fighters from hezbollah, shiit group based in lebanon, were heavily in the battle. the role important for the success of assad's regime and one of the reasonsp opposition pulled out of peace talks that were supposed to take place in geneva. translator: to talk of international conferences and diplomatic solutions is farcical, meaningless. the syrian national coalition will not take part in any diplomatic initiative in the face of this invasion by militias and hezbollah fighters n syrian soil. regaining control of qusayr with the coast of the allied sect, the battle is taking heavy toll on civilian population. heavy bombardment from regimes flattened lard areas of the city. anti-government groups say qusayr is surrounded. >> after the destruction of the field hospitals, more than 1,200 injured tweeted 20rks0 in serious condition and doctor as announced they have run out of oxygen. we're calling for immediate evacuation of the injured. we cannot find shelters for them. >> with hezbollah's house, assad centers that hurt around damascus and centers of the country. still

peter lavelle engulfing the neighborhood syria's civil war has spread across the border into lebanon hezbollah defiantly promises victory over sides enemies indeed it would appear hezbollah interim intend to steadfastly stand by their ally in damascus the taking of sides is all but complete and the stakes for the entire middle east could be higher. to cross out the war in syria i'm joined by dan arbella in washington he's a guest scholar at the center for middle east policy in the brookings institution and a former israeli diplomat also in washington we have martin all. he's a professor of philosophy and religion at the american university and in beirut we cross to franklin lamb he is director of americans concerned for middle east peace all right gentlemen crosstalk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want franklin here in beirut if i go to you first the head of hezbollah says the syrian war is our battle pledging a completely new phase what does he mean by it and what are the implications. well what he means by it is that hizbollah is in it to won it and they intend to do

he was a member of hezbollah. onre was a hizbollah flag the wall and a picture of the chairman of his beloved and the supreme leader of iran. there is no hezbollah is on the battlefront in southern damascus defending the area of the shrine. thetually knew one of hezbollah fighters. elsewhere, i think it is different. there is no evidence hezbollah have been involved in the fight. we do note in the syrian border villages, many of which are inhabited by lebanese shiites, that there are hezbollah fighters. most claim they are defending the villages from the opposition to the regime. intelligenceood's -- i know that has blood's -- hezbollah's intelligence forces are involved. iraq, there are fighters crossing freely into syria to fight the regime. hashe new premier of china agreed on a road map to reach a dynamic balance in bilateral trade. the premier has signed a series of trade deals with india during his visit to new delhi. earlier heat and the prime minister said relations remain strong despite a recent military

the siege laid by hezbollah forces on all qusayr. the massacres and murders perpetrated for more than a two month, more than 1500 syrian civilians have fallen. others are wounded. the residents of all qusayr are ,eceived, deprived of food water, medical supplies. in a very small town of all qusayr means a high percentage, it means another massacre with victims falling every second, with the most heinous techniques, inhumane manner. we cry out an urgent call to the and allional red cross the international humanitarian ogencies to help all qusayr ti evacuate the wounded and to provide food supplies, oxygen, and basic medical supplies as medical centers are lacking the basic supplies. nationson the united secretary general and the arab league secretary-general to swiftly and genuinely respond to put an end to the continued massacre and to live up to their political, ethical, and human responsibilities, to immediately break the siege on all qusayr the countryside of damascus where similar murders are taking place. it defies common sense

palestine they are hoping that this will weaken hezbollah in fact it will likely strengthen his bottom line if the assad regime remains there will be no greater power i'll side of israel than hezbollah in the region as the americans withdraw so it's a fundamental broad expanse of relevance to all of the surrounding countries as well from iraq to turkey and jordan ok dan in washington would you agree or disagree with that i tend to know what your answer is go ahead. of course i would disagree with. is. a very tense moment in the region of course. is flexing a muscle but. and israel has obviously watching the situation closely monitoring the closely but nobody's under the illusion of his brother can actually become the second most powerful force in the region is actually being weakened as we speak suffering casualties and i think that the lebanese people in the lebanese government are realizing that this perhaps is their chance for the first time in a very very long time to diminish his bowlers and strengthen activities ok martin where you came in all this here let me let me go to martin

they discovered hezbollah flags and other paraphernalia, proof they said that hezbollah and syria were working together. [ speaking in a foreign language ] now they are even closer and hezbollah says it won't let assad fall. a reminder that the war is now a regional conflict. the syrian government allied with hezbollah and iran. all shiites opposed by the rebels, turkey, qatar, saudi arabia and the uae, all sunni powers. then there is israel acting in its own interest while wanting no part in this regional religious war. secretary kerry is scheduled to meet russian president vladimir putin tomorrow. analysts say key to resolving the crisis is convincing putin personally to drop his support for assad. brian? >> richard engel across the syrian border in turkey tonight. richard, thanks. >>> well, the topic of benghazi is back, the tragedy there took four lives. the controversy over what happened that night during the attack never went away -- specifically the question of what the u.s. knew, when they knew it, and what they did about it. congress is set to hear dramatic new information on

but it is when you talk hezbollah that they will take action. and they did again tonight. >> just to be clear. both airstrikes that one on -- the january airstrike and new airstrike which we are just confirmed tonight, breaking news we have for you at this moment, which is confirmation of an israeli airstrike in syria, by question for you is what does it mean from the perspective of the region and the u.s., is there no escalation that there is a climb down from or is this the new status quo? is israel asserting its right to strike inside syria when and if it chooses to? >> it is definitely the latter. you know, there was some initial concern and jitters after that first strike. this part of that battle is between hezbollah, israel, and syria. and as long as it stays in that realm, it's likely not to go any further. after all, you know, several years ago, and i'm sorry i can't remember the year offhand, but the israelis launch airstrikes that took out a syrian nuclear facility that is in the making and syria did not issue a single protest because

and hezbollah fighters are over there. no one knows for sure, but i heard from fighters, rebel fighters on the ground who had come in to lebanon yesterday, that there are thousands of them. >> brown: this includes, margaret, that battle that's ongoing right now and is considered quite a key one in qusair. >> warner: yes. the sound of qusair is key in that corridor. it's on the damascus highway to the city of hoams and to the coast. and what the free syrian army, the sort of moderate resistance has been doing is using areas in lebanon to, say, bring their families to safety if they can get out. we talked to a couple of fighters who had done exactly that yesterday. they said they are... the rebels have held that town for quite a while. but they are being pounded and pounded from the air. it's really hollowed out, but there are still probably tens of thousands of civilians there. i said to this young man, how are they surviving? he said we've dug shelters under the buildings that remain but this is where assad has turned the

or hezbollah to get those kinds of missiles it would pose a significant threat to israel's air defense system and that's obviously not something that they can allow to happen ok jeffrey when it way in plan b. is pepe said. i think that iran is basically trying to to use the use syria's as a smokescreen and all the chaos there is a smokescreen to smuggle weapons that has well it's as simple as that so israel simply you know took those weapons out for a syria is concerned you know that's a big messy sandwich and everyone's going to have to take a bite it's not as simple as arming rebels we don't really know who we're arming it's a whole lot more fractious than we think we're not even sure that what's going to replace assad is going to be better maybe year ago maybe but but honestly right now i just think that that it's a mess and it's only going to get messier m.p. you want to jump in there talking ran. effecting all of us think tank land left right middle whatever they know that washington is selling itself the mess that the cia is screaming which weapons go to which groups this is comp

in syria and hezbollah but the g.c.c. petro markets especially the emirates qatar and the house of sound not to mention the logistical support of syria and yes i agree with our other guest it is already . already a regional conflict is going to get much worse especially because the west via u.s. britain and france they see their input into conduct anything on the ground and now we have jihad these let loose inside syria we're going to have hezbollah are playing against al-qaeda which is a miracle in wet dream of course and we have the back and forth of jihad this between iraq and syria chris you want to jump in there well i just wanted to agree i think with it was jeff who said that you know that this is there's no easy solution to this that this is going to take time and i think that's a raw reality that everyone is confronting and i think that's clearly one of the reasons why you see the u.s. administration taking it slow it's obviously you know a situation where people want to act with a certain degree of caution in un

station run by lebanon's hezbollah militant group showed images of what it claimed was the right of the israeli air strike in syria the and verified footage was reportedly taken at the site of a military research facility in german riot after their time but the center itself appears not to have been hate the strike apparently left a major road filled with debris and shell casings and while there's still been no official reaction from israel paul is here the details the syrian deputy foreign minister files that i would make dad has called this morning's attack on a syrian military research facility to quote him addictive ration of rule by israel now said the a tech represented an alliance between islamic terrorists and israel he also says that syria will retaliate against israel in its own time and way you know this is extremely important this is the first time we're hearing confirmation from the syrian government that this was an attack carried out by israel and that it is choosing to respond it has regional and international implications because syria of course is a close ally of iran

does hezbollah's presents muddy the waters? will this conference happen? >> from the government's point of view, they feel stronger. president assad felt confident yesterday that he was winning and stronger so he will be able to go to this peace conference feeling he can negotiate in a better position. the opposition, on the other hand, feel weaker, and the fact they are losing qusayr and other places, around damascus, around the southern parts, they feel they are weaker and that their position on the table will be weaker. that is why they say they will not attend this conference until the has a lot fighters -- the hezbollah are out. they say they want a lot of pressure to pull these fighters out. they will -- they want --rantees there will be before they get to that table. they feel that in a weaker position, they do not want to go to a table negotiating with president assad so strong on the ground. >> rula amin, thank you so much. as the battle for qusayr rages on, there has been heavy fighting elsewhere in syria. this video uploaded by syrian activists

maybe hezbollah will. i doubt it very much because obviously israel has tremendous force and capability. but i think it also signals to the iranians that israel maybe is not going to take a look at those sites in iran right now but they are capable of responding militarily to some of their allies in the region. and that is hezbollah. >> former governor bill richardson a richardson. >>> telling news they will not object to one of the suspects and room mates of dzhokhar tsarnaev requesting to be freed on the grounds that he is not a flight risk. robel phillipos is due in court. he is accused of lying to law enforcement officials after the attack. there could be a second autopsy of tamerlan tsarnaev's body as requested by his parents as opposition continues to grow on whether tamerlan will be buried in the u.s. >> tamerlan tsarnaev has no other place to be buried. there is no other place who would accept his body. and he lived in america, he grew up here. and the last ten years he resided here. >> katy tur is

well a number of hezbollah our m.p.'s actually have already reacted by also saying that this is an attack on terrorism attack sorry on lebanon by terrorists and one has ball or m.p. even called on the state to take measures against those who finance these terrorists now when you speak about those countries who finances terrorists there are only three countries which come to mind qatar saudi arabia and turkey and that has been the hezbollah reaction up till now but i think most important of all it is that we have to go back to what hezbollah's leader cited haasan arcelor said yesterday basically he declared that her husband has entered a war with al qaida affiliates that is the very first time now we are husband law is entering into such a war however a side one also said this is a war of sorts defense because if they achieve victory or progress in syria then hezbollah would be next on line for them so he said that this basically implied that this is a war of necessity against these people and maybe what happened today wa

even if we don't know from any source whether hezbollah bought. one hundred of the dance from iran even if they didn't they have a similar missile the m six hundred syrian technology it's almost as good as the the fact they're one hundred tents so the key is if they were attacking israel in the near future they would use the m six hundred as they do need to for they one hundred been tense of course everybody is on the ground not only. in syria and hezbollah but the markets especially the emirates qatar and the house of sound not to mention the logistical support of syria and yes i agree with our other guest it is already already a regional conflict it's going to get much worse especially because the west us britain and france they see they're totally impotent to conduct any saying on the ground and now we have jihad these let loose inside syria we're going to have hezbollah are playing against al-qaeda which is a new cold wet dream of course and we have the back and forth of jihad this between iraq and syria chris you want to jump in there. well i

forces do you think lebanon's hezbollah and indeed iran could they weigh in if indeed syria did go to war with israel. well that's the big question the husband alida cited hossa not so a lot i think made it clear and he even provides an answer to your question what he said in a speech last thursday he said that. that syria's real friends meaning hezbollah iran and also russia one allow syria to fall into the hands of the us israel all the tech petey's meaning of the al qaida affiliates now when did say the us and made these and make these statements after two meetings one with ayatollah khomeini into one on and the other one with the russian deputy foreign minister mr book done over here in beirut following those meetings and saying it has been issued those statements about syria's real friends not allowing it to fall into us is ready or i would call either hand so i think what you have now is that iran and hezbollah now have a new significant ally of real significant weight which is russia which is returning to the middle east seen once again so i think that if we do have an escalati

so that is when hezbollah and israel fought some people call to a standstill, hezbollah claims a victory >> a couple of interesting things here, christiane. israel says it doesn't want to get dragled into a war, but at the end of the day, they have gotten involved by making an attack here. you've got the arab world, the arab league, the saudis, the egyptians, none too happy this has taken place. israel is going to say it was a preemptive thing to stop them from getting attacked from lebanon and so on. what are the risks involved here of sparking something else? a message to iran as well, isn't it, really? >> well, you know, from the very beginning, people have said, this is a regional problem. a strategic problem. this internal syrian war. because it could spill over and it could cause a wider war. already we've seen israel's neighbors virtually destabilized, certainly on the borders, and certainly a lot in jordan, with this flood of refugees, more than 1 million, that has got to jordan, turkey and to lebanon. so that's been a real problem. we've also seen a real instability with insurge

israel went to war with hezbollah in 2006.cently invaded gaza to take out hamas's weapons stockpiles. no sooner have you gotten rid of them they're built up again. it is a very difficult game. all i can say that the israelies are monitoring this very carefully. this has all the ingredients of making the situation in syria a lot worse. heather: oh absolutely. and there is a major i have did rens between now and the war in 2006. that is, iran as we believe it, is further along in its push to get nuclear weapons. >> yeah. i think most western intelligence agencies are convinced that whatter ran is doing is building nukewer -- nuclear weapons and the big debate is how far advance they are. no one watches this more closely than israel. israel says if they reach a certain point in iran israel will be obliged to take action. heather: we have con cooughlin, the defense editor of the telegraph and author of, winston churchill's first war. fight against the taliban. sounds like an interesting read. jon? >> thank you very much. jon: a gr

. >>> as syria sends hezbollah weapons, hezbollah is returning the favor by offering soldiers. president bashar al assad's spokesperson has confirmed something many know to be true. members of hezbollah are operating in syria, working against the opposition. nhk world reports. >> reporter: he would not give exact numbers, but he did admit armed members of hezbollah are in syria. >> translator: hezbollah is active in two locations. the first is the suburbs of damascus and the other is homs. one aim is to protect lebanese living in homs. rather than sending in fighters, they're providing military training to groups of volunteers made up of syrians and lebanese. >> reporter: he also emphasized that hezbollah is not president assad's only ally. the recent visit by the iranian foreign minister to damascus was meant to reassure the administration it has support. >> translator: iran has confirmed it will help the syrian government if israel tries to support the anti-government forces with air strikes. in case the attacks continue, or if their reckless actions expand, iran will become

another precaution in cases of retaliation from syria or hezbollah. lester?> richard, thank you. >>> this latest reported attack on syria by israel adds another layer of complexity to the obama administration as it considers its next move in this crisis. nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell has more on this. hi, andrea. >> reporter: the u.s. was not surprised or at all caught off on guard. israel was using american-made weapons and likely had u.s. intelligence help to plan the targets. president obama supports the right for israel to defend itself from what could be game-changing weapons. >> the israelis justifiably have to guard against the transfer of the advanced weaponry to terrorist organizations like hezbollah. we coordinate closely with the israelis, recognizing that they are very close to syria. they are close to lebanon. hezbollah has repeatedly said they would be willing to attack as far as tel aviv. so the israelis have to be vigilant and they have to be concerned. we will continue to coordinate with israel. >> reporter: israel

a strike friday targeted the very same rockets headed to hezbollah in lebanon. the syrian government called these attacks, quote, an act of war. meanwhile, iran weighed in saying that it would not allow the enemy to harm security in the region and that, quote, the resistance meeting here, hezbollah and hamas, each with thousands of rockets will retaliate against the, i quote, israeli fighting against syria. they said that 30 weapons including these fattah 110s are red lines posing an existential threat that will be dealt with according accordingly. israel thinking so much chaos going on inside syria, neither syria, iran, nor hezbollah will strike back. it moved two of its five iron dome anti missile batteries up to syria just in case. >> jim in london for us, thank you, jim. >>> now to new developments in the boston bombings. currently no cemetery in massachusetts will bury the body of accused bomber tamerlan tsarnaev. his uncle arrived yesterday to arrange a funeral, but no one, quote, wants to associate their names with such evil events. tamerlan died after a

there may be substantial missiles being transferred to hezbollah. and they took action to stop it. what's interesting to me and i think disconcerting is we're beginning to see the blurring of state lines and the potential for a broadening of the war. even though israel may not want that -- and i think that israel has tried to be surgical and to remain calm -- broadly we have to begin asking what does assad want and what is he threatening? to some degree whether it's turkey, lebanon, oher plars, broadening the conflict is a card that he may be beginning to play. i think that's something we should be concerned about in washington. >> brown: where do you see that? where do you see that blurring of the lines? >> well, we see it in the cross-border military conflict in some areas of turkey. we've seen it as you've begun to watch the saudi, the qatarees and the emirates begin to worry about what may be coming after the regime. they are also calling and aising andrying to interact with people inside the syrian state government, the bureaucracy, they're worried about the internal dimension

and then hezbollah would use the weapons against israel in any future war. in a sense you can say that what happened over the last few days is that israel was not fighting, taking part in the syrian civil war. it was taking an important step in what could be the next war that israel faces with hezbollah in south lebanon. so nothing to do with the syrian civil war. much more to do with the next war and game weapons. >> reporting from tel aviv. thank you so much. joining me live from seattle is msnbc military analyst, retired four star general barry mccaffrey. general, i want to start with you amid the 2-year-old battle by the rebel forces to overthrow bashar al assad, are they in any position to strike back at israel even if he wanted to? >> i think perhaps. i wouldn't be too optimistic. i think assad is desperate. 80,000 dead. a million refugees. it is a stalemate right now. i think his argument that he is fighting against al qaeda terrorists and also the israelis as an attempt to break out of the box he's in, essentially it is a shiite/sunni civil war. i th

in an apparent attempt to keep sophisticated weapons made in iran from getting to hezbollah. they're targeting long range missiles in a military research center which sent shock waves across the city. israel would not officially confirm the attack but syrian state tv blamed israel and according to nbc's richard engel, many welcomed the attack. though they promised retaliation, it's not clear if syria, iran, or hezbollah will make good on those threats. the u.s. said it was not surprised on the threat. in an interview with telemundo, president obama defended the raid. >> the israelis justifiably have to guard against the transfer of advanced weaponry to terrorist organizations like hezbollah. and, you know, we coordinate closely with the israelis recognizing that they are very close to syria. they're very close to lebanon. hezbollah has repeatedly said that they would be willing to attack as far as tel aviv and so the israelis have to be vigilant and they have to be concerned. we will continue to coordinate with israel. >>> in yet another complication, a u.n. human rights inve

. >>> israel confirmed an air strike against syria targeted weapons headed to hezbollah. richard engel has been covering it and has more. >> reporter: there is international concern about what is happening in syria and what will happen to the weapons stockpiled. nbc news learned israel carried out an air strike on friday. officials say the target was a depot containing weapons that israel said were bound to leave syria on the way to hezbollah. this is the second time israel has done a strike like this. the last one in january. again, similar targets, weapons that israel claim were being shipped out of the country on their way to hezbollah. israel considers a red line, the transfer of any sophisticated game changing weaponry, that's the term israel uses or chemical weapons leaving syria on their way to hezbollah. it's operating in southern lebanon north of the border. this comes as the united states and many different countries are trying to come up with potentially a new strategy for syria as they watch the country and go deeper into chaos. there's a concern that not only

station run by lebanon's hezbollah militant group showed images of what it claimed was the site of an israeli air strike in syria this unverified footage was reportedly taken at the site of a military research facility in general after the attack but the center itself appears not to been hit the strike apparently left a major road filled with daybreak and shell casings middle east correspondent has more. tension on the ground is increasing and increasing by the hour the syrian information minister. said after a special cabinet meeting that syria will not accept a breach of its sovereignty all of its security and that all options were on the table syrian officials say that they've turned syrian artillery also to face towards israel the syrian deputy foreign minister finds a law that said the alleged israeli attack on syria is addictive ration of war now i'll make that has said that syria will retaliate against israel in its own time and in its own way meanwhile iran which has a defense agreement with syria says it will respond to alleged israeli airstrikes on sunday morning and it's al

how an era -- arab leaders have -- the attacks in -- on hezbollah in syria by israel. the malaysian, of leading party have won 127 seats. the opposition party, led by anwar ibrahim, said that they may contest of this vote. contest this vote. eleven people were killed in mogadishu, al-shabab claims responsibility. officials have been banned from government in libya. the protest was stopped -- when the news broke. havetan's security forces killed at least 13 people during a gun battle against a suspected criminal gang. this happened after police and paramilitary raided a house southeast of kata. mqm party held morning after three people were killed and dozens other of of injured in an explosion. shops and markets across karachi were closed on monday -- sunday. in the demonstrations bangladesh capital, hundreds of thousands called for a new anti- blasphemy law. of theing at least six main highways, huge numbers of protesters poured into daka. they were answering the call from a fledgling group of hardliners to lay siege to the capital. that is exactly what they did, from

as i mentioned, hezbollah fighters from lebanon are assisting the syrian troops. i have read reports that they have said they are leaving this battle. hezbollah, according to many observers and military analysts, is playing a controversial role. it is also worrying israel, which has already launched three attacks on syria in recent months. we just heard in new reports that syria has put on stand by its most advanced domestically- made weapons with orders to hit tel aviv in israel if israel launches another strike on syrian soil. we also heard an israeli if president that assad wants is an attack on israel, the consequences will be crippling. >> thank you. meanwhile, the israeli prime minister has promised to do whatever is necessary to make sure advanced weapons from syria to not fall into terrorist hands. the government is operating in a responsible manner and to the short-term -- to insure paramount justice. we will act to insure security interests of israeli citizens in the future as well. syrian presence as proposed peace talks are unlikely to solve the crisis

the fighting underscored how hezbollah's involvement in syria has steadily grown. the shi-ite militant group and its leader hassan nasrallah have long supported assad. >> ( translated ): there are true friends of syria around the world, they will not allow syria to fall in the hands of americans, israel and sunni extremists. >> woodruff: in washington today, state department spokesman patrick ventrell condemned hezbollah's intervention in the qusair fight. >> hezbollah's occupation of villages along the lebanese- syrian border and its support for the regime and pro-assad militia exacerbate and inflame regional sectarian tensions and perpetuate the regime's campaign of terror against the syrian people. >> woodruff: but with hezbollah's help, assad's forces have made gains of late, and this weekend, he told an argentine newspaper, he will not step down before elections. >> ( translated ): any decisions having to do with reforms in syria or any political action are local syrian decisions. neither the u.s. nor any other state is allowed to intervene in it. this issue i

days ago one said they were targeting weapons headed for hezbollah in lebanon the mess because sees it differently they see the strikes as an attempt to boost the morale as they say of the rebels whether or not the strikes were actually intended as an intervention into the syrian civil war they may affect it anyway there is another concern the strikes are based on some secret information and actual so what is heading somewhere you can tell will be of no washington have officially confirmed anything and many worry that we're stepping into this very gray area worse right against another country can be carried out in absolute secrecy the strikes come days after the u.s. defense secretary said washington is rethinking its position on arming the rebels for the defense secretary did also say he personally has not decided whether he would be wise to provide weapons to the rebels he said the administration is looking at a range of options at the moment as you can see there is nothing definitive in the administration's remarks at this stage but put together the events of this week which now inc

the issue as you were saying they're preventing so-called surface to air missiles from going to hezbollah and lebanon what about the legality of israel bombing syria like this without even a u.n. mandate i mean how do you expect the international community to react to this. well the israeli and syrian governments have been paying a fragile ceasefire for the last forty years and they have been. largely scrupulous in confirming. it here in. accord however next door in lebanon on the lebanese government does not control hizbollah and has well i want to take these arms from syria and position them within lebanon which is illegal because while i was in a state of war wheezy israel and while you may say that flying over a lebanese space is not exactly according to international law this is nick speaking of the real problem here is how to cap the. regional conflagration from by linger over and while there are many reasons on other aspects to be critical of israeli policy it does seem that this time around it is quite balanced and he's only trying to prevent and preempt further conflict so i'm su

just as they did a few days ago and said they were targeting weapons headed for hezbollah in lebanon the meskins sees it differently they see the strikes as an attempt to boost the morale as they say of the rebels whether or not the strikes were actually intended as an intervention into the syrian civil war they may affect it anyway there is another concern the strikes are based on some secret information and also to what is heading somewhere either television or washington have officially confirmed anything and many worry that we're stepping into this very gray area worse right against another country can be carried out in absolute secrecy and some unnamed government officials can claim that it had something to do with has your law and it is supposed to put everyone at ease under that logic they can bomb the whole of damascus and say it was about hezbollah and speaking to pauli's point about. possible arms supplies the strikes come days after the us defense secretary said washington is rethinking its position on or mean the rebels for the past two years leave misprision has been rel

officials say it's an effort to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of hezbollah. this morning israel is readying its iron dome missile defense shield after promises of retaliation by syrian forces. >>> meanwhile, there's a new u.n. report saying anti-government activists may have been behind the reported use of chemical weapons and not the regime. president obama said previously the use of such weapons could constitute a red line for u.s. intervention. senator john mccain used those words to undercut him sunday. >> the whole situation is becoming more and more expansive and unfortunately the red line that the president of the united states was written was written in disappearing ink. >> those comments comes days after chuck hagel refused to speculate on military intervention plans and john kerry heads to moscow today for talks with russian leaders. nbc's martin fletcher is in tel aviv for us. good morning to you, martin. some saying this attack could even be a message to iran. >> reporter: that's right, richard. the attacks that took place, the two attacks that yo

israeli officials said that they had time to target a shipment of syrian missiles that's way to hezbollah in lebanon a similar type is said to have been carried out by israel earlier this year in january damascus has denied has been trying to hundred danced weapons over to hezbollah. let's now. near who is in tel aviv for us paula. all right actually we can bring you later this hour but right now the u.s. is strongly biking israeli allies over the crisis we're in a fortnight has the latest almost in terms of reaction. u.s. president barack obama wouldn't specifically comment on the reported israeli airstrikes into damascus instead saying that israel is justified in protecting itself from dance to weapon shipments to the lebanon based group hezbollah most recently we did hear comments coming from the u.s. secretary of defense chuck hagel saying that now the white house is considering to arm the opposition in syria with weapons this is a stance and a position that washington was reluctant to take instead saying that it would give financial support that would go to other logistics but not we

hezbollah is a shiite group that backs bashar al assad shiite's regime.ls on the other hand are sunnis. today's rocket attack in beirut was likely the work of sunnis in lebanon. their way of saying if hezbollah wants to fight us in syria, we can fight back in lebanon. it is a very dark sign of what to come. lebanon suffered through 15 years of civil war, mostly in the 1980s and has never really recovered. beirut is a popular tourist destination but tensions between sunni, shiites and christians are just below the surface. and now, because of syria, they're boiling over again. lester? >> richard engel in turkey, thanks. >>> in northwest oregon tonight, attempted murder charges have been filed against a 17-year-old student. he's charged with planning to detonate homemade explosives at his high school. police identified the suspect at grant accord of albany, oregon south of portland. they say he manufactured at least two devices which they discovered hidden under a floorboard in his mother's house. >>> when "nbc nightly news" continues this memorial day week

hezbollah has repeatedly said that they would be willing to attack as far as tel aviv, so the israelis have to be vigilant and concerned. we will continue to coordinate with the israelis. >>> capitol hill hawks say the president isn't even enforcing his own red line against chemical weapons. >> conflict is spilling over into lebanon and jordan. the whole situation is becoming more and more expansive and unfortunately, the red line that the president of the united states written, was apparently written in disappearing ink. >>> secretary of state kerry flies to moscow later today to see vladimir putin, assad's last western ally. >>> call to arms, 70,000 turn out for the nra's annual meeting in texas this weekend, even trying to capitalize on the boston bombings. >> how many bostonians wish they had a gun two weeks ago, lying in wait right now is a terrorist, a deranged school shooter, a kidnapper. a rapist. a murderer. waiting and planning and plotting. >>> in boston, a bail hearing is held today for the 19-year-old classmate charged with lying about how they trashed the evidence. >>> an