"We'll Live And Die Here": All Lost To War, Lebanon Residents Hope To Rebuild

Unending Israeli bombardment of Lebanon has flattened villages and destroyed key infrastructure, but the people remain resilient despite death, destruction and displacement.

Among the millions at the receiving end of the worst onslaught by Israeli forces is 50-year-old Khaleel, whose turbo power generation plant in the picturesque coastal town Tyre was attacked twice since the war began on February 28. A week after the bombing, he's has already started clearance operations to rebuild the plant, install new generators and restore the power supply. 

He terms the Israeli bombing on his power plant as "normal, very normal" and insists that he is not afraid. "Nothing can break us. We are here and we will not leave this land," said Khaleel told NDTV. He added that he does not fear death. As for his power plant, he plans to invest US $1 million to rebuild an even better facility than before.

A number of multi-storeyed apartments in the vicinity have suffered extensive damage during the bombing on the power station and residents have since left the area. "I was giving electricity to this area. Now there is no electricity because the plant has been bombed by Israel. But I will not leave this place. I was born here, I will stay here and I will die here," said Kaleel.

Israel has already captured several villages almost eight kilometers deep inside South Lebanon. Videos show the Israeli army destroying villages, reinforcing fears that Gaza playbook is being deployed in Lebanon as well. Israel has declared all these houses as enemy locations. On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it has destroyed more than 300 terrorist infrastructures and enemy locations in south Lebanon.

Thousands of people from these villages and towns have already been displaced. In a school-turned-refugee camp at Tyre, the displaced children from these targeted areas have not lost hope of returning home one day. 

NDTV spoke to a group of children from Majdal Zoun - the South Lebanon border town which remains encircled by Israeli forces since a month as Hezbollah is fighting back and slowing IDF advances. Locals fear the town may face the fate of other villages that were captured and classified as enemy locations. 

The children say they miss their school and village but exude confidence that Israel can't defeat them. "The name of my village is Majdalzoon. It's being bombed and fired at by Israel. I'm missing my home, my school and also my village," said a Class 6 student. 

Mohammad,  a Class 11 student appears to be defiant, asserting that no one can stop him from going back to his home. "We don't care what Israel says. We will win. Of course we will win" he said.

Yousf, the Mayor of Majdal Zoun municipality, has no inkling about the fate of his town after it became a major battleground between the Hezbollah and Israeli forces. He is confident that Hezbollah fighters will not let his town fall to Israel army. Yousf said he doesn't care if his home is bombed or not but he will surely go back to his town one day and live there again. 

The Mayor said that all the people of his town have fled after Israeli "threats", adding that the Hezbollah is fighting Israeli occupation. "We don't care about our houses, we don't care about anything. We have a right to stay in our homes and right to live in our country," said Yousf. 

Yousf's confidence is not misplaced. Despite massive military power and absolute air supremacy, Israel's army is facing a serious pushback in Lebanon.

Such is the motivation and commitment of the displaced people that they will be back in their own villages one day, that they are burying  their dead in temporary graves and wait for a final funeral at their ancestral graveyards. 

According to the Lebanese Public Health Ministry, more than 1400 people have killed in Israeli attacks since the war began, while over 4,400 are injured. 1.2 million people have been displaced. Yet, hope surpasses the numbers and destruction.