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Daniel Estrin Daniel Estrin is NPR's international correspondent in Jerusalem.
Daniel Estrin
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Daniel Estrin

Daniel Estrin
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Daniel Estrin
Daniel Estrin
Daniel Estrin

Daniel Estrin

International Correspondent, Jerusalem

Daniel Estrin is NPR's international correspondent in Jerusalem.

Since joining NPR in 2017, he has reported from Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. He has chronicled the Trump administration's policies that have shaped the region, and told stories of everyday life for Israelis and Palestinians. He has also uncovered tales of ancient manuscripts, secret agents and forbidden travel.

He and his team were awarded an Edward R. Murrow award for a 2019 report challenging the U.S. military's account about its raid against ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Estrin has reported from the Middle East for over a decade, including seven years with the Associated Press. His reporting has taken him to Britain, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Jordan, Russia and Ukraine. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Republic, PRI's The World and other media.

Story Archive

Tuesday

Middle East

Netanyahu testifies about allegations of trading favors with media moguls

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended himself in court against corruption charges for allegedly trading favors with media moguls. His trial has lasted for more than four years.

Netanyahu Testifies

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Middle East

A first in Israeli history: a sitting prime minister is testifying as a defendant

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is taking the witness stand in his own corruption trial. Netanyahu repeatedly had asked to delay the trial due to the Gaza war and his leadership duties.

A first in Israeli history: a sitting prime minister is testifying as a defendant

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Sunday

Middle East

Former Israeli defense minister says his country is ethnic cleansing in Gaza

Gaza has been hit by a wave of intense and deadly airstrikes as the region struggles to get enough food. This comes as a former defense minister claims Israel is pursuing a policy of ethnic cleansing in Gaza.

Former Israeli defense minister says his country is ethnic cleansing in Gaza

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Saturday

People check a car hit by an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday. Five people were reported killed, including three World Central Kitchen workers, Gaza's health ministry said.

People check a car hit by an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday. Five people were reported killed, including three World Central Kitchen workers, Gaza's health ministry said. Bashar Taleb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Bashar Taleb/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

World Central Kitchen workers killed by Israeli airstrike, Gaza health ministry says

An Israeli airstrike hit a car in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing five people, including at least three employees with the food aid charity. World Central Kitchen said that it was "urgently seeking more details."

Tuesday

State of the World from NPR

A Ceasefire Between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon

Israel has agreed to a ceasefire with the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon that hopes to bring an end to 13 months of fighting which has uprooted masses of civilians on both sides, and left immense destruction. We hear from NPR reporters on both sides of the conflict.

A Ceasefire Between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon

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Middle East

Israel agrees to ceasefire with Hezbollah

Israel has agreed to a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon. It will be the first major ceasefire since the wars with Israel Gaza and Lebanon erupted last October.

Israel agrees to ceasefire with Hezbollah

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Friday

The Price Israel and Lebanon are Each Paying for Their War on the Border

Damage to a house in Shtula, a community which has been impacted by barrages of projectiles launched from Lebanon towards Israel, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel on November 3. Violeta Santos Moura/REUTERS hide caption

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Violeta Santos Moura/REUTERS

State of the World from NPR

The Price Israel and Lebanon are Each Paying for Their War on the Border

We bring you views from both sides of the conflict between Israel and Lebanon. Israel says they're closer to accomplishing their mission of pushing Hezbollah militants away from the border so that tens of thousands of Israelis can safely return to the area. Our correspondent visits the tense borderland and finds a dramatically changed landscape.

The Price Israel and Lebanon are Each Paying for Their War on the Border

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Thursday

Middle East

Israel says it's close to mission accomplished in southern Lebanon

Israeli officials say they're closer to declaring "mission accomplished" in southern Lebanon. They aimed to push Hezbollah militia away from the border so thousands of Israelis can return to the area.

The status of Israel's operation in southern Lebanon

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A foreign worker from Thailand rests after he was evacuated from Metula following a rocket strike from Lebanon, that killed four foreign workers from Thailand and one Israeli citizen on October 31, 2024 in Kfar Yuval, Israel.

A worker from Thailand rests after he was evacuated from Metula following a rocket strike from Lebanon that killed four laborers from Thailand and one Israeli citizen on Oct. 31 in Kfar Yuval, Israel. Amir Levy/Getty Images hide caption

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Amir Levy/Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

In northern Israel, migrant workers are farming while under fire from Hezbollah

Foreign laborers, many from Thailand, are tending fields and livestock in an area Israel has declared off-limits to its own civilians amid ongoing military operations against Hezbollah.

Wednesday

Friday

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on Oct. 27.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on Oct. 27. Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

How the next U.S. president could change the course of Israel's wars

The U.S. presidential election is already influencing Israel's war strategy. A Trump or Harris presidency could lead to vastly different outcomes for the conflicts there.

How the next president could change the course of Israel's wars

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Tuesday

Middle East

Laws pass in Israel that may threaten the work of a U.N. aid agency in Gaza

Israeli lawmakers have passed two laws that could threaten the work of the main U.N. agency providing aid to people in Gaza by barring it from operating on Israeli soil and severing ties with it.

Laws pass in Israel that may threaten the work of a U.N. aid agency in Gaza

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Monday

Residents and members of a civil defense team conduct search and rescue operations after the Israeli army targeted Asma School, run by the United Nations agency that aids Palestinians in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza Strip on Sunday. The wounded, including children, were brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The bodies of those who lost their lives were also brought to the hospital.

Residents and members of a civil defense team conduct search and rescue operations after the Israeli army targeted Asma School, run by the United Nations agency that aids Palestinians in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza Strip on Sunday. The wounded, including children, were brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The bodies of those who lost their lives were also brought to the hospital. Omar El Qattaa/Anadolu via Getty Images hide caption

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Omar El Qattaa/Anadolu via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

Israel awaits the U.S. election before a Gaza cease-fire, an official says

Egypt has a new cease-fire proposal amid Israel’s bombardment and siege of northern Gaza. Israel is discussing the proposal but waiting to see who is elected U.S. president, an official told NPR.

Saturday

Middle East

Israel conducts retaliatory airstrikes against Iran

The Israeli military says it has conducted "targeted and precise strikes on military targets in Iran" in response for Iran's October 1 launch of around 180 ballistic missiles at Israel.

Israel conducts retaliatory airstrikes against Iran

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Friday

Israeli Jewish activists attend a Sukkoth gathering near the Gaza Strip, where far-right activists and members of the Israeli Knesset are holding an event titled 'Preparing to Resettle Gaza.' on Monday.

Jewish Israeli activists attend a Sukkot gathering near the Gaza Strip, where far-right activists and members of the Israeli Knesset hold an event billed as "Preparing to Resettle Gaza" on Monday. Ilia Yefimovich/picture alliance via Getty Images hide caption

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Ilia Yefimovich/picture alliance via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

Israeli settlers in Gaza? Netanyahu’s allies lay out a strategy

Settling Gaza is not Israel’s official policy. But prominent politicians took part in a pro-settlement rally Monday, and some see possibility in what recently appeared to be a far-fetched proposition.

Calls grow inside Israel's right wing government for permanent occupation of Gaza

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Wednesday

Middle East

Calls grow inside Israel's right wing government for permanent occupation of Gaza

Israel’s prime minister says forming Jewish settlements in Gaza is not a realistic goal, but his allies are making the case for it. His opponents say the military’s latest moves may make it possible.

Calls grow inside Israel's right wing government for permanent occupation of Gaza

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State of the World from NPR

Israeli Settlers Want to Permanently Occupy Gaza

Even as the war in Gaza is still on-going, there are calls from inside Israel's right-wing government for a permanent occupation of the Palestinian territory and to allow Jewish settlements there. While the Prime Minister says this is not the government's policy, some say the military's latest moves make it possible. Our correspondent tells us more from the Israel-Gaza border.

Israeli Settlers Want to Permanently Occupy Gaza

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Monday

People inspect the damage at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted a branch of the Al-Qard Al-Hassan finance group in Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday.

People inspect the damage at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted a branch of the Al-Qard Al-Hassan finance group in Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday. -/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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-/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

Lebanon assesses the damage after Israel strikes Hezbollah-linked banks

Israel's military carried out airstrikes overnight on targets in Lebanon that the military says belong to Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a financial institution that undergirds the militant group Hezbollah.

Assessing the damage after Israel strikes Lebanese bank branches linked to Hezbollah

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Saturday

Middle East

Who was Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader killed by Israel?

A look back on the life and politics of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a key player for the last several years in the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Who was Yayha Sinwar, the Hamas leader killed by Israel?

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Friday

Thursday

Israel Kills the Leader of Hamas

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar looks on as Palestinian Hamas supporters take part in an anti-Israel rally over tension in Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque, in Gaza City October 1, 2022. Mohammed Salem/Reuters hide caption

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Mohammed Salem/Reuters

State of the World from NPR

Israel Kills the Leader of Hamas

Yahya Sinwar was the mastermind of the October 7th attack on Israel that lead to the war in Gaza. Israel says its forces killed him in an operation in Gaza. We'll hear reaction to his death, more about who he was, and how his killing might affect the future of the war.

Israel Kills the Leader of Hamas

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Middle East

Israel says its troops have killed Yahya Sinwar, the Oct. 7 attack mastermind

Israel's military says its troops have killed Yahya Sinwar, an architect of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. His death is being seen as a possible chance to end the war he started just over a year ago.

Israel says its troops have killed Yahya Sinwar, the Oct. 7 attack mastermind

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