Israel renewed and intensified its bombardment of Beirut’s suburbs this week, assassinating Mohamed Afif, Hezbollah’s chief spokesman, on Sunday. As ceasefire negotiations continue, is this an escalation in violence that might precede a diplomatic breakthrough – or just an escalation?

In this episode:

• Maya Gebeilly (@GebeilyM), Reuters Bureau Chief for Lebanon, Syria & Jordan

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by David Enders and Chloe K. Li, with Duha Mosaad, Hagir Saleh, Cole van Miltenburg, and our host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Alexandra Locke. 

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editor is Hisham Abu Salah. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube