A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
For nearly a month, the world has been focused on U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, retaliation across the Gulf and skyrocketing energy prices.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
But another front in this war has been one of the most deadly, in Lebanon. That's where Israel has been bombing homes, highways, bridges and fuel stations in response to rocket fire by Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants. It's reignited a long-running cross-border conflict, and the violence may be about to intensify. Israeli officials are warning of a ground invasion. In a few minutes, we'll speak with a former Israeli peace negotiator about these developments, but first, let's get the latest information.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR's Lauren Frayer is in Lebanon's capital of Beirut. Lauren, what's it like where you are?
LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE: Well, we've been hearing loud booms through the night, A. Israel says it's targeting Hezbollah militants in Beirut suburbs, so just south of where I am. You know, Hezbollah's a powerful force in Lebanese politics, distinct from the government. It's backed by Iran. Israel says it's killed commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guards here inside Lebanon. Human rights groups, though, say the civilian cost has been disproportionate.
The Lebanese government says at least 33 people were killed yesterday, including a 3-year-old. More than a thousand people killed this month. The government says nearly a fifth of the entire population of Lebanon has been displaced by this violence. So people are camping out at a soccer stadium in Beirut. Schools are shut indefinitely. Less than a year and a half ago, a previous war between Israel and Hezbollah ended in a ceasefire, but Israeli attacks never really stopped. And I spoke to a college student yesterday who's tried to start her freshman year three times since 2024, but classes keep getting canceled.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: We studied online the first semester. It was really hard. Then they opened the universities as shelters. They changed the system of the studying. They did for us the partial exams.
FRAYER: And she didn't want to give her name because she's staying in an evacuation shelter run by a political party, and she's worried about potential retribution.
MARTÍNEZ: What indications are there that an Israeli invasion might be happening soon?
FRAYER: Israel's defense minister said it yesterday. He said Israel plans to take Lebanese territory, move the Israeli-Lebanese border northward by about 10 to 20 miles up to the Litani River. He says he wants to finish off Hezbollah once and for all, using what he called the Gaza model. You've seen footage of how Israeli attacks left that territory. Israel has been bombing bridges across that river, saying they're used by Hezbollah. Moving that border would leave hundreds of thousands of Lebanese living in occupied territory, including this man, Paul Khreish. He's a municipal official in a village called Ain Ebel. NPR reached him by phone.
PAUL KHREISH: (Speaking Arabic).
FRAYER: He says he's worried his region will no longer be Lebanese. He doesn't know whether to stay or go. The roads are getting hit by Israeli airstrikes, he says. And this has happened before. Israel occupied southern Lebanon for nearly two decades in the '80s and '90s.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, I just want to be clear, U.S. and Israel together have been attacking Iran, but in Lebanon, is it just Israel striking independently?
FRAYER: That's right. So Lebanon is actually a U.S. security partner. The U.S. helps fund the Lebanese army. So these are unilateral Israeli attacks on Lebanon. And if there's a ceasefire in Iran, you know, this front could actually continue.
MARTÍNEZ: What's the Lebanese government then saying about this, considering, as you note, they're supported by the U.S.?
FRAYER: The Lebanese government is in a pretty tricky position. It has been tasked with disarming Hezbollah itself, but it hasn't done so. This week, though, the Lebanese government said it's expelling the Iranian ambassador, giving him till Sunday to leave the country. Israel praised that move. Hezbollah criticized it. It is a sign that Lebanon may be turning on Iran, which has been a power broker here.
MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR's Lauren Frayer in Beirut. Lauren, thank you.
FRAYER: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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