In Beirut’s southern suburbs, a once-bustling region now lies eerily quiet, with deserted streets, rubble, and sporadic signs of life amidst devastation from Israeli air strikes that have continued since late September. The suburbs, previously home to as many as 800,000 people, now feature only a few residents, black-clad Hezbollah fighters, and remnants of recent attacks.
Israeli airstrikes have left parts of the Kafaat district engulfed in thick smoke, as a fire continues to burn from an early morning raid. The area’s infrastructure bears heavy scars from the strikes, with a toppled red fire truck, charred vehicles, and rows of buildings reduced to twisted metal and debris. At key checkpoints and entrances, Hezbollah fighters, heavily armed, stand guard, restricting access to numerous areas. Among these restricted zones are the sites where the group’s leaders, including its former chief Hassan Nasrallah and his potential successor Hashem Safieddine, were killed in Israeli air raids. Throughout the district, large posters of Nasrallah display a message of resilience and resistance, reading, “Divine victory is coming,” a rallying cry for Hezbollah’s supporters.
Despite the destruction, some semblance of daily life endures. Pharmacies remain open, and a few fruit and vegetable vendors have set up stalls for the remaining residents. Many shops, however, have closed, their owners either evacuated or unwilling to risk staying open in the face of the ongoing bombardment. A few residents are seen hastily packing their belongings and leaving in search of safer areas. In one instance, a man on a scooter captures images of the destruction to share with his family, who have already fled.
The continued aerial campaign has dramatically changed life in the area, with repeated air strikes targeting neighborhoods that had been largely spared during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict. “When the Israeli army gives evacuation orders, we flee the house, even in the middle of the night,” said a young woman, who asked not to be named for security reasons. “But we have nowhere else to go, so we return a few hours later.” Another resident, a mechanic, explained he commutes daily from the mountains above Beirut to check on his shop and home, despite recent attacks on the highway.
With martial music playing through the rubble-filled streets, Hezbollah’s presence is palpable. In the aftermath of each strike, the organization films propaganda videos, capturing the scenes of destruction as testaments to their defiance. Meanwhile, Israeli surveillance drones constantly hover overhead, not only in the southern suburbs but reportedly across broader Beirut, adding to the tension and reinforcing the sense of being under watch.
The Lebanese army, while maintaining a few checkpoints at primary entrances to the southern suburbs, has pulled back from others. Those who remain, whether residents or Hezbollah fighters, face the ongoing threat of further bombardments, as uncertainty grips a community turned ghost town, once vibrant, now left in the shadow of conflict.
