after the death of Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah organizes a communications operation in its stronghold in Beirut

Franceinfo was able to go to Dahieh on Wednesday, right in the Hezbollah district of Beirut, which has been shelled by the Israeli army in recent days. A major communication operation by the Shiite movement to show civilian losses.

In the Dahieh district, south of Beirut, is the stronghold of Hezbollah, where Hassan Nasrallah was killed on Friday September 27. Since then, there have been daily strikes with a burning smell. The neighborhood was struck again on the morning of Wednesday October 2 by the Israeli army.

It is on the still smoking rubble that Mohamed Afif, one of Hezbollah’s communications officers, speaks in front of cameras around the world. “These are Lebanese people living here. You can see it with your own eyes. These are simple dwellings where civilians lived.”

Everywhere on the walls, huge portraits of the Shiite leader who died on Friday. Hassan Nasrallah was a sacred figure here. “If he were still alive, he would tell us : ‘you are in my heart.’ And we would answer him : ‘We are going to sacrifice ourselves. Not only our homes, but we will give our souls as well as our children.'”

Ali, 38, is a local resident. He runs a coffee shop here. He was there on Friday when the Israeli strike fell on Hezbollah headquarters. Since then, he explains, the neighborhood has been completely emptied of its inhabitants. “It was so strong, we thought the whole neighborhood was going to be destroyed. Now, there’s no one left. I’ve always lived here. Last week, half the population was still here. But since then Friday’s strike, there’s only, let’s say, 1% of the people left, almost no one.”

In a few days, the Dahieh district was in fact emptied of its inhabitants, most of whom took refuge further north in hotels in Beirut or, for the most deprived, in hundreds of reception centers. In the neighborhood, smoke, dust and rubble are omnipresent. But Hassan, who was born in the neighborhood, refuses to leave it. He speaks under the watchful eye of members of Hezbollah who supervise the visit. “I’m ready to lose my home, my soul and my childrenhe says. What’s happening here is scaring children. But in reality, for adults, it only strengthens us. Dahieh is our neighborhood, it is our land. I tell you, these attacks make us stronger.”

While the strikes continue in this southern suburb of Beirut, it is impossible to know precisely how many deaths there have been in total in recent weeks. But for today alone, after the strikes on Tuesday night, the Lebanese authorities report at least 55 dead and more than 150 injured.