| |
Exploding Devices in Lebanon a Trigger 09/20 06:09
BEIRUT (AP) -- Chris Knayzeh was in a town overlooking Lebanon's capital
when he heard the rumbling aftershock of the 2020 Beirut port blast. Hundreds
of tons of haphazardly stored ammonium nitrates had exploded, killing more than
200 people and injuring thousands.
Already struggling with the country's economic collapse, the sight of the
gigantic mushroom cloud unleashed by the blast was the last straw. Like many
other Lebanese, he quit his job and booked a one-way ticket out of Lebanon.
Knayzeh, now a lecturer at a university in France, was visiting Lebanon when
news broke Tuesday of a deadly attack in which thousands of handheld pagers
were blowing up in homes, shops, markets and streets across the country.
Israel, local news reports said, was targeting the devices of the militant
Hezbollah group. Stuck in Beirut traffic, Knayzeh started panicking that
drivers around him could potentially be carrying devices that would explode.
Within minutes, hospitals were flooded with bloodied patients, bringing back
painful reminders of the port blast four years ago that left enduring mental
and psychological scars for those who lived through it.
A day later, a similar attack struck walkie-talkies. In total, the
explosions killed at least 37 people and injured more than 3,000, many of them
civilians. Israel is widely believed to be behind the blasts, although it has
neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.
"The country's state is unreal," Knayzeh told The Associated Press.
The port blast was one of the biggest nonnuclear explosions ever recorded,
and it came on top of a historic economic meltdown, financial collapse and a
feeling of helplessness after nationwide protests against corruption that
failed to achieve their goals. It compounded years of crises that have upended
the lives of people in this small country.
Four years after the port catastrophe, an investigation has run aground. The
ravaged Mediterranean port remains untouched, its towering silos standing
broken and shredded as a symbol of a country in ruins. Political divisions and
paralysis have left the country without a president or functioning government
for more than two years. Poverty is on the rise.
On top of that and in parallel with the war in Gaza, Lebanon has been on the
brink of all-out war with Israel for the past year, with Israel and Hezbollah
trading fire across the border and Israeli warplanes breaking the sound barrier
over Beirut almost daily, terrifying people in their homes and offices.
"I can't believe this is happening again. How many more disasters can we
endure?" asked Jocelyn Hallak, a mother of three, two of whom now work abroad
and the third headed out after graduation next year. "All this pain, when will
it end?"
A full-blown war with Israel could be devastating for Lebanon. The country's
crisis-battered health care system had been preparing for the possibility of
conflict with Israel even before hospitals became inundated with the wounded
from the latest explosions. Most of the injuries received were in the face,
eyes and limbs -- many of them in critical condition and requiring extended
hospital stays.
Still, Knayzeh, 27, can't stay away. He returns regularly to see his
girlfriend and family. He flinches whenever he hears construction work and
other sudden loud sounds. When in France, surrounded by normalcy, he agonizes
over family at home while following the ongoing clashes from afar.
"It's the attachment to our country I guess, or at the very least attachment
to our loved ones who couldn't leave with us," he said.
This summer, tens of thousands of Lebanese expatriates came to visit family
and friends despite the tensions. Their remittances and money they spend while
there help keep the country afloat and in some cases are the main source of
income for families. Many, however, cut their vacations short in chaotic
airport scenes, fearing major escalation after the assassinations of Hezbollah
and Hamas commanders in Beirut and Tehran last month, blamed on Israel.
Even in a country that has vaulted from one crisis to another for decades,
the level of confusion, insecurity and anger is reaching new heights. Many
thought the port blast was the most surreal and frightening thing they would
ever experience -- until thousands of pagers exploded in people's hands and
pockets across the country this week.
''I saw horrific things that day," said Mohammad al-Mousawi, who was running
an errand in Beirut's southern suburb, where Hezbollah has a strong presence,
when the pagers began blowing up.
"Suddenly, we started seeing scooters whizzing by carrying defaced men, some
without fingers, some with their guts spilling out. Then the ambulances started
coming."
It reminded him of the 2020 port blast, he said. "The number of injuries and
ambulances was unbelievable. "
"One more horror shaping our collective existence," wrote Maha Yahya, the
Beirut-based director of the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center.
"The shock, the disarray, the trauma is reminiscent of Beirut after the port
explosion. Only this time it was not limited to a city but spread across the
country," she said in a social media post.
In the aftermath of the exploding pagers, fear and paranoia has taken hold.
Parents kept their children away from schools and universities, fearing more
exploding devices. Organizations including the Lebanese civil defense advised
personnel to switch off their devices and remove all batteries until further
notice. One woman said she disconnected her baby monitor and other household
appliances.
Lebanon's civil aviation authorities have banned the transporting of pagers
and walkie-talkies on all airplanes departing from Beirut's Rafik Hariri
International Airport "until further notice." Some residents were sleeping with
their phones in another room.
In the southern city of Tyre, ahead of a speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan
Nasrallah, city resident Hassan Hajo acknowledged feeling "a bit depressed"
after the pager blasts, a major security breach for a secretive organization
like Hezbollah. He was hoping to get a boost from Nasrallah's speech. "We have
been through worse before and we got through it," he said.
In his speech, Nasrallah vowed to retaliate against Israel for the attacks
on devices, while Israel and Hezbollah traded heavy fire across the border.
Israel stepped up warnings of a potential larger military operation targeting
the group.
Another resident, Marwan Mahfouz, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu has been threatening Lebanon with war for the past year and he should
just do it.
"If we are going to die, we'll die. We are already dying. We are already
dead," he said.
|
|
