Lebanese People Recover Their Lives From the Rubble Following Ceasefire With Israel

It’s Wednesday, November 27 in Dahye, a district south of Beirut.

Thousands of men, women, and children are parading their vehicles and waving Lebanese and Hezbollah flags. Younger boys, armed with pistols and Kalashnikovs, cheer as they fire into the air.

After two months of shelling, a ceasefire is being celebrated. Journalists, for the first time since the beginning of the war, are invited on a ‘tour’ through the neighbourhood. Before today, this part of the city had remained inaccessible.

Dahye (also known as Dahiyeh) is one of Hezbollah’s main strongholds and, for this reason, one of the areas most affected by Israeli raids.  It is also here that, on 27 September, Hassan Nasrallah, third secretary of the ‘Party of God’, was killed.  Photos showing his face adorn every corner of the street.

At the heart of the celebrations, we meet Rana El Sahily, spokesperson for Hezbollah. She tells Byline Times: “Despite the grief of so many losses, for us, this is a victory day. Victory because Israel failed in invading our territory. Victory because we did not bend to their attacks, and we never surrendered. If they had continued this war, they would have lost countless resources, but to no result. That is why Israel accepted the ceasefire.

“We hope that this peace will last, even though the Israelis are not known for keeping their word. In this case, however, breaking the truce would only be to their disadvantage. They have everything to lose. For us, the reconstruction now begins. We will rebuild everything as before, even better than before”.

In these months, Beirut has been a shadow of its former self. Businesses are closed and the central streets of the ‘souq’ is abandoned. Schools, gyms, and even hotels have been converted into shelters for displaced persons. For two months, people lived with the constant sound of drones and the fear of attacks that punctually arrived every night. The latest airstrike happened only 15 minutes after the ceasefire came into effect in the very central Hamra district.

Today, people celebrate the truce, but the streets show heavy signs of devastation. Many houses, schools, and infrastructure have been completely destroyed. The air is full of dust and debris and almost unbreathable unless a protective mask is worn.

These days, hundreds of vans and cars packed with luggage crowd the streets: they are the families who are returning home.  There are over a million Lebanese who have had to evacuate their homes because of the conflict.