Najib Ayyad checks his apartment in Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, which was heavily damaged and likely to be demolished.The apartment overlooks Beaufort Castle, a national symbol of deep personal meaning for him, now occupied by Israeli forces.
Diego Ibarra Sánchez for NPR hide caption NABATIYEH, Lebanon — Past the shattered glass of the balcony doors of Najib Ayyad's damaged apartment in southern Lebanon, he can see a historic local landmark — now occupied by Israeli forces."You see the castle?" he asks.Beaufort Castle, a crusader-era fortress, was seized in May by Israeli forces who have now gone far beyond what the Israeli government describes as a "security zone" in southern Lebanon."They can see us clearly from there," he says.
"Even if my apartment weren't damaged I couldn't stay."On the day we visit in June, smoke is rising from an Israeli artillery strike near Nabatiyeh, a small city that is a hub in the south of the country.The sound of Israeli drones is a constant backdrop in a city devastated by war, but which still shows tentative signs of residents trying to rebuild their lives here.
A member of the paramedic team watches a column of smoke rise after an Israeli strike in Nabatiyeh, Lebanon.Diego Ibarra Sánchez for NPR hide caption Ayyad, a parliamentary office worker, has come back only to salvage some belongings from the apartment.
He used to commute to work from here to the parliament member's office near Sidon, a short drive away.With no money to rent another apartment, he is staying with his daughter in her flat in Beirut.It's a struggle to even get to his apartment.
Broken chunks of concrete cover the building's entranceway while the staircase is littered in rubble and broken glass.Israe...