Beirut Blasts Force Suburban Residents to Seek Refuge on City Beaches

The persistent airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs have forced Zeina Nazha and her daughter to seek refuge on the city's beaches. With shelters overflowing and no safer place to go, many are camping under the open sky or in makeshift tents. The conflict has displaced around a million people across Lebanon.

The repeated airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs have driven many, including Zeina Nazha and her young daughter, to seek safety by camping on city beaches. Nazha and others from Dahiyeh, a stronghold of Hezbollah, are sleeping on blankets, under the open sky, or in makeshift shelters, with no safer place to go. Over the past two weeks, Israel's intensified military campaign has displaced about a million people across Lebanon, including the south, Beirut, and the Bekaa valley, according to the Lebanese government.

Israel argues that the offensive is essential for securing its northern regions from Hezbollah's rocket attacks and allowing its citizens to return home. "There was bombing in al-Sallem neighbourhood. We stayed for a while there and then my family fled," said Nazha.

"The situation we're living in is very difficult... people are dying," she added. She and her daughter spent a night sleeping on the Corniche, the seaside walk in central Beirut, typically bustling with families in peaceful times. Despite numerous government and charitable shelters in schools and other facilities, Nazha said they are all full. Nearby, Mohamed Terkmene, a Syrian also displaced by the conflict, said he had been sleeping at the beach for four days after soldiers told him to evacuate his Dahiyeh home.

"We are not able to sleep, and we don't know how long we will stay here. A month, two months, a week or two, until this war is resolved," he said.

(With inputs from agencies.)