- A war between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon has reduced several buildings to rubble
- A resident told NDTV that he has not been able to sleep for a month now
- Israeli strikes have killed over 1,100 people and displaced more than one million in Lebanon
A war between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon has reduced several buildings to rubble, with residents saying they have not been able to sleep for a month.
Crisis-hit Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war on March 2 when Hezbollah, which is the most prominent actor in the so-called axis of resistance -- regional pro-Tehran armed groups opposed to Israel -- fired rockets towards Israeli cities to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israel then responded with large-scale strikes on Lebanon, leaving more than 1,100 people dead and displacing over one million people, more than a fifth of the country's population.
"I'm scared. I want to sleep," George, a Beirut resident, told NDTV's Nazir Masoodi.
He said he has not slept for a month.
Walking his dogs on a nearly deserted street, he said even his pets have become "aggressive" due to relentless bombings.
He also said the Lebanese people are "stupid" to step into this war.
"When you take your leg in any war, you are stupid," he said.
Hezbollah-Israel War
Hezbollah was founded during the Lebanese civil war after Israel besieged the capital Beirut in 1982. The armed group fought a month-long war with Israel in 2006 that killed some 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 in Israel, mostly soldiers, after the group kidnapped two Israeli troops in a cross-border raid.
Hezbollah, whose name means "Party of God" in Arabic, had also exchanged fire with Israeli forces when Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel triggered a war in Gaza. More than 5,000 Hezbollah fighters were killed in the 2023-2024 war.
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Hezbollah this week announced a series of attacks, including claiming its fighters had launched a surface-to-air missile at an Israeli warplane over Beirut.
In south Lebanon, Hezbollah said its fighters had clashed with "Israeli enemy army forces in the villages of Bayada and Shamaa at point-blank range with light and medium weapons".
Israel has said that "contrary to the declaration by the Lebanese government earlier this year -- Hezbollah is still operating and conducting attacks from southern Lebanon."
"If the Lebanese government will not disarm Hezbollah, the IDF will," an Israeli army spokesperson said, referring to the Israeli armed forces.
More than 400 Hezbollah fighters have reportedly been killed since the group launched strikes on Israel on March 2.
