Beirut Southern Suburbs Residents Return as War Risks Ease

Citizens listen to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah at a café in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday evening, just hours after the party’s attack on northern Israel in response to the assassination of leader Fouad Shukr (EPA)

Many residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs quickly returned home after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah urged them to do so on Sunday evening.

Following Israel’s assassination of senior Hezbollah figure Fouad Shukr on July 30 and the party’s pledge to retaliate, those who could had already left their homes, worried that the conflict might spread to their area, a major Hezbollah stronghold.

Many residents moved to the Bekaa Valley or southern Lebanon to stay with family or in their own homes, while a few rented apartments in Mount Lebanon. Many expats visiting the southern suburbs left the country right after Shukr’s assassination.

Haitham M., aged 50, from the southern suburbs, left his home the night Shukr was assassinated.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Haitham M. explained that he feared for his safety and anticipated Hezbollah’s retaliation might lead to more Israeli strikes.

Luckily, he owns another house in a safer village north of the Litani River and stayed there for about 25 days before returning to Beirut on Monday.

In his Sunday evening speech, Nasrallah described Hezbollah’s response, which included hundreds of rockets and drones targeting over 11 Israeli military sites, including an intelligence base with Unit 8200.

The southern suburbs of Beirut seemed to relax after the recent tensions.

Hoda A., aged 33, who owns a clothing store in Bir al-Abed, reported a revival in business after a severe slowdown. She previously sold between $1,000 and $2,000 worth of goods daily, with holiday sales sometimes reaching $10,000.

Since Shukr’s assassination, her sales had dropped to just $30 a day.

The suburbs have seen two assassinations since Hezbollah declared southern Lebanon a support front for Gaza on October 8. The first was the killing of Saleh al-Arouri, a senior Hamas leader, and two aides on January 2.

Shukr was assassinated on July 30.

Political analyst and researcher Dr. Qassem Qassir, who closely follows Hezbollah’s affairs, said that “the situation in the southern suburbs has returned to normal after a period of anxiety.”

“Overall, the southern suburbs are safe. While there have been two Israeli attacks, the area does not experience a state of war, except for occasional sonic booms,” Qassir affirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat.