A sign at the entrance to Sour reads, "Peace for the future of Lebanon," in Arabic, as residents flee the city following new Israeli threats, June 9, 2026. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP.)
Mohammad Baher and his family chose to remain in Sour despite the latest forced evacuation order from the Israeli army, which affects the entire city, including the Christian quarter that had so far been spared.
They had left the city center after a strike near their home about 10 days ago damaged the back of their apartment, including his wife's art studio.
They then moved to the old Christian quarter, which was also ordered to evacuate for the first time.
Despite the threat, Baher, 68, refuses to give in to the pressure.
"We only left this morning for a place considered safer, a beach resort," he told L'Orient-Le Jour. "You don't just leave Sour like that. A human life is not just a body and a soul. A human life is memories. It's places. It's childhood. It's property, the houses we've built," he said.
Baher, who went to study in Russia in the 1980s, returned to the ancient city in 1990 and has not left since.
"My wife is like me, she refuses to leave. She's Russian, but she's become more Lebanese than we are. And my son-in-law also stayed with us to look after our employees and our property," he said.
The South Council project director said he feels "responsible for the people who stay here and for the properties and institutions."
"I'm trying to hold on, to set an example for others. It would take a truly extreme situation for me to leave."
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