Action Group | Lebanon
Amid the ongoing escalation of Israeli airstrikes on cities and villages in southern Lebanon, particularly in Sidon, where the violent attacks have intensified, some human stories remain in the shade, away from the media’s lenses.
In one of the most intense raids targeting residential buildings opposite the Saida neighborhood, the attacks took the lives of more than 7 people and injured a large number of civilians, in addition to the complete collapse of three buildings over their residents.
“S. B,” a Syrian Palestinian refugee who was displaced from the Yarmouk camp in Syria in 2013, recounts with tear-filled eyes the story of her survival from under the rubble of her completely destroyed home due to the shelling. And she says: “Fortunately, I was alone in the house when the raid occurred, while my father and children were outside.” When the walls and ceiling collapsed, I lost consciousness for several minutes, and when I woke up, I found myself in complete darkness with stones above me. I could barely move my limbs, but I gathered my strength and started clearing the rubble off my body until I was able to get out.
After her rescue, “S. B” went to the home of a relative near the site of the incident. and despite what she lost and what she went through, she considers herself lucky that her children and father were far from the site of the raid, adding: “Despite everything, I feel like I own the world with their survival.”
The war has resulted in the deaths of at least 1,620 people in Lebanon since September 23, according to a count by AFP based on data from the Ministry of Health. It has also caused the displacement of more than 800,000 people, according to the United Nations.
More than half a million people, including Palestinian refugees, crossed the border into Syria over the course of a month and a half, according to the government crisis management committee.