Lebanese Canadians say they’re fearful for their families as Israeli bombing, which has already killed hundreds, continues in Lebanon.
Ghinwa Yassine in Vancouver said her cousin, aunt and uncle woke up earlier this week to the sound of a nearby air strike shattering the glass windows of their Lebanon home.
“[My uncle] left his phone, he left everything. He was in his slippers and he got in the car,” Yassine said.
Yassine said two members of her extended family have been killed in air strikes.
“Now I’m obsessing. I literally wake up and I check the news, which is not something I should do,” she said. “I’m really trying to convince my parents to leave.”
Yassine’s family were among more than 90,000 people estimated to have been displaced within Lebanon after Israel escalated attacks in the country earlier this week in its campaign targeting the leaders and weapons of militant group Hezbollah.
More than 600 people have been killed in the recent attacks, according to Lebanese health officials, and despite global calls for a ceasefire, Israel has continued the bombing. On Friday, multiple buildings were levelled in Beirut’s southern suburbs, with Israel claiming to have struck the central headquarters of Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah has fired barrages of rockets deep into Israel.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for a de-escalation of the violence, and the U.S. is leading negotiations at the United Nations for a proposed ceasefire. On Thursday, Israel rejected those calls.
Those with family in Lebanon say they’re fearing the worst. Two Canadians, Hussein and Daad Tabaja, were among those killed in southern Lebanon.
“I’m worried for my loved ones, and for Lebanese people, for my home country,” Marwa El Charif told Daybreak South Wednesday. “I just hope that it stops.”
El Charif said she moved from Beirut to Kelowna, B.C., seven years ago while most of her family, except for her brother, stayed behind.
Daybreak South9:03Israel has ramped up attacks on Hezbollah militants by launching hundreds of airstrikes in Lebanon
Kelowna resident, Marwa El Charif is nervously watching events unfold in Lebanon because she has family living in Beirut.
El Charif said her mother fled to Syria to escape the bombing, while her father stayed at home in Beirut.
UN officials confirmed Friday more than 90,000 people were displaced from their homes in Lebanon this week — but many cannot leave the country. El Charif said it’s difficult for most of her family to get visas or other travel documents needed to get to safety.
“Where can they go?,” she said. “It’s not that easy, you can’t just up and leave.”
Yassine said the situation in Lebanon has also put her livelihood in jeopardy. Yassine said she obtained grants to film a documentary about her parent’s village last year, but the project has stalled.
Since conflict erupted in the Middle East last October, Yassine said she hasn’t been able to head to Lebanon to work on the film.
“Things are just getting worse and worse and now it looks like I won’t be able to go. Now I’m at a crisis point,” she said. “I may not be able to complete this project. Then what do I do? I may need to send a few thousand [dollars] to my parents somewhere else.”
Israel says it is determined to put an end to almost a year of Hezbollah fire into its territory. The scope of Israel’s operation remains unclear, but officials have said a ground invasion to push the militant group away from the border is a possibility. Israel has moved thousands of troops toward the border.