A woman holding a photograph of Maher Hamdan on his wedding day, Dec. 26, 2025, in Shebaa, southern Lebanon. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L’Orient Today)
Around 11 a.m. on June 7, 2025, May, 11, and Fares, 9, set out to meet their uncle, Maher Hamdan, at a spring on the outskirts of Shebaa, in southern Lebanon’s Hasbaya district. The 31-year-old shepherd had gone earlier that morning to water his flock at Ain al-Khokh, on Mount Hermon.Mount Hermon, known in Arabic as Jabal al-Sheikh, is part of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range and forms a natural border between Lebanon and Syria. Portions of the mountain lie within the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1967 and annexed in 1981. Following the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024, the Israeli army expanded its presence in parts of the Syrian territory.“Follow me later, we’ll meet at the spring,” Maher told his niece and nephew.When the children arrived, their uncle was nowhere to be found. “His sheep were still there, but he...
Around 11 a.m. on June 7, 2025, May, 11, and Fares, 9, set out to meet their uncle, Maher Hamdan, at a spring on the outskirts of Shebaa, in southern Lebanon’s Hasbaya district. The 31-year-old shepherd had gone earlier that morning to water his flock at Ain al-Khokh, on Mount Hermon.Mount Hermon, known in Arabic as Jabal al-Sheikh, is part of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range and forms a natural border between Lebanon and Syria. Portions of the mountain lie within the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1967 and annexed in 1981. Following the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024, the Israeli army expanded its presence in parts of the Syrian territory.“Follow me later, we’ll meet at the spring,” Maher told his niece and nephew.When the children arrived, their uncle was nowhere to be found. “His sheep were still...