"The consequences of these traumatic events will affect people for a long time"

An Israeli strike on Ramlet al-Bayda beach in the Lebanese capital has claimed the lives of at least seven people. The day before, the IDF had attacked settlements in the east and south of the country. Thousands of refugees poured into the capital amid the escalation. People are camping on the streets, sleeping in cars or on cardboard directly on the asphalt. It is almost impossible to rent a house — prices have already tripled. Drones are constantly circling in the center of Beirut. Izvestia collected monologues from witnesses of the Israeli attack on Beirut.

"Many have made "shelters" out of cardboard and sleep right on the asphalt"

Elena Khamis, a resident of Beirut

— The situation in the country is very difficult. Military operations have covered most of the country and have already reached the center of Beirut. The flow of refugees is not only coming from the south of the republic, people have also left their homes in the southern part of the capital.

People have nowhere to go, so they stay sleeping on the streets. Some have been sleeping there for a week. There is a tent city on the embankment, many have made "shelters" out of cardboard and sleep right on the asphalt.

Public schools and refugee reception centers are overcrowded. Life in the country is paralyzed. Those who slept on the embankment today were attacked. Eight people were killed.

The stores bought everything at the first panic. Now everything has appeared again, there are enough products. The situation is the same with gas stations — there are no interruptions.

I have been living in Lebanon for the fourth war. It's scary. The consequences of these traumatic events will affect people for a long time.

I also took in relatives who have nowhere to go. And in groups I post articles on how to provide myself with first aid.

"We have already experienced several Israeli wars, and after 2024 we were preparing for another aggression"

Mohamed, a resident of the southern suburbs of Beirut

— You need to understand that since last night, after the attack on the refugees on the Beirut waterfront, the geography of the war in the city has changed dramatically. Before that, only the southern suburbs were bombed, and there were three targeted strikes on individual apartments and hotel rooms in the center. Now the suburb is completely empty, there are only vigilantes who make sure that looters do not take advantage of the situation, and that spies do not photograph the objects of the resistance brigades.

Alas, there is no point in talking about bomb shelters, they are not provided in Lebanon, as well as air threat warning systems. There are none and never were. If Israel warns of an attack, then the locals in the neighborhood that is to be attacked shoot into the air so that residents understand that they need to leave quickly — that's how it works.

Over the past 30 years, we have already experienced several Israeli wars, and after 2024 we were preparing for another aggression — both the authorities and the people. Therefore, we faced the war calmly and confidently. Yes, the southern suburbs are empty, more than 800,000 people have become refugees, but apart from schools, everything is working, there are food and fuel in the shops, although the price has increased significantly, but it is there. There are no problems with medications either.

In Christian neighborhoods, all the cafes and bars are full in the evenings, people live their lives just 5-10 kilometers from areas that are flattened to the ground and where women and children are dying. It was the same during the Civil War of 1975.

As I have already said, there are more than 800,000 refugees, IDP centers (temporary accommodation centers — Ed.) are overcrowded, it is almost impossible to rent an apartment, although Christians let Shiites into their neighborhoods, but with great fear and only through identity verification through the local municipality. If they decide to rent (an apartment — Ed.), then the rental price from the pre-war one is multiplied by at least three. In other words, a two-room apartment (not in the best condition), in which the owners are allowed to accommodate no more than 6-8 people, will cost 2 thousand dollars. Because of this, most people stay in the PVR, with relatives or friends in the mountains or in villages.

There are also Syrians and Palestinians, who are also moving to the countryside. Anyone who could have left has already left. The rest apply for visas to all countries of the world, wherever they can be accepted — this is the essence of the Lebanese even in peacetime.

It should be understood that there are 4.5 million Lebanese in the country, and there are 18 million of us worldwide, and the Lebanese diaspora in Brazil alone has more than 3 million compatriots.

"Both citizens and authorities already know what to do and how to deal with difficulties"

Alexander Sorokin, Director of the Russian House in Beirut

— The situation in the country remains tense. It is known from open sources that the southern part of Beirut is constantly under attack: aircraft destroy entire houses, and drones deliver targeted strikes on apartments in multi-storey buildings. The danger persists all the time: you never know who's driving in the next car, whose house you're passing, or whether your neighbors are the next target.

As for the infrastructure: some municipal institutions, schools and stadiums have been transformed into temporary accommodation facilities. It is also noticeable that some abandoned buildings are now inhabited by people, probably refugees from the southern regions of the country.

The situation on the streets remains generally calm. Yes, every store, restaurant, and grocery store has news channels turned on, but there is no panic in the area where the Russian House is located.

There are enough products: the shops are open, the delivery is working as before. The assortment of some categories has decreased slightly (for example, milk is represented not by 5-7 types, but by 3-4), but this does not affect the overall availability of products. I will only note the rise in price of fuel (gasoline and diesel), which is quite natural given the current situation in the Middle East.

There were noticeably more cars on the streets, and traffic jams arose due to vehicles parked in several rows near temporary accommodation facilities.

There are a lot of refugees. According to various estimates, from 550 thousand to 900 thousand people. They are mostly residents of southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut. Some of them are staying with relatives and friends in the north of the country, while others occupy temporary accommodation facilities.

The situation is very similar to what it was 15 months ago. I am sure that both citizens and authorities already know what to do and how to deal with difficulties.

People who have not yet fully recovered from the last war perceive what is happening in the same way as any person who finds himself in a difficult life situation.

The airport is open, there are regular flights, anyone can leave the country. The cost of tickets is not astronomical: for example, a ticket to Turkey costs around 300-350 dollars.

However, given the experience gained in the last war, many people hope to wait out the acute phase and return to normal life as soon as possible. They consider leaving the country only in case of urgent need or repeated aggravation of the situation.

"People sleep in tents or just outdoors"

Elena, a Russian woman living in Beirut

— At the moment I live in the center of Beirut. For five days now, the sound of drones has been heard around the clock, reconnaissance drones, as far as I understand. You can also usually hear low-flying military aircraft of the Israeli Armed Forces, but I haven't heard them yet today. We flew low yesterday, I heard it about seven times.

There are many refugees from southern Lebanon in the city center, as well as from the southern outskirts of the city, people sleep in tents or just outdoors.

There is no panic, shops are open, there is no lack of food and fuel yet. In the city, the Southern area was mainly affected.

"Thousands of people have left their homes"

Karl, runs a blog about Lebanon

— The situation in Lebanon continues to escalate. In Beirut, most shops are still open, and transportation is still working properly. However, the southern suburbs of Beirut (Dahiya) were severely affected.

Thousands of people have fled their homes. Many people sleep on the streets or in open public places because they have nowhere else to go.

Yesterday, strikes were carried out in the Ramlet al-Bayda area, where civilians were sleeping on the street after leaving their homes, which caused panic among residents of the area.

In general, people are very worried and fear that the situation may worsen even more.