'For the first time, I felt fear': Israeli order leads to wave of displacement from Baalbek


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Zainab Sharaf was in the middle of making breakfast for her family on Wednesday when she heard the Israeli drone circling over her house. "It was unnaturally close to us," she recalled. "I was so scared that I didn't dare look up."

Then her neighbours told her they had received calls from the Israeli army ordering them to leave the area, despite their village, Hawsh Al Rafiqa, not being listed on the displacement demand it had issued for Baalbek and surrounding areas that morning.

Ms Sharaf said this was the first time she felt fear since Israel started a massive bombing campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah in late September. Until Israel's eviction order came, she had managed to keep telling herself: "It's OK, they won't strike here. We're safe for now."

But her sense of relative safety evaporated when she heard the drone directly above her house. "In that instant everything changed," she said when The National visited the Bekaa valley on Wednesday, just hours after the wave of mass displacement from Baalbek began.

Zainab Sharaf is one of thousands of people who fled their homes after the Israeli army issued a displacement order for Baalbek and its surrounding areas. Matt Kynaston for The National
Zainab Sharaf is one of thousands of people who fled their homes after the Israeli army issued a displacement order for Baalbek and its surrounding areas. Matt Kynaston for The National

Hussein Shehade, Ms Sharaf's brother-in-law, said the displacement order felt "like a long-brewing storm that had finally landed at our doorstep".

Ms Sharaf stopped cooking, grabbed her purse, gathered her family and immediately fled south to Zahleh, a mainly Christian city that was already hosting about 1,440 people displaced by Israeli attacks, according to the International Organisation for Migration. She arrived with her family and next-door neighbours.

"We didn't take anything with us," she said. "If it gets struck, we can always rebuild our house. But if we die, we can't rebuild our souls."

The Sharaf family are now staying with her long-time friend Nejmeh Touma, who for the past month had already been hosting a family of five. Altogether, there are now 20 people living in one apartment.

"Our Christian siblings welcomed us as if we were family," Ms Sharaf said.

She now shares a room with her neighbours, including Anaya Hanieh and her family, also close friends of Ms Touma's, who fled their home on the first day of Israel's expanded bombardment.

Ms Sharaf acknowledges that her new reality – sharing a home that is not hers with 19 other people – is not ideal, but has a practical outlook on the situation: They are the lucky ones.

Finding a place to stay amid the chaotic mass flight from Baalbek and its outskirts has been a near-impossible task for many who were forced to leave their homes but had nowhere to go. The Sharaf family say they saw such people sleeping in their vehicles along the side of the road.

As the war continues throughout Lebanon, houses available for rent are becoming increasingly scarce for displaced people. Many families are met with suspicion by people living in the area who fear that they might have ties to Hezbollah. Shelters are already overcrowded from earlier waves of displacement.

Israel's attacks have caused widespread destruction across Lebanon, particularly in the south, the capital Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley, including Baalbek, on the border with Syria.

About 1.4 million had already been displaced since Hezbollah and the Israeli military began exchanging fire across the southern border in October last year, according to Lebanese government estimates, but Wednesday was the first time Israel has ordered an entire Lebanese city and its outskirts to be vacated.

Baalbek Mayor Mustafa Al Chal said most residents left the city and its outskirts within hours of the Israeli order. Roads out of the area were clogged with traffic.

“The majority of people have been displaced to areas near Baalbek, mostly Christian areas in the north,” Mr Al Chal told The National. In Arsal and Deir Al Ahmar, officials have hurriedly set up shelters to host them.

The National passed through villages near Baalbek that had been almost completely abandoned in the hours following the Israeli order. A worker at one of the few open roadside petrol stations said even people living outside the zone of the Israeli army’s displacement order had left in a rush.

By afternoon, the Israeli army began bombarding Baalbek, home to ancient ruins listed among Unesco heritage sites. "Nowhere is safe. Not even the ruins," Mr Al Chal said.

Zainab Sharaf and her family are now staying with her long-time friend Nejmeh Touma, who had already been hosting a family of five. They are now 20 people to one apartment. Matt Kynaston for The National
Zainab Sharaf and her family are now staying with her long-time friend Nejmeh Touma, who had already been hosting a family of five. They are now 20 people to one apartment. Matt Kynaston for The National

The Israeli military said it was attacking Hezbollah sites, although recent visits to the region by The National suggest that most casualties there have been civilians.

“Don't worry, God is with us,” said Ali Allam, director of Baalbek's Dar Al Amal Hospital, where hundreds of people injured in earlier attacks were being treated on Wednesday. The hospital had not been evacuated following the Israeli threats because there were too many patients to move. Earlier this week, Israeli air strikes killed about 67 people and wounded at least 120 across the Baalbek-Hermel region: it was the “most violent day” for the area since the war began.

More than 2,700 people have been killed in the year-long conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah. Most of the deaths and displacement occurred over the past six weeks, when Israel refocused its war objectives from eliminating Hamas in Gaza to eliminating Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Mrs Touma, the woman who opened her home to over a dozen of her displaced friends, said she never hesitated to do so.

"They're my friends. And what have they done to deserve being forced out of their homes?" she asked. "These are innocent people, and they're suffering. "

Jumanji: The Next Level

Director: Jake Kasdan

Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas 

Two out of five stars 

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin

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The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

Scoreline:

Everton 4

Richarlison 13'), Sigurdsson 28', ​​​​​​​Digne 56', Walcott 64'

Manchester United 0

Man of the match: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)

From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
While you're here
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill

Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.

The BIO:

He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal

He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side

By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam

Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border

He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push

His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

Tuesday (UAE kick-off times)

Leicester City v Brighton (9pm)

Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United (11.15pm)

Wednesday

Manchester United v Sheffield United (9pm)

Newcastle United v Aston Villa (9pm)

Norwich City v Everton (9pm)

Wolves v Bournemouth (9pm)

Liverpool v Crystal Palace (11.15pm)

Thursday

Burnley v Watford (9pm)

Southampton v Arsenal (9pm)

Chelsea v Manchester City (11.15pm)

Updated: November 01, 2024, 4:47 AM`