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--:-- Steve Inskeep: Welcome to Up First from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.
--:-- A Martinez: And I'm A Martinez.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: The assassination of Hamas' political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Iran has sent shockwaves through the region. We'll get analysis on what this means for the war in Gaza and U.S. relations with Iran.
--:-- A Martinez: And in other news, Vice President Harris is challenging former President Trump to a debate, as the Democratic presidential campaign heats up.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: We'll break down what this means for the election and the Sun Belt states.
--:-- A Martinez: And in sports, Team USA is leading the medal count at the Olympics.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: We'll get an update on the action in Paris.
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--:-- Steve Inskeep: Hamas says someone killed its political leader. The assassination came while Ismail Haniyeh was visiting Iran. The event touches everything from the war in Gaza to U.S. relations with Iran.
--:-- A Martinez: Where to begin, we have analysis. I'm Steve Inskeep with A Martinez.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Correspondents Daniel Estrin and Gina Raff are tracking the assassination.
--:-- A Martinez: Also, Vice President Harris challenged former President Trump to show up for a debate.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Because as the saying goes, if you've got something to say, say it to my face.
--:-- A Martinez: She spoke in Georgia where Democrats are trailing.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Can a new candidate put it back in play? Stay with us.
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--:-- Steve Inskeep: The political leader of Hamas is dead. He was one of two key figures in the Palestinian group.
--:-- A Martinez: The military leader is believed to be inside Gaza, where Hamas is fighting Israel.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: The political leader was Ismail Haniyeh.
--:-- A Martinez: He moved around the region and he was in Iran for the inauguration of its new president.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: That is where he was killed.
--:-- A Martinez: The Hamas leader previously told Al Jazeera the battle for Palestinians comes with a price.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: He said this is a responsibility that has costs, and we are prepared for the costs, martyrdom for the sake of Palestine.
--:-- A Martinez: This is one of several developments through the region we're going to discuss with Jane Araf in Beirut and Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv, NPR's veteran correspondents in the region.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Welcome to you both.
--:-- Jane Araf: Thank you, Steve.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Jane, what happened in Tehran, as best we know, at this moment?
--:-- Jane Araf: Well, Steve, as best we know, Hamas and Iran both say that Hania, Ismail Hania, the political leader, has been killed in Tehran.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: And they blame Israel.
--:-- Jane Araf: Israel hasn't commented yet.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: The Iranian news agency describes an airstrike that targeted his residence in Tehran.
--:-- Jane Araf: He's normally based in Qatar.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Still some remaining questions, obviously, but an extremely dangerous development.
--:-- Jane Araf: Why would that be? Why would this be so important?
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Well, first, it was the place targeting the Iranian capital, and then the timing around the inauguration of the new Iranian president.
--:-- Jane Araf: That timing is seen by Iran as particularly provocative.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: And then there's Haniyeh himself.
--:-- Jane Araf: He was the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, based in Qatar, a former Palestinian prime minister.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: And perhaps most importantly now, he was a key negotiator in the U.S. and Qatar-mediated ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel
--:-- Jane Araf: Let not forget Steve the killing of Haniyeh and his bodyguard was less than 12 hours after Israel said it killed a very senior commander of Hezbollah the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group in Beirut.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Okay, so we have two different killings in two different capitals.
--:-- Jane Araf: Israel claims credit for one, does not yet take responsibility for the other.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: We'll find out what they have to say, and we're going to Daniel in a moment.
--:-- Jane Araf: But how is Hezbollah responding where you are in Beirut?
--:-- Daniel Estrin: Well, so far it's pretty measured, I'd say.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Israel says categorically that it killed Fawad Shukr, the Hezbollah commander.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: But Hezbollah in its first statement on the attack today said civil defense workers are still going through the rubble of the building.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: And they hadn't yet determined whether he's dead.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: It did say he had been in the building, so that statement is presumed to mean they haven't identified his body yet.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: And that buys them a bit of time as these attacks are unlikely to go unanswered.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: Shukr was described as the second in command of the group close to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Who's expected to speak at some point.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: And Steve, just one last point.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: A key part of this is Iran, of course.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: Iran's ambassador to Lebanon told reporters this morning that since the attack happened a few hours ago, it requires more time.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: And Iran has not yet formulated an official response.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv, I'm just trying to keep my head around the sheer number of vitally important world news stories that are touched by this.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Because it's in Iran, because it involves Hamas, because it involves Israel in some way.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: What is Israel saying about these two assassinations?
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Well, Israel has no comment on the attack on the Hamas leader.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: And any official Israeli acknowledgement of that could further escalate tensions and even draw a forceful response by Iran where this attack took place on its own soil.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: We did see Iran's president say Iran would defend its territorial integrity.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: But as for the other attack that happened before that in Beirut, Israel has claimed responsibility for that strike, for killing the Hezbollah official in Lebanon.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: They are calling him Hezbollah's most senior military commander in charge of Hezbollah's most advanced weaponry and responsible for rocket fire that killed 12 children in the Golan Heights last weekend.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: And that is what sparked this latest escalation.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Jane Araf, I'm just trying to keep everything straight on the map.
--:-- Jane Araf: We have an assassination in Iran.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: We have an assassination in Beirut.
--:-- Jane Araf: Each one is a leader of a group that Iran supports.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: I guess we should note that.
--:-- Jane Araf: And Iran also has allies in Iraq, where you've done much, much reporting over the years.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: And Iranian proxies in Iraq are saying that the United States has attacked them.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: What's going on there?
--:-- Daniel Estrin: Yeah, let's not forget about Iraq.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: The U.S. says it struck in what it called self-defense, a main base of a group called Qatab Hezbollah near Baghdad.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: It says it was targeting the launch of an attack drone that it believed was headed for U.S. forces.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: That group isn't related to Lebanese Hezbollah, but it is backed by Iran as well and very powerful.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: The resistance, the so-called resistance, the Iran-backed militias, are holding emergency meetings to determine a response.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: And as for U.S. forces, they were on their way out.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: They're coming to an agreement with Iraq on leaving the country and leaving some troops here in a new arrangement.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: But this certainly does complicate things, to say the least.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: Daniel Lester, and I've got to come back to you here and our main news story of all the unbelievable number of news stories we have here, the killing of the Hamas political leader Ismail Hania inside Iran.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: I would imagine that Ismail Hania had some significant role in the effort to bring a ceasefire in Gaza, where his group has been fighting with Israel.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: What does the assassination mean for those talks?
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Well, sure.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: He was the number one Hamas contact for the ceasefire mediators for Egypt and Qatar.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: So this may significantly delay ceasefire talks for some time
--:-- Daniel Estrin: And you know with his assassination we now believe that only three of the four top Hamas leaders are now either killed or presumed killed
--:-- Steve Inskeep: There was a Hamas official killed in Beirut
--:-- Daniel Estrin: There was another Hamas official presumed to be killed in Gaza.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: That only leaves one of the top four, Yeheh Senwar, the head of the Gaza's militant wing, alive.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: And I should just add, Steve, that one political analyst from Gaza that I spoke to, Mohamed Abusada, says that the assassination of this Hamas leader, he was seen as one of the more moderate leaders of Hamas.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: And he says that killing Hamas leaders in the past has led to more radical leaders filling Hamas's leadership.
--:-- Daniel Estrin: Yaya Senwar, of course, is one who's been reported to be in favor of continuing the fighting.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv, NPR's Jaina Raff in Beirut. Thanks for your insights and your long experience.
--:-- Jane Araf: Thank you, Steve.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Thank you, Steve.
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--:-- Steve Inskeep: At least two things were notable about yesterday's campaign speech by Vice President Harris.
--:-- A Martinez: The first was the attitude.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Harris has revived interest in the Democratic presidential campaign, and before a big crowd in Atlanta, she addressed her opponent, former President Trump, as Donald.
--:-- A Martinez: And challenged him to show up for a debate that he had previously scheduled with President Biden.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: I do hope you'll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage.
--:-- A Martinez: Because as the saying goes, if you've got something to say, say it to my face.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Harris also smiled, as if mocking Republicans who have criticized her for laughing.
--:-- A Martinez: Aside from the attitude was the location she was in a state that previously seemed lost to Democrats.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: NPR's Stephen Fowler was at that Atlanta rally.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: Well, simply put, it's Kamala Harris.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Polls had Biden losing in all the battleground states he won in 2020.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: The debate made it worse.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: So his campaign was primarily focused on the Midwestern blue wall of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: Then he dropped out, and all the groups that soured on his campaign, like younger voters, black voters, independents, etc., are moving back to Harris.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Now, that diverse coalition A is what made Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, and Georgia competitive in 2020.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: And with Harris as the nominee, it's likely to make them close again.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Basically, thanks to a surge of enthusiasm over the ticket switch, Democrats now have multiple potential pathways to victory.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: You were there. I mean, was the enthusiasm visible last night?
--:-- Steve Inskeep: We heard a little bit of that.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: Absolutely.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: I mean, Democrats in Georgia and other places in the South I've reported from were telling me the election was about stopping Donald Trump and less explicitly about supporting Joe Biden.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: But now it's a vibe shift.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: This was the largest event of the campaign so far, about 10,000 people in Atlanta, all excited for Kamala Harris and beating Trump.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: It's like a switch was flipped for the base.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: And not just at these rallies, the campaign's reporting record fundraising, volunteer signups, and interest in supporting Harris.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: So what are Republicans going to say?
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Well, it's important to remember that the Trump campaign is already firing on all cylinders.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: Trump named Republican U.S. Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio as his running mate to cap off a triumphant Republican convention that cemented the party's unity.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: But now Harris has them pivoting both messaging and geography.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: Vance was in Nevada yesterday, Arizona today and tomorrow.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: He's got a visit to the border.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: This is fascinating to note.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: On Saturday, Trump and Vance will be here in Georgia at the exact same arena as Harris' rally last night, likely with the same capacity crowds and energy.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: Now, while there's clearly a lot of enthusiasm for Harris in some spots, how much overall visibility does she have with voters?
--:-- Steve Inskeep: So there's this big effort to define Harris to voters, since she's less well-known as a presidential candidate for just over a week, and even less known as the vice president.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: This is happening on both sides.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: There's multi-million dollar ad spending campaigns in swing states.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: Trump's video goes on offense.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: He's attacking Harris' week on immigration issues.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: The Harris campaign spots as more biographical highlighting her background as a prosecutor
--:-- Steve Inskeep: We should find out within the next few days about Harris running mate selection
--:-- Stephen Fowler: The campaign says they barnstorm several battleground states next week because things change day to day
--:-- Steve Inskeep: They certainly do.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: NPR's Stephen Fowler, thank you very much.
--:-- Stephen Fowler: Thank you.
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--:-- Steve Inskeep: And before we let you go, we have an update on the Olympics.
--:-- A Martinez: Hey, everyone. This is NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan coming at you from the Olympic Games in Paris.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: And actually, to be accurate, I'm not in Paris.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: I'm at the Palace of Versailles, which is just outside the city where the magnificent grounds here have been partly transformed into a venue.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: For equestrian events, no big deal, just Versailles.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: It's pretty amazing.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: As of Wednesday morning, Team USA is in the lead in the medal count with 26 overall medals.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Only four so far are gold, which is behind several other countries, including Japan and China.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: But one of those four golds was the U.S. women's gymnastics team reclaiming the throne in the team all-around final.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: They'd had to settle for silver at the last Olympics in Tokyo after Simone Biles had to drop out in the middle of the competition.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: The last night they were back on top with Biles looking as amazing as ever.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Today I'm excited to watch the swimmer Katie Ledecky take on her signature event, which is the women's 1500-meter freestyle.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: And just to give you a sense of her dominance in this event, she holds 23 of the 24 fastest times ever recorded, which is crazy.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: In basketball, Team USA will have a rematch with South Sudan, who was the mega underdog who came so close to sneaking out a W over Team USA during an exhibition game earlier this month.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: So I'm excited to see if LeBron James and his collection of all-stars can get right this time around.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: And personally, I'm also so excited to see the men's gymnastics individual all-around final.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: So the U.S. men's team captured America's heart the other night with their bronze medal win in the team final.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Now there will be two Americans in the individual event today.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: They're Frederick Richard and Paul Judah, each of them trying to become the first American man to meddle in this event in more than a decade.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: And one last thing to note, after all the worries about the pollution in the River Seine, officials cleared the way this morning for the triathlons to take place today with the river swim and all.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: So that's all from Paris.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Talk to you all later.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: And that's a first for Wednesday.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: I'm E. Martinez.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: And I'm Steve Inskeep.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Your next listen is Consider This from NPR News.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: We hear it up first, give you three big stories of the day, and then our colleagues take a different approach diving into a single news story and what it means to you in 15 minutes.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Just 15 minutes. It's a tight one. It's short.
--:-- Becky Sullivan: Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts to consider this.
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--:-- Steve Inskeep: Today's episode of Up First was edited by James Heider, Ben Swayze, Janaya Williams, and Alice Woelfle.
--:-- A Martinez: It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ben Abrams, Nia Dumas, and Milton Guevara.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: We get engineering support from Carleigh Strange.
--:-- A Martinez: And our technical director is Zac Coleman.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Join us again tomorrow.
--:-- A Martinez: And score a free pair of alpaca cruise socks.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Moisture-wicking, odor-resistant, and guaranteed for life.
--:-- A Martinez: Level up your hoodie game at go.pakaapparel.com slash NPR, code NPR.
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