The building targeted by an Israeli strike in the Cola neighborhood of Beirut on September 30, 2024. (Photo: Mohammad Yassine)
At the Cola roundabout, bus drivers are hailing customers behind a security cordon. The army has closed off the area for about a hundred meters, while the police are redirecting traffic, which is still bustling. TV cameras are fixed on a ten-story residential building in this Sunni district of the capital.
"I didn’t expect Cola to be targeted. There’s no Hezbollah here," said Amine*, a 25-year-old bus driver who lives in the Bekaa but works in this area. Nearby, Zeina*, a Syrian from Latakia, has gathered some belongings to head to Tripoli with her children. "Beirut is no longer safe. There’s less danger in the north," she says.
At around one in the morning on Monday, the Israeli army struck near this roundabout, which never sleeps, killing four people, including three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). It was the first time Israel targeted a neighborhood within Beirut since Oct. 8, 2023. While clashes between Hezbollah and Israel were mainly confined to southern Lebanon, Israel launched a large-scale operation eight days ago on various Lebanese regions, resulting in over a thousand deaths in just one week.
On the fifth floor of the targeted building, no walls are standing anymore. Inside, everything seems destroyed. Cars parked at the base of the building and nearby were damaged. The adjacent street is littered with rubble. Residents and employees in the area are in shock. Armed with her phone, Nour, a 21-year-old student, films her neighborhood. During the strike, she "collapsed in fear."
"Everyone told me Cola wouldn’t be targeted because there’s no Hezbollah here. But now I’m terrified. I feel like the whole of Lebanon can be targeted," the student says.
'I have nowhere to go'
For four days, Alia has spent her nights under the bridge that overlooks this intersection. A Syrian refugee from Latakia, she fled the Burj al-Barajneh camp, located in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a week ago. That night, she could not sleep, sitting under a tree facing the targeted building.
"Something flew over our heads. Then, suddenly, there was an explosion. Dust was everywhere, windows shattered. The caretaker’s kids were injured," she recalled, fearing that Cola could be targeted again. "But I can’t leave, I have nowhere to go," she added.
Inside a cafe, Omar* angrily spoke on the phone.
"Can’t you see everything’s on fire here!" he exclaimed.
This 50-something man was also present during the strike.
"I never for a second thought they’d strike here, that there were even people to target here … Even if nothing is really certain," said the retired Internal Security Forces officer.
"At night, many left for Tripoli by bus … We’re scared they’ll strike again. That Lebanon will become a new Gaza," he fears. "After this strike, I feel like all of Lebanon is at risk, that it’s never been just about Hezbollah or Shiites … Look, even in southern Lebanon, they’re targeting Sunni villages. We must stay united. If it weren’t for the Resistance, Israel would’ve invaded us a long time ago," he stated calmly.
"I can’t take it anymore"
Behind the security cordon, a group of men gathered around a hookah. Faced with the wave of displaced people, estimated at nearly a million, Mohammad is concerned about "these new arrivals." According to some residents, the targeted apartment had been rented.
"I didn’t expect this. We thought we were safe, but we don’t know who’s come to take refuge here. I say welcome to civilians, but we don’t want fighters here. We don’t want our own to be endangered. The state should know who’s coming to our area!" said the father of two.
Stepping off a bus, Ahmad*, 70, is among the few who were not surprised by the strike in his neighborhood. "With these attacks, Israel wants to divide the country, but this time, we’re more aware of it," claimed the retired civil servant.
However, anger is never far off. In a side street, Emné*, a Cola resident, same to check on her daughter, whose building is one street away from the targeted site. This mother was still trembling.
"I can’t take it anymore, I just can’t take it," she said, holding back tears. All she wants is to be done with Hezbollah and even with the Palestinians. "They should leave this country and never come back … Hezbollah dragged us into a war they can’t even win, all during an economic crisis. God curse them."
*Names have been changed.
