South Lebanon – Milad Eid sits next to a table he placed in the courtyard of his house with bags of bread and bottles of mineral water on it, hoping that a passerby would pass by and buy bread from him. Most of the residents of the village of Alma al-Shaab have fled their homes towards safer areas to escape the Israeli bombing.
The matter is not limited to Al-Shaab, as dozens of villages, 3 kilometers deep along the border strip of southern Lebanon with Israel, have witnessed large displacement operations among residents, with the escalation of artillery and missile shelling between Hezbollah and Palestinian factions with the Israeli occupation forces, since the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7. Last October and the accompanying Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
Although most of the residents were displaced, a number of others, most of whom were elderly, decided to remain in their homes despite the Israeli bombing. Al Jazeera Net toured a number of villages in the western sector of southern Lebanon, and tried to shed light on the suffering of these residents.
Most of the residents of the border strip were displaced from their homes to escape the Israeli bombing (Al Jazeera)
Eid told Al Jazeera Net that he and a number of village men decided to stay there to protect homes and property, and when the village or its surroundings were subjected to violent bombing, the remaining residents would go to the church shelter to take shelter inside.
He confirms that the Israeli bombing led to the destruction of 8 homes, in addition to the main water tank in the village, but the current situation is still less dangerous than the 2006 war, during which Israel bombed the region more violently and cut off the main roads.
Empty bakery
We moved towards Naqoura, the majority of whose residents were displaced towards Tire and Sidon, and on the road completely empty of pedestrians and cars, we came across an open bakery. We went down to speak with its owner, Ahmed Melhem, who confirmed to Al Jazeera Net that he had decided to stay with his wife and children, because he did not have money to rent an apartment if he moved to the city. Safe, and he cannot make his family live a difficult life in a shelter.
Melhem says, “The conditions are difficult, because people have fled and we can barely manage our affairs. There are no customers. Unfortunately, he had to run the gas all day, so that the oven would stay hot. When the gas ran out, he had to go to Tire to replace the cylinder, because the gas company is asking for $400 in exchange for his delivery to the bakery due to war conditions.” “.
Pictures of villages in southern Lebanon, whose residents were displaced to escape the Israeli bombing (Al Jazeera)
He confirms that his children live in constant fear and terror, due to the bombing, especially in the night bombing, which constantly wakes them up. He pointed out that the Israeli occupation planes targeted civilians more than once, and the last incident was targeting a car, which led to the death of a woman and three of her grandchildren.
Melhem adds that he cannot go to his farm near the house for fear of being exposed to Israeli bombing, stressing that anything that moves inside the agricultural land is directly bombed, even animals.
Resorting to the sea
On the shore of the Mediterranean Sea near Naqoura, we came across an old man fishing, indifferent to the Israeli reconnaissance planes flying over his head. When we asked him, he answered, “I work in the field of transporting goods, and since the beginning of the war, commercial activity has stopped along the entire border strip. I am no longer able to work, and I decided to head to the sea in These are difficult situations to provide lunch.
The sixty-year-old man – who preferred not to mention his name for fear of any Israeli targeting – confirmed to Al Jazeera Net that he is a resident of the Rmeish village, and he pushed his children and grandchildren to leave the village and migrate to Beirut to protect the children from the Israeli bombing, while he and his wife decided to stay in the house, because he could not bear Expenses for renting an apartment in Beirut.
Some residents resort to the sea to provide food after losing their sources of livelihood (Al Jazeera)
He added that life has completely stopped in the region from Naqoura to the Shebaa Farms, and those who decided to stay live in terror because of the random judiciary, and those who decided to flee live in difficult conditions in Tire or Beirut, because they do not have a source of income or job opportunity that would enable them to support their family.
He points out another problem that residents who decided to stay in their homes suffer from, which is the shortage of goods in the few stores that remained open, because merchants are afraid to come to the area.
In this context, the Mukhtar of the village of Al-Jabayn, Jaafar Aqeel, says that the majority of the residents of the southern villages were forced to leave their homes, in light of the arrogance of the Israeli enemy and its deliberate targeting of defenseless civilians without any mercy.
He adds to Al Jazeera Net that this is an enemy that is accustomed to shedding the blood of civilians, but the time has come when it is known that there is resistance in Palestine and Lebanon capable of standing up to it and defending the honor and dignity of the Arab and Islamic nation.
Most of the residents of the villages in southern Lebanon were displaced to escape the Israeli bombing (Al Jazeera)
Aqeel confirms that there is solidarity and cooperation among the people who decided to remain in their homes. They exchange food and water – each according to his ability – and by staying they want to send a message to the Israeli occupation that they stand behind the resistance project.
2023-11-07 08:38:30
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