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DAY SIX

Humanitarian crisis
I am set to leave Beirut today and head back to Damascus. My colleagues will be in Lebanon for three months, if not longer, delivering aid to the people affected by the conflict. We have a meeting with other aid agencies to discuss the crisis and our strategy. Islamic Relief is clearly one of only a handful of international charities able to reach south Lebanon. We all agree that the humanitarian situation is critical and that aid agencies desperately need access to south Lebanon.

Crater on the highway

We head to Beirut’s port to unload a shipment of 80 tonnes of medical aid that has come from Islamic Relief’s USA office. After we are finished we hit the road. Driving out of Beirut we come across the now common sight of a crater on the highway. This time a van lies destroyed in the carnage. Whoever was in the vehicle would not have stood a chance – it looks like they took a direct hit from a missile.    

Joining the exodus

As we drive down the winding roads leading out of Beirut I look back the Lebanese capital - it is stunning city. I wonder if the towering flats that dominate the skyline will still be standing in a week’s time. We reach the Lebanese border and it is complete chaos. Last time I was here I was travelling in the opposite direction but this time I am joining the exodus leaving Lebanon. We are stuck at the border for hours. Each day thousands cross at this point, desperate to escape the unrelenting bombing.    

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DAY FIVE

Damaged roads
I’m heading for Beirut today with two of my colleagues. I have an urgent meeting with some other aid organisations and need to be in the Lebanese capital by 10am. We head north and on the way we stop by a truck that has overturned. Its content of fruit has spilt onto the road. The driver was trying to negotiate a huge crater that was blocking his way and now his vehicle lies on its side tinkering close to the edge of the cracked and destroyed road.

Journey time

We drive around it and carry on our journey. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve passed by bombed roads and bridges. I’m worried about being late because we never know what condition the roads will be in when we head out every morning. Even a short journey in Lebanon can take hours.    

Bustling Beirut

Fortunately we arrive in Beirut earlier than expected. It is a bustling city and traffic is heavy. Its population has increased significantly with the arrival of thousands civilians fleeing the South. But this is not a safe city - far from it.    

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DAY Four - The bombs are getting closer

Familiar bombing
I wake up in the morning and go outside into the courtyard – there is the familiar sound of aircraft in the distance. It’s strange but I’m used to it now.
I read on the internet there is heavy bombing in Tyre. I was only there the day before. I can’t imagine what the people of Tyre are going through. I wonder if Sulayman, the carpenter I met, is still sitting in his workshop making tables – I have a feeling he will be.

Alone on the road

We head to the southern city of Nabateyyeh. There is nobody on the road going south except our Islamic Relief vehicle and a truck carrying Lebanese soldiers. On previous days there were at least a few cars around but today there is nothing. We take the usual side roads driving around bombed bridges and craters. We are in seriously dangerous territory and the empty roads make me feel slightly nervous. I find myself listening to see if I can hear the sound of Israeli jets. We arrive in Nabateyyeh and I can’t see a soul. We drive and drive and there is nobody. We are here to try to arrange food distribution but it seems there is nobody left in the city.

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DAY THREE - At the coffin-maker’s workshop, it’s business as usual

Heading south

We are heading for the southern town of Tyre. It is not too far from the Israeli border and has been heavily bombed. We have distributed food parcels in the town and are looking to expand our work there. As we leave Sidon the roads are busy – it’s not been like this for a few days. I notice that many of the cars have white flags on their antennas. They are people fleeing from southern towns. Once again, I find myself going in the opposite direction to most of the traffic.

Deserted towns

As we get closer to Tyre Lebanese soldiers man more and more checkpoints.

The town itself is deserted. It has a population of around 80,000 but only a few thousand remain, if that. I can hear the sound of Israeli war planes and drones hovering above. There is intensive bombing taking place somewhere nearby – I ask a local and he tells me the bombing is only 10 km from where we are.

I walk through the streets and turn a corner where I find total destruction. A block of flats lies in ruins. On a pile of rubble I see the head of a baby doll and a child’s bag. I wonder who these items belonged to? It must have been a little girl. Where is she now? Is she dead or alive?

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DAY TWO - Petrol queues

Sidon is a beautiful city situated on the Lebanese coast. Driving through its streets I notice long queues of traffic outside petrol stations. It reminds me of the time we had a petrol crisis in the UK a few years ago. I still recall queuing for petrol and cursing the lorry drivers who were refusing to deliver fuel. But there’s no strike here – they simply can’t get petrol into the city.

Despite being the capital of South Lebanon, Sidon (also known as Saida) is like a ghost town. I’m looking around and all the shops are closed. People are scared to venture out into the streets. Although the Israelis have announced a halt to air strikes for 48 hours people still feel it is safer to remain indoors.

Village in the hills

I travelled to Tabbayeh, a stunning village high in the mountains just a few kilometres from Sidon. I’m taken aback as I look down from the hills at the beautiful Lebanese coastline. I can see the tide gently gliding onto the empty beach. If there was no Israeli bombing I could imagine the beach full of Lebanese families and tourists enjoying the sun, sea and sand. But there is hardly anyone there.

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DAY ONE - Entering Lebanon

It’s 11am on Sunday and we are making plans to leave the Syrian capital of Damascus to head for Beirut and Sidon in Lebanon. On Saturday night the main border point between Syria and Lebanon was bombed. We were going to use this route and now our plans have changed. Instead, we travel to northern Syria and enter from the one existing border crossing that has not yet been bombed. The original route would have only taken about one hour. This new route will take about four to five hours.

It takes us about two hours to get to the crossing at Tabousiya and there is chaos. Our Lebanese driver Yahya takes it all in his stride and sits patiently. Most of the traffic is heading out of Lebanon and into Syria, we are going on the opposite direction.

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