Beirut resident to Israelis: ‘We’re not Hezbollah, we don’t want war’

Lebanese civilians are “angry at Hezbollah” for forcing them into a war, writes Beirut local.

By World Israel News Staff

A Lebanese resident of Beirut penned a column about the atmosphere of dread in the country’s capital ahead of an expected Israeli strike, giving permission to Hebrew-language outlet Ynet to translate his words in order to reach Israeli readers.

“This situation of being ‘at-war’ was imposed on us,” wrote Danny Elias, a Lebanese national and married father-of-three. “We are not members of Hezbollah, are not involved in wars against Israel, and we lead normal lives in Beirut.”

Elias said that he and his fellow countrymen are essentially being held captive by the Hezbollah terror group, which operates with impunity on Lebanese soil.

“The truth is that since October 8, when the first missile flew from southern Lebanon, we fear getting involved in a military campaign that we have nothing to do with,” Elias wrote.

“This is a dangerous adventure that will harm the precarious economic situation in Lebanon. How will we survive it? And I ask myself, why did Hezbollah suddenly decide to ‘volunteer’ to join the war in Gaza? Explain to us, to the citizens of Lebanon, what they want?”

Elias, who arrived at Lebanon’s only international airport on Monday for a long-awaited vacation aboard with his family, was “surprised” to find that their flight, along with dozens of others, were abruptly cancelled.

Many local Middle Eastern and international airlines fear that the IDF will bomb the airport, in response to a Hezbollah attack that killed 12 children and teens in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights on Saturday.

While some Lebanese believe that neither side is interested in a full-scale war, Elias noted that he and others believe “that the war will reach Beirut.”

Elias said that they “are angry at the decision of one side – Hezbollah – to declare a war…that civilian Lebanon has no interest in entering into.”