Kat Lonsdorf’s broadcast, and her companion article co-authored with Jawad Rizkallah, “Mirroring Gaza, Israel is destroying towns and villages in southern Lebanon,” (Apr. 30, 2026) took listeners and readers into southern Lebanon to survey the destruction there. The result was a one-sided story, framed almost exclusively on the damage to Lebanon by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) without contemplating Hezbollah’s role.
The broadcast began with a description of southern Lebanon and its damaged bridges, toppled buildings, bombed out shops and temporary graves – “destruction from Israeli air and drone strikes.” When Lonsdorf reported seeing an Israeli flag flapping in the breeze over a Lebanese village, her tone and inflection notably shifted to marked irritation and disdain.
While not revealed in the article, Lonsdorf admitted more than half-way through the broadcast that she was escorted to a Lebanese village by Salman Harb, the chief propagandist for Hezbollah media south of the Litani River. Her escort also went unacknowledged in a subsequent May 2, 2026, report, when Lonsdorf participated in a segment called “Collaboration helps NPR journalists get you the story of the Iran war up close.” (NPR’s praise for “collaboration” takes on a different light when one considers the unmentioned role of a Hezbollah media official accompanying Lonsdorf and ensuring her access.)
The effect on her reporting – of having been accompanied by a bona fide propagandist of a terrorist organization – was evident through its distortions. Both the broadcast and the article omitted Hezbollah’s responsibility for the damage in southern Lebanon.
Pursuant to multiple ceasefire agreements and a United Nations Security Resolution in the last 20 years, Hezbollah should have been disarmed and left southern Lebanon, but it did neither of those things. NPR offered its audience neither this historical background nor any explanation of when, how or why Hezbollah attacked Israel, prompting this round of conflict. Critically, there was no mention of Hezbollah’s dangerous human shield strategy.
Like Hamas, Hezbollah built extensive tunnels under civilian infrastructure. Using a human shield strategy, it hides weapons in hospitals, ambulances and homes. The authors reported that Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz blamed Hezbollah for Israel’s demolition of Lebanese homes and villages and how he insinuated that Lebanon’s destruction mirrored Gaza.
Out of 900 words in the article, there were six references to Hezbollah (one was non-substantive, referring to the period as being during the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire). The five substantive references were only there because NPR reported something the IDF said about the U.S.-designated terror organization. Indeed, these statements were the reader’s only introduction to the idea Hezbollah had anything to do with the situation in southern Lebanon. “But.”
The authors used the word “but” to counteract Israel’s claims. For example, NPR reported Israel said it was destroying Hezbollah infrastructure to create a buffer zone so Hezbollah would not be able to attack northern Israel. It was followed by: “But those demolitions . . . have . . . destroyed civilian infrastructure,” which the authors proclaimed a violation of international law and potential war crime.
Of course, they never told their audience that when civilian structures are used to support military operations, they (or at least part of them) become military targets. Such designations are subject to further analysis before strikes, and the IDF follows an approach similar to the United States armed forces. NPR acted as if the IDF were a rogue entity instead of a professional army, failing to acknowledge the very high likelihood that the destroyed structures were being used for Hezbollah military operations.
In support of their determination that Israel had violated international law and committed potential war crimes, the authors cited “a group of human rights experts appointed by the United Nations.” The group included notable antisemite Francesca Albanese (a Hamas rape denier who believes Israel has no right to self-defense), Reem Alsalem (another Hamas rape denier), Ben Saul and George Katrougalos (supporters of “Palestine Action,” a group that engages in criminal damage to Israeli-linked businesses), and others on record for hostile views towards Israel.
While Lonsdorf asked her terrorist escort some questions, none probed Hezbollah’s role in the conflict. Despite standing next to him, she did not ask about Hezbollah’s refusal to abide by prior ceasefire agreements and the U.N. resolution or its practice of embedding in civilian areas. There were also no questions about the thousands of projectiles fired at Israel since Oct. 8, 2023, or why Hezbollah broke the last ceasefire by firing at Israel in March. Was Lonsdorf unable to ask these questions out of fear while standing next to a terrorist? Or was the goal to serve Hezbollah’s narrative?
Whether NPR was manipulated into or knowingly served as an amplifier for Hezbollah propaganda, the results are the same for the audience. A terrorist organization, that has deliberately put its own people in harm’s way just to attack Israelis, is left unaccountable and even empowered.
This is, sadly, on brand for NPR, whose audience deserves the full story, including how Hezbollah and Hamas operate within their respective civilian populations.