For iOS and Android, the article content no longer has scrollable overflow, and horizontal overflow is clipped. On Android, the progress bar wrapper is positioned 58px from the top.
The progress bar wrapper (class `svelte-6atxfw`) sticks to the top of the page, starting 1px below the top. It spans the full width of the viewport, with margins of -24px on top and bottom and -10px on the sides, and a 14px bottom margin. It starts invisible (opacity 0) and fades in over 0.5 seconds. Its z-index is 25.
At screen widths of 30em and above, the side margins change to -21px. At 41.25em, the wrapper width becomes 620px. At 46.25em, it becomes 740px. At 61.25em, it becomes 980px. At 71.25em, it becomes 1140px, and the left margin changes to -180px. At 81.25em, it becomes 1300px, with a left margin of -260px.
The progress bar itself (class `svelte-6atxfw`) is 6px tall, starts at 0 width, and uses the primary pillar color as its background. When the wrapper has the `active` class, it becomes fully visible.
The following font faces are defined for “Guardian Headline Full” with different weights and styles, all sourced from the Guardian’s asset server:
– Light (300), normal style
– Light Italic (300), italic style
– Regular (400), normal style
– Regular Italic (400), italic style
– Medium (500), normal style
– Medium Italic (500), italic styleHere is the rewritten text in fluent, natural English:
“`css
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 600;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 600;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 700;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 700;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 900;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 900;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Titlepiece’;
src: url(‘https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 700;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 300;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.c
“`Here is the rewritten text in fluent, natural English:
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 300;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 400;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 400;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 500;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 500;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 600;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 600;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 700;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 700;
font-style: italic;
}Here is the rewritten text in fluent, natural English:
“`css
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 700;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 900;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 900;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Titlepiece’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 700;
font-style: normal;
}
/ Interactive grid layout for article body, comment body, feature body, and content sections /
#article-body > div .content–interactive-grid,
.content–interactive > div .content–interactive-grid,
#comment-body .content–interactive-grid,
[data-gu-name=”body”] .content–interactive-grid,
#feature-body .content–interactive-grid {
grid-column-gap: 0px;
grid-template-columns: 100%;
grid-template-areas:
“media”
“title”
“headline”
“standfirst”
“lines”
“meta”
“body”;
}
/ For screens 30em and wider /
@media (min-width: 30em) {
#article-body > div .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,
.content–interactive > div .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,
#comment-body .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,
[data-gu-name=”body”] .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,
#feature-body .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption {
padding: 0 20px;
max-width: 620px;
}
}
/ For screens 46.25em and wider /
@media (min-width: 46.25em) {
#article-body > div .content–interactive-grid,
.content–interactive > div .content–interactive-grid,
#comment-body .content–interactive-grid,
[data-gu-name=”body”] .content–interactive-grid,
#feature-body .content–interactive-grid {
grid-template-columns: 100%;
grid-column-gap: 10px;
grid-template-areas:
“title”
“headline”
“standfirst”
“media”
“lines”
“meta”
“body”;
}
#article-body > div .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,
.content–interactive > div .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,
#comment-body .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,
[data-gu-name=”body”] .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,
#feature-body .content–interactive-grid #maincontent {
padding-right: 80px;
}
}
/ For screens 61.25em and wider /
@media (min-width: 61.25em) {
#article-body > div .content–interactive-grid,
.content–interactive > div .content–interactive-grid,
#comment-body .content–interactive-grid,
[data-gu-name=”body”] .content–interactive-grid,
#feature-body .content–interactive-grid {
grid-template-columns: 620px 300px;
grid-template-areas:
“title right-column”
“headline right-column”
“standfirst right-column”
“media right-column”
“lines right-column”
“meta right-column”
“body right-column”
“. right-column”;
}
#article-body > div .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,
.content–interactive > div .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,
#comment-body .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,
[data-gu-name=”body”] .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,
#feature-body .content–interactive-grid #maincontent {
padding-right: unset;
}
}
/ For screens 71.25em and wider /
@media (min-width: 71.25em) {
#article-body > div .content–interactive-grid,
.content–interactive > div .content–interactive-grid,
#comment-body .content–interactive-grid,
[data-gu-name=”body”] .content–interactive-grid,
#feature-body .content–interactive-grid {
/ Additional styles can go here if needed /
}
}
“`Here’s the rewritten version in fluent, natural English:
For the interactive grid in the feature body section, the layout uses columns of 140px, 1px, 620px, and 300px. The grid areas are labeled as “title,” “border,” “headline,” and “right-column.” The second row follows the same pattern with “border,” “standfirst,” and “right-column.” The third row uses “border,” “media,” and “right-column,” while the fourth row uses “border,” “body,” and “right-column.” The last row only has “border” and “right-column.”
In the standfirst section of the interactive grid, there is no bottom padding. For immersive image elements within the grid, the captions have 4px of padding on top and none on the sides or bottom.
The lines and meta sections in the interactive grid are placed in the same area, spanning from the second to the fifth row and the first to the second column. The lines section has a height that fits its content and a top margin of 5px. The meta section has a top margin of 18px.
On screens wider than 81.25em (1300px), the grid columns change to 219px, 1px, 620px, 80px, and 300px.
For iOS and Android devices, the standfirst text in the article header uses the Guardian Headline font family with a weight of 500. The article kicker section is displayed as a block, and its first letter is capitalized. The keyline-4 element has a top padding of 12px. The byline author text in the meta section uses the Guardian Headline font family with a weight of 700, and any links within it also have a weight of 700.
On iOS and Android, image elements within articles have their inner container height set to auto. There is no top margin on paragraphs that follow atom elements.
When scripting is enabled, the interactive content, article header, feature header, and their headings have an opacity of 0.When the interactive content has fully loaded, the following elements will fade in smoothly over 0.3 seconds: the interactive content itself, the top section of the article or feature header, and the main heading (h1). Their opacity will change from 0 to 1.
The default article background is white. The series title uses the primary pillar color. Article meta lines, borders, share button borders, and straight lines are all a medium gray (#b2b2b2). Caption text and datelines are a lighter gray (#999). The caption background is a dark, semi-transparent color. Pullquote borders match the article border.
The article header and title area have a bottom border in the meta lines color, with 10px of padding below and a 5px margin. On screens wider than 71.25em, the bottom margin is removed.
The headline area has a 70px bottom margin. On screens wider than 71.25em, the bottom margin is removed and 10px of left padding is added. The headline and byline text are set to balance across lines. On screens wider than 61.25em, these divs can take up to 100% width; on screens wider than 71.25em, they max out at 860px.
Headline text (h1, links, spans) is 40px, bold, with a line height of 1.02. On screens wider than 46.25em, it increases to 55px. On screens wider than 71.25em, it becomes 75px.
Body section headings (h2) are bold and 2rem in size. On screens wider than 46.25em, they grow to 2.5rem.
The first letter of the first paragraph in the main content column uses a large, bold, uppercase drop cap. It is 111px with a line height of 92px, floats left, and uses the drop cap color (or the primary pillar color as a fallback).
Horizontal rules in the main content use the article border color.
The furniture wrapper is a grid layout. On smaller screens, it has two columns: 130px and the remaining width. The grid areas are arranged as title, headline, main media with standfirst, main media with meta, and lines. On screens wider than 61.25em, the first column becomes 180px. On screens wider than 71.25em, the layout changes: the first column is 150px, and the areas are rearranged so that main media and headline sit side by side. On screens wider than 81.25em, the first column expands to 229px.
Within the furniture wrapper, the new main media element is displayed as a flex container, aligned at the bottom and centered. It has a right border in the meta lines color, with 10px of padding on the right and bottom, no margin, and is positioned relatively.The furniture wrapper styles adjust layout for different screen sizes. On screens wider than 71.25em, the main media area has no bottom padding, and images get a 5px bottom margin. The standfirst section has a transparent background, sits in the grid area, and has no top padding with 10px left padding. Its child divs are also transparent. At 71.25em and above, the standfirst gets a left border, 10px top padding, and a max width of 620px.
The meta section is placed in the grid area with 10px left padding and 5px bottom padding. On larger screens, it gets left and bottom borders. Social and comment meta elements have no top border. The content meta container uses a gray color (#676767). The keyline-4 or lines section is in the grid area with 10px horizontal padding, which is removed at 41.25em. At 61.25em, its child divs can be full width, and at 71.25em, it gets a 100px top margin.
Figure captions are positioned absolutely at the bottom with padding, background, and text colors from CSS variables. They span the full width, have a minimum height of 46px, and hide the first span while showing the second at 90% max width. On screens 30em and wider, caption padding increases. Hidden captions have zero opacity. The caption button is positioned at the bottom right, with a circular background, no border, and a slightly scaled-down SVG icon.
The lockup container uses flexbox with wrapping, and has top and bottom margins of 20px. Horizontal rules in lockups have no background but use a gradient to create a dotted line effect. Figure elements in lockups are positioned relatively, with right padding and margin, and no left margin on larger screens. They have a vertical line on the right side using a pseudo-element. Headings in lockups balance text, have no top padding, and take up most of the width minus 130px (or 170px on wider screens).
On iOS and Android devices, the background uses the article background color, author avatars are hidden, and the article header sits in the title grid area with a transparent background. Byline author links use the series title text color, and headlines have a transparent background.Shortly after 2pm on April 8, it felt like an earthquake had hit Beirut. Within ten minutes, several apartment buildings were completely destroyed, leaving behind piles of rubble, shattered glass, crushed concrete, and twisted metal ā along with hundreds of dead and injured people. In that short time, Israel had carried out one of the worst mass killings.Here’s a rewritten version in fluent, natural English:
This was one of the worst days in Lebanonās history. Dozens of Israeli warplanes dropped bombs and missiles on 100 targets across the countryāwhich is about the size of Connecticutāhitting Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon. Two days later, after rescue crews finished pulling mangled bodies from the rubble, Lebanonās health ministry reported 357 dead and more than 1,200 injured. But even that wasnāt the final count, because officials were still struggling to identify remains and run DNA tests.
The Israeli military said it had targeted Hezbollah ācommand centersā and other military sites, and later claimed to have killed more than 250 Hezbollah āoperatives and commanders,ā though it didnāt provide evidence. The attacks hit some of Beirutās busiest commercial streets and residential areas, including a building that houses one of the cityās most famous nut roasteries. Israel called its bombing campaign Operation Eternal Darkness. The Lebanese called it Black Wednesday.
Those ten minutes of destruction and terror in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon came just hours after a ceasefire took effect in the joint US-Israel war on Iranāa truce that was finally extended to Lebanon last week (though the bombing continues at a lower pace). Despite the ceasefire, Israeli forces are occupying more than 50 towns in southern Lebanon and have been leveling entire villages to make them uninhabitable.
Is this what war looks like now? Our world has changed over the past two and a half years. In the weeks after the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, Israel set in motion a machinery of genocide against Gazaālargely enabled by unwavering US support and fueled by impunity and denial. It unleashed one of the most destructive military campaigns targeting civilians in modern times. Israel has repeated the same playbook in its war on Lebanon: intense aerial bombing and illegal mass evacuation orders that force huge numbers of civilians to flee; the destruction of civilian infrastructure and border towns to create so-called ābuffer zonesā occupied by Israeli troops; the targeting of hospitals and healthcare workers; and the killing of journalists. And, just as with Gaza, the West largely looks on with indifference.
Gaza represents a new peak for this kind of wholesale destruction as a military strategyāusing overwhelming and disproportionate force against civilians and infrastructure. But the seeds of this strategy were planted two decades ago, in an earlier Israeli war on Lebanon. That war gave rise to Israelās Dahiyeh doctrine, which calls for deliberately targeting civilians and infrastructure as a form of collective punishment, aiming to turn local populations against armed militias. That doctrine was fully applied in Lebanonāand it has also appeared repeatedly in Donald Trumpās threats to destroy entire societies and civilizations on a large scale.
As long as this impunity continues, this playbook will keep repeating itself, creating a new normal where destroying infrastructure, agriculture, cities, towns, and entire cultures is seen as an acceptable method of war by much of the world. The Westās dehumanization of Palestiniansāand of Lebanese, Iranians, and othersāhas also made it possible for aggressors to keep committing even more horrific acts of violence.
The day before Israel unleashed its fury on Lebanon, the US president famously wrote on social media that āa whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.ā Trumpās apocalyptic warning that he would obliterate Iran was the culmination of a series of threats he had made against the Iranian regime in his efforts to get it to reopen negotiations.The Strait of Hormuz. Even after agreeing to a ceasefire and sending U.S. officials to meet with Iranian leaders in Pakistan, Trump kept threatening to destroy Iranās bridges, power plants, and other civilian infrastructure. On April 7, Trump shocked the world by threatening genocideāor at least large-scale war crimes against a country of 90 million people. But this threat was also a logical outcome of a new global order that the U.S. and other Western powers helped create by allowing Israel to carry out its genocide in Gaza. In the short term, thereās little hope that Washington will respect international law and change its course of giving Israel political cover and billions of dollars in U.S. weapons each year, which enable new atrocities. But recent history in the Middle East makes it clear that war crimes will only get worse if the world doesnāt act to stop those who commit them and those who enable them.
When I first heard about the attacks on April 8, I made a round of WhatsApp calls and phone calls to check on family and friends across Beirutāsomething Iāve done countless times over the past two years. I reached my sister, who had been hopeful about a ceasefire the night before. She was deeply shaken. She had gone out to meet her son for lunch and walked past the Rifai roastery on Corniche al-Mazraa about an hour before it was bombed. She was wondering where she should spend the night. āNo place in Beirut feels safe right now,ā she said.
āNow that Israel isnāt sending its warplanes to bomb Iran, they have a lot of extra time to bomb us.ā
ā Hussein, in Dahiyeh, Lebanon
I could hear the fear and anxiety in her voiceāthe same feelings Iāve heard many times over the years, marking the painful chapters of Lebanonās history: the 1982 Israeli invasion; the 15-year civil war that ended in 1990; the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a bombing in downtown Beirut; the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war; the Beirut port explosion in the summer of 2020; and Israelās latest war against Lebanon in the fall of 2024.
I spoke to one of my cousins, Hussein, who had been forced to leave his apartment in Dahiyeh, the southern suburbs of Beirut that are mostly home to Shia Muslimsāthe community that forms Hezbollahās base of support. Western media often calls Dahiyeh a āHezbollah stronghold,ā a lazy and misleading label that Israel uses to justify bombing and displacing densely packed neighborhoods with hundreds of thousands of residents, many of whom have no connection to Hezbollah. He was out buying bread in Hamra, one of the busiest neighborhoods in the city, when the Israeli attacks began. The streets shook from two loud explosionsābombs that hit nearby areas. āPeople started screaming and running in different directions,ā he told me.
Hussein grabbed his bread and rushed to the small apartment where he was staying with his family. As we talked, I could hear ambulance sirens in the background. He told me dozens of ambulances had passed by that afternoon on their way to two nearby hospitals. Unsurprisingly, given the scale and intensity of the attacks that unfolded over just 10 minutes, Beirutās hospitals were overwhelmed with hundreds of casualties and put out calls for blood donations on social media.
āNow that Israel isnāt sending its warplanes to bomb Iran, they have a lot of extra time to bomb us,ā Hussein said. He also wondered why the Israeli military hadnāt issued evacuation warnings for the targeted buildings and neighborhoods in central Beirut, as it had done before.We both agreed that, while the attack caused massive destruction in minutes, it was also meant to spread fear and panicāand to make Lebanese people feel that anywhere could be a target. Thatās exactly what Israel had been doing on a much larger scale in Gaza for over two years.
Naturally, our conversation turned to U.S. support for Israel. The roughly 50 warplanes that rained destruction across Lebanon that day were sent by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but they couldnāt have taken off without decades of military aid from successive U.S. administrations, led by both Democrats and Republicans. These were American-made fighter jets dropping mostly American-made bombs. Israel wouldnāt be able to keep up its attacks on Gaza, Lebanon, Iran (or the three other countries it bombed last year) without tens of billions of dollars in U.S. weapons and jet fuelāvirtually unlimited support that sped up under Joe Biden and continued under Trump.
My cousin asked if Americans knew what was happening in Lebanon, and whether I thought Trump would force Netanyahu to respect the U.S.-Iran ceasefire. I didnāt know what to say.
After Israel launched a full-scale invasion of Lebanon in 1982, Hezbollah emerged as a militia to fight the Israeli occupation of the south. Iranās Revolutionary Guards helped create Hezbollah, and since then, the group has received huge military and financial support from Iran. Some U.S. officials estimate Iran sent $1 billion to the group last year.
When Hezbollahās guerrilla war pressured Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon in 2000, the group achieved something no Arab military had: it forced Israel to give up occupied land without a peace agreement. With a weak Lebanese government, Hezbollah quickly filled the vacuum in the south, opening schools and hospitals, setting up charities, and winning municipal elections.
āWhat happened in the Dahiyeh quarter of Beirut in 2006 will happen in every village from which Israel is fired on.ā
ā Gadi Eisenkot, Israeli general, 2008
In July 2006, Hezbollah launched a cross-border attack and kidnapped two Israeli soldiers, hoping to exchange them for Lebanese prisoners held by Israel. That sparked a 34-day war in which Israel destroyed large parts of southern Lebanon and Beirutās southern suburbs, collectively known as the Dahiyeh. The Israeli military crippled Lebanonās infrastructure, bombing bridges, power plants, sewage treatment plants, hospitals, ports, and Beirutās airport. Israel also imposed an air and sea blockade on Lebanonāall with support from George W. Bush and his administration. The U.S. administration helped prolong the war for weeks and blocked several ceasefire resolutions at the U.N. Security Council, arguing it would be premature for Israel to stop its assault on Lebanon before inflicting more damage on Hezbollah. At one point, Bushās secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, described the war as ābirth pangs of a new Middle East.ā
That war 20 years agoāwith its full American backing and methods of total destructionāpaved the way for Israelās later wars on Gaza (in 2008, 2012, 2014, and 2021), and eventually the total siege, mass starvation, and genocide that Israel unleashed after 2023.
[Image description: Israeli soldiers cover their ears as an artillery unit fires shells towards southern Lebanon from a position near Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon on 21 July 2006. Photograph: David Guttenfelder/AP]
The Dahiyeh doctrine was spelled out in that war on Hezbollah. The strategy involves deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure and civiliansāand using overwhelming force in Israelās military campaigns. Gadi Eisenkot, head of the armyās northern command during the 2006 war, explained the doctrine in chilling terms two years later. āWhat happened in the Dahiyeh quarter of Beirut in 2006 will happen in every village from which Israel is fired on,ā he told the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.The batteries connected to the rooftop solar panels that powered his apartment. He was sitting in the dark with his family, after hearing rumors that solar-powered batteries had also exploded. Any device connected to the internet, or that could receive a radio signal, had become a potential instrument of death. āWhat can we do?ā asked my cousin, who has an engineering degree. āWe donāt know what to believe any more.ā
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The pager attacks turned out to be the opening move in a large-scale war on Lebanon. On September 23, 2024, Israel bombed nearly 1,600 targets across Lebanon, killing more than 550 people. It was an aerial bombardment with little precedent in the 21st century ā and that single dayās death toll was nearly half of the entire Lebanese casualties during the month-long war in 2006.
Over two months, Israel used a mix of its Dahiyeh and Gaza strategies: it displaced more than 1 million people, destroyed infrastructure and housing, and caused $11 billion in economic damage to Lebanon. Israel also killed Nasrallah and most of Hezbollahās top leaders. The Biden administration, which kept sending weapons to Israel throughout the war, eventually convinced Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire in late November 2024. But Israel continued near-daily attacks, especially in southern Lebanon, arguing that the Lebanese army had failed to disarm Hezbollah.
On March 2 of this year, two days after the US and Israel launched their war against Iran and killed its supreme leader, Hezbollah fired a volley of rockets at northern Israel. That reignited the war, with Israel carrying out massive airstrikes and forcibly displacing more than 1.1 million Lebanese from their homes. Israel also launched another invasion of southern Lebanon, promising to clear frontline villages of their residents and set up a new āsecurity zoneā that would be empty of people and occupied by Israeli troops.
In this latest invasion, Israeli leaders no longer threatened to punish Lebanon with the Dahiyeh doctrine. They started invoking a worse fate: Gaza. Defense Minister Israel Katz recently said his forces would destroy āall housesā in Lebanese border villages āin accordance with the model used in Rafah and Beit Hanoun.ā
With no one stopping Israel from systematically destroying housing in Gazaās largest towns and cities, making many of them uninhabitable, whatās to prevent it from doing the same in southern Lebanon?
View image in fullscreen
A family in Beirut loads their belongings into a van at a displacement camp, before returning to their home in southern Lebanon on April 17, 2026. Photograph: Ryan Murphy/Getty Images
Late last week, as the shaky ceasefire held, Israeli leaders continued to insist that they will keep the territory up to six miles deep that they have occupied in southern Lebanon over the past few weeks. Katz said Israeli forces would create a new zone that āhas been cleared of terrorists and weaponry and is empty of residents.ā After the ceasefire took effect, the Israeli military continued its systematic demolition of homes, schools, and other public buildings in Lebanese villages ā reportedly using private contractors who are paid based on the number of structures they destroy.
This, too, has precedent. Six months after a ceasefire in Gaza, Israel still occupies more than half of the territory as a ābuffer zoneā ā one that has also been cleared of its residents and where most housing has been demolished.
The world has largely moved on from Gaza. While US and Western public opinion on Israel has dramatically shifted against it, thereās been no meaningful accountability, leaving the path wide open for the lawless new order that Trump and Israel are pursuing.
Mohamad Bazzi is director of the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies and a journalism professor at New York University. He is the former Middle East bureau chief at Newsday.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of frequently asked questions about Mohamad Bazzis article Is this what war looks like today
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 What is this article about
Its about how war has changed in the 21st century especially focusing on conflicts like the war in Ukraine and Gaza The author argues that the old rules of war are being broken
2 Who is Mohamad Bazzi
Hes a journalist and professor at New York University who writes about the Middle East US foreign policy and modern warfare
3 Is the article saying war is the same as it always was
No The article says war is different today because of new technology the use of social media and a breakdown of international laws meant to protect civilians
4 What does the author mean by the old rules of war
He means international laws like the Geneva Conventions which ban targeting civilians and using certain weapons The article claims these rules are being ignored more than ever
5 Does the article pick a side in the conflicts it discusses
It doesnt pick a side but it criticizes all sidesincluding major powers like the US Russia and Israelfor failing to protect civilians and for using new destructive tactics
IntermediateLevel Questions
6 What specific examples does Bazzi use to show how war has changed
He talks about the use of drones artificial intelligence in targeting the bombing of cities like Mariupol and Gaza and how social media is used to spread propaganda and dehumanize enemies
7 How does social media change warfare according to the article
It allows realtime documentation of war crimes but also spreads misinformation and fuels hatred It makes it easier for leaders to justify violence to their own citizens
8 Does the article argue that technology makes war more precise or more brutal
Both Technology can be precise but it also allows for remote killing with less risk to the attacker making war easier to start and harder to stop It also leads to mass surveillance and civilian casualties when used carelessly
9 What is the doctrine of proportionality mentioned in the article
Its a legal principle that says a military attack is
