New Fear Divides Lebanon: Where People Flee, Bombs Follow

Tensions among multiple sects in the country have long lurked just below the surface. As hundreds of thousands flee Israeli airstrikes in the south, those strains are worsening.

Early in the war, the Christian villagers of Aitou in Lebanon’s far north rarely heard the buzz of drones or the sounds of bombs exploding — daily occurrences in the south, where Israel is battling the Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

Then a displaced Shiite family of tobacco farmers from the south arrived in Aitou, seeking refuge.

In the days that followed, more relatives joined the family. On Oct. 14, a man who was believed to be distributing aid money for Hezbollah drove up to the house where the family was staying and took bags full of cash inside, according to two neighbors and a man who delivered water to the family.

Minutes later, an Israeli airstrike flattened the house and killed the entire family along with the man who had brought the money. Some of the bills, both U.S. dollars and Lebanese pounds, were seen blowing in the air at the site immediately after the blast.

Only a statue of St. Charbel, a Maronite saint, remained standing just below the destroyed building.

The Israel-Hezbollah conflict escalated drastically in September, sending hundreds of thousands of people, mostly Shiite Muslims from southern Lebanon, fleeing their homes. Many sought refuge in areas dominated by other faiths and sects and Israel’s bombardments seemed to track the displaced as they dispersed across the country. Strikes like the one on Aitou, outside of Hezbollah-dominated southern Lebanon, began to rise.