The video reports on the current conflict between Israel and Lebanon, focusing on a recent Israeli airstrike that targeted hezbollah facilities near a hospital in Beirut, leading to significant casualties, including children. This event is highlighted among a series of airstrikes that have impacted various regions across Lebanon, adding to the humanitarian crisis. The Israeli army's rationale behind these attacks, claimed to be aimed at hezbollah targets, and their aftermaths are critically examined in the report.

The video then covers diplomatic efforts spearheaded by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who aims to de-escalate the conflict and instate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Despite low expectations for immediate resolutions, Blinken's strategic priorities for the ceasefire process, which include humanitarian review and diplomatic negotiations, are discussed. The contrasting perspectives of US and Israeli officials following diplomatic meetings emphasize the complexity of reaching a ceasefire agreement.

Main takeaways from the video:

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Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. airstrike [ˈɛrˌstraɪk] - (noun) - A military attack by aircraft, dropping bombs or missiles on a target. - Synonyms: (bombing, assault, raid)

Lets head to the Middle east where an Israeli airstrike near a hospital in southern Beirut is now said to have killed 18 people, including four children.

2. hezbollah [ˈhɛzbəˌlɑ] - (noun) - A Shi'a Islamist militant group and political party based in Lebanon. - Synonyms: (militant group, political party, faction)

Israel says it was targeting hezbollah facilities and these are pictures of a large bomb hitting a building in southern Beirut.

3. humanitarian [ˌhjuːˌmænɪˈtɛriən] - (adjective) - Concerned with or seeking to promote human welfare. - Synonyms: (compassionate, philanthropic, benevolent)

Blinken has released five priorities to try to end the conflict in the region. And they include reviewing humanitarian assistance to Gaza and aiming to de escalate the war in Lebanon.

4. deconfliction [ˌdiːkənˈflɪkʃən] - (noun) - The process of avoiding conflicts or collisions, especially in military operations. - Synonyms: (conflict resolution, coordination, negotiation)

Because what there needs to be is some sort of deconfliction system.

5. casualties [ˈkæʒuəltiz] - (noun) - People who are killed or injured in a war or accident. - Synonyms: (fatalities, wounded, victims)

Evacuation order was issued an hour before and there's no confirmation of any casualties.

6. indiscriminate [ˌɪndɪˈskrɪmɪnət] - (adjective) - Done or acting at random or without careful judgment. - Synonyms: (random, haphazard, arbitrary)

And oftentimes it really does appear, based on the scenarios, that it's very indiscriminate and even healthcare workers are targeted.

7. infrastructure [ˈɪnfrəˌstrʌkʧər] - (noun) - The basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society or enterprise. - Synonyms: (framework, foundation, system)

There is reminding people of what took place in Gaza and how there were no red lines when it came to healthcare infrastructure

8. procurement [prəˈkjʊrmənt] - (noun) - The action of obtaining or procuring something. - Synonyms: (acquisition, obtainment, purchase)

There's also some ability for local procurement.

9. redoubts [rɪˈdaʊts] - (noun) - A temporary or supplementary fortification, typically square or polygonal without flanking defenses. - Synonyms: (fortress, bastion, stronghold)

And to that end, we got two very different, what we call redoubts from either side after this meeting.

10. excess mortality [ˈɛksɛs mɔrˈtælɪti] - (noun) - The number of deaths during a specific time period that are above and beyond what we would have expected to see. - Synonyms: (fatal excess, surge in deaths, unprecedented casualties)

That sort of idea of excess mortality, people are dying unnecessarily.

At least 18 killed in Israeli strike on southern Beirut, says Lebanon - BBC News

Lets head to the Middle east where an Israeli airstrike near a hospital in southern Beirut is now said to have killed 18 people, including four children. The overnight strike appeared to hit buildings in a densely populated area opposite the Rafiq Hariri University Hospital, the country's biggest government run hospital. Lebanon's Health Ministry says more than 60 people were injured, most of them children. Israel says it was targeting hezbollah facilities and these are pictures of a large bomb hitting a building in southern Beirut, causing it to collapse. Evacuation order was issued an hour before and there's no confirmation of any casualties.

While there's concern about the humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza grows, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Jerusalem where he's been meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in in a bid to reinstate the diplomatic process for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Blinken has released five priorities to try to end the conflict in the region. And they include reviewing humanitarian assistance to Gaza and aiming to de escalate the war in Lebanon.

Our correspondent Emir Nader is currently in Beirut while Wira Davis is in Jerusalem. Earlier, Emir outlined the latest on Israel's attacks on Lebanon. Since last night there's been a heavy series of Israeli strikes both in Beirut and continuing around the rest of the country, the rest of Lebanon, throughout the day. One of the most significant airstrikes, as we've been reporting throughout the day was that strike in the vicinity of the Rafiq Hariri Hospital, which the latest tally around 18 people were killed, four of whom were children and around 60 people were heavily injured. The search and rescue operation has been continuing through the day and we've watched that number slowly rise.

The Israeli army has said they weren't targeting the hospital itself, but a hezbollah figure, a hezbollah target near the hospital, but they didn't elaborate on the nature of what that target might have been. The hospital itself was damaged, though no one inside the hospital was hurt.

And throughout the day we've seen a continuation of Israeli strikes significantly in the south of the country, in the Bekaa Valley in the east of the country and in the north. One round of Israeli strikes in the city of Nabataeh in the south of the country killed around 13 people, which local media said were all from the same family. And first responders there were exposed to two subsequent airstrikes which injured those first responders. We've also seen around five people who've been killed in the north of the country in the village of Hermel. So we've really got the sense that there isn't no pause in these airstrikes happening here in Lebanon, not just here in the capital, Beirut, but in the rest of the country as well.

Mayor, thank you for that. Let's go to where now in Jerusalem, where let's talk about Anthony Blinken, US Secretary of State, US Top diplomat there yet again. What is he hoping trying to achieve? Well, this is Blinken's 11th visit to the country and the wider region since the start of the war on October 7th last year. But perhaps expectations even before his two and a half hour meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu were very low and no real hopes of a breakthrough, certainly regarding a ceasefire. That's mainly because even though international diplomats had seen a bit of a window of opportunity after the killing of Yahya Sinwa, the leader of Hamas, last week, the Israeli prime minister's view of events is that Israel has got to finish the war in Gaza first before he can declare an end to the war and start talking about a ceasefire.

And to that end, we got two very different, what we call redoubts from either side after this meeting, from the American side, Mr. Blinken spokesman said he thought that Israel needed to capitalize on the successful action to bring Sinwar to justice and secure the hostage release and end the conflict. Thanks to Wira for that and to Emir as well just before that.

I want to speak now to Dr. Thayer Ama inside. He's a US emergency physician volunteer at MedGlobal Lebanon, an international NGO providing health care support to people living in crisis zones. Thank you for coming on the program. Thank you for having me. What are the conditions like there that you're working under right now? Well, I mean, it's incredibly tense. I think everybody in Lebanon is very concerned about the recent developments. The hospital, Hariri Hospital, getting hit so close and sustaining some damage as well as many casualties. There is reminding people of what took place in Gaza and how there were no red lines when it came to healthcare infrastructure.

It's important to remember that over 75 health care workers here in Lebanon have been killed and much of the south has been leveled. So here in Saida, where I am at now, there are hundreds of thousands of displaced people. There's more than a million displaced people across Lebanon. Many of them are out in the streets or sleeping in their cars. And there's only a fraction of the aid that they need. There's only about a fifth of the aid that Lebanon needs. And today the crisis minister said that Lebanon needs $250 million a month to support these 1.3 million displaced people. And I Tell you, everybody here, there's a consensus. They believe that this is going to drag on and that a lot of Lebanon is going to be affected by this. Not just parts of Beirut or southern Lebanon, but almost all of Lebanon. And that's very concerning.

I just want to focus, just for a short period, on emergency workers themselves, people who are out and about and putting themselves at risk. What measures can be put in place. Is it at all possible to try and make sure that health workers can try and operate safely? Absolutely. I mean, that is. That is an excellent question, because what there needs to be is some sort of deconfliction system. This is something that has existed in the past. It's essentially where the Israeli military is aware of hospitals and healthcare workers, first responders, people who are trying to save lives, and that they do what they can to avoid those types of casualties, to avoid attacking them, or to avoid any sort of accident that takes place. Unfortunately, the early signs here in Lebanon resemble what's gone on in Gaza and that there are no red lines when it comes to healthcare workers or healthcare infrastructure.

We're seeing that they are in the line of fire. And oftentimes it really does appear, based on the scenarios, that it's very indiscriminate and even healthcare workers are targeted. One thing that you see as a result of this, the reason that we need to make sure that there is a deconfliction process, is that health care workers and hospitals, when they shut down, you see an astronomical rise in the amount of people who die, people who could have been saved. That sort of idea of excess mortality, people are dying unnecessarily. It's something we saw in Gaza, and it looks like it's being repeated here in Lebanon. And so I think that's very important for us to be able to at least have those protections in place and to abide by international humanitarian law. It's that simple.

And just briefly, on the issue of supplies and medical supplies specifically, getting in, presumably there is not the same issues as getting aid into Gaza there in Lebanon, what is the situation? Yeah, you know, it's different. It's easier to bring supplies in. There's also some ability for local procurement. But one concern that we're seeing is first that when these strikes continue to expand and they are so close to the international airport that you start to have a delay in the medical consumables, in the medications and the humanitarian aid arriving and being delivered. And the other thing that we're seeing too, is that if we're not able to bring in these supplies in a timely manner, then you start to have a.

You start to see tension rise among people who are desperately in need of these sorts of supplies. And so that's something that's very concerning. As the Israeli military continues to expand its airstrikes across Lebanon, there has to be a route for humanitarian aid to get in, and it needs to be able to distribute it to the people who need it. Thank you very much for coming on the program. Thank you. Thank you.

Middle East, Lebanon, Israel, Global, Politics, Humanitarian Crisis, Bbc News