BBCA twisted and cracked metal sign sits stuck in the middle of a three-story pile of rubble and charred belongings in southern Beirut. It says “Spare parts. Jeep Cherokee”.
This is the only evidence that the ground floor of the destroyed building was occupied by a busy auto parts store. It is one of many such businesses destroyed in heavy Israeli bombing of Dahiyeh, a predominantly Hezbollah-controlled city on the capital’s southern outskirts.
“I was very confident that we wouldn’t get shot because of the nature of the people here – civilians, civilians, business owners,” Imad Abdelhak said as he stared at the destroyed buildings. spoke.
Mr. Abdelhak’s garage next door survived the worst of the bombing, but he is waiting to determine whether the entire building needs to be demolished due to the impact.
Business owners across Lebanon are reeling after Israeli bombs rained down on residential, commercial and industrial areas in the country, destroying stores, warehouses and stockpiles of goods in the violent conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. .
A ceasefire brokered by the United States and France has largely kept the war at a halt last week, but for many of the country’s business owners and workers, the pain is just beginning.
“I lost $20,000 and my only source of income,” said Ibrahim Mortada, another auto parts dealer in Dahieh whose building was damaged. “I have no idea how we’re going to survive,” he says.
Like Abdelhak, Mortada was waiting for engineers to evaluate the building, but it was clear to those standing underneath that the structure was dangerous. The direct hit destroyed the top 7th floor. Huge slabs of concrete and loose debris hung precariously over Mortada’s head as he tried to clear what was left of the site.
“My business has been operating here for 23 years,” he said dejectedly. “We are now hoping that God will help us.”
Business owners in Dahieh and elsewhere are also counting on Hezbollah, Lebanon’s powerful political and armed group. Hezbollah announced this week that it would assess the damage to homes and businesses and launch a plan to distribute cash to help people pay rent, buy new furniture and buy homes. Then start rebuilding.
On Wednesday, people were still awaiting the arrival of Hezbollah assessors in the southern city of Nabatiyeh, where the Ottoman-era market and surrounding shops were completely destroyed.
“No one contacted us. No one from the government, no one from any organization,” said the 56-year-old woman whose Zen Baby Fashion store disappeared with virtually all its inventory. , said Niran Ali.
As Ali searched through the rubble, he saw soot-covered pink women’s jersey bottoms hanging from a steel beam jutting out of the mountain. “This is mine,” she said, running her fingers along the dark fabric. “Maybe they’re the only ones left in my business.”
Like others in Nabatiye, Ali believes that Hezbollah starts with appraised homes (the group has pledged $5,000 per household to pay rent and $8,000 to replace furniture) and that losses are much later. I heard that you were planning to move to a larger company. .
Jalal Nasser, who owned a large complex containing a coffee shop, restaurant and library, returned to the city on the first day of the ceasefire to find the complex charred to the ground by a massive airstrike across the road. I saw it turn into a He estimated he lost up to $250,000.
He set up a small table and chair at the edge of the building’s shell overlooking the main street and smoked a hookah. “To give people hope,” he said.
As for where the money for the rebuild will come from, “that’s the big question,” he said with a shrug. “But we are waiting for Hezbollah. I’m sure they will give.”
The World Bank estimates that the war has caused at least $8.5 billion worth of damage to Lebanon’s economy. This is a huge amount for a similar country, but for Lebanon it comes on the heels of the 2019 financial crisis and a devastating port explosion the following year.
In the aftermath of the previous war with Israel in 2006, funds poured in from Iran and Gulf states to rebuild Lebanon. It’s unclear whether that faucet will be turned on this time.
“Nothing has been decided yet regarding allocations for recovery,” Nasser Yassin, Minister of the Environment and Head of the Government’s Crisis Office, told the BBC on Wednesday.
“We have some good signs and some commitments from our Lebanese friends,” he said. “But this time we expect billions of dollars to be needed. The level of destruction is probably six to 10 times what it was in 2006.”
Israel insists that the attack on Nabatiyeh was acting only against Hezbollah and not against the Lebanese people. Yassin accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of “murder” for the widespread destruction of the city.
Imran Riza, the acting UN special coordinator for Lebanon, who visited Nabatiyeh on Wednesday afternoon, told the BBC that the scale of work to be done was “huge”.
“The last two and a half months in particular have been very destructive,” he said. “The way home is very long.”
The historic market of Nabatiers dates back almost 500 years. It has been repeatedly attacked by Israel for decades since 1978. Unlike previous attacks, this one was complete destruction.
“This is the worst war for Nabatiye, the worst war we have ever seen,” said Yusuf Muzan, who runs a clothing store at the market. In his shop, the few surviving garments were hung from a rail, covered in soot. He estimated he sustained about $80,000 worth of damage.
In 2006, Hezbollah made large donations to affected business owners. This time, he had no idea who he was going to receive what from him. “But we’ve lost everything,” he said, “so someone has to give us something.”
Additional reporting by Joanna Mazjob. Photo by Joel Gunter.
