“BEARDED MEN”
After nearly a year of cross-border clashes, Israel intensified its bombing campaign on Sep 23, killing more than 1,110 people, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
More than one million people, about a sixth of Lebanon’s population, have been displaced, many flocking to Beirut which is now overwhelmed.
The influx has strained services in the crisis-hit country, with traffic congestion, disruptions to daily life and garbage piling up on the streets.
Panic gripped Souheir, a 58-year-old homemaker, after a displaced Shiite family moved into her building.
The women wore chadors, a full-body robe that is an unfamiliar sight in central Beirut.
“We’ve been seeing more women in chadors, bearded men and young men in black – a sight we’re not used to seeing,” she added.
Souheir admitted she was not immune to the general paranoia.
When she went for coffee at a friend’s, she saw bearded men on the balcony – displaced relatives who sought refuge there.
She cut her visit short because she worried they could be Hezbollah members.
“People are looking at each other with suspicion on the streets,” she said. “They’re scared of each other.”
Tensions are also high outside Beirut, where Israeli strikes have hit displaced people beyond Hezbollah’s stronghold, including in the Druze village of Baadaran.
“People used to rent out houses to anyone at first, but now they’re being extra-cautious,” said Emad, 68, who lives in a Druze village about an hour away from Baadaran.
Elie, 30, who asked to be identified only by his first name, said no one in his Christian village had rented out to the displaced, who mostly live in shelters nearby.
“People are scared because we can’t know if there are Hezbollah members among” them, he said.
“They also fear that the displaced could stay in the apartments permanently or semi-permanently since many of their houses were destroyed.”
