What it’s like on the streets of Beirut and Tel Aviv as both sides await retaliation attacks from one another.
ADVERTISEMENTIn Israel, people are holding their breath while they wait for an Iranian attack. In Tel Aviv, signs point to a nearby air raid shelter, and new houses must have a reinforced room protecting against rockets.
“I have a shelter next to the house. If the alarm goes off, the council will open the shelter. Then we go in and hope that it stops the bombs,” explained one resident in Tel Aviv.
The killings last week of two militant leaders in Beirut and Tehran — attributed to Israel — brought vows of revenge from Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Everyone expects that an all-out war would be far more devastating than any previous conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, including the 2006 war.
In Beirut, the streets were bustling even in Dahiyeh, a neighbourhood that houses many of Hezbollah’s political and security operations and where an Israeli airstrike killed Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur and six other people last week.
The area, which is also a densely populated residential and commercial district, was devastated during the 2006 war; Israel has warned it would be flattened in the next one.
Some residents said they are moving to other parts of Beirut, while others vowed to stay.
“I will not leave Dahiyeh, no matter what happens,” said Khalil Nassar, 75, who was carrying Lebanese, Palestinian and Hezbollah flags in a show of solidarity as he went about his day. “They are trying to intimidate us.”
Even those who fear the worst may feel there’s little to be done. Authorities on both sides have yet to issue any orders to evacuate or prepare, even as several countries have issued dire travel warnings and many airlines have suspended their operations.
As of Monday, Israel’s military has not released any special guidelines or warnings for civilians, meaning beaches were full, summer camps were ongoing and people still headed to work as they have throughout most of the war in Gaza. No one seemed to be stocking up on supplies and grocery shelves were full.
After an apparent Israeli strike on an Iranian consular building in Syria, killing two Iranian generals in April, Iran responded with an unprecedented direct attack on Israel, launching some 300 ballistic missiles and drones. Nearly all were intercepted by a coalition of international forces.