Last week, the Israeli military recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in Gaza. According to Israeli authorities, more than 60 living hostages, and the bodies of approximately 35 others taken captive during the Hamas-led attack on October 7th, are still in Gaza. Leah Hickert speaks with Jon Alterman, director of the CSIS Middle East Program and e ... Show More
May 22
Babel Special: Jon Alterman's Next Chapter
This week on a special edition of Babel, Will Todman speaks with Jon Alterman, the creator of Babel and the show’s host since it began in 2019. They discuss Jon’s reflections on 22 years directing the CSIS Middle East Program, his analysis of how the Middle East policy ecosystem ... Show More
34m 59s
May 15
Mohanad Hage Ali: Hezbollah and the Captagon Trade
This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Mohanad Hage Ali, deputy director for research at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. Mohanad's latest paper for Carnegie investigates the rise of a new form of drug smuggling in Lebanon. Together, they discuss Hezbollah’s i ... Show More
50m 16s
May 8
Analysis: Will Trump’s Houthi Deal Stick?
On Tuesday, May 6, President Trump declared that the United States would immediately halt its bombing of Houthi targets, bringing an end to months of intensified U.S. strikes across Yemen. The president linked the policy reversal to what he described as the Iran-backed Houthis’ c ... Show More
6m 13s
Oct 2024
BBC OS Conversations: My year in Gaza
On 7 October 2023, Hamas gunmen attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 more hostage. Israel responded with airstrikes and by sending troops into Gaza. The aim was to destroy Hamas’s military and governing capabilities and to secure the release of the hostages. The i ... Show More
23m 10s
Feb 2025
Body returned 'not hostage', Israeli military says
Israel has accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire deal after forensic testing revealed the body returned from Gaza on Thursday was not that of Shiri Bibas.The three other bodies handed over have been identified as her sons, Ariel and Kfir, who would have been aged five and two, ... Show More
47m 31s
Jul 2024
A Hostage Deal — with Haviv Rettig Gur & Nadav Eyal
Before today’s conversation, one housekeeping note. We are announcing our second "Call Me Back Live" Event. I will be talking to creators of Fauda -- Avi Issacharoff and Lior Raz. They are scripting OCTOBER 7th, a feature film on the heroic true story of Noam Tibon, who rescued h ... Show More
59m 57s
Feb 2025
Hamas hands over first dead hostages
Forensic medical experts in Tel Aviv are trying to confirm the identities and cause of death of four Israeli hostages handed over by Hamas. It is the first time Hamas has returned captives dead since the ceasefire began last month,The bodies, taken by convoy from Gaza earlier, ar ... Show More
47m 15s