ADRIAN MA, HOST:
U.S. Central Command confirmed today the death of another U.S. service member in the Middle East. The service member died in Northern Iraq yesterday in what CENTCOM says was a, quote, "controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone," unquote. It's the third death of U.S. service members announced this week after two others were killed in an Iranian strike in Jordan on Friday. In retaliation, the U.S. launched new airstrikes against Iran Saturday evening, and with that, the U.S. and Iran edge closer to all-out war as diplomatic talks have stalled. Today, Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, criticized the continuation of the war. Here he is on ABC's "This Week."
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THIS WEEK")
MARK WARNER: I see no path in the short term how the strait is going to be settled. This war of choice has been a disaster. It has been a disaster militarily. It has been a disaster in terms of how we're viewed around the world.
MA: Meanwhile, Lebanon's president, Joseph Aoun, is visiting Washington to meet with President Trump on Tuesday. It's the first state visit to the U.S. from a Lebanese president since 2009. He's hoping to persuade Trump to pressure Israel to withdraw from Lebanon, where over a million people have been displaced amid hostilities between the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and Israel's troops in the south of Lebanon. And with the U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal collapsed, there are fears Hezbollah and Israel will resume active fighting.
For a view into the situation on the ground in Lebanon, we reached out to Abby Maxman, president of the nonprofit Oxfam America. She just returned from a trip to Lebanon and described how people there are desperate to return home.
ABBY MAXMAN: And so this was July 9, the day after he put something on social media, and the impact was huge. A shelter that had actually had people leave and go back to their homes just weeks before had 1,000 people return in that overnight period due to this threat on social media by the president of the United States. People's lives upended repeatedly. People are displaced repeatedly. Our own staff have been displaced over and over again.
No one wants to leave their home. Their homes have been destroyed and, in some cases, repeatedly bombed over and over again. It's quite shocking, and yet, they still want to return to their lands, to farm and live in dignity. But when you're displaced, you leave with what you can carry. So for Oxfam, we support access to the basics - you know, mattresses, dignity kits, water, sanitation, hygiene. We're helping these shelters have solar panels and helping communities basically adjust and try to live.
MA: Is there a moment or a person from your visit that really sticks with you?
MAXMAN: Yeah, so many. Another shelter we visited with - the place that a thousand people had returned overnight after President Trump's threats on social media - I met a 75-year-old man who was so appreciative. He was a bit frail, and when asked who he was there with, he broke down because he shared a story that - his story - his experience - that three of his sons had been killed in the past several years of war and displacement. And yet he was showing this remarkable gratitude while also enduring unspeakable suffering.
MA: Describe the scene at these shelters. I imagine it's crowded.
MAXMAN: Yes. There was the shelter that had those many returnees - those 1,000 overnight - tents basically side by side. So you're kind of walking through, you know, narrow - not proper alleyways, but just spaces between tents. And it's very hot. So people are milling about, obviously not wanting to be inside the tent all the time, but getting on with their daily lives to the extent they can.
Obviously, there's areas in the shelter area that has latrines and shower areas and sinks so that people can wash and take care of themselves, and then also areas for cooking and eating. It sounds chaotic, but what was so impressive is the management and commitment to having orderly activities so that people could try to get on with their days. But, you know, there's a lack of jobs, a lack of stability. So there are people who are sitting around, taking care of their kids.
MA: Can you tell us - when you spoke to people in Beirut, what did they tell you about the war?
MAXMAN: Well, there were some interesting anecdotes where people say, well, which war? You know, there's what's happening now, what happened three months ago. Obviously, our office is right on the green line from the civil war. And there is destruction all around when we drove through southern Beirut, where some buildings were destroyed. These are very tightly packed urban areas - buildings and commerce and, you know, normal things going on, you know, routine living and against the backdrop of buildings that have been completely destroyed.
So we know that the infrastructure is compromised in some of the buildings where life is going on as it normally would. So I think there's a combination of huge humanitarian need - that's something we know and our teams are continuously working to address - against the backdrop of substantial drops in funding. I met with some of our partners in Beirut who had been relying on U.S. funding, and they lost 70% of their funding overnight when the humanitarian needs have skyrocketed.
Now, for Oxfam, we do not accept U.S. government funding so we could be an independent voice to influence policy and humanitarian practice globally. And yet, our work is also significantly affected when all of the funding that the U.S. government has pulled out while the humanitarian needs are skyrocketing.
MA: What would you say is the most pressing humanitarian need right now?
MAXMAN: Well, I think there's one higher-order need - is a - having a ceasefire that is more than on paper only. Because it is very hard to address any other needs when you have an ongoing war. However, other of those needs - you have a potential crisis of sanitation, sewage, clean water. You know, we know that in Lebanon, there has been compounding crises over the years and so much destruction at a time when investment is needed to rebuild. The need for sustained investment, hope and opportunity is enormous.
MA: We've been speaking with Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America, who just returned from a trip to Lebanon. Abby Maxman, thanks for being here.
MAXMAN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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