When dentist Ahmad al Joubbe (43) and his wife Sarwat (30), heard that Lebanon’s ancient eastern city of Baalbek had been named in Israeli evacuation warnings last week, they fled, like tens of thousands of others. For three days, they slept in the home of Sarwat’s sister. And then they came back.
Their home is in the “red zone”, but it’s beside a Christian church and the Roman temple complex for which Baalbek is famous, and this makes them feel safer. They trust the Israelis to give advance warnings of attacks, they say, but Sarwat concedes that her cousin’s house was hit without warning 20 days ago, killing seven people, including women and children.
“Nobody knows what Israel decides,” she says.
According to a Sunday Times analysis, the majority of Israeli air strikes in Lebanon happen outside of areas under Israeli evacuation warnings. Amnesty International noted that even when warnings are given, they can be misleading and inadequate. They have been accompanied by inaccurate maps, often take place in the middle of the night, and have been issued less than 30 minutes before the attacks begin.
In the week after Wednesday, October 30th – when the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning for the whole city of Baalbek – at least 152 people were killed in Baalbek-Hermel, the governorate in which Baalbek is located, and the broader Bekaa Valley region.
On Wednesday last, at least 40 people were killed and 53 wounded in Israeli attacks there, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, with the regional governor saying roughly 40 air strikes took place. This came one day after The Irish Times visited the city. Hizbullah representatives accompanied journalists, though they were not present for all of the interviews and did not review the reporting.
The Baalbek International Festival – due to celebrate its 75th iteration next year – issued an appeal for international organisations, diplomats and heritage specialists to help halt the “relentless” attacks on the city. It said there had already been direct damage to the Gouraud Barracks monument, a structure from the French mandate period, which it said was a blatant violation of international law.
Concerns have repeatedly been raised about whether Israeli attacks could damage the Roman ruins, which are some of the world’s best preserved and comprise a Unesco World Heritage Site. On Wednesday, a strike destroyed an Ottoman-era building very close to them.
On Thursday, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell posted on X saying the EU was “appalled by Israeli air strikes on the Bekaa, Baalbek, Nasriya and close to Beirut airport”, and called for an immediate ceasefire.
Inside Baalbek on Tuesday, many shops were shuttered but some remained open, including a car parts shop, a convenience store, a butcher and grocer. One man was lying back in a barber’s chair, getting his beard trimmed. A father playfully threw an infant child in a polka-dotted onesie in the air, his wife smiling on. The streets seemed surprisingly busy.
Mahmoud Habib, the 38-year-old owner of the central Al Rida restaurant, stood where it used to be, smashed refrigerators and a dust-covered receipt book among the rubble lying around him. He said the 200-year-old premises was bombed following an evacuation warning, putting his staff of 50 out of work.
He had no idea why they were targeted, though suggested it was possibly because they were preparing food for displaced people. Despite that, they returned again to hand out coffee, cake and small pizzas the previous day. “We will stay here, we’ll stay here forever,” he said.
He said he was not angry at Hizbullah, which Israel accuses of storing and transporting weapons through the Bekaa Valley. “My feelings are stopped, there is no feeling,” he said. “The strike here, for me it’s something normal, but it makes me sad to see places from history being broken in this way.” He accused the Israelis of not respecting historical landmarks or places with religious significance.
While Hizbullah has traditionally had strong support in Lebanon’s east, including Baalbek and the broader Bekaa Valley, the large area is home to many people of different religions, backgrounds and affiliations. Even when civilians support Hizbullah, lawyers reiterate, that does not make them, or their property, legitimate targets under international law.
Up the road was Baalbek governmental hospital, empty of patients. Workers were fixing up damage in the reception that was caused by an air strike.
Staff explained that they had been transferring patients away once they were stabilised, with one saying most air strike victims had not survived long enough to be treated in the first place. They wanted to keep the hospital empty so they could respond to new incidents, he said. Each new day was unpredictable.
[ At least 30 killed following Israeli strike on Lebanon apartment blockOpens in new window ]
Nurse Nida Yahfof (33) said she was on duty when her sister, Wsal, was brought in. Wsal was driving when an air strike landed. The car still lay burnt out and mangled a short drive away.
Wsal survived with bad injuries on her elbow, hips and thigh. “They did everything for her, all the nurses are helping her,” Nida said. “Too many people have died and they come here in pieces, without hands, without feet, with slices in their abdomen.”
On Wednesday, Lebanon’s ministry of health said at least 3,050 people had been killed and 13,658 wounded by Israeli attacks since October 2023 – the vast majority since September 23rd, when Israel began its air campaign, saying it was aiming at Hizbullah-linked targets.
Those killed so far include 600 women, 190 children and 179 healthcare workers, Lebanon’s ministry of health says. In Israel, 72 people have been killed by Hizbullah rockets and missiles, including 30 soldiers, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office.
Hizbullah representatives also took The Irish Times to the village of Saaideh, 16km from Baalbek, where residents said air strikes killed five people, including an elderly woman. The Lebanese ministry of health said on November 1st that two people had been killed and three injured there. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request about what they had been targeting.
A deep crater was visible in the ground, leaving buildings around it damaged too. A picture of a Hizbullah fighter was displayed on one building nearby. Another destroyed home had a picture of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei visible.
Hwayda Amhaz (45) said her mother was a victim. “She was alone when she died,” Amhaz said. “This house is not belonging to Hizbullah.”
Amhaz sighed when asked why she stays in the village. “I hope to be a martyr, we will leave when we die. We will have the real life after that.”
She referenced the US, also holding politicians there responsible. The US provides vast military support to Israel and evidence of their weaponry has been found following attacks on civilian sites in Lebanon.
“American people don’t agree with what’s happening, it’s the politicians,” she suggested. “American people are the same as us.”
Ali Amhaz, a 41-year-old mechanic, said “you’d have to ask Israel” why they are targeting the village. “We are peaceful, [but] we’re very angry.” His four children and wife had already moved away for safety.
“It’s our land,” said 24-year-old Ali Al Haj Youssef, explaining why about half the village’s residents remain. “We are waiting to die, to be martyrs,” he said.
Another local walked up, holding prayer beads in one hand. “As much as they can take, they will take more and more,” he said about Israel.
Ali, Amhaz’s 13-year-old nephew said he had been with his adult cousin – who was killed – when the air strike happened. Like his family, Ali said he would continue to support the resistance.
As he spoke, the hum of an Israeli drone became audible above.
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