Amir Hussein, 5, was found under the rubble two months after an Israeli strike on Maaysra. (Photo provided by the local mukhtar)
On Monday, the body of a child was found during searches near a house bombed by the Israeli army about two months ago in Maaysra (Keserwan).
The little boy, Amir Hussein, 5, had been missing since Sept. 25, after a strike that targeted the town, the mukhtar of Maaysra, Ouday Amro, reported to L'Orient-Le Jour. This "massacre" killed the child's mother, his uncle and his wife, as well as his paternal cousin and another "hajjeh," added the mayor. At the time, the Ministry of Health had reported at least three dead and nine injured, in a provisional report.
Amir was the youngest of three children, said the victim's paternal uncle, Ghassan Hussein. The family, originally from Houla (Marjayoun), had moved to Nabatieh, while the clashes between Hezbollah and Israel began on Oct. 8, 2023, in the wake of the war in Gaza. But on Sept. 23, when Israel began its large-scale offensive across the territory, the family was forced to flee the bombings again to take refuge in Maaysra, a day before the deadly attack.
Since then, "the villagers have continued to search through the rubble to find the missing child," the mukhtar reported. "It seems that a wall fell on him," he added. The boy's funeral will take place on Tuesday afternoon. He will be buried with his family members in Maaysra.
"It's a wake, until the victims can be buried at home in Houla," the mukhtar said, while incidents continue on the border despite the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, which came into effect on Nov. 27.
The home that had been targeted by the Israeli army in Maaysra was that of relatives of a Hezbollah fighter killed in the south. It is believed to be the home of the family of Ali Amro, killed on Aug. 4, 2024 in an Israeli strike on Houla. Other information, on social networks, specifies that the Shiite sheikh Mohammad Amro lived in this house and that he is responsible for the Mount Lebanon and North sector within Hezbollah.
The war in Lebanon has left more than 4,000 people dead and 16,000 injured, according to figures from the Health Ministry.