As a survivor of 33-day war, I know Is--el will again bite the dust in Lebanon

 By Roya Pour Bagher

As news came of Israeli airstrikes this week against Bekaa and Hermel in Lebanon, where my grandparents live, naturally my first reaction was that of concern and anxiety. I sensed that a full-blown war was imminent.

Once I saw videos of Israeli warplanes indiscriminately bombing civilian cars on the road between southern Lebanon and the capital Beirut, it took me back to the 33-day war in 2006 when I was in Lebanon.

Honestly speaking, I immediately realized that Israel was repeating the same foolhardy military adventurism against Lebanon. I am not the only one who felt this way. Many survivors of the 2006 war that I know had similar flashbacks and similar feelings.

To speak more of that war that we experienced first-hand, I believe it is sufficient to say the following: bombs were indiscriminately and recklessly dropped on residential buildings all around us and civilians were the targets.

I remember my family taking cover in the basement of our home in Bekaa, frantically hiding under tables and chairs. After we fled to Syria by car, bombs were raining on the highway left, right and center. I distinctly remember thinking, “Will the next one drop on our car?”

Somehow we were lucky to survive but it was a close encounter with death that taught us the real meaning of life and its unpredictable nature.

Being used to Israeli and Daesh terrorism against Lebanon over the years, I did not immediately check on my family and friends after hearing about the latest strikes.

However, I did check on my pregnant sister, only to hear that she was going to Hermal to visit my grandparents. Of course, I was surprised and warned her of the precarious security situation in the country.

My sister, who was in Hermal, told me of the explosions she witnessed with her own eyes and the ear-splitting sound of the rockets surrounding them that would not stop.

In southern Lebanon, a close friend informed me that she was stuck with no way to escape. She asked me to offer the funeral prayer, to read the Quran and Ziyarat Ashura, and to forgive her if she became one of the victims of the new Zionist aggression.

What can one possibly say in such dire circumstances to reassure those who are quite literally in the line of fire? How can one take away that overpowering sense of fear? All I could tell her, and all that truly needed to be said was: “I leave you in Allah’s care.”

I told her whatever was best would happen and I reassured her that I would do as she asked me to, and also asked for her forgiveness.

This is the reality of war. This is the reality that people in Gaza and Lebanon are facing. For those who have families there, it is excruciating. Watching your close ones, your dear ones, wake up to the horror of war every morning while your hands are tied thousands of miles away isn't easy.

The only weapon any Lebanese outside of the country has right now is prayer—a weapon powerful enough to topple and annihilate the most powerful empires, let alone an illegitimate entity that is weaker than a spider’s web.

Lebanese social media users have been sharing graphic pictures and stories of the horror they are facing while refusing to be cowed down. They are willing to die with dignity rather than live with humiliation.

The Israeli regime has already killed entire families, women, children, men, and the elderly in different parts of Lebanon since last week and the no-holds-barred onslaught continues as I write this.

A heartbreaking image of an elderly Lebanese lady seemingly gasping for breath as she was covered in blood went viral on social media. Videos of people under the rubble calling for help also circulated widely.

In a little over 24 hours, the death toll was around half of the total martyrs in the 2006 war, bearing testimony to the criminal nature of the West-backed regime in Tel Aviv.

As much as it was painful to witness attacks on civilians and hear of staggering numbers of martyrs, there were also heartwarming scenes of a united nation, united in grief, united behind the resistance and united in confronting the Zionist enemy.

Cars were stuck in traffic as people headed from south Lebanon to Beirut. A journey that generally takes around two hours took several hours for many I know. People were sitting in their unmoving cars with not much water and food. Others came and helped by bringing food and water to them.

Pictures of water bottles being distributed by ordinary people in the scorching sun were circulated on social media. Many shared contacts and locations of houses that were open to those displaced in the south—giving a feeling of Arbaeen again.

Sunni Muslims distributed food to displaced Shias and Christians opened their churches for them—the Lebanese nation showed the world the true spirit of unity in diversity.

Lebanese people also came out strongly in support of their popular resistance and beloved leader of the Islamic Resistance Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Many asked for prayers for him and the movement he leads and many others renewed their pledge to the resistance movement in Lebanon.

In Lebanon, I see faith coupled with obedience to the messengers of the time—to the army of Allah. “Take until You (Allah) are satisfied” resonates in Lebanon as I write.

The first thing I did once I understood that the Zionist entity, backed by its Western allies, launched a fresh war on our people is tell God that I am not afraid of losing my family and friends, and my one and only sister. Take all that is needed for us to be victorious—for justice to prevail.

This is the ideology of every truth-seeking Muslim, those waiting for the savior of our time. This is one of the important ways to prepare the ground for his reappearance.

I opened the Quran, and the holy verses I came across were about “victory.” I have no doubt we will be victorious—as do the people of Lebanon. That's exactly what the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei also reaffirmed in his speech marking the anniversary of Sacred Defense.

No one can beat a nation that belongs to Allah and strives in His path. Hezbollah, after all, is a movement dedicated to serving the cause that the Almighty holds dear.

As a survivor of the 33-day war in Lebanon that Hezbollah so gloriously won, there is no doubt in my mind that the Zionist apartheid regime will bite the dust yet again.

Roya Pour Bagher is a Tehran-based writer.