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Why 800 people fled the sun-drenched Mediterranean village

2024-06-16 14:53:00, Kosova & Bota CNA
Why 800 people fled the sun-drenched Mediterranean village
Alma al-Shaab village, BBC photo

The village of Alma al-Shaab lies in southern Lebanon and is located a little more than one kilometer from the Israeli border.

Since October last year, the village has been embroiled in cross-border fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia that operates from southern Lebanon. 

At least 800 residents have left and now only about 100 people remain, officials say. "No one knows why they are attacking our houses. It is not our war," a resident told the BBC. 

Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline is dotted with picturesque towns and villages. Alma al-Shaab, is one of the Christian villages in the predominantly Shia-Muslim south.

Alma al-Shaab's position on a hill offers magnificent views. Its proximity to the border has made it heavily targeted by Israeli forces over the past nine months.

A day after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, Hezbollah and its allies fired barrages of rockets from Lebanon into a disputed area along the border in an apparent show of support for the armed group.

Israel retaliated with drone strikes, and both sides have since drastically escalated the scale and intensity of attacks along the Israel-Lebanon border.

As of the end of May, Alma al-Shaab has been hit 188 times by Israeli forces, according to Beirut Urban Lab, a research center that uses data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. 

But so far, Israel's shelling has completely destroyed 10 homes, damaged another 120 and hit the city's main water tank, according to Deputy Mayor William Haddad.

About 12 square kilometers (3,000 hectares) of agricultural and forest land have been burned, he added./ CNA 





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