Lebanese Return to Beirut’s Southern Suburbs with Bags Packed for Quick Exit

A resident films his home in a building hit by airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs (AP)
A resident films his home in a building hit by airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs (AP)
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Lebanese Return to Beirut’s Southern Suburbs with Bags Packed for Quick Exit

A resident films his home in a building hit by airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs (AP)
A resident films his home in a building hit by airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs (AP)

Nour Hammoud and her family live in constant fear as Israel issues warnings to residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs, after deciding to return to their home in Ghobeiry, an area frequently hit by Israeli airstrikes.

“We’d rather die in our home than suffer humiliation outside of it,” says the young woman in her twenties.

She describes the difficult decision faced by her family and others who, despite the risks, have returned to their homes.

Many, including her family, rely on the alerts from Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee on X (formerly Twitter), where targeted buildings are announced shortly before they are attacked. Families often leave after each warning, only to return when it is safe.

For some, the return is driven by financial hardship, as they can’t afford rent or find safer places.

For the Hammouds, however, the decision was prompted by increasing harassment, especially toward her younger brothers, in the area they had fled to in Mount Lebanon.

“Security checks were becoming more intense, with authorities scrutinizing my brothers’ identities whenever they left or entered,” she explained.

This increased pressure follows attacks on Hezbollah-linked individuals in areas outside the southern suburbs, previously considered safe. This has caused fear and hostility in host communities, impacting displaced families.

After a month in a rented house in Mount Lebanon, the Hammoud family returned to the southern suburb, which has been calm in recent days despite being bombed five days earlier.

Speaking by phone amid the sound of Israeli drones overhead, Hammoud said: “We came back ten days ago, cleaned our house, bought what we could from the market to avoid going out too much, and packed small bags with essentials. We wait for the warnings to leave again.”

The beach has become their refuge.

“After each warning, we go to the beach, wait for the bombing to stop, then return to our home, hoping it’s still standing,” she added.

Asked about living in constant fear in a neighborhood almost destroyed by repeated strikes, Hammoud replied: “We’re not afraid. It’s better to die in our homes than to live in shame. Whatever is meant for us will happen... We either win, which we believe in, or we become martyrs.”

As the war continues, estimates from Mohammad Shamseddine at Information International suggest that 240 buildings have been destroyed in the southern suburbs, with 360 more partially damaged, affecting around 12,000 housing units in neighborhoods like Haret Hreik, Lailaki, Jamous, and Ghobeiry.

While the Hammoud family can afford rent, many others are unable to find safe places to stay.

Um Mohammad, another displaced woman, says she and her family were asked to leave a school in Beirut where they had taken refuge. With schools reopening, they were told to vacate by Thursday.

Although the private school director in Ain el-Remmaneh who hosted them did all he could to help, Um Mohammad told Asharq Al-Awsat: “The decision has been made, and we have to leave.”

“Our problem is that we have nowhere else to go. If the situation doesn’t improve, my sick husband, son, and I will return to Chiyah in the southern suburbs, just like many other families,” she added.



NGOs Seek UN Emergency Rights Meeting, Investigation on Israel's War on Lebanon

An excavator operates around a damaged building targeted by an Israeli airstrike, in the town of Barja, Chouf district, Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon, 06 November 2024. (EPA)
An excavator operates around a damaged building targeted by an Israeli airstrike, in the town of Barja, Chouf district, Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon, 06 November 2024. (EPA)
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NGOs Seek UN Emergency Rights Meeting, Investigation on Israel's War on Lebanon

An excavator operates around a damaged building targeted by an Israeli airstrike, in the town of Barja, Chouf district, Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon, 06 November 2024. (EPA)
An excavator operates around a damaged building targeted by an Israeli airstrike, in the town of Barja, Chouf district, Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon, 06 November 2024. (EPA)

A group of NGOs pressed countries on Wednesday to hold an emergency session of the United Nations Human Rights Council to set up an investigation into abuses committed by both sides of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon.

Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah have been fighting for more than a year, in parallel with Israel's war in Gaza, after Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel in solidarity with its ally Hamas.

The Lebanon conflict has dramatically escalated since mid-September, with most of the more than 3,000 deaths reported by Lebanon since October 2023 occurring in that period.

In a letter to diplomatic missions, 12 NGOs including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International urged states to act decisively over a situation "spiraling out of control", citing incidents such as Israeli strikes on civilian infrastructure such as homes and hospitals.

"There's a huge risk of the same types of atrocities occurring in Lebanon as in Gaza," said Jeremie Smith, Geneva Director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, whose organization is leading the call.

"Entire towns are being levelled, thousands of people are being killed and injured and there's not a single investigation that has been opened by anyone, anywhere. We can't let that stand," he told Reuters.

The meeting is almost certain to obtain the required one-third of votes in the 47-member council but would need the support of Lebanon, which some diplomats said might have reservations about inviting scrutiny of Hezbollah's actions.

Lebanon's Geneva ambassador Salim Baddoura told Reuters a session was "possible" but that Beirut had yet to take a decision.

Debates addressing Israel's policies have in the past been controversial and current voting member the United States temporarily left the council in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump alleging anti-Israeli bias.

Such a meeting could also reignite allegations of double standards against Western states supportive of accountability for Russian violations in Ukraine since its 2022 invasion, but who maintain support for Israel.

Israel's military says it tries to avoid harming civilians but says Hamas and Hezbollah fighters hide among them.

The UN body does not have legally binding powers but it can mandate investigations to document abuses, which sometimes form the basis for war crimes prosecutions.