- Title: Residents defiant across Lebanon-Israel border amid strikes and threats
- Date: 26th August 2019
- Summary: SOUTH LEBANON-ISRAEL BORDER, LEBANON (AUGUST 26, 2019) (REUTERS) ISRAELI TOWN OF MTOLLEH AS SEEN FROM MARJAYOUN VALLEY VARIOUS OF FARMERS WORKING IN FIELD NEXT TO BORDER VARIOUS OF SESAME SEED FARMER, ABOU JAMIL WORKING IN MARJAYOUN VALLEY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SESAME SEED FARMER AND SOUTH LEBANON RESIDENT, ABOU JAMIL, SAYING: "We are not scared of anyone, not at all. We are on Lebanese land, this is our livelihood, we don't like anyone to attack us, and those who attack us, we are standing ready waiting for them." ISRAELI MTOLLEH VILLAGE AS SEEN FROM LEBANON UN VEHICLES PARKED IN THE VILLAGE OF ADAYSEH UN VEHICLES DRIVING ALONGSIDE THE BORDER VARIOUS OF LEBANON-ISRAEL BORDER AS SEEN FROM THE TOWN OF ADAYSEH LEBANON-ISRAEL BORDER VEHICLE BEING DRIVEN ON ROAD IN ISRAELI TOWN OF MTOLLEH, AS SEEN FROM LEBANON VARIOUS OF FARMERS WORKING IN FIELD NEXT TO BORDER ISRAELI TRUCK DRIVING ALONGSIDE LEBANESE-ISRAEL BORDER UN VEHICLES PARKED IN THE VILLAGE OF ADAYSEH TWO MEN PLAYING BACKGAMMON IN THE VILLAGE OF KFARKILA VARIOUS OF BLACKSMITH ABOU JAMIL, WORKING WITH METAL POLES IN HIS SHOP (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) KFAR KILA RESIDENT, HASSAN CHALHOUB, SAYING: "The resistance is here and as long as the resistance is protecting us, we will be just fine. The Israelis have become scared of us, we stand on the border fence, do they dare stand, times have changed." BEIRUT, LEBANON (AUGUST 26, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DAMAGES SEEN ON THE BUILDING CONTAINING HEZBOLLAH'S MEDIA CENTRE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BEIRUT RESIDENT ABOU HAMZEH, SAYING: "It won't get worse than the July war. We're not scared, at all, and we're staying put in the apartment." VARIOUS OF STREETS IN SOUTHERN SUBURBS OF BEIRUT EXTERIOR OF BARBERSHOP BARBER BLOW-DRYING MAN'S HAIR INSIDE BARBERSHOP (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BEIRUT RESIDENT, FIRAS DARWICHE, SAYING: "The war is probable at any given moment, you know the ambience in the region is tense, the situation in the whole region is chaotic, one has to be ready for anything." MORE OF BARBER BLOW-DRYING MAN'S HAIR (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BEIRUT RESIDENT, FIRAS DARWICHE, SAYING: "Nobody doesn't get scared for himself, at the end of the day that's natural, there's no one that is not afraid for himself and his family, but at the end of the day, between living in humiliation or dying with your head held high, no we will die with our heads held high." MORE OF BARBERSHOP WITH CUSTOMERS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BARBERSHOP MANAGER AND RESIDENT OF SOUTHERN SUBURBS OF BEIRUT, MOHAMAD SARAWAN, SAYING: "We stayed here in the Dahyeh (southern suburbs of Beirut) during the July war and we lived through the war. Of course we will not get scared and we will not run away now." STREETS IN SOUTHERN SUBURBS OF BEIRUT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BARBERSHOP MANAGER AND RESIDENT OF SOUTHERN SUBURBS OF BEIRUT, MOHAMAD SARAWAN, SAYING: "We are supporters of the resistance (Hezbollah), we won't leave here, and we will stay here even if Israel came for us. We are not afraid." MORE OF STREETS IN SOUTHERN SUBURBS OF BEIRUT
- Embargoed: 9th September 2019 15:21
- Keywords: mk Israel drone Hezbollah suburbs of Beirut tensions threats war UN
- Location: SOUTH LEBANON-ISRAEL BORDER AND BEIRUT, LEBANON
- City: SOUTH LEBANON-ISRAEL BORDER AND BEIRUT, LEBANON
- Country: Lebanon
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA001ATUSNK7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Residents on the Lebanon-Israel border showed defiance and said on Monday (August 26) that business was going on as usual despite rising tensions between Hezbollah and Israel.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah movement warned Israeli soldiers at the border to await a response after two Israeli drones crashed in Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday.
In a Sunday speech, the leader of Lebanon's heavily armed Shi'ite Hezbollah issued the toughest threats to his enemy in years and said the drone attacks had launched a "new phase".
UN peacekeepers patrolled the streets in armoured vehicles near the border on Monday as usual, and residents said Israeli jets cruised over border towns in the south.
Workers harvested okra on Monday near the frontier in southern Lebanon, where farmers pledged to protect their land.
"Those who attack us, we are standing ready waiting for them," Abou Jamil, a sesame seeds farmer said.
Hassan Chalhoub, whose balcony in the Lebanese village of Kfarkila overlooks the border, said he was confident Hezbollah was stronger than before and would protect the south. "Times have changed," he added.
In the southern suburbs of Beirut, dominated by Hezbollah, residents, who lived through a month-long 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, also said they were unfazed.
The building of the Hezbollah media centre had its glass windows blown out in the district of the Dahyeh suburbs where one of the drones had exploded.
Mohamad Sarawan, who runs a barbershop next to that building, said if he did not leave in July 2006, he would not "run away now".
His customer Firas Darwiche, who was getting a haircut, said while it was natural to have some fear, he would stay put either way. "At the end of the day...we die with our heads held high."
The Dahyeh suburbs was in ruins after the July 2006 war, which killed nearly 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians and 158 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
As top officials met to discuss security, President Michel Aoun said Lebanon had a right to defend itself, likening the drone strikes to a "declaration of war".
Israel has not claimed the drones in Lebanon, though Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah described it on Sunday as the first Israeli attack inside Lebanon since 2006.
Israel's military said on Monday its northern command, responsible for the borders with Syria and Lebanon, was on elevated alert.
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