The road into Tyre is lined with Hezbollah flags and billboards bearing images of fallen fighters. We are in the Israeli-ordered evacuation zone in southern Lebanon, where the human toll of the latest conflict is mounting.
A group of mourners gathers by the roadside at a makeshift cemetery, burying four men they say were medics and social workers-not fighters. Ehsan Dbouk, a cleric, explains they can no longer return to their villages on the frontline. "We can't bury our martyrs in their villages," he says. "The enemy doesn't distinguish between civilian and combatant."
The Israel Defense Forces have expanded the evacuation zone north to the Zahrani River-25 miles from the border-raising fears of a ground invasion. Over 800 people have been killed, and hundreds of thousands displaced.
Ehsan rejects claims that Hezbollah is dragging Lebanon into an unwinnable war. "The displaced are part of the resistance," he says. "Hezbollah was born from their homes."
Nada Harb, a mother and supporter, refuses to flee. "I won’t leave. I was born in war. But there was no resistance then like Hezbollah."
From her balcony, she shows three buildings struck by airstrikes. The IDF insists it targets Hezbollah infrastructure-but civilian casualties are mounting. Bridges used by both militants and locals have been hit. Thousands now live without power, shelter, or voice.
