live report | lebanese people fleeing on the "bloodiest day"
2024-09-25
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beirut, september 24 (xinhua) -- lebanese people fleeing on the "bloodiest day"
xinhua news agency reporter cheng shuaipeng and xie hao
the airstrike was unexpected. within 5 minutes, the village of tel deba in southern lebanon was bombed 7 times. in a panic, 62-year-old raif mughniyeh rushed into the house to collect his id card and passport, and then joined the flood of refugees with his wife and grandson.
"on the way out, from the coast to the eastern border, all i could see were flames from the air strikes." in a school classroom that houses refugees in the center of beirut, the capital of lebanon, mughniyeh still has lingering fears as he recalls his experiences over the past 24 hours.
the 23rd was the "bloodiest day" since the escalation of the lebanese-israeli conflict. israeli air strikes lasted from early morning to late at night, and many towns and villages in the southern provinces of lebanon, nabatiyah, bekaa, and baalbek-hilmel provinces were engulfed in flames. the latest data released by the lebanese ministry of public health on the 24th showed that the air strikes had caused 558 deaths and 1,835 injuries, including 50 children and 94 women.
the bombings were heard everywhere, and a large number of lebanese people fled in panic. lebanese prime minister najib mikati said on the 24th that israel's air strikes on the 23rd had caused at least 16,500 lebanese to flee their homes.
talking about what he saw on the way, the gray-haired mughniyeh couldn't help but raise his voice, "there were constant bombings along the way, and the villages we passed by were on fire." when they were about to reach tyre, several cars six or seven meters ahead of them were hit by a bomb, and the people in the cars were killed on the spot.
because there were too many people fleeing, the road from tyre to beirut was severely congested. the journey that was originally more than an hour's drive took mughniyeh's family seven hours.
mughniyeh's family was placed in a classroom of more than ten square meters. there were several simple mats in the room. his two-and-a-half-year-old grandson was sleeping on the mat against the wall.
sitting at a shabby desk, mughniyeh took out a transparent plastic bag containing a dark brown towel, a blue underwear and a baseball cap. these were all the clothes he brought with him.
50-year-old hussein mustafa and his family of five also took refuge in this resettlement.
"the airstrikes started at 6:30 in the morning and continued until we left. the shells landed 30 to 40 meters away from my home," mustafa from jabshit in the south told reporters. "basically everyone in the town has left."
at noon on the 23rd, mustafa's family hurriedly left with bed sheets and clothes. it took them nine and a half hours to get from their hometown to beirut. when the reporter interviewed him, mustafa's little daughter acil was standing next to him. regarding the airstrikes, the 7-year-old girl said, "i'm used to it."
the conflict between lebanon and israel is spiraling out of control. hamza, who lives in beirut, told reporters: "no one knows what will happen. will the war spread to beirut?" a day ago, he hurriedly purchased food, water, medicine and gasoline in case of emergency.
"will lebanon become the second gaza? people are asking," hamza said worriedly. (end)
