NPR: For decades Israeli Jewish settlers have been creating [ILLEGAL] settlements there, taking more and more of the West Bank away from Palestinians. This has the support of Israel’s far right government...

 Israeli settler activity increases in the West Bank

August 5, 20263:56 PM ET

By 

  Emily Feng

Greg Dixon

9-Minute Listen

 The West Bank is a Palestinian territory between Israel and Jordan that been under Israeli military occupation since 1967. For decades Israeli Jewish settlers have been creating settlements there, taking more and more of the West Bank away from Palestinians. This has the support of Israel’s far right government, which faces a possible loss of power in an October election, and that’s led to a frenzy of settlement activity. The government has legalized past settlements under Israeli law and approved new ones in areas that are supposed to be under Palestinian civil control. 

We go to the West Bank, where Palestinian residents say they feel like they’re being encircled by settlers trying to take their land, sometimes violently.  https://www.npr.org/2026/08/05/nx-s1-5922494/israeli-settler-activity-increases-in-the-west-bank

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NPR: Israeli forces have been pushing deeper into Gaza in recent months. At the start of the ceasefire in October, the military controlled around half of the territory, along what is called the "yellow line." Israel's military now controls nearly 70% of Gaza [PALESTINE]

Tents stand amid the rubble of destroyed homes in al-Shujaiya, Gaza Strip, where displaced families endure harsh living conditions inside a new orange zone with nowhere else to go, on May 31.  Anas Baba/NPR

9 months into a ceasefire, Israel now controls nearly 70% of Gaza

July 10, 20265:00 AM ET

By   Anas Baba,  Aya Batrawy 

GAZA CITY [Palestine] — On a small rickety table, under a tent made of worn-out tarps, four friends meet for a game of cards.

One of the older men gripes to the others: "Life is so boring." Like most in Gaza, the group of men are unemployed with no hope on the horizon as President Trump's peace plan, which calls for Israeli withdrawal, new governance in Gaza and Hamas' disarmament, stalls nine months after the ceasefire was brokered.

 Still, the men meet almost every afternoon, about 400 yards from their homes in the neighborhood of al-Shujaiya in eastern Gaza City. But each day, as the sun begins to set, the men have nowhere else to seek shelter and no choice but to return to their bombed-out homes where they hunker down for the night.

"After sunset we put our hand on our heart and just pray," Abu Ahmed Humeid says. "No one dares go outside."

That's because Israeli forces have been pushing deeper into Gaza in recent months. At the start of the ceasefire in October, the military controlled around half of the territory, along what is called the "yellow line."

Israel's military now controls nearly 70% of Gaza, including the area of al-Shujaiya. That's according to comments by Israeli leaders as well as maps indicating areas of restricted access for aid groups that have been analyzed by NPR.

Israeli tanks maneuver around new military posts marked by towering Israeli flags within eyesight of Palestinians in al-Shujaiya.

An expanding militarized "orange zone" 

In mid-March, as the world's attention was focused on the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, Israeli troops took control of 10% more of Gaza by designating what they call a new "orange zone" that runs north to south. Israel's military indicated this zone of control in maps distributed to aid groups, which were shared with NPR. Aid groups say the military now requires prior notification to enter these areas. With more than 400 aid workers killed in Gaza throughout the war, aid groups have suspended operations in northern Gaza's orange zone until the situation is fully clarified... READ MORE   https://www.npr.org/2026/07/10/nx-s1-5887357/israel-gaza-war-trump-ceasefire-military-control 

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NPR: June 16, 2026 Israeli ambassador to U.S. says Israel is 'not going to withdraw from South Lebanon' .... June 15, 2026 U.S. and Iran announce an initial deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz

 June 16, 2026

Heard on Morning Edition

Israel's ambassador to the United States, Yechiel (Michael) Leiter, told Morning Edition that Israel does not plan to withdraw from southern Lebanon, reinforcing a position Israeli officials have already staked out and exposing a potential fault line in a U.S.-brokered agreement with Iran.

"We're not going to withdraw from South Lebanon, and the madmen of Tehran have no business poking their nose into this," Leiter said in an interview with NPR's Steve Inskeep.

Leiter's comments echoed remarks from Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who said this week that Israel would not retreat from Lebanon, Syria or Gaza "despite all the existing pressures and those that may yet come."

The position clashes with statements from Iranian officials, who have said Lebanon is part of a broader understanding reached with Washington. Iran's deputy foreign minister said the cessation of fighting would apply "on all fronts," including Lebanon.... READ MORE  https://www.npr.org/2026/06/16/nx-s1-5858937/israels-ambassador-to-the-u-s-talks-about-u-s-iran-deal-to-end-war

Listen to the full interview by clicking on the blue play button above.

The digital version of this interview was written by Majd Al-Waheidi and edited by Treye Green. 

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U.S. and Iran announce an initial deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz

June 15, 2026

President Trump and Iran declared they've reached an initial agreement intended to end more than three months of war in Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The deal, scheduled to be formally signed Friday in Switzerland, marks a major breakthrough in the conflict that set the Middle East aflame and shook the global economy... READ MORE https://www.npr.org/2026/06/16/nx-s1-5858937/israels-ambassador-to-the-u-s-talks-about-u-s-iran-deal-to-end-war

June 17, 2026 

Middle East conflict

Here's how much the Iran war cost — and how its effects will linger

More than three months after the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran, the costs and aftereffects are felt around the world.

https://www.npr.org/2026/06/17/nx-s1-5860739/iran-war-cost-oil-military-trade  

NPR: Israel seizes medieval castle as it expands major offensive in southern Lebanon... "Israel must know that its scorched earth policy, collective punishment and expropriation of villages and towns will not achieve security and stability but will instead deepen the divide with the Lebanese people"

Israeli troops patrol at the 900-year-old Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon. Israel said Sunday it had captured the hilltop castle, which provides a commanding view of southern Lebanon and northern Israel. Israel has been rapidly expanding its offensive in Lebanon in recent days.

Courtesy of Israel Defense Forces

Jane Arraf  reported from Beirut and Greg Myre  reported from Tel Aviv.

May 31, 20269:33 AM ET

 

BEIRUT, LEBANON — Israeli forces have captured a medieval castle in southern Lebanon which dates back to the Crusader era and raised their flag on the strategic mountaintop, part of Israel's deepest military push into Lebanon in 26 years.

Video showed the Israeli flag fluttering from atop the 900-year-old Beaufort Castle while black smoke billowed from the nearby town of Arnoun. The rapidly expanding Israeli operation, including a swathe of destroyed villages, suggests Israeli forces are planning an extended presence in the region.

Israel previously held the castle during an 18-year-old long military occupation that ended in 2000. A quarter-century later the Israelis are still fighting Hezbollah, the militant group backed by Iran.

In recent days, Israel has rushed in ground troops and intensified air strikes — while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to "crush" Hezbollah — despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that is officially still in place.

The fighting threatens to complicate, or even undermine, the U.S.-Iran efforts to end the war in Iran. Iran says any agreement must also include an end to the conflict in Lebanon.

"Our brave soldiers have captured the Beaufort once again — and they will remain there as part of the security zone in Lebanon," Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the invasion.

Middle East conflict

Mirroring Gaza, Israel is destroying towns and villages in southern Lebanon

"Israel must know that its scorched earth policy, collective punishment and expropriation of villages and towns will not achieve security and stability but will instead deepen the divide with the Lebanese people," he said in an address to the nation Saturday.

Israeli attacks and demolitions have leveled entire villages in southern Lebanon and have now displaced more than 1.2 million people. The Lebanese ministry of public health says more than 3,300 people have been killed, about 20 percent of them women, children and first responders... READ MORE  https://www.npr.org/2026/05/31/g-s1-125056/israel-seizes-medieval-beaufort-castle-southern-lebanon

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NPR- Skeletons in their clothing: Recovering bodies from the rubble in Gaza....An Israeli drone buzzes over a sea of debris in northern Gaza, where homes were turned into mass graves...

A neighborhood of Beit Lahia was destroyed in Israeli strikes in October 2024, including a strike on a building that killed 132 members of the extended Abu Naser family.

May 6, 20265:00 AM ET

By 

Anas Baba

BEIT LAHIA, Gaza Strip — An Israeli drone buzzes over a sea of debris in northern Gaza, where homes were turned into mass graves.

This is where a recovery crew has carried out one of its first missions to unearth bodies buried deep under rubble — at the site of one of the deadliest Israeli strikes of the Gaza war.

The strike destroyed a five-story apartment building in late October 2024, killing more than 132 members of the extended Abu Naser family sheltering inside, an NPR investigation documented.

"We've been dreaming every day of the moment we could recover the martyrs, honor them, and bury them," said Ola Abu Naser, a 30-year-old survivor. "Every day we felt as if they were calling us, saying: 'We are here.'"

About 8,000 bodies are believed to still be buried under debris throughout Gaza, according to Gaza's health ministry.

NPR documented the three-day recovery mission at the site of the Abu Naser family massacre.... READ MORE  https://www.npr.org/2026/05/06/nx-s1-5811930/gaza-recovering-bodies

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"We're talking about a federal administration that has spent close to $30 billion dollars killing thousands of people at a time when working class people across this country cannot afford the bare minimum," he said. "And to be told that a city-run grocery store is implausible, but spending more than $500 million a day to kill people in Iran and Lebanon is not only plausible but necessary, it speaks to a broken kind of politics." Zohran Mamdani April 17, 2026 NPR interview

The war in Iran speaks to a "broken kind of politics"

That chasm is most clear in his deep opposition to the U.S. war on Iran, he said.

"We're talking about a federal administration that has spent close to $30 billion dollars killing thousands of people at a time when working class people across this country cannot afford the bare minimum," he said. "And to be told that a city-run grocery store is implausible, but spending more than $500 million a day to kill people in Iran and Lebanon is not only plausible but necessary, it speaks to a broken kind of politics."

He said that New Yorkers feel the effects of that war beyond their pocketbook.

"At the core of any war is a dehumanization that takes place, and that dehumanization is not limited to any battlefield," he said. "It extends into the lives of people across this country."

He shared the story of a young Muslim woman he called after seeing the news that she had been thrown to the ground at a New York City subway stop.

"She told me that the first thing her attacker said to her before he attacked her was, 'I wonder how many Iranians we killed today,'" he said. "That is what we are allowing to take hold in our politics."

Zohran Mamdani says Iran war speaks to a 'broken kind of politics'

https://www.npr.org/2026/04/16/nx-s1-5785163/zohran-mamdani-interview-first-100-days 

 

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NPR: Despite a ceasefire, Israel has demolished villages in southern Lebanon

Hussein Allawiyya in Maroun el Ras, Lebanon, on Sept. 26. He is a retired teacher who lost his home after the February ceasefire. Diego Ibarra Sánchez for NPR

November 3, 20255:00 AM ET

By   Jane Arraf ,    Jawad Rizkallah

HULA, Lebanon — Israel's war with the militant group Hezbollah officially ended with a ceasefire last November. But Israel has continued since then to demolish hundreds of homes and critical civilian infrastructure in what residents see as an effort to not just prevent their return but erase their history.

In the village of Hula in southern Lebanon, a monument engraved with the names of almost 100 Lebanese killed here in 1948 just after the creation of the state of Israel lies covered in graffiti and smashed to pieces. While Lebanon is made up of a variety of religious groups, the majority in the south is Shia Muslim.

The black spray paint scrawled next to a Star of David bears the message in Hebrew "the only good Shia is a dead Shia."

Retired school teacher Abdul Aziz Chreim doesn't know what the Hebrew writing says, but says he knows the aim.

"The Israelis took over this entire village after the ceasefire and they wanted to make the point that 'we are here,' " he says. "They wanted vengeance."

The Israeli military, in response to an NPR query about the destruction, said it had reviewed the desecration of the monument and reinforced unspecified procedures to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

The graves included civilians killed in what became known as the Hula massacre, with two Israeli army officers tried in Israel for war crimes.

Chreim, 74, finds the names of his grandmother and grandfather among the broken pieces of marble before heading to the ruins of his home.

"This is my past that has been wiped out," he says. "My present has been wiped out. My future is lost..." ... READ MORE  https://www.npr.org/2025/11/03/nx-s1-5566124/israel-south-lebanon-villages

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Thank you NPR, for the compassionate listen into Palestinian life, trauma, and suffering that I heard on my car radio Saturday May 31, 2025 on WITF radio in Central Pennsylvania

Dear NPR,

 

Thank you NPR, for the compassionate listen into Palestinian life, trauma, and suffering that I heard on my car radio yesterday (Saturday May 31st 2025) on WITF radio.

 

"Group Chat Conversations across a divide: Palestinians who are outside Gaza check in with family, friends, and strangers inside" was beautifully produced, empowering Palestinians to tell their own story.    https://www.thisamericanlife.org/861/group-chat

 

It has been horrifying to know about the plight of the Palestinians but to hear so little on our American news that has not been spun by Zionist news writers and outsiders who seek to excuse and/or ignore Israel’s crimes against humanity.

America should not be funding and arming Israel’s war on Palestinians, nor should we be helping Israel undermine and destroy UNWRA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East. 

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

Laurel Hills, Pennsylvania USA

 

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/861/group-chat

 

Note: The internet version of this episode contains un-beeped curse words. BEEPED VERSION.

• 
  

Prologue

Prologue

The Hammash family’s group chat unfolds over texts, starting before the war. (8 minutes)

• 
  

Act One

I’m Fine, Don’t Worry

When Yousef Hammash left Gaza a year ago, his sisters decided to stay behind. We hear about the toll that separation has taken on Yousef and the sister he’s closest to, Aseel. (30 minutes)

By Chana Joffe-Walt; Produced by Nancy Updike

• 
  

Act Two

Week Eleven

Mohammed Mhawish, a reporter who left Gaza a year ago with his family, talks to a young woman in Gaza about how she manages her hunger. Israel blockaded all food from Gaza for more than two months. (15 minutes)

Mohammed Mhawish is a contributing writer for The Nation, which is where we first read about his experiences with hunger in "What It Feels Like to Starve."

By Mohammed Mhawish; Produced by Diane Wu

• 
  

Coda

Banias

Chana gives a short update about Banias, a 9-year-old girl in Gaza she's been speaking with for months. (4 minutes)

Song:

“Person Person” by Mirah