With Israel’s Airstrikes, Beirut Plunges Into Panic

 

 

“Our apartment block was hit shortly after we left,” Fnesh said of Israeli airstrikes, which came after Iran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in support of Hamas. “I was scared they would hit the road, too,” she said, explaining that the family didn’t receive any prior warning. “We left in a rush, barely taking any [belongings] with us. On our way out, we saw constant strikes in the distance. We saw injured on the main highway to Beirut. My children cried for hours. We were all so scared.”

 Standing outside a classroom-turned-shelter, Fnesh told Foreign Policy that her family had nowhere to stay long-term in Beirut. “All of our family lives in the south, but I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to return. We have no home to return to.” She was holding her nearly 2-year-old daughter, Rayana. The shelter is chaotic as more people arrive and a few classrooms have been turned into functioning shelters. Most people are exhausted; some sleep on the floor in corners, others on the few mattresses that have already been provided."

 

READ REPORT BY STEPHANIE GLINSKI