A Lebanese mother of two fled her home in southern Lebanon with her family after the IDF launched strikes in response to rockets and drones fired by the Hezbollah terrorist group into Israel, part of a renewed escalation along the border.
The 45-year-old woman said her family left the southern city of Nabatiyeh on March 2 and headed to Beirut as attacks intensified. The normally one-hour trip took 15 hours as tens of thousands of people fled the area.
“I am totally against Hezbollah’s decision to start with the first strike,” she said, speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals from Hezbollah supporters in her community.
She and her husband, their two children, ages 17 and 12, and her mother-in-law are now staying in a school converted into a shelter in the Lebanese capital.
The escalation began March 2, two days after Israel and the United States struck targets in Iran. Hezbollah — the Iran-backed terrorist group and political party in Lebanon — fired missiles and drones into Israel for the first time in more than a year.
Since then, hundreds of thousands of residents from southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s southern suburbs have fled their homes following Israeli warnings that areas used by Hezbollah could be targeted.
The fighting comes just 15 months after the last Israel-Hezbollah war ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November 2024. That conflict killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon and caused about $11 billion in damage, according to the World Bank.
Some Lebanese Shiites — Hezbollah’s traditional base — are now openly blaming the group for the renewed fighting. Many displaced families are staying with relatives or in shelters during the cold Ramadan period.
Hussein Ali, a vegetable vendor displaced from Beirut’s southern suburb of Haret Hreik, said he is once again relying on aid to survive after his home was destroyed in the previous war.
“No one wanted this war,” he said. “People haven’t recovered from the previous war.”
The Lebanese government has also taken a tougher stance toward Hezbollah’s armed wing. On March 2, the Cabinet voted overwhelmingly to declare the group’s military activities illegal, with only the two Hezbollah ministers opposing the move.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the government had ordered an immediate ban on Hezbollah’s military operations and demanded that the group hand over its weapons to the Lebanese state.
“The decision of war and peace is only in the hands of the state,” Salam said.
The Lebanese army has begun enforcing the decision, arresting three Hezbollah members transporting weapons at a checkpoint last week. They were later released on bail.
Hezbollah first began attacking Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after the Hamas terror group’s assault on southern Israel sparked the Gaza war. The group says its latest attacks are meant to support Iran and respond to what it calls Israeli violations of the 2024 ceasefire.
Despite growing criticism, Hezbollah still retains support among parts of Lebanon’s Shiite population. Some backers argue Israel continued near-daily airstrikes after the ceasefire, which Lebanese officials say have killed about 400 people.
Others remain reluctant to criticize the group publicly, fearing retaliation or the loss of financial aid distributed through Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal movement.
“Hezbollah’s base of support is known for tolerating pain,” said Sadek Nabulsi, a political science professor at Lebanese University who is aligned with the group. “Despite harsh conditions, it remains patient and waiting for salvation.”