For 100 days, the south of the country has been paralyzed by exchanges of strikes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah. Two weeks ago, a Hamas leader was assassinated in the southern suburbs of Beirut, in the heart of Hezbollah, in a strike attributed to the Jewish state. An anxious atmosphere for the inhabitants of this area, many of whom are from the South.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Beirut,Laura Stephan
At 60 years old, Mariam Cheikh Ali has lived through several wars. A resident of a poor neighborhood adjoining the Hezbollah stronghold, south of Beirut, she is fatalistic about the risk of escalation: “ Of course we are afraid. But if war is imposed on us, what can we do? We do not accept that someone comes to take our land. God willing, war will not come to Beirut. May God protect the Hezbollah fighters who defend us. We hear that the war in southern Lebanon will last two or three more months. »
In this district of Bir Hassan, portraits of Hezbollah fighters killed on the Lebanese-Israeli front are hung on the storefronts. News from Gaza and southern Lebanon are followed daily.
“ No one feels calm, because of the situation and the martyrs, confides Ibrahim Haydar, a young resident. I hope that the war will not spread… But perhaps the Israelis, when they reduce the pressure on Palestine, will open a small front in Lebanon. I had to postpone my wedding: a relative of my fiancée was killed in combat, and getting married under these conditions was not appropriate according to our traditions. »
Originally from the South, Ibrahim has not visited his village since the start of the border clashes.
“ We cannot see in Lebanon what we see in Gaza “. These are the words of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave and calls for avoiding escalation in Lebanon.