On Monday, as the bombardment escalated to encompass more parts of Lebanon, people received pre-recorded telephone calls on behalf of Israel’s military telling them to leave their homes for their own safety.
Afou, who had stayed in Yater since the start of the fighting despite being only about 5km from the Israeli border, decided to leave as blasts started striking residential houses in the district, he said.
“I had one hand on my son’s back telling him not to be afraid,” he said. Afou’s family, three sons aged 6-13 and several other relatives, were now stuck on the highway as traffic crawled north.
They did not know where they would stay, he said, but just wanted to reach Beirut.
