Residents depart as border tension between Israel and Lebanon rises

 Residents depart as border tension between Israel and Lebanon rises

There have been regular gunfights between the Israeli army and highly armed extremists in Lebanon near the Lebanese border with Israel for days.

There are worries that the violence may intensify into a larger conflict as a result of these clashes.

In the southern village of Bein Jbeil, which is on the Lebanese side of the border, the streets were peaceful. Most stores were shut.

Fearing that an escalation of the confrontation between Israel and Hamas would convert this region, which is controlled by the powerful Shia Islamist party Hezbollah, into a new front in the fight, many inhabitants of this and other border towns have departed.

Among the few individuals observed outdoors, a group of twelve guys were seated around a plastic table. Some people ate pizza, while others smoked. They didn't seem to be worried.

Mohammed Baidoun, 52, remarked, "I'm not going to leave unless [the situation] gets out of hand, which I doubt," as he spoke under the careful eye of a few Hezbollah minders who had swarmed in from all sides as soon as we arrived. "I have belief in the resistance that we have here... I'm certain deep down that [Hezbollah] will safeguard us."

The whole nation is plagued by the uncertainty about what Hezbollah will do. The US, the UK, and other countries label the group as a terrorist organization, much as Hamas does. Since the Israel-Hamas conflict started, its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has kept his mouth shut.

The second-ranking Hezbollah official, Naim Qassem, declared the organization to be "fully ready" and said that they would not be frightened by warnings from the US and other nations to stay away. However, it is difficult to guess what preparations they could be undertaking due to their secrecy.

Hezbollah, a social and political movement founded in the 1980s, has long been viewed by Israel as being far more powerful than Hamas. The organization possesses a vast arsenal of weapons, including precision-guided missiles that's capable of strike deep into Israeli territory, in addition to tens of thousands of highly skilled, combat-ready fighters.

Hezbollah has only carried out cross-border attacks along the Blue Line, a de facto boundary between Lebanon and Israel that was established by the UN.

The organization and its linked Palestinian groups have carried out assaults, including many attempted incursions into Israel from southern Lebanon, and have engaged in frequent missile and artillery fire exchanges with the Israeli military.

Both sides have lost people in the clashes, including civilians.

Israel's side of the population is also fleeing.

Israeli authorities said on Friday that they were evacuating residents of Kiryat Shmona, a city in the north with roughly 20,000 inhabitants. In recent days, rocket fire has targeted it.

Days before, it declared a no-go zone within 2 km of the border and announced the evacuation of 28 towns.

Following an explosion at a hospital in Gaza, tensions in Lebanon increased further on Tuesday.

Hamas quickly pointed the finger at Israel, although the Israeli military said that a misfired Palestinian terrorist missile was to blame.

However, Hezbollah called it a "massacre" by Israel, and hundreds of its supporters demonstrated in Beirut while yelling anti-American and anti-Israeli chants. However, it was a modest protest in comparison to what the organization had called a "unprecedented day of anger".

Under the condition of anonymity, a source acquainted with Hezbollah's thinking said that the organization's actions will be influenced by what transpires in Gaza. "If the Israelis invade [the territory]," a source said, "this contributes to a regional catastrophe" .

Some others think Iran, Hezbollah's principal supporter, will likely decide what to do next.

Last Sunday, Israel claimed that Hezbollah assaults on Israeli territory were ordered by Tehran. Tehran, however, issued a warning that a "pre-emptive action" may be taken by the "resistance front," an alliance of its regional troops with organizations in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.

In light of the fact that many people still remember the catastrophic month-long struggle Israel and Hezbollah engaged in in 2006, the general view among analysts before to the most recent outbreak of violence was that neither Israel nor Hezbollah expressed an interest in engaging in another war.

Years of political squabbling have left Lebanon without a functional president or cabinet, and the country's long-standing economic crisis has only made sectarian tensions worse.

The local mosque and a few homes were struck by Israeli retaliatory attacks last week in the border community of Dhayra, west of Bein Jbeil.

The terrorists, according to 36-year-old local Sabrina Fanash, who relocated to Beirut after the conflict began, were exploiting her Sunni-majority hamlet for their assaults.

"It's unfair that our homes are in that condition. Who will build them back up? As she moved through the half wrecked house of her relative, she remarked.

"We're all depressed... We rely on God, and God will watch after us.