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Today's Paper | September 17, 2024

Published 23 Nov, 2023 08:17pm

Clashes on border with Israel uproot thousands in Lebanon

Rose Rostom, Nahida Mashouz and Ammar Hajeh have had their lives uprooted many times — by Palestinian fighters, Syrian warplanes, Islamic State, Western-backed forces or the Israeli army.

Between them, they have fled their homes 20 times, most recently following border clashes between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group sparked by Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

Rostom is Lebanese, Mashouz is a refugee from Syria and Hajeh is a Palestinian refugee.

Israeli bombardment forced Rostom from her home in south Lebanon and drove Mashouz from her temporary accommodation nearby. Hajeh has fled his crowded refugee camp four times this year during fighting between militant groups.

Their circumstances differ, but all three worry about the future in a country that has repeatedly been rocked by civil strife was in dire straits and was racked by social tensions even before the latest violence compounded economic problems.

“The Gaza war began, Hezbollah started firing at Israel, and then shells began landing around our house. Conflict drove me from home for the third time in my life,” Rostom said.

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