Lebanese Border Town Residents Vow to Remain Amidst Conflict

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese citizens from their residences. However, inhabitants of a particular town situated within the active combat area have chosen to remain. Rmeish, a community of 7,000 Maronite Christians, is located merely 2km (1.2 miles) from the border and finds itself encircled by ongoing hostilities. Jiries al-Alam, a farmer who also serves as an undertaker for the local church, observed, “There’s lots of damage. Maybe 90% of houses have damage of some kind, glass smashed and cracks in the walls. I don’t know what’s going to happen when winter comes.” He further stated, “We are determined to stay but hardly anyone sleeps at night because of the air strikes. Thankfully, there’s been no deaths among the residents so far, but 200 of my cattle died from the military flares.” On 7 October 2023, the day following Hamas’s unprecedented assault on southern Israel from Gaza, Hezbollah, an ally based in Lebanon, commenced firing rockets into northern Israel, prompting retaliatory strikes by Israel into Lebanon. Subsequently, the inhabitants of Rmeish observed rockets traversing the skies above them in both directions. Father George al-Ameel, 44, who serves as a priest and teacher in the community, remarked, “Lots of families raised white flags on their homes and cars to say that they are peaceful and have no link to what is happening.” He added, “We want to stay in our homes and don’t want any war in our town.” Following Israel’s initiation of a ground invasion into Lebanon on 1 October this year, the conflict intensified its proximity to Rmeish, with significant combat occurring in two villages situated less than 1.6km distant. Rasha Makhbour, 38, recounted, “We were staying in our house for months, then the air strikes started getting very close and suddenly our house was hit, we were forced to leave in the middle of the night.” She further stated, “People’s work has stopped and no-one goes out, our children’s school is shut, everything has changed.” Rasha’s family, consisting of six members, relocated to an alternative residence in the town’s central area after their original home was rendered uninhabitable. She expressed, “We believe the rockets that hit our home came from the south, not from our country.” The Israel Defense Forces informed the BBC that there were “no known IDF strikes” on Rmeish during the period when Rasha Makhbour’s residence sustained damage, asserting instead that it was a “failed launch by Hezbollah”. Since the commencement of its ground invasion, Israel has issued a comprehensive evacuation directive for southern Lebanon. The UN reports that more than 640,000 individuals have been displaced from this region while escaping the conflict. The Israeli government states that its military objectives in southern Lebanon involve repelling Hezbollah and facilitating the return of 60,000 Israelis, who were displaced from their northern border towns, to their residences. Situated on the border with Israel, Rmeish stands as the sole Lebanese town that has not received a direct evacuation order. Although neither party has directly menaced Rmeish’s inhabitants throughout the conflict, their allegiance to Lebanon has been challenged. Father al-Ameel stated, “There’s been voices under the table spreading rumours that our presence here is evidence of our collaboration with Israel, the enemy. We completely reject this.” This sentiment was echoed by Milad al-Alam, the mayor of Rmeish. He affirmed, “We’ve had no guarantees of safety from any side. Our town is peaceful, and our only cause is to stay for our identity and our country.” Prior to the commencement of Israel’s ground invasion, a unit of the Lebanese army had been stationed in Rmeish, assisting with the regulation of entry and exit from the town. However, as Israeli forces advanced towards the border, the Lebanese army – which is not directly participating in the conflict – opted to withdraw from Rmeish, causing considerable dismay among the local populace. The Lebanese army stated its rejection of the term ‘withdrawn’ to describe their departure from border areas, directing the BBC to a declaration indicating that the army is “repositioning” several military units in the southern region. Subsequently, towards the close of October, the primary exit route from Rmeish was struck, intensifying residents’ feelings of isolation and vulnerability. Since that time, only a single aid convoy has managed to reach the town, facilitated by the coordination of UN peacekeeping forces, as reported by the Unifil mission. Father al-Ameel commented, “We have needs for fuel, foods and medicines, there was a delivery coming from Tyre that had to turn around. If someone is hurt, there’s no hospital for serious medical care.” Mayor Al-Alam conveyed his optimism that the town’s exit route will soon become consistently accessible again, enabling residents to replenish their fuel reserves, despite the inherent dangers of traversing a route through an active warzone. Other residents within the town continue to experience anxiety. Jiries al-Alam, the town’s undertaker, stated, “The situation is really bad. There are no goods, no food or fuel coming through. We’re starting to see items going missing from the shelves.” He concluded, “But we’ll find a way through. Now is the olive season and in the worst case we can just eat olives. We want to stay in our homes and so we will die in our homes if we have to.” Further reporting was contributed by Joanna Majzoub and Aakriti Thapar. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our policy on external linking is available.