Global News Podcast - Deadly Israeli strikes hit central Beirut

Episode Date: March 18, 2026

Israel has launched a series of deadly strikes in central Beirut and ordered mass evacuations in southern Lebanon, as it ramps up its air and ground offensive against the Iran-backed group Hezbollah. About a million people are estimated to have been forced from their homes in Lebanon since war resumed two weeks ago. The BBC speaks to citizens in a Lebanese border town who have refused to evacuate, as the offensive fuels fears of a prolonged occupation.Also: Iran vows to avenge the death of its security chief, Ali Larijani, who was killed in an Israeli strike. We hear from people in Iran, living in fear of both US-Israeli strikes and the Islamic regime. Senegal's AFCON victory is handed to Morocco after a review of the football team's behaviour in January's final. A US judge has ordered the Trump administration reinstate the jobs of more than a thousand employees of Voice of America and allow the government-funded outlet to resume global broadcasting. We look back at the life of Shigeaki Mori, a prominent survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. Sri Lanka introduces a four day work week amid fuel shortages. And just how lonely are sharks - researchers say bull sharks in Fiji have "best friends".The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: [e-mail]

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. You're not at the office. You're solving murders in the Scottish Highlands. You're not in your car. You're in a candlelit carriage on the way to the ball. This winter, see it differently when you stream the best of British TV with Britbox. Catch a new original series like Riot Women. New seasons of fan favourites like Shetland. The body's been found. And on paralleled collections of Jane Austen, Aberthorchristy and Moore.

It's time to see it differently with Britbox. Watch with a free trial now at Britbox.com. How does growing up in war affect the way your brain works? It's a question that Fergal Keen, one of the BBC's most experienced foreign correspondents, has been wrestling with for almost 40 years. He's reported from some of the most violent wars around the world and spoken to the children caught up in them.

You can hear him on the global story. Listen on BBC.com. or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, I'm Ankara Desai, and in the early hours of Wednesday, the 18th of March, these are our main stories. Israel strikes central Beirut as it escalates its war against Hezbollah across Lebanon. Iran vows to avenge the death of its powerful security chief Ali Larijani, who was killed in an Israeli strike. Elsewhere in football, in football, Senegal, have been stripped of their Africa Cup of Nations title in favour of Morocco, after a review of their player's conduct in the final.

Also in this podcast, we look back on the life of a Japanese survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, Shigaii Mori, who's died at the age of 88. And we dive into the world of the animals who are known to have a tough reputation, but who are much better at making friends than first thought. Middle-aged sharks had much higher social connectivity than either the younger individuals or the kind of older adults. We explore the social networks of shows. We begin this podcast with a look at one of the countries worst affected by the U.S. Israel war with Iran.

In Lebanon, more than one million people have been displaced, as Israel shows no sign of letting up in its military campaign against the Iran-backed militia group, Hezbollah. Local officials say two Israeli strikes on central Beirut overnight have killed at least six people. people with dozens injured. The Lebanese government says around 900 people have now been killed in Israel's military campaign against Hezbollah. More than 100,000 are thought to be staying in temporary shelters. Jeremy Condiuk is president of the humanitarian organization Refugees International. He says the situation is becoming critical. It has gotten catastrophically bad very, very fast. To put that million people in context, that's about one in every six people in Lebanon. It's the equivalent of

tens of millions of people in the United States being displaced in the course of a few weeks. Many of them are fleeing mandatory evacuation orders imposed by the Israeli military. The implicit threat there is if you don't evacuate these areas, we will consider you a target. That is not lawful under the laws of war. You can't just designate an area for widespread indiscriminate attack, but that's the clear implication. And we've seen this in Gaza. We're seeing the sorts of tactics now being applied to Lebanon that the IDF applied in Gaza. and in fact some senior Israeli military officials

have been drawing that explicit parallel, talking about doing to Lebanon what they did, two parts of Gaza. In Lebanon right now, there are about a million Syrian and Palestinian refugees who are dependent on the UN for their services. The U.S. has cut off funding to those entities. So those refugees are not able to get the kind of health care and treatment.

If they are injured in a bombing, where do they go to get treatment? They are not supported by the Lebanese national health system. food, medical treatment, all the sort of things that we rely on, shelter. None of that is where it needs to be. And I think the world already is very stretched. If we see a massive new wave of displacement come out of the Iran war, there's simply no capacity to handle that right now.

Israel says it strikes targets that are linked to Hezbollah in response to rocket fire towards Israel and issues evacuation orders ahead of any military action. And those orders have now been extended to vast swathes of southern. Lebanon, including the city of Tir, where Uiro Davis has sent this report where he spoke to residents who were refusing to leave. This is Tier in southern Lebanon, normally a thriving Mediterranean port city where fishing and tourism are key industries. But it's only 10 miles or 19 kilometers from the Israeli border.

It has been targeted repeatedly in this conflict, and thousands of people have already left. It used to be really crowded in this neighborhood. A lot of families lived here. Well, that's Neifé Adiv. She's walking alone on these deserted streets in Teir. She says she can't afford to leave, despite the bomb damage everywhere because of the cost of leaving,

and also she's responsible for nine people. My neighbor's house got hit while the family was having Iftar. The shrapnel then hit my house, but I have nowhere else to go. I don't have enough money, for rent, I have to fix my house. My parents are in their 90s. My husband is disabled.

My grandchildren are young. I'm obligated to stay here. I've been also speaking to a baker who lives around the corner from this bomb site. His business is also badly damaged. But again, he's got no options. He can't leave. His business is here. He sent his family

elsewhere for safety, but he's really angry that the fight has been brought here. I won't leave. How do I leave? I never left my home. From 1978 until now, I've never left. I'm against war, but Israel is hitting civilians. If they want to have a war with Hezbollah, have a war with Hezbollah, why target civilians? Well, here in Teir, which is the biggest city in southern Lebanon, Israel has been bombing quite intensively, specifically against. against Hezbollah's business targets. This is a branch of the Kurd al-Hassan bank, which Israel accuses Hezbollah of using to fund terror activities.

But George's business was next door. He sells water. He's had to send his family further north. But he says he's remaining here because he needs to keep his business running. No, there is no safety here. The door is and the window door is bombed. And I'm working. I have family.

I want to live in peace. The George is trying to keep his business going, filling up his truck with water bottles. But one thing he's having to do is remove the roof from his van and the direct orders from the Israelis. Obviously, the implication is there that anybody with a roof on their van, the Israelis don't know what's inside, and it could be a target for an Israeli airstrike. Are you going to stay here?

I have to work here because nobody helped me in money. So I'm working to save money to give it to my family. And you will stay here even if... I'm here, I don't move. Only if they said they want to destroy this. They will warn us. So I have to go. But I hope there is no more anymore.

A tear is known by being one of the commercial hubs of southern Lebanon. These streets, apart from the odd moped and the odd person trying to shop in the corner shop, is completely empty. Obviously, thousands of people have left it. but the long-term impact on the economy of Tehr and the rest of Lebanon is difficult to assess. Uruh Davies reporting. Iran and its militia allies, meanwhile, have carried out a series of airstrikes, which they say are in revenge for the death of one of the Islamic regime's most powerful figures,

the security chief Ali Larijani. Hours after the Israelis had announced his death in a targeted strike, Iranian state TV confirmed the killing. The Iranian The Iranian army chief Amir Hatami has threatened Israel and the US with a decisive response. The Israeli authorities said two people were killed on the outskirts of Tel Aviv after being hit by shrapnel from an Iranian missile. And Gulf states, including Qatar and Kuwait, said they intercepted the latest barrage of Iranian missiles. With his assessment of what Ali Larijani's.

death means for Iran's leadership. Here's our international editor, Jeremy Bowen. This is part of Israel's mission. It's very clearly, explicitly stated war aim to try to destroy the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran by wiping out its leadership as well as its military capacity. Now, what kind of man was, Mr. Larry Gianni? Well, he has effectively been the guy who's been running the war. So very central figure. The center of the regime for 40 years, he's been there. his brothers are also a senior people, seen as a pragmatist over the years, but a regime insider with the clout, if eventually a deal was put on the table to end the war, the clout perhaps to make that sort of deal. Now, if he's replaced by somebody who's much more of a hard line

and maybe someone from inside the IRGC, then he might be rather less pragmatic and want to fight it out to the end. So look, let's quit look at where. we are at the moment. Donald Trump's anger at his allies is palpable, harsh words about NATO. It shows the bind that he's in. Does he declare victory? Can he declare victory and go home, hard politically? Does he escalate? Talk of going for the Iranian oil facilities on Kag Island. That brings its own dangers of Iran hitting back at Gulf Arab oil installations, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates. So for Donald Trump, No easy options, no good ones, and if anything, the indicators are pointing to more escalation

coming from his side. Jeremy Bowen, as we record this podcast, attacks on Iran have been continuing with the US military saying it struck sights along Iran's coastline near the Strait of Hormuz. In Iran itself, human rights groups estimate that more than 1,300 civilians have been killed in the country since the war began. No independent reporting is allowed. within Iran, but the BBC has been able to obtain interviews, giving an insight into the experiences of people living through the conflict. Fergo Keene reports. The barking dogs are the first warning of approaching aircraft, then the ominous percussion of bombing. But what's it like to live in the wartime city? We've heard from two residents

who've given frank accounts. Those who speak out risk, arrest, torture and possibly execution. We've change names and voices to protect their identities. Baran, a businesswoman, spoke of her experience. Do you know what the difference is between our sky and the sky of the rest of the world? They sleep under the stars at night and we sleep under rockets. Both skies give light, but different kinds of light. I fear for my tomorrow. Today I survive somehow, but how will I get through tomorrow?

will I even live tomorrow? The official narrative portrays a defiant and united people but away from the choreographed demonstrations in the quiet of people's homes there is another reality. Ali is a young man who's seen the streets near his home

fill with armed security people he accuses of stealing the city he loves. Ali opposes the government but the war has created conflicting emotions. Now, after almost two weeks, when I see my relatives, I see both hope and fear for the future. Fear that the skies of your country are controlled by enemy forces. But at the same time, there is always a hope in people's hearts. It's not that we're supporting America or Israel, but hoping simply that for one moment,

something might happen that ends the current Iranian regime. The citizens of the 6,000-year-old city live in fear. fear of bombs and of the regime and its torturers. For many, Tehran has become a trap from which there's no easy or immediate prospect of escape. Fergal Keen reporting. And we have more on what the security chief's death and who's now in charge on our YouTube channel.

Search for BBC News on YouTube and you'll find Global News Podcast in the podcast section. There's a new story available every weekday. Now, let's take you back to January. After some wild parties on the streets of Dakar, we're talking dancing, flares and a lot of football shirts being waved over heads after Senegal won the Africa Cup of Nations. Except now the result has been overturned. The host of that tournament, Morocco, who Senegal beat in the final two months ago, have been awarded the title. Because at one point, Senegal left the pitch in a remarkable protest over a penalty decision.

BBC Sports, John Bennett, was commentating on the game. in the stadium and told me more. It was one of the most astonishing matches I've ever seen, one of the most astonishing finals in major tournament history. So the drama started when Senegal had a goal disallowed near the end of the game. Then in injury time, Morocco get a corner. There's contact between a Senegal defender and Morocco's star player, Brahim Diaz, in the penalty area.

The referee doesn't give a penalty, but eventually he goes over to the screen, the VAR screen on the side of the pitch, and he gives a penalty. Then there's chaos. Some Senegal fans try to get onto the pitch. And this is the key bit. The Senegal manager tells his players to leave the field in protest. And they leave the field for around 16 minutes. Eventually, thanks to Senegal's legendary player, Sadie Omane, he convinces them to come back onto the pitch. Morocco have this penalty.

Brahim Diaz takes it. It's an awful penalty. He chips it basically to the Senegal keeper, awful penalty. And then the game goes through extra time. Senegal win it with a brilliant. goal. They are African champions, but now that has all changed. It's all been overturned. And suddenly, Morocco, a couple of months later, have been declared African champions. It seems pretty unprecedented. Have you ever heard of anything quite like this in world football, alone African football? It is astonishing because 10 days after the final, there was a ruling from the Confederation

of African football, their disciplinary body. There were fines worth more than $1 million handed out. to both teams, combined, that is, $1 million, and several players were punished. But Morocco appealed because they felt they'd been unfairly treated, and that appeals board has now overturned the result. They declared a 3-0 win for Morocco, and it all comes down to the rulebook. If you go into the rule book, it states that if a team refuses to play or leaves the field before the end of regulation time, without the referee's permission, they'll be considered the loser and eliminated from the competition.

So Morocco have pointed to the rulebook here and the appeals board have backed them up and awarded Morocco the victory. This isn't a great look for the competition, isn't a great look for the continent really. Could we see some serious fractures when it comes to Afcon now? That is a great question. And you think about the World Cup coming up

which Senegal and Morocco are both taking part in. You think about when the next Africa Cup of Nations will be, what if these two teams meet? It really is an unprecedented situation. there will be fury from the Senegalese football authorities about this. And of course, relief from the Morocco authorities. They've released a statement, the Moroccan Football Federation. They say they wish to recall that its approach has never been to challenge the sporting performance of the teams involved in this competition,

but solely to request the application of the competition's regulation. So again, they point to the rulebook and they say the rulebook wasn't followed properly. and now they say two months later it has been followed properly. John Bennett reporting. And Senegal's Football Association now say they will appeal what they consider an unjust Afcon ruling. So to come in this podcast. I'm here from 4.30 in the morning.

I don't know whether the children have eaten in the morning or not. The amount of fuel isn't enough. At least with this, there is some control. As the ripple effect of the conflict in the Middle East is felt around the world. We're in Sri Lanka, which has put in a four-day working week to try to save fuel.

How does growing up in war affect the way your brain works? It's a question that Fergal Keen, one of the BBC's most experienced foreign correspondents, has been wrestling with for almost 40 years. He's reported from some of the most violent wars around the world and spoken to the children caught up in them.

You can hear him on the global story. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. You're listening to the Global News Podcast. Voice of America was set up by the US during the Second World War to counter Nazi propaganda and went on to become a global outlet for impartial news. But it was pulled off the air a year ago when the Trump administration targeted the federally funded broadcaster accusing it of being radical.

Now a US judge has ordered the government to allow VOA to resume broadcasting and to reinstate the jobs of more than a thousand journalists. Our North America correspondent Peter Bose told me about the U-turn. Donald Trump has been a long-time critic of Voice of America. He was particularly critical of what in effect was an editorial firewall at the service that prevented the US government from intervening in its coverage, its editorial coverage. Last year he appointed Carrie Lake, who's a former 10th, television news presenter and an unsuccessful Senate candidate at the last election from Arizona.

She was appointed to run the agency which operates Voice of America, and she implemented some pretty widespread cuts that, in effect, took the service off the air, and as you say, more than a thousand people put on paid leave. Three of those employees filed a lawsuit, seeking to reverse her decisions, and then 10 days ago, a judge ruled that she had been. been unlawfully appointed by Donald Trump, that she was never nominated by the president for the position. She wasn't confirmed by the Senate, as the court implies she should have been. Now, in the last few hours, the judge has ordered that the employees be brought back to work and that they put a plan in place by next week to resume the services international broadcasts.

What could be the possible reaction to this, another possible appeal from the other side? and what does this say about the state of press freedom in the states right now? Well, reaction from those employees who took the legal action, they have in fact released a statement saying that they're welcoming the judge's ruling, they're eager to begin, they say, repairing the damage Carrie Lake has inflicted on the agency and their colleagues, and they want to return to, as they put it, their congressional mandate and to rebuild the trust of the global audience that they say they've been unable to, serve for the past year.

In terms of a government response, the Trump administration has already said that it plans to appeal the judge's previous ruling that Carrie Lake's appointment was unlawful. Peter Bose. The surge in oil prices and the wider disruption

to global trade caused by the U.S.-Israel war with Iran is being felt far beyond the Middle East. Asia has been hit hard and many countries have introduced belt-tightening measures to conserve fuel. For example, Thailand has cracked down on the use of air conditioning and elevators in offices. Bangladesh has brought forward Ramadan holidays at universities,

and people in Myanmar can now only drive on alternate days depending on their license plate number. Sri Lanka has become the latest country to introduce the four-day work week starting today. And that received mixed reviews from these Tuktu drivers who've been queuing for hours at a petrol station. I'm here from 4.30 in the morning. I don't know whether the children have eaten in the morning or not. They wouldn't have been able to go to school today. What's the solution? The amount of fuel isn't enough,

but at least with this, there is some control. So that is a good thing. Ahelan Kadir Gamer is an economist at Sri Lanka's University of Jafna. He told us more about the government's response. Sri Lanka is facing fuel shortages. We just introduced a QR code, in other words, rationing petrol and diesel for all vehicles. And soon after the government has announced that every Wednesday will be a public holiday for state employees, for schools and universities, and they've also recommended that the private sector also follows suit.

If you look at Sri Lanka's economy, our biggest import cost is fuel. and two big foreign exchange earners, one is tourism and the other is foreign remittances and mainly of people working in the Middle East, over a million people out of our 22 million population work in the Middle East. So we're also going to be short of foreign exchange and the tourism sector is, it's already been affected with all the cancellation of flights. It's affecting us on all fronts. So there's also a lot of anxiety among the people.

because Sri Lanka has gone through a repeated crisis, the COVID-19 crisis, then a major economic crisis from which we haven't recovered. And just last November, one of the worst cyclones hit Sri Lanka and now the fuel crisis. So our labour has already been disrupted. But in another sense, it's also true that Sri Lanka, if you look at our labor laws, people are expected to work anywhere between 40 to 40. hours a week, and this might be one way in which the regularity of work might be reduced, and it might be something that perhaps even stays into the future. Dr. Ahealan Kajder Gama, 10 years ago, the world witnessed an emotional moment when on a trip to Japan, Barack Obama embraced a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing,

Shingayakimori. It was a poignant reminder of the devastation and suffering caused by nuclear weapons. Mr. Mori, who's now died at the age of 88, spent many years working towards reconciliation between Japan and the United States. Daniel Mann looks back at his life. On the 6th of August, 1945, the world was changed forever in a single blinding flash when America dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima to force the surrender of Japan and bring an end to the Second World War. It's estimated that between 60 and 80,000 people were killed instantly. Radiation poisoning killed tens of thousands more in the months afterwards. But Shigaki Mori, who was eight at the time, survived.

The blast threw him into a river. He remembered that when a badly wounded woman asked him where she could find a hospital, he ran away. I was still a child with no power to help. In a documentary film, this is what he said of that day. I was inside the mushroom cloud. I remember this most vividly. It was pitch black.

Gradually, the pitch black that surrounded me started clearing, and I was able to see all around. That was the moment. The full horror of the ravages of war hit me. Shigaki Mori recounted similar memories just before meeting Barack Obama in 2016. The survivor cried as he was held by the first serving president of the United States to visit Hiroshima.

It was an historic gesture. accompanied by this message from President Obama. We're not bound by genetic code to repeat the mistakes of the past. We can learn. We can choose. We can tell our children a different story, one that describes a common humanity, one that makes war less likely. Thanks to Shigaki Mori, the names of 12 U.S. prisoners of war who were being held in Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped

are commemorated on a plaque in the city. Some people in Japan consider the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki a war crime. Shigaki Mori wanted to show there was no hatred of America. He told the BBC that his reconciliation work had been lonely, but on the 70th anniversary of the attacks, he said that everybody talks about peace, but doing this is what peace is about. Daniel Mann, with that report. It can be easier to imagine some animals having friends more than others, and sharks traditionally have been thought of as loners. But a new study into bull sharks suggests that, might not be the case, and in fact they have rich and complex social lives.

Researchers analysed six years of underwater observations from the shark reef marine reserve in Fiji. Although this is a protected area where the animals are hand-fed during dives, they're confident it will give us an insight into what happens in the wild. One of the authors, Dr David Jacoby from Lancaster University, spoke to my colleague Lailanathu. This study capitalised on nearly 150 hours of underwater footwork. and observation, tracking social lives about 184 sharks. And it showed that they had these active social preferences and that sex was really important in kind of predicting these associations.

But also at a much finer scale, size was also crucial in determining the outcomes of social interactions. So when sharks met with one another, how they might engage and sort of communicate with one another. And also that males have much more social connections than females as well, which is of surprising finding. I think what was really interesting about this particular, certainly, was the longevity of the data.

So over six years, tracking these social lives and looking at how they developed through time was really interesting. And so actually what we found was that the middle-aged sharks had much higher social connectivity than either the younger individuals or the kind of older adults, which I guess mirrors perhaps something we see

in our own societies, where we're kind of in our social prime around middle age, perhaps. And is it wrong for us to think sharks as solitary creatures. I mean, do they spend their time in groups normally? Well, we don't know. I mean, this is what's so exciting about this study. Because once they move offshore, we have very little idea quite often of how they're engaging with each other. There's a few tracking studies, but it's very difficult to get data back from animals that range very, very widely. So it's interesting to have a site that is one of the world's longest

running ecotourism dive sites in the world, and to be able to spend time watching very closely what's going on. And the lead author, Natasha Morozy, has spent countless hours underwater watching these individuals, and she knows them all like the back of her hand, so it's been really insightful. Dr David Jacoby speaking to Leila Nathu. And that's all from us for now.

If you want to get in touch, you can. You can email us at Global Podcast at BBC.co.com. And you could also find us on X at BBC World Service, use the hashtag Global NewsPod. And don't forget our sister podcast. It's called The Global Story, which goes in depth and beyond the headlines on one big story. This edition of the Global News podcast was mixed by Rebecca Miller. And the producers were Mazdafi Shakir and Stephanie Zacherson. The editor is Karen Martin and I'm Uncle Dyside.

Until next time, goodbye. How does growing up in war affect the way your brain? works. It's a question that Fergal Keene, one of the BBC's most experienced foreign correspondence, has been wrestling with for almost 40 years. He's reported from some of the most violent wars around the world and spoken to the children caught up in them. You can hear him on the global story. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.