Lebanon|Susanne Dahlgren, director of the Finnish Middle East Institute, says that Lebanon, which has been the target of Israeli attacks, still believes in diplomacy.
Nearly 500 people were killed and more than 1,600 wounded in Israeli attacks in Lebanon on Monday. It was the bloodiest day in the conflict that escalated at the beginning of the Gaza war between Israel and the extremist organization Hezbollah.
The attacks have caused not only extensive destruction but also panic.
“There is a fearful, nervous and expectant atmosphere here,” director of the Finnish Middle East Institute Susanne Dahlgren described on Monday.
“We expect the worst here, but at the same time we believe that a diplomatic path is possible.”
Dahlgren discovered in the early evening when returning home from work in Beirut that many places open in the evenings were closed. For example, cafes and bars were closed, and people had retreated to their homes to follow the news about the attacks.
In the grocery store, Dahlgren was confronted by a Lebanese army soldier who was shopping for wine.
“It wasn’t a very convincing, security-enhancing feeling that a soldier would come to buy a bottle of wine.”
Most of Israel’s attacks were aimed at the southern parts of Lebanon, but there were also attacks on, for example, Beirut and the northeastern parts of the country. According to Dahlgren, some of the attacks were targeted at surprising places that have not been attacked before.
On Monday in the morning, according to Dahlgren, threatening messages were received in Lebanon, which eventually turned out to be false.
“For example, here in Beirut there was a message that a couple of ministries were going to be attacked, and luckily it was corrected very quickly.”
Qatari media Al-Jazeera told on Monday evening that the roads leading to Beirut were blocked by people fleeing southern Lebanon. Dahlgren says that there is also a similar movement away from Beirut towards the mountains, as some own a second apartment there.
The schools are closed at least on Tuesday, because those fleeing from southern Lebanon are accommodated there, Dahlgren says. According to him, the demand for rental apartments has also grown explosively, which has led to an increase in rental prices.
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