“Nowhere is safe”: Mounting concerns as Israel targets previously unaffected areas of Lebanon

Upon reaching the site of an Israeli air strike on a structure in Aramoun, located southwest of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, emergency responders had recently departed. The area was presumed to be clear. Eight fatalities, comprising three children and three women, had been recovered, and numerous injured individuals, some critically, had been transported to medical facilities. Subsequently, several men on a balcony of an adjacent building began exclaiming: “A hand, a hand. We can see a hand.” Their gestures directed attention to a second-floor balcony, which was entirely demolished and had fallen onto the collapsed level beneath it. A young man ascended the debris pile. He reached the location, displaced some of the rubble, and then raised an object that was indistinguishable from afar. When later questioned about finding a hand, he responded: “No. It wasn’t a hand. It was a piece of bone from a head.” The multi-story structure impacted by the strike is situated within a residential zone. Information indicated that the majority of residents were internally displaced persons, primarily originating from southern Lebanon or Beirut’s southern suburbs. These regions are characterized by a significant Hezbollah presence and have been frequent targets of Israeli operations during its conflict with the Iran-backed political and military organization. Aramoun constitutes a religiously diverse locality and had been considered secure until Wednesday, having not previously experienced such an attack. The early morning strike occurred without prior notification. A mother of two residing in the adjacent building stated: “It was around 4 o’clock in the morning. We were asleep. We woke up because of a very strong thud. We couldn’t see anything in the beginning because of the smoke that was everywhere.” She had previously sought shelter at her uncle’s residence in Aramoun following the commencement of Israeli bombing in Beirut’s southern suburbs. She further commented: “Israel is striking everywhere. There is nowhere that is safe anymore.” An elderly woman, in her 80s, was being quickly escorted to a vehicle. She had relocated to Aramoun one month prior, also from Beirut’s southern suburbs. Following the attack, she evacuated the building with other occupants and spent two or three hours in their car on the street. When observed, she was gathering some personal belongings. She conveyed her profound fear and stated she was relocating again. She indicated that this time she was heading to her son’s residence, who is also displaced. When questioned about the immediate prospects of an end to hostilities, she responded: “The more they talk about a ceasefire, the more Israel intensifies its strikes.” The Israeli military has not yet disclosed the specific target or nature of its operation in Aramoun. However, the strike exhibited commonalities with several others across the country: it was executed without warning against residential buildings or homes accommodating displaced individuals. The Israeli military has asserted that many such strikes have aimed at Hezbollah infrastructure. These attacks are generating growing social apprehension within host communities, as residents express apprehension regarding the potential for Israel to target displaced individuals residing among them or visitors, who often provide financial aid. A man who owns a house in the affected area and resides there with his wife and child stated: “We all love the resistance [Hezbollah], but if someone has a son and isn’t even sure he is in Hezbollah, or someone is coming to give aid to displaced people and they are being targeted, we are paying the price.” He further remarked: “The displaced came as guests and we welcome them. But if there is someone stranger here, whoever he is – it might be my own son and I’m not aware of him being in Hezbollah – and they target him, and children and women get killed, isn’t that pitiful?” Such observations have become more prevalent subsequent to the recent succession of Israeli strikes in various regions of the country, which lie beyond established zones of conflict. Concurrently, there are growing appeals within Lebanon for national unity, alongside cautions that such Israeli strikes might be intentionally orchestrated to foster social apprehension.