AI Summary
5 min readIn a deserted Shia village in southern Lebanon, seven kilometers from the Israeli border, The Economist’s Anshel Pfeffer was taken 30 meters underground to see what the Israeli military described as a factory for assembling killer drones. The tunnel was the widest and most well-constructed he had seen in two and a half years of covering wars in Lebanon and Gaza. Inside were piles of triangular wings, cigar-shaped fuselages, and cylindrical explosive charges — kits for dozens of drones that, according to Israeli intelligence, had already been used to hit Israeli bases and kill soldiers. The embed was a PR exercise: Israel wanted to show that Hezbollah, with Iranian support, still maintains a significant military presence in southern Lebanon. The timing was deliberate. The visit came just before a ceasefire was due to take effect — a ceasefire that Israel did not negotiate and did not want.
The ceasefire Israel didn’t choose
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What you'll learn
- 1 (01:30) **Iran Deal and the Lebanon Ceasefire** - The episode opens with the Iran deal and its implications for the Lebanon ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
- 2 (02:09) **Inside a Hezbollah Drone Factory** - Correspondent Anshel Pfeffer describes an embed with Israeli forces in a deserted Lebanese village.
- 3 (05:14) **The Ceasefire as a Sideshow** - The Lebanon conflict is a sideshow to the Iran deal, which Israel was not part of negotiating.
- 4 (06:52) **Why Israel Opposes the Peace Deal** - The entire Israeli defense establishment is skeptical, seeing Hezbollah rebuilding military capabilities near the border.
- 5 (07:27) **Strained US-Israel Relations** - The difference over Lebanon has soured the US-Israel relationship.
- 6 (08:44) **Prospects for Peace in the Region** - Talks are ongoing, but the correspondent believes the current situation will not solve the Hezbollah-Israel problem.
- 7 (10:33) **El Niño: A "Whopper" on the Horizon** - The segment shifts to the climate phenomenon El Niño, which has been officially declared by NOAA.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Our correspondent joins an embed in Lebanon, where Israel claims that Hizbullah’s continued strength justifies its campaign. If Israel’s goals diverge from America’s, how does this affect peace talks over the Iran conflict? The impact of the oncoming “Godzilla" El Niño. And why Japan’s popular princess will never take the throne.
Guests and host:
- Anshel Pfeffer, Israel correspondent
- Catherine Brahic, environment editor
- Moeka Iida, East Asia correspondent
- Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
- Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Topics covered:
- Lebanon, Hizbullah, IDF, Majdal Zoun
- El Niño, climate change, famine
- Japan, Naruhito, Aiko, Princess Toshi
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