SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
We open tonight's show at the tail end of a historic 24 hours in the Middle East. First, Israel expanded its assault on Lebanon with a huge blast in Beirut late Friday. And now Hezbollah has confirmed that Hassan Nasrallah, its longtime leader and a looming figure in Middle East politics who fought against Israel with both rhetoric and terrorist attacks, was killed in the strike. Nasrallah also coordinated attacks against Americans over the years. NPR's Eyder Peralta is in Beirut and joins us now. Hey, Eyder.
EYDER PERALTA, BYLINE: Hey, Scott.
DETROW: This is a major moment in this conflict. Let's just pause for a moment, and walk us through the past 24 hours.
PERALTA: You know, it starts at sunset yesterday. I was in my hotel, and around 6:30 p.m., we suddenly heard this series of loud thuds, and the whole building shook. We drove out to the southern suburbs, and the neighborhood was totally dark. Rows of residential buildings, of apartment buildings, had been destroyed. Some looked like a toppled set of Legos. And at the center of this blast was this massive crater.
Overnight, Israeli planes kept bombing, and in the morning, we found chaos. It was just a stream of people trying to find a safer place. Whole families were stranded on the side of the road. They were sleeping on sidewalks, or they were just in the holding pattern under overpasses. I saw one lady who was fleeing with her daughter and her disabled son. Her daughter had slung her brother over her shoulder, and they ran, trying to find safety. One man told us that they were Syrian refugees, and they weren't even allowed in shelters.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).
PERALTA: "We have no food. We have no water," he said. "We're sleeping without blankets or pillows." And then everything changed again. Hezbollah issued a statement saying Hassan Nasrallah is dead.
DETROW: How did people react to that?
PERALTA: You know, we saw people crying in their cars. Men were slumped over on the sidewalks bawling. We saw one woman standing along the sea wall, and she was shouting into the Mediterranean, Nasrallah, where have you gone, she said. We heard a daughter ask her mother, Mom, how does the world continue?
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Non-English language spoken).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Non-English language spoken).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Non-English language spoken).
PERALTA: And her mom is telling her, "no, we are strong." And then, after that, there was gunfire.
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNFIRE)
PERALTA: And people were shouting, Nasrallah is still alive. So there was just this mix of emotions. There was mourning, but there was more than that. People here were confused. This is uncharted territory. People on the streets are also scared. They understand the gravity of the moment, and they also understand that no one can quite predict just what comes after this.
DETROW: Tell us more about Nasrallah, what he represented in the region.
PERALTA: He's a complicated figure. Israel and the U.S. consider him a terrorist who led deadly attacks against Americans as well as Israelis. But to many here in Lebanon and across the Middle East, he's a hero. After Israel invaded Southern Lebanon in the '80s, Nasrallah led an armed resistance that eventually led to an Israeli withdrawal. And of course, on the Palestinian issue, he became the most visible and perhaps the most prominent anti-Israeli figure in the world. So for more than three decades, not only was he the top commander of Hezbollah, but he was also a religious leader and a politician.
DETROW: So the big question - Eyder, what happens next?
PERALTA: I mean, there will be a funeral, obviously, but I think there's just a lot more questions than answers. I mean, how will Hezbollah retaliate for his death? And what about Iran, who is Hezbollah's benefactor? How do they react? And then, of course, Israel - starting with the pager attacks last week, Israel has systematically degraded Hezbollah leadership. And is that enough, or does Israel go further, launching a ground invasion? We don't have clear answers to any of those questions right now.
DETROW: That's NPR's Eyder Peralta in Beirut. Eyder, thank you so much for your reporting.
PERALTA: Thank you, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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