Lebanese on Edge amid Fears of All-Out Israel-Hezbollah War

A Middle East Airlines commercial aircraft flies near Beirut's southern suburbs as it approaches the airport runway on August 9, 2024. (AFP)
A Middle East Airlines commercial aircraft flies near Beirut's southern suburbs as it approaches the airport runway on August 9, 2024. (AFP)
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Lebanese on Edge amid Fears of All-Out Israel-Hezbollah War

A Middle East Airlines commercial aircraft flies near Beirut's southern suburbs as it approaches the airport runway on August 9, 2024. (AFP)
A Middle East Airlines commercial aircraft flies near Beirut's southern suburbs as it approaches the airport runway on August 9, 2024. (AFP)

Fears of a major escalation between Israel and Hezbollah have left many Lebanese on edge, exacerbating mental health problems and reviving traumas of past conflicts in the war-weary country.

One 29-year-old woman, who lives near the southern city of Sidon, said she dreaded the thunderous, explosive boom of Israeli jets regularly breaking the sound barrier.

"I feel the house will fall down on top of me... Sometimes I freeze... or start crying," said the woman, a contract worker for a non-governmental organization.

She was 11 years old when Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah went to war in the summer of 2006, and said bombs fell near her house.

"Sometimes, unconsciously, you remember it," said the woman, requesting anonymity in a country where mental health issues are often stigmatized.

"These sounds give you flashbacks -- sometimes you feel you're back at that time," she said.

Since Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war, Hezbollah has traded near daily cross-border fire with the Israeli army in support of the Palestinian armed group, sending tensions soaring.

Lebanon has been on a knife's edge since a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs last week killed Hezbollah's top military commander, just hours before the assassination, blamed on Israel, of Hamas's political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Iran and Hezbollah have vowed revenge, amid fears that retaliatory attacks could spiral into all-out war, with airlines suspending flights to Lebanon and countries imploring foreign nationals to leave.

- Panic attacks -

"I already had been suffering from anxiety and depression... but my mental health has deteriorated" since October, said the woman, who can no longer afford therapy because her work has slowed due to the hostilities.

"You feel afraid for the future", she said.

Before the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, Lebanon endured a grueling 1975-1990 civil conflict in which Israel invaded the south and in 1982 besieged Beirut.

The current cross-border violence has killed more than 560 people in Lebanon, most of them fighters but also including at least 116 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, 22 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed, according to army figures.

Laila Farhood, professor of psychiatry and mental health at the American University of Beirut, said "cumulative trauma" has left many Lebanese with stress, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Individuals transmit their anxieties to their children as cross-generational trauma," she told AFP.

"What is happening now triggers previous traumas," causing some people to have panic attacks, said Farhood, who specializes in war trauma and its impact on Lebanese civilians.

On Tuesday, Israeli jets broke the sound barrier over central Beirut, causing intense sonic booms that rattled windows and nerves, just two days after the anniversary of a catastrophic blast at Beirut's port in 2020.

"I had my first panic attack," said Charbel Chaaya, 23, who studies law in France and is living with his family near Beirut.

"I couldn't breathe, my legs felt numb... in that very first moment, you don't know what the sound is -- just like what happened on August 4," he said.

- 'Uncertainty' -

Layal Hamze from Embrace, a non-profit organization that runs a mental health center and suicide prevention hotline, said people in Lebanon now are "more susceptible to any sound".

"Baseline, the adrenaline is already high. It's a stressful situation," said Hamze, a clinical psychologist.

"It's not only the Beirut blast," Hamze added.

"The natural or automatic response" is to be frightened, she said, and while "maybe the older generation... are a bit more used to" such sounds, they could trigger "the collective trauma".

Some on social media have urged people to stop letting off fireworks -- a ubiquitous practice for celebrations -- while humorous skits making light of difficulties like flight cancellations have also circulated.

With coping mechanisms varying greatly, some people are "going partying", while others "are reaching out to the community more", which helps them feel they are not alone, Hamze said.

Dancer Andrea Fahed, 28, whose flat was damaged in the port blast, said she panicked when she heard this week's sonic booms.

She said she felt "lucky" to be a dancer, because with her community "we laugh together, we move together... you let go of a lot of things".

But she said the "uncertainty" was a constant struggle, and now leaves her windows open, fearing another blast could shatter everything.

"Anything can happen," Fahed said.

"If it's happening with that intensity in Gaza, why wouldn't it come here?"



What Impact Will Egyptian-Turkish Rapprochement Have on Resolving Regional Crises?

Sisi and Erdogan stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. (Egyptian Presidency)
Sisi and Erdogan stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. (Egyptian Presidency)
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What Impact Will Egyptian-Turkish Rapprochement Have on Resolving Regional Crises?

Sisi and Erdogan stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. (Egyptian Presidency)
Sisi and Erdogan stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. (Egyptian Presidency)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s visit to Türkiye and his meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised questions about the potential impact of Egyptian-Turkish rapprochement on resolving regional crises, especially after discussions by the joint Strategic Cooperation Council focused on the situation in six Arab nations.

Experts suggest that the alignment between Cairo and Ankara on certain regional crises could lead to a significant shift toward resolving these issues. They emphasized that the Egyptian-Turkish approach could break through in several regional files.

Sisi visited Ankara on Wednesday, following an invitation from Erdogan during his trip to Cairo in February. The Egyptian president described the visit as reflecting a shared will to start a new phase of friendship and cooperation between his country and Türkiye given their pivotal roles in their regional and international surroundings.

The discussions between Sisi and Erdogan highlighted a convergence in views on regional issues, especially the situation in Gaza and Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights.

Additionally, the Strategic Cooperation Council meeting, chaired by the two presidents, addressed cooperation between their countries on six files and Arab issues, including the situation in Gaza, the war in Sudan, tensions in Somalia, and the conditions in Libya, Syria, and Iraq, according to a joint statement issued after the meeting.

Taha Ouda, a researcher in international relations in Ankara, pointed to the significance of the shared positions between Egypt and Türkiye on Gaza, Sudan, and Libya. He predicted that the coming period would witness major shifts in the foreign policies of both countries over regional crises. He also noted that the exchange of visits between Sisi and Erdogan signifies a new era of political and economic cooperation between their countries.

Dr. Tarek Fahmy, a professor of political science at Cairo University, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Egyptian-Turkish approach will likely lead to breakthroughs in several regional files.

He explained that both countries are driven to achieve mutual interests and coordinate efforts to serve their respective priorities. He viewed the normalization of relations between Cairo and Ankara as a crucial step in light of regional developments.

Egyptian and Turkish officials are seen at the Strategic Cooperation Council meeting. (Egyptian Presidency)

During a joint press conference with Erdogan, Sisi emphasized the unified stance of Egypt and Türkiye in calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and rejecting Israel’s current escalation in the West Bank.

They also called for a pathway that fulfills the aspirations of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state according to the June 4, 1967, borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in line with relevant international resolutions.

Fahmy further pointed out that elevating relations between Cairo and Ankara to a revived strategic dialogue will lead to a qualitative shift in addressing regional crises, including cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the situation in Libya and the Horn of Africa.

He emphasized the coordination mechanism between the two countries, with Egypt playing a mediating role in the Syrian conflict, where Türkiye is involved, in exchange for Türkiye’s mediation in the Nile Basin issue and efforts to resolve tensions in the Red Sea.

The two presidents agreed on consultations to achieve security and political stability in Libya, stressing the importance of ending the prolonged crisis by holding simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections, removing illegal foreign forces and mercenaries, and dismantling armed militias, allowing Libya to overcome its divisions and restore security and stability, said the Strategic Cooperation Council declaration.

The talks also addressed the crisis in Sudan and Egypt’s efforts, in cooperation with various parties, to secure a ceasefire and promote a political solution. Regarding the Horn of Africa, Sisi and Erdogan agreed on the need to preserve Somalia’s unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity against challenges.

Former Assistant Egyptian Foreign Minister Ambassador Gamal Bayoumi noted that economic and investment cooperation takes priority over coordination on regional issues. He stressed that energy and gas cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean would be among the first areas of collaboration between Egypt and Türkiye.