Israeli strikes hit Iran and Lebanon as Iran launches attacks in the Middle East

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Israeli strikes hit Iran and Lebanon as Iran launches attacks in the Middle East Israeli airstrikes hit the capitals of Iran and Lebanon Friday, as Iran launched new retaliatory attacks in the Middle East. World Israeli strikes hit Iran and Lebanon as Iran launches attacks in the Middle East March 6, 20264:40 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition By Hadeel Al-Shalchi , Steve Inskeep Israeli strikes hit Iran and Lebanon as Iran launches attacks in the Middle East Listen &middot; 3:43 3:43 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5737389/nx-s1-9676823" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Israeli airstrikes hit the capitals of Iran and Lebanon Friday, as Iran launched new retaliatory attacks in the Middle East. Sponsor Message STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Israeli forces struck a suburb of Lebanon's capital overnight.

+ MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Beirut is a city of millions of people now shaking from bombs and filled with evacuees. Israel ordered residents to flee a southern suburb that it describes as a stronghold of Hezbollah. That group had responded to the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran. INSKEEP: NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi is in Beirut with a report. Hi there, Hadeel. HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Good morning. INSKEEP: What's it like where you've been in the last 24 hours? AL-SHALCHI: Well, it was quiet early this morning. But the Israeli military just announced that it is still striking the Dahieh neighborhood. It's really actually not that far from downtown Beirut, close to where I am, just about 4 miles away. And the Lebanese government says that the death toll has now gone up to a hundred people since the war with Iran began. Now, Steve, I was out reporting last night right before the strikes yesterday. And roads, which are normally not busy at that time of night, were gridlocked. Israel had issued an evacuation order for the entire southern suburb. And families were fleeing in trucks. You know, the back of them were stuffed with blankets, kitchen products. You know, they stuffed their kids back there, too. And then Beirut itself is just crowded with the displaced. You know, those with money are able to afford hotels or rent apartments. I found it hard to find a hotel room myself before coming here because they're so full. But then those who can't afford hotels are sleeping in their cars and on the streets. The sidewalks are packed here with displaced families, mothers and children huddled under blankets to stay warm. Men sitting around little fires to keep warm, also smoking cigarettes. And Lebanese officials say over 95,000 people are now displaced. And some of those people from the south have had to evacuate their homes multiple times. INSKEEP: Wow. I want to understand how we got here. So the U.S. and Israel struck Iran last weekend. Hezbollah in southern Lebanon is allied with Iran. They fired upon Israel. The Israelis fired back. And then how did we get from that initial exchange of fire to this mass evacuation? AL-SHALCHI: So you have to remember that Israel's actually been striking in southern Lebanon and what it's calling Hezbollah installations for the past 15 months already, even though there was a ceasefire brokered last year, but then it just ramped it up after, like you said, Hezbollah launched rockets into northern Israel earlier this week. Now, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group first said this was in solidarity with Iran. And then it backtracked it and said that the rockets were because of ongoing Israeli attacks. But this is still the first time Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in those 15 months. And so now we're seeing the Lebanese government is really trying to distance itself from Hezbollah and from Iran. Earlier in the day, I sat with Lebanon's justice minister, Adel Nassar. He instructed the Lebanese security authorities to issue arrest warrants for the Hezbollah members who launched those rockets into Israel this week, which is kind of unprecedented. Nassar wants to dismantle Hezbollah's military wing. There is a move now in Lebanon to do that. Hezbollah's military wing operates mainly out of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah still enjoys popularity in Lebanon. But I'm hearing more and more people here say that they've dragged them into an unnecessary war. And so Nassar says there are huge challenges. INSKEEP: How does this fit into other developments in the war? AL-SHALCHI: Well, earlier this morning in Tehran, there was heavy bombardment in the city's center near the supreme leader's old home. Fighter jets flew overhead. There were huge explosions. And then in the Gulf, Qatar's defense ministry said it thwarted a drone attack at the biggest U.S. military facility in the Middle East. And in Bahrain, the government said two hotels and a residential building were targeted by Iranian strikes. In Israel, it was quieter than previous nights, with no incoming missile attacks. And the military's chief of staff there said last night that the U.S. and Israel are working in what he called a, quote, "historic cooperation." INSKEEP: NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Beirut. Thanks so much. AL-SHALCHI: You're very welcome. Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. 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