Displaced families take refuge in downtown Beirut following Israeli strikes against Lebanon, on March 2, 2026. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient Today)
In downtown Beirut on Monday morning, displaced families were unsure where to go. “I wish Lebanon had stayed out of all of this,” said a resident of Bir al-Abed, a southern suburb of the capital that was hit overnight by powerful Israeli strikes.
Overnight, Hezbollah claimed an attack on Israel in retaliation for the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenia. Ensuing Israeli strikes on south Lebanon, Beirut's southern suburbs and the Bekaa killed over 31 people and injured 149 others.
"We woke up at 1:30 for suhoor [the meal eaten before dawn during Ramadan fasting] and learned that Hezbollah had struck. We were surprised," recounted a displaced woman to our reporter on the ground. "The windows of our building shattered. As soon as we heard the strike, we left. We didn’t take anything. I just went back home to get some mattresses."
Explaining that this was the second time she had been displaced by Israeli attacks since the 2024 war, and that they were “on their own,” she added through tears: “What can we do? We leave it to God.” She is now searching for an apartment to rent.
‘We trust our men’
Not far away, near Martyrs’ Square, 17-year-old Hala was sitting with several members of her family. Originally from Touline in the Marjayoun district, she lives in Ghobeiri in Beirut’s southern suburbs. “We were asleep. Around 2:30 a.m., there were huge explosions,” she said.
The family left home and reached downtown about an hour later. “There was a lot of traffic. We came by motorcycle, then continued on foot.” This is the second time that the family has been displaced.
Asked about Hezbollah’s rocket fire, she replied, “They know better than we do. We wait. We trust our men.” The family is trying to find a temporary apartment, she added, still in her slippers.
Arriving at Martyrs’ Square around 4 a.m., Jumana, a Syrian national, had traveled a long way by van and then on foot from southern Lebanon. “We heard gunfire. People were screaming,” she said.
She had no time to gather belongings for herself and her six children, one of whom has a disability. “Where will we go now? We have no one.” Returning to Syria feels out of reach. The family has already spent $30 to get from the southern suburbs to downtown Beirut, and the journey to Syria would cost far more.
Hezbollah’s attack is divisive
Nearby, another family displaced from the southern suburbs was also unsure where to go, as tensions between them flared. “As for me, I stand with the 'Resistance.' I support what happened,” one woman said. Her sister shot back, “How can you stand with them?”
The exchange quickly grew heated. “Are you in favor of what we’re going through? Are you happy about what’s happening?” she pressed, joined by their brother. “Do you accept what they did to the Sayyed [Hassan Nasrallah, former Hezbollah secretary-general, killed by Israel on Sept. 27, 2024, in Beirut’s southern suburbs]? We don’t want to live in humiliation,” he said.
Their sister refused to back down. The brother then asked to end the interview.
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