November 14, 2024 – The situation has worsened drastically after recent Israeli air strikes on Lebanon, this time targeting a residential building in Aramoun, a mixed-religion area southwest of Beirut. The attack was without warning and claimed eight lives, including three children and three women. The bodies have been recovered, and the injured were taken to local hospitals as some were critical.
According to witnesses, the early-morning strike was a forceful blast that covered the area in smoke. One of the residents, who moved from southern Beirut to Aramoun in order to escape bombings, said she woke up to the explosion and dense smoke that covered the building.
“Israel is striking everywhere. There is nowhere that is safe anymore,” she added, emphasizing the growing desperation among displaced residents.
Just a month ago, an elderly woman from the southern suburb of Beirut was compelled to seek refuge in Aramoun. The attack made her flee for the third time, this time to her displaced son’s house. Talking about calls for ceasefire, she seems skeptical: ‘Ceasefire talks take place when Israeli raids on Lebanon are getting even harsher’.
The Israeli military did not confirm the specific targets in Aramoun but said in the past that such operations target Hezbollah-related infrastructure. Hezbollah maintains a strong presence in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, areas frequently targeted in Israel’s ongoing campaign against the Iran-backed organization.
Strikes have generated heightened tensions and fears of terroristic attacks within the host Lebanese communities as a direct consequence of the presence of these internally displaced persons and possible Hezbollah members among them.
If someone is coming to give aid to displaced people and they are being targeted, we’re paying the price,” one resident pointed out. He noted that while displaced people were welcomed, uncertainty over who might become targets is unsettling.
The voices calling for national unity are growing louder with the belief of most that Israel is deliberately trying to create social divisiveness and destabilize the country. This recent wave of strikes across previously untainted regions has received analyses as a ploy to heighten the onset of tensions between civilians and internally displaced people being sheltered within their homes.
The situation remains volatile since violence continues unabated, and citizens across Lebanon anxiously wait for any sign of relief from the hostilities.
