When an airstrike struck on Monday night, 74-year-old Fouad Hassan was sitting on his balcony in the Jnah neighborhood of south Beirut, engrossed in his phone. Alarmingly, no evacuation order was issued by the Israeli military before the rocket hit the home of his children and grandchildren just moments away.
“When the bombing happened, I fainted,” Fouad recalled, explaining he required oxygen due to smoke from the explosion. Upon recovering, he was devastated to observe widespread destruction in his community.
What was once a cluster of residential buildings now lies in ruins, with twisted metal and debris scattered everywhere. In structures that remain standing, belongings can be seen through gaping holes left by the strike.
Efforts to recover victims from the rubble have commenced, led by a digger and around 40 local volunteers. “Look at the destruction—this whole neighborhood has been wiped out,” Fouad said, gesturing at the wreckage. “My granddaughter was killed here, and my grandson is fighting for his life in a coma. They were both just 23.”
Fouad, known by his stage name Zaghloul, is a prominent figure in his community as an actor and comedian. As he navigated the devastated site, locals approached him to offer condolences.
Holding up his phone, he displayed a photo of his granddaughter, Alaa, beaming in a stylish gold dress. “She was excitedly engaged, planning her wedding in three months,” he shared. “She even applied to be Miss Lebanon and was killed in this strike. Why does the world allow this?”
Since the escalation of airstrikes by Israel against Hezbollah in September, the nation has experienced widespread rocket attacks. Israeli leaders assert that their military campaign has successfully targeted key Hezbollah leaders, but the collateral damage has been staggering, with many innocent lives lost throughout the conflict.
Government statistics indicate that over 1,900 Lebanese lives have been claimed since the airstrikes intensified, with no distinction made between fighters and civilians. The Israeli military claimed they targeted a “Hezbollah terrorist site” during the recent bombings but provided no further details.
Initial reports suggested the Rafik Hariri hospital, Lebanon’s largest public healthcare facility, was struck, though Israel denied these claims. While damages to the hospital were minor, nearby residential areas saw devastating impacts.
Fouad’s son, Ahmed, joined the scene, revealing a heartbreaking image of his own son, bandaged and bloodied in intensive care. “This was my home; now it’s gone, just like everything else. We have nowhere to go and no clothes,” Ahmed lamented. “This is a massacre. There’s nothing here—no Hezbollah presence, nothing.”
The inconsistency in evacuation orders raises questions as to why the military chooses to notify some areas before strikes while others remain unaware. Strikes in dense residential zones without advance warning can lead to a tragic toll on civilians.
Fouad reflected on the young children from the neighborhood who lost their lives in the attack. “Whenever I visited, they would call out, ‘Grandpa, Grandpa! What did you bring us?’ I would always have candies or snacks for them. Their loss is unbearable; they all perished, and their mother remains trapped beneath the rubble with one of her kids,” he said.
As we were preparing to leave, a solemn silence enveloped the crowd as a stretcher carrying a covered body was removed from the wreckage. It was reported that a mother was found alongside her child.
