Anger and grief in the southern city of Lebanon / How it was emptied after the Israeli attacks

2024-10-05 20:03:41 / BOTA ALFA PRESS

Anger and grief in the southern city of Lebanon / How it was emptied after the
Talks in Tire in southern Lebanon happen in a hurry now. It's not smart to linger on the road and there are fewer and fewer people to talk to.

Conversations can be interrupted by the sound of Israeli bombardment, or the sound of Hezbollah rockets.

Israeli drones buzz overhead.

You drive fast, but don't rush, knowing there are eyes in the sky. Mostly you are the only car on an empty road – which can make you a target.

This is already known to us, like the body armor we now wear.

But civilians here have no armor to protect them, and many Lebanese are homeless. More than a million have been forced to flee, according to Prime Minister Najib Mikati. The war has created a vacuum here – sucking the life out of this ancient city, proud of its Roman ruins and golden sandy beach.

The streets are empty, and the shops are closed. The seashore is deserted. Windows shake from Israeli airstrikes.

The local civil defense headquarters is abandoned – rescue teams were forced to evacuate – to save themselves after receiving a telephone warning from Israel.

The Israeli attacks are getting stronger and closer to our hotel – in recent days several attacks in the hills opposite us seem to involve some of Israel's most destructive bombs.

And then there is the Hezbollah factor. Although the armed group is trying to stop Israeli occupation troops on Lebanese soil, it is controlling the international media in the city of Tyre. It restricts our movements, although it has no control over what we write or broadcast, the BBC reports.

In hospitals, doctors seem tired and overworked. Many no longer go home because it is too dangerous to travel.

Nine-year-old Mariam, with dark hair covering her face, is in the hospital. Her left leg is in a cast and her arm is heavily bandaged. "She came as part of a family of nine," said Dr Salman Aidibi, CEO of the hospital, adding we operated on Mariam and she is much better.

Most of the injured or injured are given first aid here and stabilized before being sent to other centers because this hospital is on the front line.

He says the hospital receives about 30-35 injured women and children a day.

Asked what might lie ahead, his answer comes with a sigh. "We are in a war, a devastating war in Lebanon. We hope for peace, but we are prepared for all events", he says.

Also prepared for the worst is Hassan Manna. He is staying in Tyre, while the war tightens his grip. He is keeping open the small cafe he has run for the past 14 years. Locals still drop by for a chat and then enjoy their coffee in small plastic cups.

"I am not leaving my country. I'm not leaving my house. I am staying in my place, with my children. I am not afraid of them (the Israelis)", says Hasani.

Five of his neighbors were killed in their home by an Israeli airstrike last weekend. Hasan saw it happen as he managed to walk away with only an injured arm.

Hassan says the dead were all civilians and members of a family, including two women and a baby.

Israel says its targets are Hezbollah fighters and their facilities, not the people of Lebanon.

Israel says it is taking steps to minimize the risk of civilian harm - accusing Hezbollah of hiding its infrastructure among the civilian population.

"There was nothing (no weapon) there," insisted Hassan, adding that "if there had been, we would have left the area."

After the impact he dug through the rubble for survivors until he collapsed and was taken to hospital himself.

Ten days ago, we saw the sight in a Christian area, near the border. A local woman – who asked not to be named – told me that everyone was living with stress.

"The phone keeps ringing. We can never know when the (Israeli) attacks will come. It is a tense situation. Many nights we can't sleep", she says.

Next, the lady pulled out a list of the villages closest to the border – now deserted and destroyed after last year's exchange of relations between Hezbollah and Israel.

She said the damage in these areas was already much greater than in the five-week war in 2006. "If people want to return later, there are no houses left to return to," she said.

Before the war, the armed group always "boasted about its weapons and said it would fight Israel forever," continues the woman, who adds that even their followers are now shocked by the quality and quantity of attacks by Israel.

From Tel Aviv, to Tehran, to Washington, no one can be sure what will come next and what the Middle East will look like tomorrow.

Happening now...