Beirut’s Southern Suburb Becomes a ‘Ghost Town’ as Residents Hesitate to Return

The aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on the Lailaki area in Beirut's southern suburbs as seen on Tuesday morning. (Reuters)
The aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on the Lailaki area in Beirut's southern suburbs as seen on Tuesday morning. (Reuters)
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Beirut’s Southern Suburb Becomes a ‘Ghost Town’ as Residents Hesitate to Return

The aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on the Lailaki area in Beirut's southern suburbs as seen on Tuesday morning. (Reuters)
The aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on the Lailaki area in Beirut's southern suburbs as seen on Tuesday morning. (Reuters)

Ali F., 35, refused to enter Beirut's southern suburbs to check on his home after Monday night airstrikes.

“I’m not taking any chances... I'll find out if the building is destroyed eventually,” he said.

He left his home in a rush days ago after Israeli forces warned residents to evacuate.

Now, he’s unsure about returning to collect his belongings.

“No one lives in the building anymore,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat. “If the power cuts while I’m in the elevator, I’ll be stuck, and no one will rescue me.”

Beirut’s southern suburbs were hit overnight after the Israeli military warned residents to leave areas near buildings it said contained Hezbollah infrastructure.

The area has become a “ghost town,” according to a civil defense worker near the area on Monday night, after the Israeli army announced airstrike targets.

Most residents evacuated their homes and moved to safer areas. By Tuesday morning, only a few dozen remained — mostly medics, civil defense workers, and some municipal police officers.

On Monday night, the Israeli army warned residents to evacuate three areas in the southern suburbs: Rweiss near Burj al-Barajneh, Mrayjeh near Lailaki, and Bir al-Abed in Haret Hreik.

The three targeted areas cover a five-kilometer stretch, filled with residential buildings home to tens of thousands.

These neighborhoods have long been the population hub of Beirut's southern suburbs, which have expanded east toward Hadath and south to Choueifat over the past 20 years.

Mona, who lives in Rweiss, questioned the strikes: “What’s in these areas to justify targeting them? Could there really be a weapons depot in a residential building right along the Hadi Nasrallah Highway?”

She was referring to two buildings in Bir al-Abed and Rweiss that were hit near the highway.

“Could a military facility really be under a building where dozens of families live?” Mona believes the Israeli army wants to clear the area, claiming the presence of weapons as an excuse.

The Israeli army said it launched “precision strikes on Hezbollah weapons manufacturing sites and infrastructure in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Monday night.”

Nearby residents endured a difficult night, shaken by loud explosions, watching the developments unfold on TV.

Just before midnight, Israeli warplanes targeted Lailaki, Mrayjeh, Haret Hreik, and Burj al-Barajneh, destroying several residential buildings.

Reports indicated that eight buildings were destroyed in Mrayjeh, along with others not listed on the Israeli evacuation maps.

No casualties were reported from the strikes in the southern suburbs, but Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 95 people were killed and 172 injured in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and Beirut in the past 24 hours.



Inside Hezbollah’s Kamikaze Drone That Hit Israel's Binyamina

A photo released by the Israeli army spokesperson of the “Sayyad 107” drone.
A photo released by the Israeli army spokesperson of the “Sayyad 107” drone.
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Inside Hezbollah’s Kamikaze Drone That Hit Israel's Binyamina

A photo released by the Israeli army spokesperson of the “Sayyad 107” drone.
A photo released by the Israeli army spokesperson of the “Sayyad 107” drone.

The Israeli security apparatuses are investigating the type of kamikaze drone that Hezbollah used on Sunday evening to hit a Golani Brigade base near Binyamina south of Haifa, killing four soldiers and wounding about 90 others, including 12 soldiers with serious injuries.

Ron Ben-Yishai, a security expert at the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, said that from the limited details currently available, the drone was likely a Sayyad 107 model, a UAV manufactured in Iran and widely used by Hezbollah, which also produces it in large quantities in Lebanon.

“The model’s flight path can be programmed to frequently change altitude and direction, making it difficult to detect and track,” Ben-Yishai said.

“It has a range of up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) and is small, with a very low radar signature compared to larger, metal-made UAVs. Its detection relies on the heat emitted by the engine, which is also challenging to identify via optical means,” he added.

According to the security expert, the military is examining all possibilities, but it's almost certain that the UAV, which hit a critical target and caused many casualties, wasn't only a specialized model but also Hezbollah managed to overwhelm or disrupt the Israeli army’s detection systems by launching a mixed salvo of rockets and two other drones aimed at the Western Galilee.

Ben-Yishai noted that the UAVs continued toward the sea off the northern coast and the Iron Dome system intercepted one.

The Israeli army dispatched fighter jets and combat helicopters to track the remaining UAV, but contact with it was lost, he said.

The expert said it is possible that the UAV was pre-programmed to sharply descend toward the ground or the sea and continue flying at low altitude, exploiting the coastal terrain and then the hills of the coastal plain to evade interceptors.

“Hezbollah has gained considerable experience in operating UAVs over the past year, successfully causing numerous casualties among civilians and primarily IDF soldiers at remote bases,” Ben-Yishai wrote, adding that over half of the drones launched by Hezbollah are intercepted, either by the Israeli army fighter jets sent to engage them or by the Iron Dome and David's Sling systems.

However, he noted, due to the UAV's small size and very weak radar signature, the Iron Dome's fire control radars and the optical sensors on fighter jets and helicopters often lose track of them, especially in hilly areas where radar echoes from the terrain are dominant and misleading.

Ben-Yishai revealed that the Israeli army and defense industries have been trying to find a solution to this issue at least since the current war began, but there is still no effective detection and interception solution.

He said the sophisticated UAVs manufactured by Iran are equipped with inertial navigation systems in addition to satellite navigation, enabling them to stay on course and strike their targets even when faced with GPS jamming.

“This is intended to mislead them, but Iran and Hezbollah sometimes bypass the American GPS jamming by using unique satellite navigation systems developed by Russia or China,” Ben-Yishai said.