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Israeli air strikes killed three journalists, 10 paramedics at a UN Peacekeeper in Lebanon this weekend. Israel's Prime Minister ordered the military to expand its invasion of southern Lebanon.
Well, over a million Lebanese people have already been displaced by Israeli attacks.
And Lele Faldin, that's Michelle Martin, and this is a first from NPR News. [MUSIC] Iran agreed to let 20 ships through the state of Hormuz as Pakistan emerges as a mediator in the war, but thousands of U.S. troops are arriving in the Middle East, and Iran says any ground invasion will be met with force. So is a deal coming or is this war widening?
And Congress still hasn't reached a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security. President Trump says he has a plan to pay TSA. How soon could pay checks go out?
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Hey, Lulu here, whether we are romping through science, music, politics, technology, or feelings,
we seek to leave you seeing the world a new. Radio Lab adventures right on the edge of what we think we know wherever you get podcasts. One front in the U.S. Israeli war with Iran is widening in Lebanon. Last night Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he's expanding his invasion of that country. The toll inside Lebanon is devastating, officials say well over a million people have been displaced.
Within 1200 people have been killed, including just as we can alone, three journalists, 10 paramedics, and a UN peacekeeper. And Pierre's lawyer and frayer has just returned from southern Lebanon and joins us now in Beirut. Good morning, Lulu. Good morning, Lulu.
So where are you returning from exactly and what did you see in here?
“Frightened civilians fleeing Israeli bombardment warplanes constantly overhead, sonic booms.”
But also resilience, we went to a Palm Sunday procession in the rain. I was in the southern town of Juzine in the mountains.
Here's what it sounded like at a school converted into a shelter for the displaced.
[INAUDIBLE] No, I don't know, I don't know. [INAUDIBLE] And that's the principle of the school collects steam, describing these waves and waves of people fleeing northward.
Her school is now full. You could hear children playing in the yard there. And she's now forced to turn people away. It's worth looking at a map to understand the geography of this. First, last week, Israeli officials said they would take Lebanese territory up to the Latani river.
That's a river that runs east west. About 10 to 20 miles north of the current is relevant on border. A few days later, they ordered residents out of a zone about 10 miles beyond that north of the Zahirani river. And now Netanyahu's announcement about this widening invasion is creating more confusion and more fear here. And what is Israel's say is it's aim here?
Why is it invading further into Lebanon? So Israel says it wants to create a buffer zone where his balla can no longer fire rockets across the border into northern Israel, which it is still doing by the thousands. And Israeli soldier with US citizenship grew up in New Haven, Connecticut.
“Is the latest Israeli killed in combat inside Lebanon?”
You'll know that this is a zone that Israel occupied in the 1980s and 90s. And many Lebanese fear history is repeating itself now. Israeli officials say in Lebanon they want to duplicate the Gaza model. And we've all seen images of the destruction in that territory. Now, Jezine is also where three Lebanese journalists were targeted and killed over the weekend, right?
That's right, Ali Shib, a veteran television correspondent, really a household name here in Lebanon, along with sibling journalists, Fatima Fatuni and her cameraman, brother Muhammad Fatuni. Afterward, their father Abbas Fatuni appeared on TV. One of his children and Israel as he noted says it targeted them deliberate. And why? Well, Shib worked for a Hezbollah affiliated TV channel.
The Israeli military accuses him and Muhammad Fatuni of being militants operating under the guys of journalists. It says it's aware of reports that a female journalist's Fatima was there and takes steps to mitigate harm to civilians. But after the killings in Israeli military spokesperson posted a picture on social media of one of the TV journalists dressed as a combatant in military garb and then admitted that the photo was fake. It was photo shops.
Press freedom, group say accredited journalists deserve protection, no matter what outlet they work for. Lebanese officials call this a crime that violates international law and say they're taking this to the UN Security Council. That's NPR's Lauren Freyer in Beirut. Thank you for your reporting, Lauren. You're welcome. We turn now to Iran where the state of harm lose remains mostly closed and Iran backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have joined the war.
But additional U.S. troops have reached the Middle East and more are on the way.
U.
waterway that remains close to almost all oil tankers. And Pierre's Greg Myri is covering this
“and joins me now. Good morning, Greg. Hi, Leyla. So how many troops are we talking about here?”
Yeah, more than 2,000 Marines arrived in the region over the weekend. Another 2,000 or so Marines are on the way by ship. A similar number of pair troopers from the 82nd Airborne are expected soon. So overall the U.S. is going to have roughly 50,000 troops in the Middle East. Now this expanding force gives President Trump additional options, but these are still relatively small numbers. They could carry out specific limited operations. But it's not nearly enough for a
major sustained ground invasion. And as we noted, neither Trump nor the Pentagon has hinted
at the mission, but clearly the most urgent issue is the straight of Hormuz. So there's speculation
and at this point it's just that speculation that the troops may be part of an effort to try to open the straight for oil tankers. In the meantime, Iran carried out another significant attack
“against the U.S. base this time in Saudi Arabia. What happened?”
Yeah, Iran struck the Prince Sultan Air Base outside the Saudi capital re-eyed on Friday. And this is a big deal for several reasons. A dozen or more U.S. troops were injured, a very valuable plane was apparently damaged or destroyed. It was an E3 A-wax. And this is essentially a flying command center that gives you a picture of the battlefield. Now the Pentagon hasn't provided details, but multiple news reports and photos verified by Asson's France press,
show the plane was split in half. And a direct hit on a key plane at an important air base deep inside Saudi Arabia suggests Iran is somehow acquiring very detailed targeting information. And one possibility is the Iranians are getting help from Russia. And there's a somewhat unexpected source on this. Ukraine's President Volodomir Zelensky says Ukrainian intelligence shows
“Russian satellites are gathering information on U.S. targets in the Middle East.”
Now he was in the Middle East over the weekend, the Ukrainian President why. Ukraine is the world leader when it comes to defensive drones that can shoot down incoming drones and Iranian drones in particular. Ukraine was forced to learn very quickly because Russia was buying drones from Iran and firing them at Ukraine. At this point Russia has taken that Iranian technology and is making its own upgraded drones. Now Zelensky says Ukrainian drone teams are
already helping Middle Eastern countries. And he was in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, seeking their help in his war with Russia. Now we're watching this war expand in the Middle East. A lot of people being killed in infrastructure destroyed. Is there any diplomatic progress to end this war? Yeah Pakistan is taking the lead role as mediator. It's one of the few countries with pretty decent relations with both the U.S. and Iran. And Iran has agreed to
allow Pakistani flagdoyle tankers to pass through the straight of the Hormuz to a day up to a total
of 20. So that helps Pakistan. But there's no real sign of a possible U.S. Iran breakthrough.
The mistrust was summed up by Iran's parliament speaker who accused the U.S. of talking about diplomacy while secretly planning a ground invasion. And PRs. Greg Mayri, thank you, Greg. Sure thing, Leyla. A quick request before we continue. Please rate and review up first on Spotify or Apple podcast. One listener recently told us that three stories is just right and provides enough of a summary to decide what to research further. Your reviews helped signal to the algorithms
that this kind of trusted journalism matters. We read everyone and we appreciate the support. TSA agents still are not being paid. It's been over 40 days since funding was cut off and began causing long lines that airport security checkpoints across the country. Congress has not reached to deal to pay them due to a disagreement over immigration enforcement tactics. President Trump says he's ordering the Department of Homeland Security to find money in its budget,
although it's unclear exactly how that will work. And PRs. Joe Hernandez joins us now with the latest on U.S. air travel and the next steps for TSA. Hi, Joe. Good morning. So what happened in airports across the U.S. this weekend? Well, a version of a story we've been hearing for weeks now, which is long lines of TSA checkpoints at many airports across the country. These are the longest weight times in TSA history. So we're talking three, four hours or even more. Over the weekend
B.W.I. airport and Baltimore was telling travelers to arrive three to four hours before their flights. And PR spoke with one traveler in the security line there, Darren Davis, who was flying
From Baltimore to Atlanta, which he does often.
at least on the Baltimore side. I have no idea how long this is taking at this point. To be
“really honest, you just kind of got a smile and not, I hope you get through. But is at least four”
times a time. And that's in Baltimore. Atlanta is just unspeakable at this point. But it can be hard to understand why these weight times are fluctuating so much. So weight times can be several hours at airports like Houston and New Orleans one day and then much shorter than next day. So in addition
to the headache of these long lines, travelers are also dealing with the kind of unpredictability
of this whole situation. Let's just get to the why here for those who don't know why the
“government is in paying TSA agents. How did this all start? Yeah, it has to do with the dispute”
in Congress over funding for the Department of Homeland Security. That includes TSA and it also includes immigration and customs enforcement or ICE. There have been several proposals now to fund DHS with added restrictions on immigration enforcement that Democrats have been pushing for, but lawmakers haven't been able to reach a deal yet. And in the meantime, TSA agents are missing paychecks. They're calling out from work. And that's leading to these long lines. Now one of
the ways the Trump administration has chosen to deal with that so far is by sending ICE agents to some airports. White House borders are Tom Hohmontold CBS's face the nation on Sunday that those ICE agents will stay there as long as they're needed. Look, we're going to continue an ICE presence there until the airports feel like they're in their 100% in a posture where they're going to need normal operations. And some airports have had close to 40% of TSA agents call out last
“week. Now the Trump administration says they have a plan to pay TSA workers. What is that plan?”
And when will that happen? Right, so Trump signed a memo ordering Homeland Security to use department funds to pay TSA workers. It's not exactly clear how that will work since it's not an appropriation from Congress, but the administration says TSA staff could start getting paid as early as today. Even if those paychecks do go out, there are still a few issues here. One is that so far during the shutdown close to 500 TSA officers have quit. And then Congress still has
to figure out how to fund DHS, but lawmakers have just left on recess. That's NPR's Joe Hernandez.
Thank you for your reporting, Joe. Welcome. And that's a first for Monday, March 30th. I'm Leila Faldin.
And I'm Michelle Martin. Today's episode of First was edited by Jerry Holmes, Andrew Sussman, Alfredo Carbohawk, Mohamed El Pardisi, and Adriana Gallardo. It was produced by Ziyat Butch, and Avapucatch. Our directors Christopher Thomas, we get engineering support from Stacey Abbot and our technical directors Carly Strange. We hope you'll join us again tomorrow. [MUSIC]
