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Israel’s deadly war with Iran-backed Hezbollah hit this Lebanese village without warning
Khodor, southern Lebanon — War came without warning to the village of Khodor in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Israel’s fight with the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, long designated a terrorist organization by Israel and the U.S., has been focused for weeks in southern Beirut and further south, near the Lebanon-Israel border, where the Israel Defense Forces have ordered tens of thousands of people to evacuate.
One of the deadliest Israeli strikes to date came Thursday evening, when missiles slammed into buildings in central Beirut. Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said 22 civilians were killed and wounded another 139. The Reuters news agency quoted Lebanese security officials as saying the Israeli strike had targeted senior Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa, who survived.
About 20 miles to the east of Beirut, there have been no IDF evacuation orders in Khodor. But there have been airstrikes. Mourners gathered and wept for five people killed in one of them Wednesday. A much-loved schoolteacher and his grandson were among those killed. So was Ahmed Awdeh’s father — crushed to death under rubble.
Awdeh’s memories of the man he adored have been reduced to a treasured photo album.
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“My dad was a farmer,” the traumatized boy (how old?) told CBS News. “He was kind and loved by all.”
For most of the past year, since Hezbollah’s Hamas allies in the Gaza Strip sparked the ongoing war there with their Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack, the people of Khodor had rarely found themselves in Israel’s firing line.
Since the escalation of Israel’s parallel war with Hezbollah about two weeks ago, however, the tiny village has been hit repeatedly by Israeli airstrikes. Israel ramped up its fight against Hezbollah, a powerful, well-armed Iranian proxy group deeply embedded in Lebanon’s politics, in response to it launching more than 10,000 rockets at Israel in support of Hamas over the last year.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the objective is to drive Hezbollah fighters and weapons back far enough from Israel’s northern border to stop the hail of rocket fire, to enable tens of thousands of Israelis to return to their deserted homes in the region. The Israeli threatened this week to inflict upon Lebanon “a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza” if the Lebanese people do not reject Hezbollah.
The IDF said cross-border ground operations launched at the end of September in southern Lebanon would be “limited, localized, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence.”
Lebanese officials say Israel has killed 2,141 people with its operations in the country since they began just over a year ago — about half of them since the assault escalated dramatically at the end of September, and at least 22 in strikes on Wednesday alone. More than 10,000 others have been wounded, according to the country’s health ministry.
On Thursday, Israel faced condemnation from the United Nations and various national governments after the decades-old U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL, said Israeli forces had fired, deliberately, on several of its installations, wounding two troops.
The IDF said in a statement hours later that Hezbollah “operates from within and near civilian areas in southern Lebanon, including areas near UNIFIL posts” and that the IDF had “instructed the UN forces in the area [near the city of Naqoura] to remain in protected spaces, following which the forces opened fire in the area.”
On Friday, UNIFIL said its headquarters in Naqoura “was affected by explosions for the second time in the last 48 hours,” leaving two more peacekeepers wounded after two blasts “close to an observation tower.”
Fighting across the south, on the ground and Israeli airstrikes, has intensified for weeks, with multiple evacuation orders driving civilians from their homes. But further north, in Khodor, another home was flattened in Khodor a few weeks ago without warning. A man was found beneath the rubble, clutching his two daughters. All three were killed.
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Residents said the area had come under fire regularly in recent weeks, and they go to bed every night in fear. There was another strike nearby as CBS News visited the village.
As the Lebanese people’s suffering deepens, their resolve has hardened.
“Should we live under the trees?” asked Tarek, whose brother was killed in one of the strikes this week. “It’s more honorable to die in our homes.”
Israel says it’s targeting Hezbollah strongholds across southern Lebanon, in the southern suburbs of Beirut and in the Bekaa valley, but the people CBS News met in Khodor said they have nothing to do with the fight.
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Mark Harmon, widely known for playing Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs on the hit CBS drama “NCIS,” is stepping behind the camera as the executive producer and narrator of a new spin-off prequel, “NCIS: Origins.”
After nearly two decades in the role, Harmon is now helping bring to life the early years of Gibbs, with actor Austin Stowell portraying a young version of the iconic character.
“You come in and audition here for years and years, and all of a sudden, you’re presented with a badge with your name on it,” Stowell said about now working on the Paramount lot.
The show’s set features scenes at Camp Pendleton, including locations like Daley’s Tavern, a bar just off-base. For Stowell, it is a role of a lifetime.
“I felt very confident in what I could bring to the character, and then the second you walk in the room, that all goes out the window,” Stowell said.
Casting the role of young Gibbs in “NCIS: Origins” was a significant decision for the team, as it meant finding someone to take on the character that Harmon made iconic. The prequel, set in 1991, explores Gibbs’ early days as a rookie agent.
Harmon saw the project as an opportunity to dive deeper into the character’s backstory, introducing a Giibbs that has never been seen before in the original series.
“This is a chance to really kind of dig into it,” said Harmon
The role also brings a more personal and emotional storyline for Gibbs, one that explores his grief after the loss of his wife and child.
“He’s in rough shape,” Harmon said.
Stowell has drawn on his personal experiences to portray Gibbs’ pain. His father died by suicide four years ago.
“Loss is something we all deal with and for Gibbs, this is something that has cracked him to his core, said Stowell.
Harmon has been a steady presence on set, offering guidance to Stowell and the rest of the cast.
“From day one, Mark has been available,” Stowell said. “He’s so good at allowing the people who are on this show to feel like they are supported.”
Harmon made it clear that this new chapter of “NCIS” belongs to the younger cast.
“I’m there to help and to talk to them or to tell them what I remember from being in this for a while. But this is their thing,” Harmon said.
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After a four-year period in which interest rates hit record lows and then rose to decades-highs, the Federal Reserve started cutting interest rates again in September. A half a percentage point cut, sparked by cooling inflation numbers, was issued on September 18. And with unemployment and inflation declining in September, too, additional cuts of 25 basis points each look likely for the next two Fed meetings in November and December.
While this is welcome news for borrowers, it will detract from the big returns savers have been accustomed to in recent years. This is particularly true for those who have opened or are considering opening a certificate of deposit (CD). That said, CD interest rates haven’t declined so dramatically as to render these unique savings vehicles unworthy. Savers can still earn hundreds and potentially thousands of dollars with the right CD account – even now.
But there are some smart CD moves savers should make now, before the next rate cut, to earn that big return. Below, we’ll break down three of them.
Start by seeing how much more you could be earning on your money with a top CD here.
3 smart CD moves to make before the next rate cut
While CDs are still a safe and predictable way to earn a substantial return on your money, this high rate cycle could soon be coming to a close. Savers who have yet to take advantage, then, or those considering another account, should make the following moves now — before the Fed takes additional action:
Determine your budget
The more you deposit into a CD the more you’ll earn. That simple calculation, however, doesn’t account for any early withdrawal penalties you’ll need to pay if you withdraw your money prematurely. These penalties range from lender to lender but they can easily negate any earnings you’ve accumulated to that point. So, first, determine your budget. Figure out precisely how much you can afford to deposit and for how long you can lock it away. Once you have this amount and length of time (CD term), determined, you’ll be ready to take next steps.
Get started with a CD online now.
Shop around for lenders
Don’t just head to your local bank branch to open a CD. Often, the best CD rates and terms are found with online banks versus those with physical locations. But even all online lenders are not the same as some will require higher minimum deposits or other requirements to earn a high rate. So shop around for lenders to find one offering the best rates for the amount of money you’re comfortable depositing. And be sure to understand the early withdrawal penalties and any other fees or maintenance costs that could affect your returns before getting started.
Open a long-term CD
A long-term CD will mature anywhere between 18 months and 10 years. Once you’ve determined how much money you can comfortably afford to deposit, consider one of these accounts instead of a short-term one now. Currently, short-term CDs have slightly higher rates than long-term ones do. But those accounts will mature in just a few months, at which point rates will likely be lower. But long-term CDs have competitive rates now (in the 4% to 5% range), allowing savers to earn big returns for years to come, even if the larger rate climate cools during that time frame. And because of the locked rate nature of these accounts, you’ll be able to determine with precision your exact earnings upon account maturity.
The bottom line
Rate-cutting action on behalf of the Federal Reserve should spur savers who haven’t take advantage of the current high rate climate (or those who want to continue to) to make a move now – and they should do so with a CD. Specifically, savers should determine their budget in order to deposit as much as they can comfortably afford. But they should also shop for lenders to find one offering the highest rates, specifically for long-term CDs, which can help savers weather what appears to be a cooling rate climate.
Have more questions? Learn more about your current CD options here.