Rania Tarhini showing the photo of her son Ali Tarhini, in Jibsheet, Nabatieh district, on Dec. 30, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L’Orient Today)
A whistle of bullets crackles through Jana Tarhini’s phone. She's on a video call with her brother, Ali, while shopping with their mother, Rania Akhdar, in a supermarket in their village, Jibsheet, Nabatieh district.On Jan. 28, 2025, at around 3:30 p.m., Ali, then 18, and a group of friends were about 15 kilometers away, heading toward Odaisseh, a border village in the Marjayoun district, when Israeli troops opened fire.“Tell your brother to come home,” Rania urged her daughter, alarmed.Two hours passed. Ali did not return. Rania could not reach him. “There was no signal,” she said.Moments later, her world collapsed. Her husband told her Ali had been taken by the Israeli army, relaying what the young men who were with their son had said.Rania, who was living with her sister after being displaced and forced to leave her damaged home,...
A whistle of bullets crackles through Jana Tarhini’s phone. She's on a video call with her brother, Ali, while shopping with their mother, Rania Akhdar, in a supermarket in their village, Jibsheet, Nabatieh district.On Jan. 28, 2025, at around 3:30 p.m., Ali, then 18, and a group of friends were about 15 kilometers away, heading toward Odaisseh, a border village in the Marjayoun district, when Israeli troops opened fire.“Tell your brother to come home,” Rania urged her daughter, alarmed.Two hours passed. Ali did not return. Rania could not reach him. “There was no signal,” she said.Moments later, her world collapsed. Her husband told her Ali had been taken by the Israeli army, relaying what the young men who were with their son had said.Rania, who was living with her sister after being displaced and forced to leave her damaged...