Lebanon Dispatch
Waiting for a Wider War, Lebanese Civilians Feel Helpless
Hezbollah’s conflict with Israel has already damaged south Lebanon. Now it could escalate, regardless of what anyone else in Lebanon thinks.
Supported by
Ben Hubbard, Hwaida Saad and Diego Ibarra Sanchez traveled to south Lebanon and spoke to residents and officials there and elsewhere about the current war and its possible future.
The town in south Lebanon appeared deserted, its roads empty and its market shuttered, after months of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel across the nearby border made many residents flee.
But in a central square this summer, Hezbollah had erected huge banners for the triple funeral of a man the militant group claimed as its own and his two sisters, all killed when Israel bombed their home in this southern town of Bint Jbeil.
As the coffins arrived, martial music blared and a few hundred of the remaining residents came to pay their respects.
Watching the procession, Asmaa Alawiyeh, an accountant, said life was hard after months of clashes. Her two children were out of school. Her husband, a plumber, could not find work. And no one knew when life would return to normal.
“There is no plan,” said Ms. Alawiyeh, 32. “We have no idea what to prepare for because we have no idea what’s coming.”
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