MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Over the weekend, Israel and Hamas both accused each other of violating the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The ceasefire is still officially in place, has been for a little over six weeks. Israel also struck a crowded suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, killing a commander of Hezbollah. This is the first Israeli strike in the Lebanese capital in more than five months and has many people asking about the nearly yearlong ceasefire there.
MARTIN: To catch us up on both, we're joined now by NPR's Kat Lonsdorf in Tel Aviv. Kat, good morning.
KAT LONSDORF, BYLINE: Hey, good morning.
MARTIN: So let's start in Gaza. There were several Israeli strikes there over the weekend. What can you tell us about those?
LONSDORF: Yeah. On Saturday, Israel said that Hamas militants crossed the yellow line in Gaza, which is the dividing line between Israeli-controlled and Hamas-controlled territory right now. In response, Israel carried out a series of strikes across Gaza, which killed at least 20 people, according to health officials there. Hamas sent a delegation to Cairo yesterday to meet with mediators to discuss Israeli violations of the ceasefire. Israeli strikes have killed more than 300 Palestinians, including more than 60 children during this ceasefire. And, Michel, I know that sounds contradictory. We're talking about a ceasefire, and there are still so many people being killed. As you said, both sides have accused each other of violations, but the agreement between the two is still holding, and we've not seen a full return to war.
MARTIN: So this ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas was put forward by President Trump. It's supposed to have several phases toward a lasting peace.
LONSDORF: Yeah.
MARTIN: Can you tell us where we are right now in that process?
LONSDORF: Yeah. We've gotten through a lot of the first phase, which saw the return of all remaining living hostages to Israel in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, and most of the hostage bodies have also been returned, and that's where it's kind of stuck right now. The next phase is supposed to set up an international stabilization force in Gaza, see Hamas disarm and have Israel fully withdraw. I talked to Nimrod Novik. He's a fellow with the U.S.-based Israel Policy Forum, and he was also an adviser to former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres. Novik told me he's worried there's not a clear path forward in this agreement.
NIMROD NOVIK: A lot of thought was given to Phase 1. A lot of thought was given to Phase 2. Very little thought was given to the transition between them.
LONSDORF: And there's still a lot of question marks hanging in the air. Who will make up that international stabilization force? How will it be trained? How will Hamas disarmament work? Meanwhile, that means the nearly 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza still can't get a lot of the aid and assistance they desperately need.
MARTIN: Let's turn now to Lebanon, where Israel struck Beirut yesterday.
LONSDORF: Yeah.
MARTIN: What can you tell us about that?
LONSDORF: This was an Israeli strike on a crowded residential area in Beirut. It killed a senior Hezbollah commander and also several other members, which the group confirmed. It also wounded dozens of civilians, including some children. Our colleague Jane Arraf is in Beirut this morning. She's visiting the site of the strike. We'll hear more from her later today. This attack has raised fears that an all-out war could restart, despite a ceasefire that's been in effect for almost a year now. During that time, Israel has launched almost daily and deadly attacks in south Lebanon. This was its first strike in Beirut in months. Meanwhile, Hezbollah has refrained from striking Israel, but a Hezbollah official called this weekend's attack a new red line.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Kat Lonsdorf in Tel Aviv. Kat, thank you.
LONSDORF: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
