In late September 2024, Israel started a widespread bombardment of Lebanon accompanied by a ground invasion of the South of the country. This followed a year of cross-border attacks, starting with Hezbollah announcing their support for Palestine and launching missiles on Israel on 8 October 2023. Israeli officials labelled their military campaign self-defense and necessary for eradicating Hezbollah whom they together with several European states consider a terrorist organisation. These narratives are often reproduced in media and political debate in Europe. On the other hand, people in Lebanon do not get much media attention beyond being either victims of war, or members of Hezbollah. There is infinitely more nuance to what is happening in the country and the people living there than this.
“We are not bodies, victims, or survivors; we are human beings with equal rights to live.” Farah, director of the theater group Laban, is tired of normalization of violence against people in Lebanon. International media rarely features Lebanon outside of the context of war and violence, or show it as the home of people with the rich history and culture that it has. Indeed, it is typically in relation to crises and conflict Lebanon is mentioned, of which Lebanon has had its full share: The country’s own civil war (1975-1990), decades of post-war political violence and deadlock, occupation and influence by foreign powers, including Israeli invasions and aggressions, economic crises, and the challenges of hosting several waves of refugees over decades – the majority of them Palestinians and Syrians. For those in Lebanon, war is often associated with a degree of familiarity but that does not make it any easier to bear. Each war scars society in a new way, creating layer upon layer of wounds.
In spite of the frequent Israeli bombardment of Beirut, people continue living their life and find respite where possible.
In the current war, Israeli missile strikes claimed to target individuals or infrastructure linked to Hezbollah, however these areas are full of civilians living normal lives, and led to large civilian casualties. Lawyer and activist Rafic Zakharia stresses the point that most of the people killed in Lebanon are civilians. “Those who are dying, maybe 1 or 2 percent are fighters or politically affiliated, the rest are families who lost everything they have.” Even though his assessment of the percentages cannot be decisively verified, Israel has been criticized by UN experts and Human Rights Watch among others for not applying the principle of proportionality in International Humanitarian Law, which requires balancing foreseeable civilian harm with the expected military advantage. Catherine Mourtada, director of education programs at Tahaddi, echoes this sentiment, “the ones dying are not the “evil” Hezbollah fighters; they are ordinary children, women, and men who have nothing to do with it. And even if you are pro-Hezbollah, that does not give them [Israel] the right to come to another country and kill you.”. This highlights the need to differentiate between being a supporter or sympathizer of Hezbollah, which also is a political party and a social welfare provider, and being a fighter in their armed wing. A differentiation that all too often is not made, to the dismay of those sharing their perspective in our conversations.
Two young women looking to the sky over Beirut - increasingly filled with Israeli drones and fighter jets.
Across the country, people have started to get used to the incessant buzzing of the so-called “MKs” – drones constantly circling in the sky. While people were familiar with the noise, hearing it in the background of the Gaza news coverage, and they may get used to the sound, other similarities between Gaza and Lebanon are impossible for anyone to get accustomed to. The ground invasion of the South, that started in October 2024, saw Israeli soldiers entering the villages close to the border. In the same way as in the war on Gaza, images of Israeli Army soldiers started circulating in Lebanese media, showing the army raiding Lebanese houses, promenading through Lebanese living rooms in women’s underwear. Similarly, videos of Israeli soldiers celebrating destruction in both Gaza and Lebanon have been published, “the same thing is happening in Lebanon as it did in Palestine, the Israeli Army is coming to the villages and they make fun…they are taking joy in what is being destroyed!”, Catherine from our partner organization Tahaddi exclaims in our conversation on the topic.
People displaced from the South watch the destruction of their homes from a distance, among them another staff member of Tahaddi, who shares that, “when I saw the video showing Israelis setting off explosives and celebrating the destruction of my village, something broke inside of me. The pain of losing my land tore my heart apart.” The destruction will affect generations to come. Even the land, which for many residents of the South is the source of their livelihood, has been contaminated for years because of Israel’s unlawful use of chemical weapons as reported by Amnesty International. Farah Wardani, director of the theatre group Laban, who is originally also from a village in the South explains, “in my village, we depend on the tobacco and olive harvest. After the white phosphorus, who will buy that olive oil now? It will take generations to recover.”
Lebanon has diverse nature and fertile soil - but the environment is threatened by the Israeli war on the country.
Amidst devastation, grief and loss, there are also those who are transforming their experience – Countless initiatives have popped up across the country, to feed people living in shelters, to entertain the restless children, and try to lessen the blow of the psychological impact of war. Anthony Tawil, co-producer of a podcast about Lebanese modern history such as the civil war, highlights the importance of showing different narratives: “this part of Lebanon is not being shown. You only get the frame with smoke coming out of the building, you don’t get the understanding of how it is a society in shambles with no state, but still people are leading the way and they are helping each other. The picture is so much bigger.” Another partner states in our conversation that they believe that the manner in which the emergency response is carried out is the basis for future recovery. “A dignified response is an act of peacebuilding and is at the core of building trust and regaining the meaning of social values and basic human rights”. They also express that taking action during times of crisis, and finding purpose serves to maintain a level of mental health. “Being able to work with others whose concern remains the dignity, safety and well-being of our communities lifts our spirits up“. For members of the theater group Laban, it is an odd situation to go and help people living in shelters, while they themselves have been displaced and are living in other shelters “But finding meaning and supporting each other during this time is important” Farah explains, “And working on the ground gives us meaning.” Even when members of the group are spread out in different areas and unable to meet and work as they usually do, they do their best to adapt to the difficult circumstances. By going individually to implement art-based activities with the displaced in the areas where they live or have been forced to relocate to, they are still able to continue.
People in Lebanon try to find ways to cope with the difficult situation, many find comfort in supporting others.
Similarly, employees of Tahaddi are not all able to reach their workplace. The center is located in the Southern suburbs of Beirut, the main area of the capital targeted by Israeli strikes. One of the closest strikes hit 500 meters away from the center. For the employees who cannot make it there, Tahaddi encourages them instead to volunteer to provide support in the shelters close to where they are during working hours. The war has severely impacted staff and community members alike. At least six staff members have lost their homes and around 70% of the community fled the area by the end of September 2024 according to the organisation’s own assessment. But more recently some have come back since rents are very expensive in safer areas and few can afford them. Tahaddi are continuing their educational activities in person and online. They are combining their usual classes with extra sessions to support students with breathing exercises to calm themselves during the bombings, to protect themselves when a strike happens, and how to pack a survival bag. Meanwhile, their sewing atelier is producing blankets, pillows, and pillowcases for the displaced, while students of the wood workshop make beds. Everyone at the center is doing their best to support the students, the community, and all of the country, but thinking of peace is difficult, “we cannot do peacebuilding when they are waging war on us without mercy.” Catherine, director of education programs, explains.
An Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburb.
Under these extreme circumstances, our contributors along with numerous other groups and individuals in Lebanon, are still working persistently towards peace and justice in whatever way they can. Anthony, podcast producer, reflects on the challenges, “I’m scared of the state of the media, the state of humanity...there are echo chambers creating polarization and simplistic narratives glorifying an idea and making the other side look bad.” He seeks to build on his experience working on the oral history of the Lebanese Civil War to contribute to peace and justice in the future; “we are documenting what is happening now, we are collecting testimonies and trying to bring some nuance. This is the role we can play right now.” Rafic, activist and lawyer, works to meet some of the needs of the displaced, especially for men - who receive less attention from NGOs than women and children. He notes, “they have nothing to do other than sit and think about what they have lost and what is going on. This makes the anger reach unprecedented levels; maybe it will go to the family. We are trying to go to the shelters and talk to people about the impact of war and violence.” Farah explains working with the members of Laban to the best of their abilities: “we are working in the shelters on the level of emotions, through art. But as individuals on a local level we cannot stop a plane from bombing. What we can do is support people with processing emotions and in that way stop them from acting with violence against their neighbor. Maybe we can lessen the anger and need for revenge.” Indeed, being subjected to such injustice that people in Lebanon currently are; often breeds new cycles of violence.
People have taken it upon themselves to support the displaced and provide them with necessities such as food, medicine and mattresses, as distributed here by Ziad Abi Chaker.
The people in Lebanon cannot stop Israel’s bombardment of the country, but instead they call on the global community to engage more, including in issues closer to home. Jihad Nammour, academic coordinator at Saint-Joseph University, is concerned about the dangerous developments in Europe and North America, with most governments “doing little to condemn the Israeli war machine”. He observes that the far right, which is on the rise in Europe, supports Israeli actions, condones its framing of the war and views its far-right government as an inspiration. Jihad calls for more meaningful cross-cultural engagement between both sides of the Mediterranean, with less “othering” and more support to counter the threats to the shared belief that all human beings are “equal in dignity and rights”, a core principle of the post 1945 World Order. He adds that we need to “break out of our silos, find creative ways for interaction across the Mediterranean and between different communities, and to feel empathy with those who do not look like us and with whom we disagree: the violence that the Palestinians of Gaza and the Lebanese are suffering today can happen soon closer to home”.
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Catherine of Tahaddi, hopes that people abroad will engage more in what is happening in Palestine and Lebanon. As she notes, “I know that some people are saying that they are not following the news, because it is too depressing. But I’m against this. We owe it to people to listen to their stories. Don’t forget about us in Lebanon.” Farah, director of Laban, agrees that those outside have a responsibility to act and “listen to our stories, as truth and reality. Get informed, understand the context, go on the streets, strike, be louder, put pressure on your governments in real and radical ways. We here in Lebanon are putting our lives at risk for humanity.” Rafic, a lawyer and activist who lived through both the civil war and 2006 war in Lebanon is sick of the meaningless violence. Eventually, there will be some sort of agreement, so “why can’t we just skip the violence and go directly to the agreement?”. Representatives of another partner organization express how important global solidarity is, saying that communities outside of the region have a duty to react to the dehumanization of other people. They encourage everyone outside of Lebanon to "refrain from adopting and normalizing the rhetoric that considers our people as a necessary collateral damage that comes with the territory of legitimizing genocide”. Israel has not yet been found guilty of committing genocide in the ongoing court case at the International Court of Justice, but this statement regardless contains an important encouragement to reflect on the role the people, all over the world, play in reproducing narratives - including in their own societies. Anthony does just that; “we have many issues in Lebanon and I think we have to consider our own responsibility and accountability. But, in the end it’s the global community that allowed all these years of injustice, starting in Palestine, which gave an alibi to Iran and Hezbollah. Stop supporting this injustice and stop supporting the destruction.”
forumZFD would like to thank the following participants for their invaluable contributions under such extreme circumstances:
Farah Wardani, director of the social theater group Laban;
Catherine Mourtada, director of education programs at Tahaddi;
Anthony Tawil, co-producer of the podcast Maabar;
Rafic Zakharia, lawyer and activist;
Jihad Nammour, academic coordinator at the Institute of Political Science at Saint Joseph University of Beirut;
and other consultants and partners who prefer to remain anonymous.
This article offers some more insights into the work of peacebuilders in Lebanon and the challenges they face: https://www.peaceinsight.org/en/articles/local-peacebuilding-israels-attacks-lebanon-dec2024/?location=israel-palestine&theme=