overhead comes a flying fire extinguisher, dropping red powder to dampen the blaze. It circles again and again over the village, over the slopes. Meantime, the air raid siren sounds again, as the town of Avivim, scene of the worst fighting, finally gets a direct Hezbollah hit.</s>AMANPOUR: Now, conflicting reports about how long it's going to take to break the back of Hezbollah, their military operation, which is Israel's aim -- some are saying, it could take many more days. Some are saying, it could only take a week -- Israel always operating with one eye to its military objective and one eye to the international public opinion. And, already, there are loud choruses of complaints about the level of casualties in Lebanon. The International Red Cross is very concerned, it says, about Israeli -- civilian casualties that are being caused in Lebanon and about damage to the infrastructure -- Paula.</s>ZAHN: Christiane Amanpour, thanks so much for that late report. And, as Christiane just mentioned, Israel, of course, is getting pounded by critics from all over the world. They say it is being too aggressive, and its response is way out of proportion to the kidnapping of two soldiers, which sparked all of this. And, just a short time ago, I spoke with former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who joined me from Jerusalem.</s>ZAHN: You have said that the Israeli government must have a decisive victory, without concessions. How would you define that?</s>BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, FORMER ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We have to remove the missile threat, or destroy the missiles, if they can't be removed from Lebanon. I think this is number one, because, right now, a good chunk of Israel is paralyzed. People are in bomb shelters. Israelis are targeted. They're being killed. And the country is vulnerable.</s>ZAHN: If the goal is to wipe out all these rockets, we know we had a senior Israeli army official saying today that airstrikes so far have wiped out 50 percent of Hezbollah's arsenal. How long will it take to wipe out the rest?</s>NETANYAHU: I -- first of all, I hope that number is real.</s>ZAHN: You think it's too high?</s>NETANYAHU: You know, unless there was a huge change between yesterday and today, because, yesterday, in the Knesset, I heard other numbers. But all power to them. I hope this is true. The number-one thing is that -- to realize is that seven million Israelis are now held hostage to these terrorists and their rockets. And, so, we have to -- we have to free these hostages, along with the others. And that requires however long it takes.</s>ZAHN: The Lebanese prime minister today basically accused Israel of holding his country hostage. He fiercely attacked Israel, saying, so far, that 300 people have been killed, most of them civilians, 1,000 have been wounded, and a half million people displaced. Is there at any point in this process of trying to wipe out Hezbollah's rocket arsenal that the price is simply too high a price to pay?</s>NETANYAHU: I have a real problem with body counts. On the basis of body counts, who's had more civilian deaths, the Nazis were right and the allies were wrong. Because the number of German civilian casualties in World War II far exceeded American and British casualties. The rocketing of London precipitated very powerful responses. I wouldn't call Churchill a war criminal or Britain in the wrong when it responded to the V-2 rockets that reigned on London. So this whole notion is a bogus notion. In fact, if we're going to have any possibility, any sense of right and wrong in international affairs and international law, then I think the blame should be placed squarely where it belongs, right on the heads of Hezbollah and their Syrian and Iranian sponsors.</s>ZAHN: Meanwhile there's growing concern over Israeli military mistakes. Just today Israeli airstrikes took out a truck carrying a water pump, a truck apparently that military officials thought was harboring weapons. How concerned are you about those kinds of misfires?</s>NETANYAHU: Look, I am concerned. How could you not be? But war is not an exact science. You do your best if you're a Democratic country with a moral ethos, try not to hit innocent civilians, but innocent civilians are hurt in every war. The real question is do you intentionally hit civilians? That's the difference between legitimate combat and illegitimate combat or war crimes. That should not give the terrorists immunity. Because if they know that you will not strike them because you fear civilian casualties, then they will hit you again and again and again.</s>ZAHN: Benjamin Netanyahu thank you for your time. Always good to see you.</s>NETANYAHU: Thank you.</s>ZAHN: And we carry on now with Melissa Long over at CNN Pipeline for more of the CNN.com countdown.</s>LONG: Paula today CNN.com readers wanted to gain some insight into the Andrea Yates murder retrial. This story is number six tonight. A forensic psychiatrist who evaluated Yates after her children were drowned testified that she killed them because Yates thought they were defective and would grow up to be criminals. And political news from the Peach State coming in at number five tonight. Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition, has lost his bid to be the Republican nominee for the lieutenant governor of Georgia. Reed's campaign had been hampered by his ties to the now disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. And Paula, still to come a blond bombshell says she's going to be a bride.</s>ZAHN: Which blond bombshell would that be, Melissa? Are you going to reveal it to us tonight?</s>LONG: A little bit later.</s>ZAHN: You're such a tease. We'll wait. Thanks, see you in a little bit. Back to our top story coverage here, some Americans feel so strongly about the crisis they are taking to the streets. Is this country's unwavering support for Israel actually hurting the U.S. overseas? Our top story panel debate coming up. Plus a growing worry about our own security. Could Hezbollah sleeper cells be a danger inside the U.S. tonight? Well, the FBI's worried about that. We'll tell you why.