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Every morning he fed the stray pets: Aita al-Shaab remembers civilian killed in Israeli strike

Someone close to Qassem advised him to leave the village many times but Qassem always answered that he will stay because the "animals are alone there."

Every morning he fed the stray pets: Aita al-Shaab remembers civilian killed in Israeli strike

Cats gathered around Rafiq Qassem, a civilian killed in an Israeli airstrike on the village of Aita al Shaab on May 26, 2024. (Credit: Mokhtar of Aita al-Shaab, Majd Thini)

BEIRUT — People on social media are remembering Rafik Qassem as a "Martyr of humanity," as they mourn his death in an Israeli drone strike on the southern Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab on Sunday, paying homage to the civilian who was known for caring for the village's stray cats and dogs.

Qassem, killed alongside another civilian, Hussein Saleh, took care of the village's various pets and animals — and continued to do so even after fighting broke out between Hezbollah and Israel last October.

Following yesterday's strike, a photo showing Qassem feeding animals in the village circulated widely on social media.

An X user, Rana, posted a picture showing Qassem next to the pets and said: "Martyr of humanity, martyr of compassion and mercy, every soul ... of these beings is praying for you, rest in peace."

The mayor of Aita al-Shaab, Mohammad Srour, told our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah on Sunday that Rafik Qassem was an auto body mechanic and Hussein Saleh a car electrician.

“They never left the village, never touched a weapon. I'm really sad for them, as I am for all the martyrs," he said.

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'Every morning, he used to distribute food to these pets'

As is the case in other border villages, most of the residents of Aita al-Shaab were displaced from the village by the exchange of strikes across the Lebanese-Israeli border.

The mukhtar of the village, Majed Thini, also a neighbor of the deceased, said that Qassem stayed in Aita al-Shaab to take care of cats, dogs and horses whose owners fled the village after Oct. 8.

Cats and dogs gathered around Rafiq Qassem, a civilian killed in an Israeli airstrike on the village of Aita al Shaab on May 26, 2024. (Credit: Mokhtar of Aita al-Shaab, Majd Thini)

"His family left the village but he decided to stay," Thini said, "Every morning, he used to distribute food to these pets who stayed with him all the time."

As he was also a farmer, Qassem raised livestock, including sheep, cows, goats and birds. 

A person close to Qassem, who wishes to remain anonymous, told our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah that Qassem used to get the animals' food from the leftovers of restaurants and slaughterhouses in Sour.

"At other times, he paid for the animals' food with his own money."

This person told L'Orient Today that he advised Qassem to leave the village many times but Qassem always answered that he will stay because "animals are alone there."

"The dogs and cats would not find anyone who could feed them and they would live in fear," they remember Qassem saying.

According to the same source, Qassem survived another Israeli airstrike when a missile landed near him two months ago but this did not prevent him from staying in the village.

Serving people in the community

The start of the war meant Qassem had to stop working as an auto body mechanic, so he opened a shop in the village of Barich, in Sour district, the source close to him said, in which his wife stayed most of the time, as a way to secure a livelihood for his family.

Qassem also had a group on WhatsApp on which he regularly sent news related to his village to his friends and acquaintances. 

"[Qassem and Saleh] documented all the attacks. They were a symbol of civilian steadfastness in the face of the enemy, they spent all their time serving people," student Hussein Srour posted on X.

According to our count, Israel has killed 65 civilians in Lebanon and 321 Hezbollah members in Lebanon and Syria since October.

BEIRUT — People on social media are remembering Rafik Qassem as a "Martyr of humanity," as they mourn his death in an Israeli drone strike on the southern Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab on Sunday, paying homage to the civilian who was known for caring for the village's stray cats and dogs.Qassem, killed alongside another civilian, Hussein Saleh, took care of the village's various pets and...