Up First from NPR - More Explosions In Lebanon, Israeli Covert Operations, Teamsters Won't Endorse

Episode Date: September 19, 2024

People in Lebanon are unplugging electronics and turning off their phones after a second day of exploding devices. Israel, which has not publicly acknowledged any responsibility for the attacks, has a long history of covert operations, and one of the largest unions in the United States is staying on the sidelines of this year's presidential election. Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Vincent Ni, Andrew Sussman, Megan Pratz, HJ Mai and Ally Schweitzer. It was produced by Iman Maani, Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Mansee Khurana. We get engineering support from Carleigh Strange and our technical director is Zac Coleman.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

People in Lebanon are unplugging electronics and turning off phones in fear after a second round of exploding devices. Israel talks of a new phase in its war, turning toward Hezbollah. So where is this conflict heading? I'm Leila Faldin with Stephen Skibb and this is Up First from NPR News. Israel has a long history of covert operations detonating remote-operated weapons from Lebanon to Iran. The technical proficiency is stunning, but what is the strategic goal? We asked Greg Myrie, who's followed the region for decades. Also, one of the largest unions in the United States is staying on the sidelines of this year's presidential election. The Teamsters Union will not endorse any candidate.

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privately acknowledged responsibility for the attacks. Publicly, Israel has not said anything, but yesterday they did declare its war has entered a new phase. With me down the line in Beirut is NPR's Jane Araf. Hi, Jane. Hi, Leila. So what are you seeing and hearing in the city? Well, I went to Beirut's southern suburbs yesterday with producer Jawad Rizalla to a Hezbollah funeral for four of those victims of Tuesday's blasts. They included two fighters being buried, plus an 11-year-old boy and a hospital orderly.

They were all killed when pagers carried by Hezbollah members, including office and hospital staff, began exploding in cars, streets, supermarkets. A speaker called out the names of the dead. You can hear the band starting to play, and then a bang. Everything stopped, and then the ceremony continued. Our producer, Jawad, dashed out and saw ambulances and heard someone shouting that a man had his hand blown off. And then the funeral carried on to the sound of prayers

and still those ambulances in the background. So you were right there for that one blast, but that was not the only blast, right? It wasn't. As the bodies were being carried to the cemetery to be buried, the victims of the previous day's blasts, more ambulances came racing through the streets. Not just ambulances, but speeding motorcycles. One was a firefighter with an oxygen bottle strapped on his back. It was almost dusk at that point, Leila, and it was very tense.

Hezbollah security people appeared from almost nowhere. And all of this as a sanitation worker swept up rose petals from the street. You know, the deaths of martyrs are considered a celebration, almost like a wedding. And people on balconies were showering the mourners with petals. So Jane, attacks before this week between Israel and Hezbollah had really been missiles, airstrikes, drone attacks constantly. This new string of explosions, though, is really different. I mean, I'm hearing from people that they're just afraid of electronics, unplugging everything, afraid to be out in case someone's device explodes next to them. What are you hearing? Absolutely, really widespread fear because it's so unpredictable. Hezbollah has vowed revenge and

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader, is giving an address this evening. Lebanese security forces have been detonating walkie-talkies and their devices and controlled explosions. People are deeply unsettled because they don't know when something next to them could explode. We talked to a 16-year-old mourner. He said this was different. This was terrorism, killing and maiming random people as well as fighters.

And he added this. In Islamic faith, we always believe that death is not a wall but a door. And he added this. Even far from Hezbollah neighborhoods, people are in shock. Jawad spoke to a young woman in a pub who had just spoken to her 12-year-old sister. She's like, yes, I could see the man burning on his balcony across their apartment. She's just in shock. This makes me feel weak and sad and hurt and very angry. The woman said she was trying to pretend things were normal, but obviously nothing is normal now. That's NPR's Jane Araf reporting for us from Beirut. Thank you, Jane. Thank you. The explosions in Lebanon are the latest in a series of attacks attributed to Israel. And Israel has a long history of covert operations like this.

NPR's Greg Myrie has been following that aspect. In fact, he's been covering the region for decades. Greg, I don't mean to make you sound old, but I appreciate your experience. Good morning to you. Thanks, Steve. Israel in this attack is doing something distinctive. I mean, they're effectively saying, we're in your hands, we're in your pockets. But how does this fit in with other attacks over the years?

Well, since the beginning of this year, Israel has been blamed for the targeted killings of senior figures in Hezbollah, in the Palestinian group Hamas, and in Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. Now, these attacks were all in places where leaders in those groups thought they were relatively well-protected, in offices in Lebanon's capital Beirut, a diplomatic compound in Syria's capital Damascus, a government guest house in Iran's capital Tehran. So, as you noted, Israel hasn't commented and is not talking about these latest attacks either. However, a U.S. official in Washington who spoke on condition of anonymity told NPR that Israel has told the U.S. it was responsible. Okay, so what's some of the longer history of Israeli high-tech attacks? Well, Steve, a good place to start is 1996. Israel wanted to

eliminate the main Hamas bomb maker in Gaza, Yahya Ayyash. Israel found a way to put an explosive device in a cell phone, then figured out a way to give him the phone without him knowing the source. When he answered a call, it exploded and killed him. This kind of operation was entirely new and quite dramatic at the time, but now we've seen variations on this method for nearly three decades with Israel using phones and other electronic devices to eavesdrop, to surveil, and to kill its enemies in places where its security forces just can't go. Okay. So from Israel's perspective, these attacks work, they hit their targets, they have a great psychological power. You think the Israelis are everywhere, but in the wider sense, do they serve a strategic goal of advancing Israel's interests?

Well, you know, it's probably hard to answer that definitively, but on the balance, it hasn't had a definitive impact ending or resolving a conflict. These operations reflect the very high level of technical expertise and human intelligence that Israel has in its security forces and in neighboring countries. And what's happened in Lebanon the past couple days is something we just haven't seen before. These operations in the past have been the combined work of the military and the Israeli intelligence services, Shin Bet and Mossad. And yet Israel is still fighting the same battle with its neighbors that date back decades. And many analysts will simply say there's no real military solution here. There will have to be a political solution. Okay. Well, let's talk about where this war might go next. We heard yesterday from our colleague Daniel Estrin that Hezbollah might not respond immediately. They're going to need time

to recover. That turns out to be the case. In fact, they've been attacked again. But Hezbollah talks of responding. What might we expect from them? Well, Hezbollah is threatening a strong response. They have this huge arsenal of rockets and missiles, but this has been a substantial blow. Israel has knocked out their communication systems. Also, Hezbollah has been signaling that it doesn't want a full scale war, which could devastate an already weak Lebanon. So another possibility is it might not escalate. We should note Israel has carried out these highly provocative attacks for months, and it has not led to a wider regional war. The fighting has essentially carried on at roughly the same level.

And, Pierce, Greg Myrie, thanks as always for your insight, sir. Thanks, Steve. Labor unions have been especially active and involved in this year's elections. From the AFL-CIO to the teachers union to the United Auto Workers and government employees, unions have overwhelmingly endorsed the Democratic ticket and are working to turn out the vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. But one very large, very prominent union says it is sitting this election out. NPR's Don Gagne is covering that story from Detroit, Michigan. Don, good morning. Good morning. Which union is sitting this out? It's the Teamsters. More than a million members. They will not endorse either candidate for

president. And again, this is a union that has backed every Democratic nominee since Bill Clinton, including Joe Biden four years ago. The Teamsters president is Sean O'Brien, and he signaled early that this would be a different kind of year. In fact, he has been engaging with Republicans all along. In July, he spoke at the Republican National Convention. He gave a very pro-union speech, but he also praised Donald Trump. And recall, this was just days after the first assassination attempt,

the one in Pennsylvania. And I think we all can agree, whether people like him or they don't like him, in light of what happened to him on Saturday, he has proven to be one tough SOB. So a sign things have changed, certainly. O'Brien also conducted a survey of his members and yesterday they released the results of that, showing Trump to be the overwhelming favorite among their rank and file. Well, I suppose you could ask why the union would not have gone ahead and just endorsed Trump if most of the members seemed to lean that way. Right. The polling wasn't the only thing. There were candidate interviews at her session just

this week. Harris said she would continue the pro-labor policies of the Biden administration. But again, she doesn't have the long history with this union that Biden has. Trump, meanwhile, hurt his own chances when he said in a public conversation with Elon Musk that any worker who goes on strike should be fired. So we get this no decision. Okay. So how does each campaign react now? From the Harris campaign, a written statement, quote, while Donald Trump says striking workers should be fired, Vice President Harris has literally walked the picket line and stood strong with organized labor for her entire career. Trump, meanwhile, just declared victory at a speech in Uniondale in New York. He boasted that he won the Teamsters endorsement. Earlier today,

I was honored to receive the endorsement of the rank and file membership of the Teamsters endorsement. Earlier today, I was honored to receive the endorsement of the rank-and-file membership of the Teamsters. I love the Teamsters. Again, the official position of the Teamsters, there's no endorsement. Okay, so no endorsement, but it's an endorsement that would have gone to Democrats in the past, and it's an unusually big union. So what does this mean in the campaign, given their resources? We are certainly going to see Teamsters outworking the campaign this year, but as part of

smaller groups. There's the Teamsters National Black Caucus, which is already out organizing for Harris, and they have endorsed her. And Trump will have his backers too, certainly, but it'll all happen piecemeal. No big united Teamsters effort. Yeah, we have been hearing from some of the locals, the union locals, who said they will be for Harris. Don, thanks so much. It's my pleasure. That's NPR's Don Gagne. And that's a first for this Thursday, September 19th.

I'm Steve Inskeep. And I'm Layla Faldin. For your next listen, consider this from NPR. Two unusual attacks on pagers and radios used by the Lebanese group Hezbollah come at a time when negotiations over a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas have stalled. What could this mean for the region? Listen to consider this from NPR. Today's Up First was edited by Vincent Nee, Andrew Sussman, Megan Pratt, H.J. Mai, and Ali Schweitzer. It was produced by Iman Maani, Ziad Bach, Nia Dumas, and Mansi Khurana. We get engineering support from Carly Strange, and our technical director, also supportive always, is Zach Coleman.

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