On the freeways that lead out of southern Lebanon, lines of traffic stretch as far as the eye can see. Families have bundled a few belongings into cars, desperately seeking refuge farther north. For almost a year, violence has been knocking at the doors of those living near the border with Israel.
On Monday, it burst into their lives with just a few hours warning by text message, apparently sent through a hacked phone network: “If you are in a building housing weapons for Hezbollah, move away from the village until further notice.” Bombs then fell across neighbourhoods, killing more than 500 people – Lebanon’s deadliest day since its 15-year civil war that ended in 1990. “It’s mayhem on the roads,” Daizy Gedeon, an Australian-Lebanese filmmaker, tells us from Beirut.
“It’s been horrifying.” Housing across the city is scarce, she says. Schools have closed, with classrooms converted into crisis accommodation for the thousands fleeing.
Across Beirut, there are calls for bedding, food, water, baby supplies. “There’s just not enough accommodation in the country to cater for all these families that are moving out of all of those extreme danger zones,” says Gedeon. “The WhatsApp groups are on fire.
” She was trying to leave and fly back to Australia. “I was determined on staying. Actually, I was very stalwart about it,” she says.
“But obviously, most airlines have stopped flying out. I didn’t think it would get to this stage but, sadly, it did.�.
