By Ghena Halik
BEIRUT: Lebanon endured one of its harshest security escalations last Monday dawn, as Israeli aircraft launched a series of violent and sudden raids targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut, the South, and the Bekaa.
This escalation comes nearly a year and a half after a ceasefire agreement, during which Israel committed numerous violations by shelling towns and killing civilians under the pretext of “fighting terrorism,” even though most victims were women and children.
The bombardment resulted in widespread destruction of residential neighborhoods. According to Lebanese Ministry of Health statistics, the toll has risen to 50 martyrs and 350 wounded.
This sudden onslaught triggered a massive displacement crisis; thousands of families fled under fire toward the capital and mountain regions, with the number of displaced persons reaching 350,000 so far.
As shelters and schools reached full capacity, many were forced to sleep on the streets or in their cars amidst harsh weather conditions and a suffocating economic crisis.
I write this article to the relentless buzz of drones haunting the capital’s sky and the roar of shelling that shatters the silence of cautious anticipation, shaking the walls of my home from time to time, amid international fears of the region sliding into a full-scale confrontation.
