After attack, north Lebanon villagers fret Israel targets displaced people

Ain Yaaqoub, Lebanon – Shredded clothing, dusty surgery array legs, torn copies of nan Quran, a reddish “I emotion you” teddy carnivore and a book connected Aristotle amid piles of socks – these, among galore different things, dishonesty strewn amid nan rubble successful nan bluish Lebanese colony of Ain Yaaqoub successful Akkar pursuing a deadly Israeli aerial raid.

Beneath each this, astatine slightest 1 assemblage remains trapped nether nan rubble of what was a two-storey flat building, Red Cross rescuers say. Metres away, charred, unrecognisable assemblage parts litter nan ground.

Monday night’s Israeli aerial strike connected Ain Yaaqoub successful this remote, acold bluish area of Lebanon, killed astatine slightest 14 people, says Walid Semaan, caput of nan Lebanese Red Cross.

This was nan 2nd Israeli onslaught connected Akkar, Lebanon’s northernmost governorate, since Israel ramped up its deadly bombardment of Lebanon successful precocious September. The erstwhile hit, a week before, destroyed a span linking 2 distant villages successful nan mountainous region. Nobody was killed that clip around.

The onslaught connected Monday, however, was moreover further northbound and was thing little than a “massacre”, according to group successful Ain Yaaqoub, taking retired not only nan flat building but galore much homes astir it arsenic well.

“There were truthful galore women and children,” says Feryal Harb, whose deceased relative owned nan building that was struck. She weeps arsenic she sits connected a actual artifact adjacent to nan wreckage while neighbours unearth family photograph albums and Qurans, handing them to her successful succession. “We person truthful galore memories here,” she says.

A small measurement up nan elevation from nan blast site, Red Cross volunteers outcry that they person recovered much assemblage parts.

Another relative, Hassan Sahmarouni, says he believes nan building had been lodging astir 26 people. But rescuers could not find which of nan dormant they unearthed were women, men aliases children; their bodies were charred and crushed beyond recognition.

At a adjacent authorities infirmary are 14 wounded, expected to survive. Another infirmary received a burned torso precocious connected Monday night; administrators opportunity they cannot yet find its identity.

The actual building housed a Syrian female and her 4 daughters who had moved successful respective years ago. One level supra them was a Lebanese family who had arrived successful caller weeks from confederate Lebanon’s Nabatieh district, fleeing Israeli bombs, neighbours told Al Jazeera. It was not clear to them why this building successful a mini upland village, surrounded by oliva groves and small else, was struck.

Rubble and remains dishonesty strewn successful nan aftermath of an Israeli aerial ambush connected nan bluish Lebanese colony of Ain Yaaqoub successful Akkar [Raghed Waked/Al Jazeera]

“They kept to themselves, we ne'er sewage to cognize them,” says Amina Radwan, a mother of four, whose next-door location is now mangled and blanketed successful shards of model glass. She and her children had been retired of nan location shopping for groceries erstwhile nan explosive hit. “If we sewage backmost location 5 minutes earlier, God knows what would person happened.”

A mendacious consciousness of security?

With truthful galore dormant and aggregate surrounding homes ripped apart, residents present now fearfulness they are nary longer isolated from a warfare that has, until now, spared them.

Since October past year, Israeli strikes connected Lebanon person killed astir 3,300 people, nan mostly of them since Israel’s onslaught escalated successful September. More than 1.2 cardinal group person fled their homes successful these 2 months. Tens of thousands person taken refuge successful schools converted into shelters.

Others, however, person moved into vacant apartments successful quieter areas of nan state distant from nan beforehand lines, including present successful mountainous Akkar.

Some 170km (105 miles) from Lebanon’s embattled confederate separator and a three-hour thrust from nan capital, Beirut, Akkar’s remoteness has agelong meant authorities neglect. With fewer occupation opportunities, galore residents activity successful agriculture aliases subordinate nan service – lending nan governorate its nickname, “storehouse of nan army”.

But since Israel began its onslaught connected Gaza which triggered a near-daily speech of occurrence pinch Hezbollah crossed nan separator successful Lebanon much than a twelvemonth ago, that region gave Akkar a consciousness of comparative safety.

“We didn’t deliberation this could hap here,” says Ahmed Rakhieh, who lives correct adjacent to nan explosive site.

“Now, khalas [enough]! Nowhere is safe.”

Moments later, nan sound of an unseen Israeli combatant pitchy reverberates.

‘I americium sleeping among nan ashes’

Steps from nan destroyed building, 45-year-old Ammar Khodr’s ground-floor room has been blown out, leaving conscionable a mishmash of tile tiles and splintered cabinets. “I can’t hole anything,” he says, dazed. Instead, he is simply “sleeping among nan ashes”, while his 5 children are now staying pinch relatives.

Next door, astatine Amina Radwan’s house, her children’s beds are covered successful surgery glass. She says she is worried that location whitethorn person been Hezbollah members among nan displaced who took up residence adjacent door, and this whitethorn person prompted Israel’s Monday nighttime bombing. “[Hezbollah supporters] shouldn’t travel and unrecorded among america here, astir children and guiltless people.”

Rumours were circulating connected Tuesday that nan target of nan erstwhile night’s onslaught was a family personnel of Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem. But a family friend of 1 of nan injured, besides from Nabatieh, tells Al Jazeera from nan Akkar infirmary that nan building residents were “innocent” and did not beryllium to Hezbollah.

Amina Khodr, who lives adjacent doorway to nan destroyed building and whose look was trim by surgery solid successful nan Israeli bombing connected Monday nighttime [Raghed Waked/Al Jazeera]

About 10,500 displaced group from Lebanon’s southbound and nan Bekaa Valley – areas nether dense Israeli bombardment – person taken refuge successful this portion of Akkar, according to a section charismatic who requested anonymity.

Some 120 of them are successful al-Ayoun, nan adjacent colony complete from Ain Yaaqoub, Asaad Ibrahim, a municipal assembly member, says, sitting successful his plot connected Tuesday afternoon, little than 24 hours aft nan deadly Israeli attack, pinch his family members.

At first, successful September, erstwhile Israeli strikes forced hundreds of thousands to flee, location was a consciousness of solidarity successful Akkar, says Ibrahim. Residents were proud to supply lodging for their countrymen, displaced from nan beforehand statement – nary general rental contracts required.

“But group are frightened now,” he says. The mosque adjacent to his location sounds retired nan noontime telephone to prayer. September’s solidarity is fading. Is Akkar still acold removed from nan war, aft Monday night?

“There’s nary specified point arsenic ‘far’.”

Ibrahim and others told Al Jazeera connected Tuesday they fearfulness nan Israeli bombing, and nan deaths and harm it caused, could ignite societal tensions towards nan displaced Lebanese, astir of whom are Shia Muslims now surviving successful a mostly Sunni and Christian portion of bluish Lebanon which has nary accepted support guidelines for Hezbollah.

One artifact distant from Ibrahim’s house, connected their pavilion overlooking a quiet alleyway, 2 women from a displaced southbound Lebanon family declined to beryllium interviewed, saying they fearfulness societal repercussions.

Loved ones of those injured successful Monday’s strike, whom Al Jazeera recovered gathered astatine nan adjacent authorities hospital, besides declined interviews, still upset by nan bombing and fearful of information risks should they speak pinch nan press.

Among nan injured survivors is Akil Harb, a young NGO task head from Nabatieh whose puerility friend, Hassan Hassan, is waiting successful nan emergency ward hallway.

“He’s successful shock,” Hassan says. “His begetter and 2 siblings died, and his mother was wounded … People are still excessively upset to speak.” Hassan insists he still feels invited successful northbound Lebanon aft locals donated humor pursuing Monday night’s Israeli strike.

‘They’re family’

Meanwhile, nan neighbours are opening to cleanable up their shattered homes.

A bloodied garment lies successful nan rubble successful nan aftermath of nan Israeli bombing successful Ain Yaaqoub [Raghed Waked/Al Jazeera]

Others conscionable want to time off altogether, rattled by nan bombing aliases distraught astatine thoughts of nan astronomical repair costs.

Hassan Sahmarouni, nan relative of nan destroyed building’s owner, says he won’t laic blasted connected nan displaced family from Nabatieh. “We don’t spot them arsenic ‘refugees from nan south’,” he says, opinionated atop nan debris.

“We spot them arsenic family.”

Later on, Radwan’s 4 daughters expanse up solid successful what remains of their location into small piles.

A bucket of olives, gathered 2 days agone arsenic portion of nan yearly harvest, sits successful nan kitchen, spoiled by shards of window. The girls stitchery bags of clothing to return elsewhere, fresh to fly a warfare that has now reached Akkar.

Outside, Red Cross volunteers food retired charred bits of erstwhile neighbours from nan crushed and cod them successful integrative biohazard bags; it is each that is near of them.