Kat Lonsdorff
Appearances
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
I think it is really important to point out that the idea of being relocated is a very emotional and unsettling one for Palestinians. Historically, Palestinians have been displaced or forcibly moved from their land and then never allowed to return again, including most Palestinians living in Gaza right now. They're refugees from what was once Palestinian land and is now Israel.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
Everyone here on both sides has just been kind of holding their breath for the last few days, waiting to see if this can be worked out.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
That's what we're all really watching right now is to see if those talks about phase two do in fact start and what we can hear about what's happening in them.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-19-2025 3PM EDT
In a statement, the Israeli military called it a, quote, targeted ground operation, saying the aim is to expand what it calls the security perimeter, separating the enclave from southern Israel. The actions come as Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz released a video statement addressed to, quote, Gaza residents.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-19-2025 3PM EDT
Speaking in Hebrew with Arabic subtitles, Katz said the video was the, quote, final warning to return all the hostages and remove Hamas from power. What comes next will be much harsher, and you will bear the full consequences, he said, warning of more evacuation orders. He said that Israel will, quote, act with force beyond anything you have ever seen. Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-05-2025 6PM EST
The talks began as early as January and were over the release of several American-Israeli dual citizens taken hostage in the October 7th, 2023 attacks on southern Israel, according to a Hamas official who spoke to NPR on the condition of anonymity, as he's not authorized to speak to the media.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-05-2025 6PM EST
The official did not specify if the talks, which were originally reported by Axios, were with members from the Biden administration or President Trump's administration. Both were present at talks for a ceasefire that took effect in January, before Trump took office. The U.S. designated Hamas a terrorist organization in 1997. It has been longstanding U.S.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-05-2025 6PM EST
policy to not negotiate with groups it designates as terrorists. Kat Lonsdorff, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-11-2025 10AM EST
Trump made the comments in the Oval Office while speaking to reporters, but didn't specify what that threat meant or how it would work. He called for the ceasefire to be canceled by noon Saturday if all hostages were not released by Hamas, but also said that Israel could, quote, override it.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-11-2025 10AM EST
The fragile ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, which the U.S., including members from Trump's administration, helped broker, calls for Israeli hostages to be released over the course of several weeks in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees each time.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-11-2025 10AM EST
Hamas has said it will delay the release of more hostages, quote, until further notice, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement. Israel has said it has placed its troops in Gaza on heightened alert. Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-04-2025 5PM EST
UNICEF says the stoppage of aid will, quote, quickly lead to devastating consequences. After more than 15 months of war, it left nearly 2 million people in severe need. It said the ceasefire that has been in effect for the past six weeks and the significant uptick in aid that had come with it was a, quote, critical lifeline, especially for children.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-04-2025 5PM EST
Other aid groups are also sounding the alarm, saying stopping aid violates international law. Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have condemned the move as well. The Israeli government is pushing a new plan for a ceasefire extension, which Hamas has not agreed to. The militant group has called the aid blockade, quote, cheap blackmail in an attempt to get it to agree. Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-29-2025 7PM EST
The Israeli military took Witkoff to the Netzerim Corridor, according to Israeli media. It's a throughway created by the military during the war to split the Gaza Strip in two. Witkoff's visit to Gaza is the first of any senior U.S. official throughout the war and in many years. He also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-29-2025 7PM EST
Witkoff helped broker the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement, along with other U.S., Egyptian, and Qatari officials. His Israeli tour comes after a trip to Saudi Arabia, and days before Netanyahu is expected to travel to Washington to meet Trump. The Trump administration is urging Israel to extend the ceasefire, while Netanyahu is under pressure from far-right allies to return to fighting in Gaza.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-06-2025 3PM EST
So given Trump's Gaza statements and his planned announcement about the West Bank in the future, all of this has people here pretty nervous.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-06-2025 3PM EST
After Trump was elected last November, several far-right Israeli ministers commented that this might now be the time for Israel to move on West Bank annexation. You know, I should point out that all of this would be illegal under international law. But Trump also appointed key people in his administration who have said that they would support Israeli annexation.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-02-2025 3PM EST
Gary Thigpen, a Georgia fan, says he's long worried about something like this happening at the games he loves, but he says the New Orleans attack won't stop him from attending the bowl.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-02-2025 3PM EST
In addition to the Sugar Bowl, New Orleans is set to host the Super Bowl next month. For NPR News, I'm Kat Stromquist in New Orleans.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-02-2025 3PM EST
Officials said they'd postpone the game to beef up security and while police investigated the attack. The playoff quarterfinal between Georgia and Notre Dame had drawn thousands of college football fans to the city.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-22-2025 5PM EDT
Sirens rang out in northern Israel early this morning after a relatively quiet few months. The Israeli military said three rockets were launched from Lebanon and all were intercepted. Israeli officials instructed the military to take, quote, powerful action in response, saying the Lebanese government bears responsibility for any rockets launched from its territory.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-22-2025 5PM EDT
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned that renewed military activity with Israel could, quote, drag the country into a new devastating war. A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has been in effect since late November. This is the first back and forth between the two since Israel broke the ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are backed by Iran.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-01-2025 3AM EST
Egypt says that, quote, intensive discussions on the next stage of the ceasefire deal are underway. Israel confirmed it has sent a delegation to Cairo. Qatari officials are also present, mediating for Hamas, which says it remains committed to the deal. President Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is also expected in the region soon.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-01-2025 3AM EST
The first phase of the ceasefire deal, which has lasted almost six weeks, ends this weekend, although Israel has expressed interest in extending it while details of the next phase continue to be hammered out. Phase two would see more hostages and Palestinian detainees released, as well as further withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-01-2025 3AM EST
More humanitarian aid would also be allowed into Gaza, which has been critical in recent weeks. Kat Lansdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-24-2025 4PM EDT
Israelis are also protesting what they say is the threat to their democracy, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has renewed his push for overhauling the judicial system, while also pushing to continue the war in order to appease far-right members of his government. Polls show a majority of Israelis are against the resumption of the war in Gaza. Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-24-2025 4PM EDT
Protesters are demanding a deal between Israel and Hamas that would allow for the immediate release of all the hostages and another ceasefire in Gaza. If an agreement isn't reached, it is murder for the hostages, protesters chanted in Tel Aviv. Many feel the return to war has forsaken the remaining hostages to die in Gaza.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-21-2025 4PM EDT
In a statement, Katz said that the Israeli military will be intensifying the fighting until the hostages are freed. He said he had instructed troops to, quote, seize additional territory in Gaza while evacuating the population, and that Israel would annex more and more land until Hamas agrees to the demands.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-21-2025 4PM EDT
More than 550 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire was broken, including hundreds of children, according to health officials there. 36-year-old Rami Fayez Abu Nasser helped pull his young brother from the rubble after their home in the north was hit in the strike. He talked to Ambir's Anas Baba from a hospital. The war is back and it's stronger than before, he said.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-14-2025 1PM EDT
In that telegram statement, Hamas said it will release 21-year-old Idam Alexander, an Israeli soldier, an American dual citizen who was serving at the time of his capture. It also agreed to release the bodies of, quote, four other dual nationals. It's unclear what the terms of their release would be or whether a formal proposal has been put forward to either side by the mediators.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-14-2025 1PM EDT
The statement comes after the U.S. has, in recent weeks, held direct talks with Hamas, a major shift in U.S. policy. Both U.S. officials and Hamas confirmed they discussed the release of American hostages. In response to the announcement, Israel called Hamas' willingness to release the Americans, quote, alleged, and said it was intended to sabotage negotiations. Kat Lonsdorff, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-07-2025 3PM EST
Ahead of the prayers, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that only Muslim men over the age of 55 and women over 50, as well as children under 12, would be allowed. All needed to obtain a special permit and undergo screening in order to leave the West Bank and enter Israel.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-07-2025 3PM EST
The restrictions, which Israel says are for security and were similar to last year's during Ramadan, caused long waits and traffic at the main Israeli checkpoints for Palestinians. Still, according to Palestinian authorities, nearly 100,000 people attended Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa, one of the holiest sites in Islam.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-07-2025 3PM EST
Israel said it had deployed thousands of police across Jerusalem to allow for freedom to worship safely. There were no serious incidents reported. Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv.