عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Features

Palestinian Family in Lebanon Grieves for Dead Gaza Relatives

Fatima al-Ashwah, 61, a Palestinian refugee living at the Burj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut’s southern suburbs, shows on November 24, 2023 a picture of six-year-old Nour al-Moqayyed, who was killed in Gaza together with her mother Sanaa Abu Zeid and sisters in Israeli bombing earlier this month. (AFP)
Fatima al-Ashwah, 61, a Palestinian refugee living at the Burj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut’s southern suburbs, shows on November 24, 2023 a picture of six-year-old Nour al-Moqayyed, who was killed in Gaza together with her mother Sanaa Abu Zeid and sisters in Israeli bombing earlier this month. (AFP)
TT
TT

Palestinian Family in Lebanon Grieves for Dead Gaza Relatives

Fatima al-Ashwah, 61, a Palestinian refugee living at the Burj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut’s southern suburbs, shows on November 24, 2023 a picture of six-year-old Nour al-Moqayyed, who was killed in Gaza together with her mother Sanaa Abu Zeid and sisters in Israeli bombing earlier this month. (AFP)
Fatima al-Ashwah, 61, a Palestinian refugee living at the Burj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut’s southern suburbs, shows on November 24, 2023 a picture of six-year-old Nour al-Moqayyed, who was killed in Gaza together with her mother Sanaa Abu Zeid and sisters in Israeli bombing earlier this month. (AFP)

From Lebanon, Palestinian Fatima al-Ashwah has been praying for relatives in Gaza, but received grim news that Israeli bombing killed around 12 of them days before a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas.

"They bombed their house," leaving some of them "in pieces," said Ashwah, drained by weeks of anguish and days of grief.

She is among an estimated 250,000 Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon, most of them in poverty, according to the United Nations.

When AFP first spoke with Ashwah, 61, earlier this month from southern Beirut's Burj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp, she had expressed grave fear for the safety of about 70 extended family members in the Gaza Strip whom she had visited in July.

She was later told that Israeli bombardment had killed her cousin's daughter Sanaa Abu Zeid, 30, along with Abu Zeid's daughters aged 12, eight and six, and other relatives who were in the same building.

"Around a dozen people were killed," she said.

The Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, when fighters from Palestinian militant group Hamas broke through Gaza's militarized border and attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians and taking around 240 hostage, according to Israeli authorities.

It was the worst attack in the 75-year history of Israel which retaliated with air, artillery and naval bombardments alongside a ground offensive. Nearly 15,000 people, also mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian territory's Hamas government.

'Under the bombs'

Abu Zeid and her family had taken refuge in a school in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip.

But they returned to their home in northern Gaza -- still standing, unlike those of some other family members -- because the children weren't coping at the shelter, Ashwah said.

Abu Zeid's husband and their three other children survived because they had been wounded in bombing the day before, one losing a leg, and were in hospital when the house was hit, Ashwah said.

"They buried them together in a mass grave," Ashwah said, with Abu Zeid's devastated mother unable to pay her final respects.

Ashwah showed photos and video taken before the bombing of smiling members of the family, including Abu Zeid's daughter Nour al-Moqayyed, aged six, dancing.

Abu Zeid's husband and the surviving children fled back to Rafah "under the bombs" to reunite with Abu Zeid's mother, Ashwah said, and were staying in a garage.

Beirut's Burj al-Barajneh camp and others like it in Lebanon were set up after what Palestinians call the Nakba, or "catastrophe", when more than 760,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes by the 1948 war over Israel's creation.

A fragile four-day truce between Hamas and Israel was renewed for two more days on Tuesday, the day it was set to expire. Ashwah expressed hope that it would last, saying the family "can't take it anymore."

"We've seen wars, but like this? My God, not like this."

Most Viewed

 
 
Features

Hezbollah’s Legacy in Syria: Drug Labs, Counterfeit Money Factories

Syrian border security forces patrol a border area in Wadi al-Hourani, Hawik village, near the Lebanese border (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Syrian border security forces patrol a border area in Wadi al-Hourani, Hawik village, near the Lebanese border (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
TT

Hezbollah’s Legacy in Syria: Drug Labs, Counterfeit Money Factories

Syrian border security forces patrol a border area in Wadi al-Hourani, Hawik village, near the Lebanese border (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Syrian border security forces patrol a border area in Wadi al-Hourani, Hawik village, near the Lebanese border (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Syrian border security forces have discovered dozens of factories producing narcotics, Captagon pills, hashish, and counterfeit US dollars in abandoned warehouses on a hilltop in Al Qusayr’s village of Hawik, near the western countryside of Homs, close to the Syrian-Lebanese border.

The illicit goods were intended for smuggling into neighboring countries and beyond, authorities said.

The border area, facing Lebanon’s Baalbek province, was until recently under the control of Hezbollah. Following the group’s expulsion, Syrian security forces dismantled the drug operations, paving the way for the Lebanese army to secure the region, according to officials.

In a makeshift drug lab perched on a remote hill along a secondary road in Hawik—just a few hundred meters from the Lebanese border—Syrian security forces found stockpiles of equipment and materials used in drug production.

Inside the warehouses, they uncovered industrial machinery, large blue storage tanks filled with raw substances for Captagon production, as well as wooden containers and sealed plastic boxes containing hashish.

Homs border security chief Maj. Nadim Mdakhneh told Asharq Al-Awsat that the previous regime and Hezbollah had turned the area into a drug smuggling route and a hub for illegal drug production, weapons trafficking, and counterfeiting before being expelled this month.

Syrian military operations forces launched a sweeping security campaign this week, targeting villages near the Lebanese border, including Hawik, Jarmash, Wadi al-Hourani, Akoum, and Wadi Hanna.

Clashes erupted with Hezbollah fighters, remnants of the ousted regime, and drug and arms traffickers.

The forces seized full control of the border strip, set up checkpoints, and implemented strict measures to prevent smuggling, officials said.

The crackdown included raids in several Syrian villages, particularly Hawik, Jarmash, and Hit—key hubs for drug trafficking.

Mdakhneh said security forces discovered around 15 drug production facilities and a counterfeit currency printing press.

“We seized massive shipments of weapons, drugs, and raw materials intended for smuggling,” Mdakhneh said. “These areas were the economic lifeline of these criminal networks.”

Syria and Lebanon share a 330-kilometer border, much of it unmarked and stretching across valleys and rugged mountains—terrain long exploited by drug smugglers and arms dealers.

Counterfeit Money Operation

In a third warehouse, Hezbollah operatives set up a counterfeit money operation, producing fake $100 bills using advanced printers, holograms, ultraviolet scanners, and an offset printing press, security officials said.

During Syria’s war, the country became the region’s top producer of Captagon, especially under ousted President Bashar al-Assad. Some reports have called Syria a “narco-state,” with British data estimating it produced nearly 80% of the world’s Captagon supply by the end of last year.

In another warehouse hidden in a mountainous area, a security officer opened a device and found round drug tablets inside.

“This is how they made and hid the drugs before smuggling them to the Gulf and beyond,” said security officer Nader Abu al-Bara, who took part in the raid.

Captagon Pills, Hashish Stored in Packages

Captagon pills were packed in sealed bags. Hashish was stored in medium-sized wooden crates and plastic containers, while processed batches were wrapped in red gloves for identification, security officials said.

Residents of the border region said civilians were strictly prohibited from approaching the heavily guarded drug production sites.

“No one was allowed near these facilities,” said Ahmad al-Saab, 55, a resident of Hawik. “Syrian intelligence and Hezbollah fighters stationed in the area kept us away. We often smelled strange, unpleasant odors, but we had no idea what was happening inside. We only heard rumors about factories, but no one dared to get close.”

Security forces discovered surveillance cameras and network lines connected to Lebanese territory during their operations, officials said.

Mdakhneh stressed that the crackdown was limited to Syrian villages near the Lebanese border.

He said coordination between Syrian military operations and the Lebanese army is ongoing, adding that “for the first time in 14 years, the Lebanese army has begun deploying in this area.”

Mdakhneh said clashes erupted with Hezbollah fighters and traffickers, and during the raids, security forces found documents linking members of Lebanese tribal families to the smuggling operations.

The trade in Captagon pills in Syria was worth an estimated $6 billion by the end of 2024, according to United Nations figures. The drugs were primarily smuggled to neighboring Iraq and Jordan before being trafficked onward to Gulf states.