STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
President Trump suggested a timeline last night for ending the war against Iran. Two or three weeks, he said. Israel has made no suggestion about a timeline for ending its invasion of southern Lebanon. NPR's Lauren Frayer in Beirut brings us the sounds of war.
(SOUNDBITE OF EXPLOSION)
LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE: Another night of Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has offices.
UNIDENTIFIED FIRST RESPONDER #1: (Non-English language spoken).
UNIDENTIFIED FIRST RESPONDER #2: (Non-English language spoken).
FRAYER: Another morning of rubble and counting the dead. Lebanon's government says at least 50 people were killed across the country Wednesday.
(SOUNDBITE OF TANK ENGINE REVVING)
FRAYER: In the south, Lebanese army tanks are withdrawing as Israeli ones roll in. Many residents have heeded Israel's order to flee from a ribbon of Lebanese territory where Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says he's creating a security zone.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ISRAEL KATZ: (Speaking Hebrew).
FRAYER: And destroying villages in accordance with what he's called a Gaza model, so that Shia Muslim Hezbollah fighters can no longer fire rockets from them. Some Christian villagers have stayed, though, saying this is not their war and holding Holy Week services peppered with chants of defiance...
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED CHURCHGOER: (Speaking Arabic).
UNIDENTIFIED CHURCHGOERS: (Chanting in Arabic).
FRAYER: ...But with fear in their eyes. Antoine Farah, a municipal official in the village of Ain Ebel, posted a video plea on social media.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ANTOINE FARAH: (Speaking Arabic).
FRAYER: "We're caught between two fears," he says. "Fear of war and fear of losing the land of our ancestors."
Lauren Frayer, NPR News, Beirut. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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