‘No life left there’: The suburbs bearing the brunt of Israel’s strikes on Beirut

The aerial onslaught that killed nan Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah shook nan world for hundreds of metres successful each direction.

A fewer blocks away, successful nan Beirut suburb known arsenic nan Dahieh, Mehdi Moussawi thought his ain building was falling down.

From his balcony, nan 45-year-old taxi driver and his woman Zahraa – who asked that their names beryllium changed for this communicative – watched arsenic a heavy broad of fume and particulate enveloped everything astir them. In nan distance, they could perceive debris raining down, and overhead nan acquainted buzz of an Israeli drone.

The drones had go truthful communal complete Dahieh successful nan erstwhile fewer days that they hardly noticed them anymore. A mostly Shia suburb successful nan southbound of Beirut, Dahieh was erstwhile again nether Israel’s watchful eye; its much than half a cardinal residents again nether threat of decease from above.

“The missiles travel down from nan sky,” Mehdi said, gesturing nan arc of a projectile falling to earth, “and abruptly everything you person is gone.”

He was sitting connected a dirty, sun-baked spot of pavement connected nan separator of Martyrs’ Square successful cardinal Beirut – now location for nan mates and their teenage boys. Around them were hundreds of others successful akin circumstances, galore from Dahieh. The suburb has borne nan brunt of nan caller Israeli bombing of Beirut, prompting a wide exodus of virtually its full population.

Dahieh is mostly nether nan power of Hezbollah, nan Iran-backed governmental and paramilitary group that is simply a powerful unit crossed Lebanon.

Hezbollah refused requests from nan BBC for support to participate nan suburb for this story, to spot nan explosive damage, but a BBC study of video footage, Israeli removal warnings and caller outer imagery shows astatine slightest 65 aerial strikes which person severely damaged aliases wholly destroyed buildings. Some of those strikes person comprised dozens of individual bombs, and galore person levelled not only nan evident target building but destroyed aliases severely damaged respective adjacent buildings too.

This was nan destiny of Mehdi and Zahraa’s flat – to beryllium adjacent doorway to an Israeli strike. Zahraa wept erstwhile she saw footage of their blackened and mangled building. “Look astatine us,” she pleaded. “Our location is gone. We person nary hygiene, we cannot wash. We person nothing.”

The IDF has targeted Dahieh successful bid to assassinate Hezbollah leaders, and says nan group uses its bunkers to shop weapons among nan civilian population. It says it is targeting Hezbollah successful bid to safely return 60,000 of its ain citizens to nan northbound of Israel, which has travel nether rocket occurrence from Lebanon complete nan past year.

Unlike different parts of Beirut, Dahieh doesn’t person its ain name, arsenic specified – nan connection simply intends ‘suburb’. It is 1 of nan astir densely populated residential areas successful each of Lebanon – a spot of constrictive streets and alleyways, wherever buildings look to jostle for disposable space. It was heavy bombed successful nan erstwhile war, backmost successful 2006, and still bears scars from it.

“Dahieh was primitively a very beautiful spot but each nan wars person taken their toll,” said Rasha al-Ameer, a novelist and patient who was calved and raised successful nan suburb and still lives there. Her brother, a salient professional of Hezbollah, was assassinated successful Lebanon successful 2021.

“It is still a very vivid spot and a divers place. We person a taste institution location and a batch of governmental activity,” she said. “It would beryllium a unspeakable point if Dahieh was destroyed. Though nan bombing has destroyed overmuch already.”

As good arsenic homes, nan Israeli aerial strikes person destroyed aliases damaged shops, businesses, restaurants and clinics. “Destruction connected destruction,” said Mohaned Khalaf, a 45-year-old Sunni Muslim bakery worker, of his thoroughfare successful Burj El Brajneh, nan astir heavy targeted portion of nan suburb.

Khalaf, already a exile once, from Syria, has gone backmost into Dahieh periodically to cheque connected nan flat he shares pinch his 2 brothers and their mother, to spot if his furnishings remains. “The buildings astir ours person been destroyed,” he said. “There is nary life near there, not a personification to beryllium seen.”

The demolition has tested immoderate Dahieh residents’ patience pinch Hezbollah – peculiarly Sunnis and different non-Shias. “This warfare is hurting everyone,” said Khalaf’s mother, Sameera, who wept connected nan street. “I americium 63 years old,” she said. “I conscionable want a spot wherever I tin wash.”

Sameera does not want to return to Dahieh, moreover aft nan war. “Yes, we could spell backmost and rebuild, but Hezbollah and Israel will conflict this warfare complete and complete again,” she said. “And Dahieh will suffer again.”

Shia Muslims, Hezbollah’s much earthy support base, took a much supportive position – moreover those whose lives had been wholly upended by nan conflict. Members of Hezbollah had handed retired nutrient and $100 bills to displaced Shia families connected nan streets successful cardinal Beirut, respective families said, and helped assistance pinch shelter places.

“We utilized to support Hezbollah and we still support Hezbollah,” said Gharib Ali, a 61-year-old janitor who fled nan suburb. Around him, his family nodded successful agreement. The effect of nan warfare connected their lives “changes thing for nan Shia community,” he said. “If anything, it only increases our support. Every Shia feels nan same.”

In this way, Mehdi and Zahraa whitethorn beryllium thing of an outlier – a Lebanese Shia couple, residents of Dahieh for decades, who were captious of Hezbollah for its domiciled successful nan conflict.

“Dahieh is not Hezbollah, we are not Hezbollah, our building was not Hezbollah,” Zahraa said, angrily. “We went to slumber 1 nighttime and woke up successful personification else’s war.”

The family’s flat is now uninhabitable, though nan building whitethorn beryllium salvageable. The Israeli service has sometimes issued societal media warnings up of its aerial strikes, but location was nary informing for nan onslaught that deed Mehdi and Zahraa’s building. Their eldest boy had gone location that time to shower, taking advantage of a seemingly quiet moment, and was knocked complete and trim by flying solid erstwhile nan explosive hit.

International humanitarian rule mostly requires an effective beforehand informing up of a onslaught that mightiness impact civilians. But nan BBC has recovered grounds of repeated Israeli strikes against Dahieh and different parts of Beirut wherever nary informing was issued. And wherever location were warnings, immoderate person been sent arsenic small arsenic 30 minutes beforehand, sometimes successful nan mediate of nan night.

“That timeframe is not an effective beforehand informing for personification who lives successful Dahieh,” said Ramzi Keiss, a Lebanon interrogator astatine Human Rights Watch. “These are group are sleeping, they’re successful their beds. They are not looking astatine societal media."

Hezbollah was besides perchance violating world humanitarian law, Keiss said, by placing its subject commanders successful and astir nan civilian population. “But that doesn’t springiness you a free walk to explosive arsenic heavy arsenic you can,” he added, referring to Israel.

“When you’re utilizing 2000lbs successful densely populated areas, you’re going to put civilians astatine nan consequence of awesome harm.”

Lebanese officials estimate that much than 2,400 group person been killed successful nan state complete nan past twelvemonth and much than 1.2 cardinal been displaced. Israel says 59 group person been killed successful bluish Israel and nan occupied Golan Heights complete nan aforesaid period.

Back successful nan 2006 war, aft Israel had pounded Dahieh and heavy bombed Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure, a elder IDF officer, Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot, sketched retired what would go known arsenic nan “Dahieh doctrine”. It called for applying “disproportionate force” against civilian areas, pinch nan extremity of pressuring nan group of Lebanon to move connected Hezbollah.

The caller escalation by Israel had gone “beyond Dahieh doctrine”, said Prof Amal Saad, an master connected Hezbollah and teacher successful authorities astatine Cardiff University. “This is much for illustration Gaza doctrine, which is similar, but has nan extremity of specifically targeting and displacing a community.”

In Dahieh, Israel’s actions were presently “somewhere betwixt its Dahieh and Gaza doctrines”, she said.

The demolition would not bring about, arsenic nan Israeli premier curate Benjamin Netanyahu has publically expressed dream for, a simplification successful support for Hezbollah successful places for illustration Dahieh, Prof Saad said.

“Whenever Israel invades for illustration this, it only increases support for Hezbollah among Shias,” she said. “After 2006, support skyrocketed. I don’t cognize overmuch higher it tin spell now than 90%, but this will solidify it.”

Two weeks aft nan bombing of Dahieh began, nan aerial strikes ceased unexpectedly, pursuing unit from nan US government, which said it had made it clear to Israel it was unhappy pinch nan “scope and nature” of nan targeting of Beirut.

One time passed without immoderate strikes, past another, past another. After 3 days, residents began returning connected Monday and Tuesday to cheque connected their apartments and retrieve possessions. Among them was Mehdi, who took his eldest son’s scooter and headed backmost into nan devastated area astir their building to drawback apparel for nan boys.

Then, early connected Wednesday morning, Israel began bombing Dahieh again.

“We knew it was only a matter of time,” said Mehdi. He was sitting pinch Zahraa and nan boys, a fewer hours aft nan strikes resumed, connected nan thoroughfare by their makeshift tent, which was really conscionable 2 rugs thrown complete an improvised frame.

Towering complete them was an upscale, new, and wholly quiet flat building. It bore a akin sanction to their flat building, Zahraa said. “But for nan costs of 1 of these apartments you could bargain an full neighbourhood successful Dahieh,” she said.

They would spell backmost and rebuild, she said. She raised her arms successful a mock bicep curl, to show nan spot of nan group from nan Dahieh. “We person nary choice,” Mehdi said. “Some group person choices, we don’t.”

They would return nan infinitesimal nan ceasefire was announced, he said. He knew that location would beryllium nary electicity, nary water, and nary windows successful nan buildings. But it was still amended than being connected nan street. Overhead, an Israeli drone was buzzing. Mehdi looked up astatine nan quiet apartments crossed nan street, and down astatine nan shelter they were sleeping under. “God willing, nan ceasefire will travel earlier nan rain,” he said.

Joanna Mazjoub contributed to this report. Paul Brown contributed research.