SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Monday was the deadliest day since 2006 for Lebanese civilians. Israeli air strikes killing almost 500 people, as the conflict with the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah escalates.
“I’m listening to the news all the time. I can’t concentrate much on my work. I'm worried about them.”
Camille Bsaibes lives in Scripps Ranch, and just recently visited his three sisters in Lebanon. They're in the small village of Ablah, around 80 miles north of the border with Israel. Missiles recently reached their neighborhood, exploding near Bsaibes’ family.
“Nobody’s safe," Bsaibes said. "I'm really worried about them. They can hide but there’s no real shelter. It’s a small village, nobody expected something like that to happen.”
Over the past year, Hezbollah has carried out attacks against Israel, in solidarity with Hamas. Forcing tens of thousands of Israelis to evacuate the northern part of the country. Israel now retaliating with the hope of creating safe conditions for citizens to return to their homes. The escalation put the U.S. on edge, president Joe Biden agreed to send additional troops to the region.
"The United States really doesn’t want an escalation on the eve of an election here,” said Eli Berman, an Economics professor at UCSD and Israeli Defense Forces veteran. “If we were to get to the big escalation by accident or on purpose. There’s a scenario where there’s American troops at risk in the Persian Gulf, the oil prices spike, and the American electorate goes: 'Wait a minute. Aren’t we in charge of keeping the Middle East quiet?'”
As the U.S. works to close this new front of conflict in the Middle East, Lebanese civilians have nothing but their homes to protect them.
“People want peace, they want to live in peace, but unfortunately war is overwhelming everything,” Bsaibes said.
