Smoke rises over Baalbeck, seen from a center for displaced persons in Deir al-Ahmar, Bekaa, on Oct. 31, 2024. (Credit: Emmanuel Haddad/OLJ)
In the courtyard of Deir el-Ahmar Secondary School, among dozens of displaced families from Baalbeck and nearby villages like Iaat and Boudai, a soldier wanders alone, looking distant. "That's my nephew, Ali Assaf. He lost everything last Monday. His parents, his wife, and their son died in a strike on Boudai. They had been trying to have a child for years," says Fatmeh Assaf on Thursday, Oct. 31. Deep compassion is evident in her eyes and in those of her husband Mohammad, who fled Boudai a month and three days ago to seek refuge in this Christian village, spared from Israeli strikes. For the past two days, Ali has been staying with them and their two daughters in one of the classrooms, transformed into a temporary room by an army of volunteers.Since the start of the Israeli offensive on Sept. 23, the Bekaa Valley has been regularly...
In the courtyard of Deir el-Ahmar Secondary School, among dozens of displaced families from Baalbeck and nearby villages like Iaat and Boudai, a soldier wanders alone, looking distant. "That's my nephew, Ali Assaf. He lost everything last Monday. His parents, his wife, and their son died in a strike on Boudai. They had been trying to have a child for years," says Fatmeh Assaf on Thursday, Oct. 31. Deep compassion is evident in her eyes and in those of her husband Mohammad, who fled Boudai a month and three days ago to seek refuge in this Christian village, spared from Israeli strikes. For the past two days, Ali has been staying with them and their two daughters in one of the classrooms, transformed into a temporary room by an army of volunteers.Since the start of the Israeli offensive on Sept. 23, the Bekaa Valley has been regularly...