What are Israel's goals in Lebanon?

On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti

WBUR

Talk Show, News, On Point, Daily, Npr

4.3 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 8 April 2026

⏱️ 43 minutes

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Summary

So far, more than a million people have been forcibly displaced by Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says eradicating Hezbollah is critical for Israeli security. But critics argue Israeli occupation will only reenergize the Iran-backed militia.

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Transcript

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0:23.5	WBUR Podcasts, Boston.
0:31.2	This is On Point. I'm Megna Chakrabardi. The events of the past 48 hours go like this.
0:37.3	On Monday, through Pakistani intermediaries,
0:40.7	Iran delivered a 10-point proposal to end the war, delivered that to the U.S. and Israel.
0:46.8	That same day, President Trump called the proposal, quote, a very significant step, but he added,
0:52.2	quote, it's not good enough, end quote.
0:55.9	Then yesterday, Tuesday, Trump threatened to annihilate Iran, posting on social media that,
1:02.2	quote, a whole civilization will die tonight, end quote, if Iran didn't meet Trump's 8 p.m. Eastern
1:09.1	deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Then, at 3.17 p.m. Eastern deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
1:12.2	Then, at 3.17 p.m. Eastern time, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shabaz Sharif posted on X, quote,
1:19.0	I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks. We urge all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of the war, end quote.
1:33.2	Then a little more than three hours later, 6.32 p.m. Eastern yesterday evening, Trump announced that he has agreed to a two-week suspension of U.S. bombing campaigns in Iran.
1:43.6	He called it, quote, a double-sided ceasefire, end quote.
1:48.3	But rather than Iran accepting Trump's terms, it's the president of the United States
1:52.7	who seems to have accepted Iran's proposal from Monday, which includes continued Iranian
1:58.7	control over the Strait of Hormuz, lifting all sanctions on Iran, releasing frozen assets, and a version released in Farsi.
2:08.0	In that version, Iran also included the phrase, quote, acceptance of enrichment for its nuclear program, end quote.
2:15.5	But that phrase was missing from English versions
2:18.5	Iranian diplomats shared with journalists. As negotiations do continue, if Iran wins U.S.
2:25.3	commitment to any of those proposals, it would put Tehran in a better place than it was before
2:29.8	the start of the U.S. and Israel's war. Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanya, who also
	...

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