Hezbollah-Israel conflict holds crisis-weary Lebanese hostage in their own country

Retired servicemen remove razor wire barricade outside Lebanon’s central bank during a demonstration demanding inflation-adjustments to their pensions, in Beirut on March 30, 2023. (AFP/File)
Short Url
Updated 16 July 2024
Follow

Hezbollah-Israel conflict holds crisis-weary Lebanese hostage in their own country

  • More than 435 people have been killed and 96,000 have been displaced in southern Lebanon since Oct. 8 last year
  • Lebanon is already in the throes of a crippling economic crisis, with some 44 percent living in poverty

DUBAI: As Hezbollah and Israel continue to engage in cross-border attacks, which began with the start of the war in Gaza last year, regular Lebanese citizens find themselves surviving in an atmosphere of tension and uncertainty.

Israel so far has stopped short of opening a second front in Lebanon while it seemingly implements a scorched-earth policy in Gaza in retaliation for the deadly attacks Palestinian militant groups led by Hamas carried out in southern Israel on Oct. 8 last year.

The tit-for-tat exchanges have grown in intensity, with two Israeli civilians killed by a Hezbollah rocket barrage in the Golan Heights on Tuesday. Just hours prior to this, an Israeli strike in Syria killed a former bodyguard of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The death toll in south Lebanon continues to mount with more than 435 people killed and over 96,000 internally displaced, according to data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

There has also been a steady rise in the number of senior Hezbollah officials being assassinated. The most recent of these was Mohammed Nimah Nasser, commander of the Aziz Unit responsible for the western sector of southern Lebanon.




A man stands next to a Hezbollah party flag jammed into the wreckage of a vehicle near buildings destroyed during previous Israeli military fire on the southern Lebanese village of Aita Al-Shaab, near the border with northern Israel on June 29, 2024. (AFP)

Lebanon is already weighed down by the combined impact of economic collapse, soaring poverty and political dysfunction. With no diplomatic breakthrough achieved so far in efforts to contain hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, many live in fear of an all-out war, a scenario that could prove further devastating.

Lebanon has also been without a president for nearly two years, relying on Najib Mikati’s leadership as caretaker of the government. Unending quarrels and shifting alliances within parliament make critical decision-making impossible, while rampant corruption remains the status quo.

According to the May 2024 Lebanon Situation Report from the World Food Programme, the country’s food security has deteriorated rapidly, with the report predicting that just under a quarter of the population will be food insecure by September 2024.

Lebanon’s poverty rates have more than tripled over the past decade, with another May report from the World Bank finding that 44 percent of the total population now lives in poverty.




People line up in front of a bakery to buy bread in Lebanon’s southern city of Sidon on June 22, 2022. (AFP)

Conditions have compelled households to undertake a variety of coping strategies that include cutting back on food consumption, non-food expenses, and health expenditures, which will likely lead to severe long-term consequences.

More than half the population also now depends on aid for survival while the rest continue to struggle to secure basic life necessities such as fuel and electricity.

On July 2, Walid Bukhari, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Lebanon, announced an aid package of $10 million through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center.

The aid will help launch 28 projects across Lebanon, adding to the 129 relief, humanitarian, and development projects KSrelief has implemented in the country to date.




A World Bank report in May said that 44 percent of the total population in Lebanon now lives in poverty. (AFP)

Bukhari said the Saudi support was a continuation of the “commitment of the leadership in Saudi Arabia to help humanitarian efforts and promote stability and development in Lebanon with the highest standards of transparency and accountability.”

He also said the support is a “solidarity approach adopted by the Kingdom toward the Lebanese people, based on the duty of true Arab brotherhood and teachings of Islam.”

While gestures are often appreciated by the Lebanese public, many remain skeptical of their own government’s ability to distribute the aid evenly and fairly.




In July, Saudi Arabia announced an aid package of $10 million for Lebanon through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center. (SPA/File)

Joseph, a 40-year-old Lebanese from Jounieh who did not want his full name to be used, said he was doubtful that the ones in need would see a cent from any aid packages.

“We have vultures, not politicians. We would not be in this predicament if we had decent leadership,” he told Arab News.

INNUMBERS

  • 435+ People, mostly combatants, killed in south Lebanon since Oct. 8, 2023.
  • 96,000+ People internally displaced in south Lebanon during the same period.
  • 200+ Drones and rockets fired at Israel from Lebanon in first four days of July.

Another Lebanese citizen, who also did not want to reveal his full name, also likened the situation in the country to a tale of two cities.

“The ones who are well off are always out and about in Beirut in areas like Gemayze and Mar Mikhael where most of the pubs are,” Samer told Arab News.

“They have no notion of war, nor do they fear one, because they know they can leave. The others who have fallen on hard times are at home trying to figure out ways to make do at the end of every month. Everyone is talking about the US elections and what outcome it will have on our country.”

Joseph said that a growing number of his friends and family members have begun taking sedatives just to continue functioning.

“The uncertainty has everyone in a chokehold. We had problems prior to the Gaza war and now we’re caught in the middle, not knowing what might become of us and our jobs. We have become hostages in our own country.”




A Lebanese protester holds a sign as fuel tankers block a road in Beirut during a general strike by public transport and workers unions over the country’s economic crisis, on January 13, 2022. (AFP)

Since Lebanon has no adequate social safety net, mental health services range from unaffordable private care to support from local and international nongovernmental organizers that offer free or low-cost consultations.

A study done last year by the mental health NGO Embrace showed that the suicide rates in Lebanon are among the highest in the last 10 years, having increased by 21 percent since 2022. Over 81 percent of suicide cases involved men, with young people aged 23 to 32 the most at risk.

Lebanon’s economic collapse, the 2020 Beirut port blast, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, compounded by war speculation and uncertainty, have taken a heavy toll on its citizens’ mental health.




More than half the population in Lebanon now depends on aid for survival while the rest continue to struggle to secure basic life necessities such as fuel and electricity. (AFP)

This week, a mental health strategy was launched in collaboration with the World Health Organization. Dr. Rabih Chammay, the head of the National Mental Health Programme in Lebanon, said that strengthening mental health during crises is a top priority.

The National Mental Health Strategy 2024-2030 will aim to reform and ensure mental health services to those in need for a minimal cost.

Beirut-based Majed, 34, who works both in and outside Lebanon, does not see any signs of impending war except for high-risk areas like the south and Bekaa Valley.

“I also think it depends on where you stay in Lebanon, but I would assume conversations in communities that live in and around Beirut might have a different case.

“But we are seeing precautionary measures in case an all-out war takes place. I think everyone hopes that things will de-escalate but know there’s a good chance a war might happen.

“Even if people don’t live in high-risk areas, this would impact them in so many ways: in terms of their ability to travel if the airport gets hit, availability of fresh produce for people to be able to eat, and we’ll definitely see an increase in crime, especially in the cities.”




A Hezbollah fighter is seen standing at attention in an orange field near the town of Naqura on the Lebanese-Israeli border on April 20, 2017. (AFP/File)

Citing his family’s preparation, Majed said: “My mother keeps talking about leaving Beirut and going to stay in the summer house in Chouf. She also is keeping it fully set up in case a war breaks out. She has bought an additional freezer and is now stocking it up.

“Dual citizens will rely on evacuations, especially if they come from America or European countries. I guess in such a situation, optionality is a privilege.”

To date, seven countries have called on their citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid traveling there, while five countries warned their citizens to be alert and avoid certain areas.




A house lies in ruins in the border area of Shebaa in southern Lebanon, following an Israeli strike on April 27, 2024. (AFP)

In retaliation to the killing of its senior commander Nasser in Tyre, Hezbollah has so far launched 200 rockets and drones into northern Israel.

As violent standoffs between the two powers continue to mount, civilians in southern Lebanon are war-weary but on guard. For Lebanese Ali Shdid, however, the current situation has become a reality of life that one ought to make peace with.

“No one wishes for war. No one. But we will not be threatened into submission, nor will we cower,” he told Arab News.

“If Israelis think we will cave due to their threats and bravado, they got it twisted. We will welcome war on all its fronts.”

 


Israel releases video of a Gaza tunnel where it says militants killed 6 hostages

Updated 58 min 5 sec ago
Follow

Israel releases video of a Gaza tunnel where it says militants killed 6 hostages

  • The release of the new video could add to the pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire deal

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military has released video footage of a Gaza tunnel where it says six hostages were recently killed by Hamas.
The video shows a low, narrow passageway deep underground that had no bathroom and poor ventilation.
The discovery of the hostages’ bodies last month sparked a mass outpouring of anger in Israel and the release of the new video could add to the pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire deal with Hamas to bring the remaining hostages home.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Tuesday the footage of the Gaza tunnel had been shown to the hostages’ families, and that it “was very hard for them to see how their loved ones survived in those conditions.”


Israel close to completing Gaza missions, focus on north, defense minister says

Updated 10 September 2024
Follow

Israel close to completing Gaza missions, focus on north, defense minister says

  • “The center of gravity is moving northward, we are near to completing our tasks in the south, but our mission here is not yet done,” Gallant told troops
  • “These instructions that you are waiting for here today, I gave in the south and saw the forces operate“

JERUSALEM: Israeli forces are near to fulfilling their mission in Gaza and their focus will turn to the country’s northern border with Lebanon as daily exchanges of fire with Hezbollah take place, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday
“The center of gravity is moving northward, we are near to completing our tasks in the south, but our mission here is not yet done,” Gallant told troops on Israel’s northern border in a video sent by his office.
Gallant was attending a ground combat drill, his office said.
“These instructions that you are waiting for here today, I gave in the south and saw the forces operate,” Gallant said referring to Israel’s ground invasion of the Gaza Strip three weeks after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that triggered the war.
The Lebanese group Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on Oct. 8 and the two sides have been trading fire since, with tens of thousands of civilians displaced on both sides of the border.
Israeli leaders have said they would prefer to resolve the conflict through an agreement that would push Iran-backed Hezbollah away from the border. Hezbollah has said that it will continue fighting Israel as long as the war in Gaza is ongoing.
In separate remarks to journalists on Tuesday, Gallant said:
“While we pursue an agreement, I have directed the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) to prepare for every scenario, including directing our attention to the northern arena. We are committed to changing the security situation on the northern front and to bringing our citizens home safely.”
The Israeli military on Tuesday said it killed a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force. The group confirmed his death but not his role and said it fired rockets at Israeli army targets across the border in retaliation.


Israel strike on Lebanon kills Hezbollah commander: source, army

Updated 10 September 2024
Follow

Israel strike on Lebanon kills Hezbollah commander: source, army

  • Mohammad Qassem Al-Shaer, “a field commander” in the group’s elite Radwan Force, “was targeted in an Israeli strike on a motorcycle in the Bekaa” Valley
  • Hezbollah earlier announced Shaer had been killed by Israeli fire, but did not refer to him as a commander

BEIRUT: An Israeli strike Tuesday on eastern Lebanon killed a Hezbollah commander, a source close to the group and the Israeli military said, the latest in near-daily exchanges throughout the Gaza war.
The Iran-backed Lebanese group has traded fire with Israeli forces in support of ally Hamas since the Palestinian militant group’s October 7 attack triggered war in the Gaza Strip, with repeated escalations during more than 11 months of the cross-border violence.
A source close to Hezbollah told AFP that Mohammad Qassem Al-Shaer, “a field commander” in the group’s elite Radwan Force, “was targeted in an Israeli strike on a motorcycle in the Bekaa” Valley in Lebanon’s east, far from the Israeli border.
Hezbollah earlier announced Shaer had been killed by Israeli fire, but did not refer to him as a commander.
The Israeli military said its air force had “eliminated the terrorist Mohammad Qassem Al-Shaer in the area of Qaraoun,” in the Bekaa Valley.
It referred to Shaer as “a Hezbollah Radwan Force commander.”
Elsewhere in Lebanon, the health ministry said an “Israeli enemy” strike on a building in the southern city of Nabatiyeh “caused light injuries to nine people.”
The cross-border violence since early October has killed some 615 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters but also including 138 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, authorities have announced the deaths of at least 24 soldiers and 26 civilians.


Cousin of Israeli slain in captivity says military pressure is killing the hostages

Updated 10 September 2024
Follow

Cousin of Israeli slain in captivity says military pressure is killing the hostages

  • Gat’s body and those of five fellow hostages were recovered by Israeli troops on Sept 1, triggering an outpouring of grief and mass protests among Israelis demanding a hostage deal
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said increased military pressure would ultimately bring the hostages home

JERUSALEM: Gil Dickmann’s worst nightmare came true when he was told his cousin Carmel Gat, who had survived 11 months in Hamas captivity, had been killed in a tunnel in Gaza just before Israeli forces arrived.
“She was so close to hugging her father,” Dickmann, 32, told Reuters outside the Israeli Knesset, where he was lobbying lawmakers to push for a deal to secure the hostages’ release.
“We failed as a country, we failed as a community.”
Gat’s body and those of five fellow hostages were recovered by Israeli troops on Sept 1, triggering an outpouring of grief and mass protests among Israelis demanding a hostage deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said increased military pressure would ultimately bring the hostages home.
An autopsy revealed that Gat and the other five hostages had been shot in the back of the head at close range, less than 48 hours before Israeli forces recovered the bodies in a tunnel under Gaza.
“Military pressure kills the hostages,” said Dickman. “We know that for a fact.”
Hamas has said in separate statements that Israel is responsible for killing the hostages, or that Netanyahu is responsible for killing them by obstructing a ceasefire agreement.
Oct. 7 was the deadliest day for Israel in its 75 year history, with around 1,200 people killed and some 250 seized and taken as hostages into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Hamas released 105 hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in a hostage deal in November.
Carmel Gat was taken hostage on October 7th, while staying at her parents’ home in Kibbutz Be’eri, in southern Israel.
Talks to bring the hostages back and end the fighting in Gaza, where Israel’s campaign to crush Hamas has destroyed much of the Gaza Strip and killed more than 40,000 people according to Palestinian figures, have stalled.
Esther Buchshtav, whose son Yagev was killed in captivity earlier this year, said on Monday at a meeting in Israel’s parliament that a military investigation found her son had been executed by Hamas when soldiers came close to where he was being held.
Dickmann has become one of the most recognizable faces in the movement to push for a hostage deal. He has appeared often on Israeli nightly news shows and clips have circulated widely on social media showing him in screaming matches with Israeli lawmakers and giving passionate speeches in Israel’s Knesset.
Last month, he went to Israel’s southern border along with a group of hostage families who ran toward the border in an effort to gather sympathy for their cause.
The high volume of protesters who demonstrated after Gat’s death, Dickmann said, showed that the Israeli government is disconnected from the will of the people.
“The Israeli people want life,” Dickmann said. “We fight for the lives of the hostages. We don’t fight for revenge.”


Arab League’s chief calls for Denmark’s recognition of Palestinian state

Updated 10 September 2024
Follow

Arab League’s chief calls for Denmark’s recognition of Palestinian state

  • Ahmed Aboul Gheit expresses appreciation for Denmark’s supportive positions
  • Arab League’s chief urged Denmark to follow the lead of several European countries that had recently recognized the independent state of Palestine

CAIRO: Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit has called on Denmark to recognize the state of Palestine.

Aboul Gheit made the remarks as he received Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Denmark’s minister of foreign affairs, at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Cairo.

Gamal Roshdy, a spokesman for the secretary-general, said that the meeting between the two focused on enhancing bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

Aboul Gheit expressed appreciation for Denmark’s supportive positions on the Palestinian cause.

Aboul Gheit spoke of his confidence that Denmark would continue to play a constructive role in promoting peace, security, and stability in the Arab region — particularly in light of Copenhagen’s recent success in securing a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2025-2026 term.

The Arab League’s chief urged Denmark to follow the lead of several European countries that had recently recognized the independent state of Palestine within the borders of June 4, 1967, and with East Jerusalem as its capital.

He stressed that such recognition was crucial to realizing the two-state solution.

The foreign minister reaffirmed his country’s support for Arab issues and concerns and outlined Denmark’s current foreign policy priorities.

He also stressed his country’s keen interest in strengthening relations with Arab nations across all sectors.