Today I drove through downtown on my way to visit my parents. I was driving alone and was a bit nervous. First time in a car alone since this whole thing started … But I had to see my parents. I came across a red light and stopped. The streets were empty, and I caught myself wondering why I stopped and didn’t just go through. Streets were totally empty - no other cars, no traffic police. Then I remembered my latest policy that is helping to keep me sane; that even under attack, we should not lose our manners. That even under attack, there are still some regulations we should abide by. Somehow, by not crossing the red light, I was able to maintain some dignity. Read more about At a crossroads in downtown Beirut 

Residents of our village are leaving for fear of running out of food; water is scarce and there are only four small grocery stores for a population of about 15,000 people. This is common throughout the South, as most depend on the cities for commerce (cities they are now cut off from). My grandmother and aunt have left the safety of our family’s bomb shelter to stay in a village on the coast. What appalling choices they have been given — seeking refuge in a building with no bomb shelter, in closer proximity to Israeli war ships, or remaining in a village where food is running out. The death toll in Lebanon is now 150 civilians, with the number of injured rising to 350. Read more about Israel's latest attack on the poor 

People were hiding in bomb shelters or trying to find a way out of town yesterday as Hezbollah rockets rained down on Haifa. I couldn’t sleep all night; every noise sounded like a rocket landing. They came in like pop flies and you could hear the thwapping as they landed in the distance. As I jumped in to the shower at 9:00, something hit hard in Haifa near the water. The sirens went off and the streets became deserted. Thursday nights hit had only engendered a kind of black comedy amongst the residents - this time it was real. Read more about From Haifa to Jerusalem: Thoughts While Getting Out of Missile Range 

Like the majority of people, I am now following the development of events in Lebanon via the internet and the somewhat dubious coverage broadcast on CNN. But I am following them with a keener interest, one that is acute in its emotional as well as its political concern. Because until two days ago Lebanon was my home from home, as it had been for the last year. Over my time there I have lived with Palestinians in a refugee camp, with Shia Muslims and immigrant workers in a stronghold of Hezbollah and Amal support in South Beirut, among the mixed and often secular population of Hamra in West Beirut and finally among the largely Christian, often Armenian-descended community of Geitaoui, in East Beirut. Read more about Leaving Lebanon - To What Fate? 

I hear it from my neighbours and friends, from phone calls coming in from loved ones abroad. I hear it inside my own head. We all just feel so helpless. How exactly does one face indiscriminate attacks from the air, land and sea? A sense of claustrophobia overcame me when all routes out of Lebanon were being cut off, one after the other. I wasn’t even thinking of leaving, but their moves succeeded in making me feel trapped. My solution? Call a friend living abroad - how trapped can I be if I can still communicate with the outside world? As trite as that might sound, it worked. The magic of psychology. Read more about "Helpless" 

For four days straight, since 12 Wednesday at around noon, Israel has been bombing Beirut, the south of Lebanon, parts of the Bekaa and other parts in Lebanon non-stop. It is 12:49 am Sunday morning right now, and in Beirut, Israeli warplanes are bombing successively on an area called Haret Hreik in the southern suburbs of Beirut, and they have just announced that there is a big fire expanding in the whole area. Two things are sure: First, Israel seems determined to continue its terrorizing, brutal and non-human offensive on Lebanon. Second, when Israeli officials say that one of their priorities in their offensives (anywhere, not only in Lebanon) is to make sure not to hurt civilians, this you can reject by following the news of Lebanon. Read more about Four days of bombing in Beirut 

It feels quite different here than in my home town of El Mreijat, “Bawabet el Beqaa” (The Door to El Beqaa). We heard the bombs quite powerfully there. And several times, we felt them. At the sound of the first bomb that hit quite close to our home (a few kilometers away), my cousin’s youngest son, in mere seconds, went from his strong boyish bravado-demeanor to that of a frightened little boy. He threw his ice cream cone away, and got strong stomach pains. At the sounds of the next bomb, he ran and hid under a table. I wondered how the children in the south and in the southern district of Beirut and in Ba’albeck and in Gaza were withstanding the constant noise and terror. Read more about Our last battle 

Throughout Friday we had only about two hours of electricity in the evening and listening to my girlfriends’ pleas to leave Beirut and come up to the mountain I made it to Rejmeh on Saturday morning. As I mentioned, the day seemed peaceful up there and the mood during lunchtime, when the whole family was gathered, was cheerful and playful. “Don’t worry”, my hosts said, “here in the mountain we are safe from any trouble”. Not for long, though! As my girlfriend and I were visiting in the afternoon the garden of her uncles’ house and playing with the five puppies of their dogs we heard in the distance the sound of planes and bombing once again. Read more about Personal Thoughts From A Besieged Country 

Waiting, one might assume, has a negative connotation, i.e., passivity. But this is not true under siege, where waiting embodies resistance. It is resistance despite all the forms of violence we are facing, resistance to all forms of war we are subjected to, not only from the Israelis but also from the deafening silence of the international community. This is a battle of wills, and whoever’s will breaks first will lose. Waiting under siege is steadfastness, and steadfastness is what is needed now. Read more about Waiting is our struggle