BEIRUT — As the war between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies, Lebanese civilians are increasingly paying the price – and this dangerous reality often becomes clear in the middle of the night: that’s when he Israeli army generally warns the population to evacuate buildings or neighborhoods to avoid airstrikes.
Moein Shreif was recently awakened at 3 a.m. by a neighbor who called to warn him that Israel was planning to strike a neighboring building in his middle-class suburb south of Beirut, where Hezbollah has a strong presence.
Shreif, his wife and their three children quickly fled their multi-story building and drove away. Minutes later, explosions rang out, he said later in the day as he returned to view the smoking ruins of his building and the one next door.
“I didn’t even have time to dress properly, as you can see,” said Shreif, a famous Lebanese folk and pop singer who was still wearing his pajamas from the day before. “I didn’t take anything out of the house.”
Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged strikes almost daily since the start of the Gaza war. Hezbollah says it will fire rockets at Israel until there is a ceasefire in Gaza; Israel says it is fighting to end the attacks, which have forced tens of thousands of Israelis from their homes.
But it was only late last month, when Israel significantly expanded its air campaign against Hezbollah, that the Lebanese began receiving regular warnings of upcoming airstrikes. Human rights groups say Israel’s warnings – which are not issued before many airstrikes – are inadequate and sometimes misleading.
On September 23, Israel made 80,000 calls to Lebanon, according to Imad Kreidieh, head of the country’s telecommunications company – presumably recording warnings about upcoming airstrikes.
The calls caused panic. Schools closed their doors. People came home from work early. It was the deadliest day of airstrikes in Lebanon in decades, with more than 500 people killed, about a quarter of all people killed in Lebanon last year, according to the country’s health ministry. . Women and children account for a quarter of all deaths, the ministry says.
Since then, Israel has issued warnings on social media almost every day.
On October 1, 27 villages in southern Lebanon were ordered to evacuate to the north of the Awali River, tens of kilometers (miles) away. “Save your lives,” the instructions said.
It was then that Salam, 42, mother of two children, fled the village of Ain Ebel. She and her family now live with relatives in Beirut. Salam declined to give his full name for fear of reprisals.
So far, Ain Ebel – a predominantly Christian village – has not been bombed, although surrounding villages with predominantly Shia Muslim residents have been. Salam’s teenagers are terrified of returning home, especially since Israel launched a ground invasion.
Salam is still perplexed and angry that his village was evacuated.
So far, evacuation notices in Lebanon have been much more limited than in Gaza, but the messages in both places have a common theme. In Gaza, Israel claims to target Hamas fighters integrated among Gaza civilians. In Lebanon, he warns of similar behavior from Hamas ally Hezbollah.
Most of the Israeli military’s warnings first appear on the social media accounts of its Arab spokesperson. They are then amplified by the Lebanese media.
The warnings ask people to leave their homes “immediately,” and they are usually followed by a series of nightly strikes that often cause damage in areas beyond those that have been warned. Israel says it targets Hezbollah fighters, weapons or other assets belonging to the group. Warnings are rarely issued before daytime strikes.
The Lebanese government says at least 1.2 million people have been displaced by the war, the vast majority since Israel stepped up airstrikes across the country last month. More than 800 of the approximately 1,000 shelters are over capacity.
A quarter of Lebanese territory is now subject to Israeli military movement orders, according to the UN human rights division.
“Calling residents of nearly 30 villages to leave ‘immediately’ is not effective and illegally suggests that civilians who do not leave an area will be considered combatants,” said Ramzi Kaiss, researcher for Human Rights Watch in Beirut. .
Kaiss said Israel — which typically issues warnings 30 to 90 minutes before airstrikes — is obligated to protect civilians who refuse to evacuate or are physically unable to do so.
Amnesty International also criticizes the Israeli practice of warning entire towns and villages to evacuate. This “raises questions as to whether this aims to create the conditions for mass displacement,” Agnès Callamard, the group’s secretary general, said in a statement on Thursday.
The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment. He has previously said he is making significant efforts to save civilian lives through his warnings.
For nearly a year, Israeli strikes have focused primarily on communities along the border, far from the capital and its populated suburbs. But today, people who once felt relatively safe in Beirut’s suburbs are increasingly at risk, and their neighborhoods are receiving a small but growing share of airstrike warnings.
In Shreif’s case, he said his neighbor called about five minutes after the Israeli military issued a warning on the X social media platform.
Shreif considers himself lucky: without this warning signal, his family might not be alive. The AP could not determine whether anyone was killed or injured in the strike that destroyed Shreif’s building or the one nearby.
Northeast of Beirut, in the Bekaa Valley, Israel recently warned residents to stay at least 1,000 meters from their town or village if they are in or near a house containing weapons belonging to to Hezbollah.
Some warnings come in the form of animated videos. One shows an elderly woman in a kitchen, suggesting she is unaware of hidden rooms and compartments in her own home that contain weapons for Hezbollah.
“You didn’t know that?” the narrator says in Arabic, as the elderly woman discovers rockets under the couch, behind the shower curtains and elsewhere. The video warns viewers to immediately leave their homes if they – or their neighbors – discover weapons.
But in many cases, there is no warning.
Last month, in Ain el-Delb, near the southern city of Sidon, an Israeli airstrike hit a residential building, burying around 70 people under the rubble.
Achraf Ramadan, 34, and his father were among the lucky ones who were rescued alive. His mother was taken to hospital alive, but later died from her injuries. His younger sister Julia, a public relations professional in her twenties, was found dead. Achraf and Julia together led initiatives aimed at supporting displaced Lebanese families in and around Sidon.
“It’s a nice, peaceful neighborhood,” Ramadan said, looking dejected. “The international community is sleeping and taking no initiative. On the contrary, I think it gives Israel an excuse for its barbarity under the pretext of self-defense.”
Associated Press writers Fadi Tawil in Beirut, Julia Frankel in Jerusalem and Zeina Karam in London contributed to this report.
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