MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Just days after it killed the top leader of the militant group Hezbollah, Israel is widening its attacks in Lebanon. Early this morning, Israeli forces struck a building in central Beirut for the first time since this conflict started nearly a year ago. Now we are following reports of Israeli troops on the ground in Southern Lebanon. NPR's Eyder Peralta joins us now from Beirut. Hey there.

EYDER PERALTA, BYLINE: Hey, Mary Louise.

KELLY: I'm trying to imagine how tense it must feel where you are. What are people telling you?

PERALTA: I mean, it is tense. I mean, a building was hit not far from downtown Beirut today. And Israel said it was targeting an official from a Palestinian faction that has been fighting Israel for decades. And that marks a difference because, for the last couple of weeks, Israel has been hitting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and, more recently, in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

So I think this strike left everyone asking - does it point to a wider Israeli operation? Does this mean that more anti-Israeli military groups will get dragged into this conflict? And might this conflict affect parts of the country that people thought were safer? I drove down to the southern city of Sidon today, to this residential area on the hills. And what I found was a people who were shocked that they had gotten hit. I want to play a little of my reporting.

(SOUNDBITE OF BACKHOE RUMBLING)

PERALTA: The rubble was three stories high, and dozens of people were looking on as three backhoes sifted through the broken concrete and mangled metal to find bodies. Abed, a neighbor who only gave his first name because of security concerns, said all they heard was a whistle, explosions. And suddenly, a four-story residential building turns to rubble.

ABED: (Through interpreter) I believe there are 50 more down under the rubble. There are children and elderly and women.

PERALTA: The strike happened yesterday. And so far, they had recovered 45 bodies, including some children. This grim process is happening all over Lebanon. Israeli jets fire. Buildings collapse. Ambulances, fire trucks and machinery rush to the site to try to recover bodies. And sometimes, suddenly, amid all the chaos and hurt, everything stops.

So the machinery has stopped. Maybe they've found a body.

Family members of the missing crane their necks to see if it's their loved one who comes out of the rubble. And then, as everyone holds their breath, there's a boom that you can feel in your stomach.

So right now, Israeli airplanes went overhead, and there was a...

(SOUNDBITE OF SONIC BOOM)

PERALTA: That is a sonic boom.

Above the recovery operation, Israeli jets break the sound barrier. It's a constant reminder of the war. I ask Abed if he's not scared to be there.

ABED: (Through interpreter) We have nothing to lose. Our country is gone. Our jobs are gone.

KELLY: OK, that reporting from NPR's Eyder Peralta, who is in Beirut, who is still on the line from there. And Eyder, to these reports, we are now hearing that Israel has actually launched a ground incursion into southern Lebanon. What do you know?

PERALTA: Well, I don't think anyone predicted that this Israeli offensive in Lebanon would move this quickly. But, tonight, we are seeing Israeli troops cross the border into Lebanon. And the Israeli military is also warning that we should expect extensive airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut. U.S. officials have described what is to come as a limited ground incursion into Lebanon. So some big questions will be answered soon, like - what kind of fight can a weakened Hezbollah put up? And what about the Lebanese military? What will they do? And, of course, we have to look at the geopolitics of this. Remember, Iran is Hezbollah's benefactor, so how do they react to this?

KELLY: Thank you, Eyder.

PERALTA: Thank you, Mary Louise.

KELLY: NPR's Eyder Peralta in Beirut. And, again, the headline we are tracking at this hour - Israeli troops crossing the border into Lebanon.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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