ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
Tomorrow is Easter. This week is also Passover, and the Holy Land is at war. Today marks six weeks since the U.S. and Israel began attacking Iran, triggering retaliation against U.S. allies in the Gulf, an invasion of Lebanon, a spike in fuel prices, global market turmoil and thousands of deaths. U.S. forces are still searching for a missing airman after a fighter jet was shot down yesterday, and President Trump has reiterated an ultimatum to Iran to, quote, "make a deal or open up the Hormuz Strait."
Mediators from Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt are trying to restart ceasefire talks with the U.S. and Iran, and Israel is now widening its attacks on its northern neighbor, Lebanon. That's where we find NPR's Lauren Frayer in the capital, Beirut.
So Lauren, the U.S. and Israeli warplanes continue to strike Iran. Two of those planes were shot down yesterday. What happened there?
LAUREN FRAYER, HOST:
Yeah, so Iran shot down those two planes over southwestern Iran. That's near the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway controlled by Iran through which much of the world's oil supply passes. You know, fighting there, as you mentioned, has led to really a spike in energy prices. These are the first U.S. planes downed in this war, and it could mark a turning point. One pilot was rescued. Another crew member is still missing. So the U.S. is looking for that service member, and so is Iran. Iran is asking residents to turn that person in and offering a reward.
SCHMITZ: Wow.
FRAYER: The U.S. and Israel continue to attack Iran hitting a petrochemical zone and a nuclear facility today. And the Iranian retaliation damaged the Dubai headquarters of Oracle, a big U.S. tech company.
SCHMITZ: And, Lauren, you're in Lebanon. What's it like there?
FRAYER: It's been a day of explosion, sonic booms. Israeli drones have been louder overhead. It's just this constant buzzing overhead. This front began when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, and Iran's ally here, Hezbollah, retaliated against Israel. Today, Israel says it's been striking Hezbollah's infrastructure in the Beirut suburbs after killing 1,000 Hezbollah members since the start of the war. That's Israel's figure. The Lebanese government's figure is more than 1,400 people killed across this country. It doesn't give a breakdown of militants versus civilians, but it includes peacekeepers, medics, journalists. And more than a million people have been displaced. In Beirut, you see people camping on sidewalks, they've set up tents in a big soccer stadium near here.
SCHMITZ: And of course, those attacks are coming from Lebanon's southern neighbor Israel. What does Israel say about its war plans there?
FRAYER: Israel says it wants to take Lebanese territory and create what it calls a buffer, or security zone, along Israel's northern border where Hezbollah, Iran's proxy or ally, has been firing rockets into Israel by the dozens, including over this Easter and Passover holiday. Israel's defense minister says he's following a Gaza model, ordering his military to destroy homes and villages so that Hezbollah cannot embed its fighters in them. And we spoke to a resident trapped in that zone in a Christian village. His name is Maroun Nassif.
MAROUN NASSIF: (Non-English language spoken).
FRAYER: And he says his village is under siege, that it's being shelled by Israeli troops. He says about a dozen homes in his village have been blown up by Israeli troops. He's frightened. He doesn't want to live under Israeli occupation. This is an area that lived under Israeli occupation in the 1980s and '90s. We're also hearing from Israeli officials that these Christian villages in this ribbon of territory in southern Lebanon pose a dilemma for Israel. They're trying to root out Shiite Muslim Hezbollah fighters. And the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon - incidentally, Beirut-born, fluent Arabic speaker - he says that the U.S. is asking Israel to use restraint and spare some of those Christian villages in the South where the fighting is heaviest.
SCHMITZ: These are Christian villages. They're about to celebrate Easter. What's it like for people there as they prepare for that holiday while they're bracing for more attacks?
FRAYER: I ventured down into the south a few days ago, and I saw, you know, some villages are empty. Many people have fled southern Lebanon. Israel has ordered people out of that region. And then other villages are flooded with displaced people. I visited a Christian town where that was the case. Lots of people seeking refuge from Israeli bombardment farther south.
I also got to see a special Easter tradition in Lebanon. Christians here - as part of Holy Week celebrations, the children go door to door, acting out the biblical story of Lazarus, Jesus' friend whom faithful believe also rose from the dead, and children take turns playing Lazarus, laying on the floor, and then rising resurrected, and they sing special songs. Here's what it sounded like.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing in non-English language).
FRAYER: I went to this ceremony in the town of Jezzine, and unfortunately, it had to be cut short because of an airstrike nearby. And that's sort of emblematic of what's happening across Southern Lebanon. You know, Holy Week services are mixed with funerals.
SCHMITZ: That is NPR's Lauren Frayer in Beirut. Lauren, thank you.
FRAYER: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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