(31 Oct 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Deir El-Ahmar, eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon – 31 October 2024
1. Various of displaced residents of Baalbek and nearby areas resting at a building turned shelter
2. Various of people arriving, carrying luggage
3. Various of Baraa Zaiter, a displaced woman, tiding up mattresses and blankets
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Baraa Zaiter, displace from Iaat:
"They warned us yesterday to evacuate the town of Iaat, so we came to Deir El-Ahmar. The road was very crowded, but they welcomed us in Deir El-Ahmar, and we are very grateful to them."
5. Various of woman cooking
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fadwa Qasim, displace from Douris:
"We came with our neighbors; they helped us escape here. We hope the situation calms down so we can return to our homes, if we still have homes. My children are scattered, each in a different area."
7. Woman hanging clothes to dry
8. Various of displaced smoking water-pipes
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Zahraa Younis, displace from Bouday:
"We sought refuge here from Bouday; our homes were destroyed. We came with nothing—no clothes or anything else—and took shelter here."
10. Various of displaced families resting
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jean Fakhry, head of the Union of Municipalities of Deir El-Ahmar:
"Yesterday, amid the aggressive warning for the Baalbek area, there was a massive human influx toward Deir El-Ahmar. The 17-kilometer road turned into a parking lot. Certainly, tens of thousands poured in. This is the first time we’ve witnessed such a major disaster. We now have 12,000 displaced people: about 2,500 in shelters and nearly 9,000 staying with our people, hosted in their homes. Yesterday’s scene was, indeed, catastrophic."
12. Various of children playing
STORYLINE:
A Christian area in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley, has seen an influx of thousands of people fleeing the area of Baalbek, about 17 km (10.5 miles) to the southeast, after Israel issued an evacuation notice and aerial bombardment of the city of Baalbek and surrounding areas Wednesday.
Residents of Baalbek and the nearby towns of Douris and Ain Bourday are evacuating en masse and moving towards the northern routes of Baalbek-Zahle and Baalbek-Ainata-Arz, the National News Agency reported.
Jean Fakhry, head of the Union of Municipalities of Deir El-Ahmar, described a "massive human influx toward Deir El Ahmar" in the wake of the warning.
"The 17-kilometer road turned into a parking lot," he said.
"Certainly tens of thousands poured in. This is the first time we’ve witnessed such a major disaster," Fakhry added.
About 12,000 displaced people are now staying in the area – about 2,500 of them in shelters and the rest being hosted in private homes, he said.
At one of the shelters, displaced families were still arriving toting luggage on Thursday while women cooked and tidied up mattresses and blankets.
“Our homes were destroyed," said Zahraa Younis, from the village of Bouday.
"We came with nothing—no clothes or anything else—and took shelter here," she added.
Fadwa Qasim from the village of Douris said “ we came with our neighbors; they helped us escape here. We hope the situation calms down so we can return to our homes, if we still have homes. My children are scattered, each in a different area."
Lebanese officials estimate that 1.2 million people have been displaced as a result of the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which escalated sharply in mid-September.
AP video shot by Fadi Tawil and Mahmad Aounti
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