AITO (TIP): Dany Alwan stood shaking as rescue workers pulled remains from piles of rubble where his brother’s building once stood. An Israeli airstrike destroyed the three-story residential building in the quiet Christian village of Aito the day before. His brother, Elie, had rented out its apartments to a friend who had fled here with relatives from their hometown in southern Lebanon under Israeli bombardment.
Things were fine for a few weeks. But that day, minutes after visitors arrived and entered the building, it was struck. Almost two dozen people were killed, half of them women and children. Israel stated it targeted a Hezbollah official, as it has claimed in other strikes with high civilian death tolls.
This strike in northern Lebanon, deep in the Christian heartland, was particularly unusual. Israel has concentrated its bombardment mostly in the country’s south and east and in Beirut’s southern suburbs, which are majority-Shiite areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence.
Strikes in traditionally “safe” areas where many displaced families have fled are raising fears among local residents. Many feel they have to choose between helping compatriots and protecting themselves. “We can’t welcome people anymore,” Alwan said as rescue teams combed through the rubble in Aito. “The situation is very critical in the village, and this is the first time something like this has happened to us.”
Aito is in the Zgharta province, which is split between Christian factions that support and oppose Hezbollah. Some Christian legislators critical of Hezbollah have warned of the security risks that could come with hosting displaced people, mostly from the Shia Muslim community. They worry that many may have familial and social ties to Hezbollah, which, in addition to its armed wing, has civilian services across southern and eastern Lebanon.
Some also worry that long-term displacement could create demographic changes and weaken the Christian share in Lebanon’s fragile sectarian power-sharing system. The tiny country has a troubled history of sectarian strife and violence, most notably during a 15-year civil war that ended in 1990. Lebanon has struggled for decades to navigate tensions and political gridlock within its sectarian power-sharing government system. Parliament is deeply divided among factions that support and oppose Hezbollah and has been without a president for almost two years. (AP)