 Beirut - Apocalyptic scenes covered most areas in the predominantly Shiite Hezbollah hotbed areas in southern Lebanon following a night of fierce Israeli shelling on Sunday. Nine-storey buildings were totally destroyed in what used to be named 'Hezbollah's security square,' while bridges have been reduced to rubble and roads in this part of the capital simply no longer exist.
| The cockles of my heart are all toasty warm... |
A walk through the Haret Hreik, Bir Al Abed and Musrafiyeh areas is like walking through a ghost town. Few Hezbollah militants wearing army fatigues were seen venturing through the rubble to assess the damage inflicted by the strikes.
| We heard the other night they were getting mighty scarce... |
'I refuse to leave this area despite the heavy shelling...I want to die at home,' one man, Ali Haidar told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in Haret Hreik.
Destruction is everywhere in what used to be an area heavily populated mostly by Hezbollah followers. Further into the capital, the scene is a bit different, but roads were empty and people were confined to their homes and to watching their television sets, despite that it is a Sunday, which is normally a day of recreation in Beirut. 'We are all home watching developments on television and praying that the world community will find a solution to implement a ceasefire as soon as possible to spare the civilians losses,' Nayla Saba, a Christian woman in the area of Ashrafiyeh told dpa. 'I think Hezbollah this time underestimated their enemy and did not expect such a retaliation for the capturing of the two Israeli soldiers on Wednesday,' she added.
| Picked right up on that, didn't she? |
Two Christian women near a church in east Beirut expressed their anger against Hezbollah and held the movement responsible for the destruction and human losses. 'They want an open war,' said Georgette Hadad. 'Look what they did to the people...Their guerrillas are not dying but the people are.'
| They figure that's what they have civilians for. |
| Guerrillas aren't dying? Dang it, Israel, push harder. |
Meanwhile, supermarkets in the capital were opened Sunday to try to supply the Lebanese with food supplies. A supermarket manager told dpa, 'we will stay open 24/24 to try to supply the people with their needs in these difficult times.' |