For more than 60 days, the Lebanese watched in shock as Israeli airstrikes hit buildings, raising huge explosions and smoke in the capital and other cities.
Now, after this week’s ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah fighters, Lebanese are returning home to see the damage.
In the southern suburb of Beirut, an area known as Dahiyeh, all the bricks in some places are reduced to fields of crushed concrete where there used to be high-rise buildings. Associated Press video captured the moment a rocket slammed into an apartment building in Beirut last month, unleashing a volley of fire and gunfire.
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In the southern city of Tyre, plumes of black and white smoke rose from the center of the city like a hurricane and drifted over the Mediterranean Sea after the missiles hit. In the southern village of Flawiyeh, a car was left with its hood up among the trees from the pressure of the impact.
Israel began its intensive bombing campaign in Lebanon at the end of September, promising to cripple Hezbollah and establish its barracks in northern Israel after months of negotiations between the two sides. The exchange began when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel in cooperation with Hamas after its attack on October 7, 2023.
The Israeli strikes were concentrated in cities, towns and villages around southern Lebanon and south of Beirut, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. But for the first time in years, central Beirut was also rocked by an explosion.
More than 1.2 million Lebanese have fled their homes during more than a year of fighting – as have tens of thousands of Israelis on their side of the border.