Nabatieh, Lebanon — From their home in Nabatieh’s historic city centre, Amina Bitar and her family have watched as homes and shops around them have fallen into piles of blackened rubble. The family is one of roughly seven stuck in the southern Lebanese city with nowhere to go, as Israel’s heavy bombardment continues. 

Amina, 31, gestured to the large cracks in her home’s 100-year-old stone walls and to the window panes shattered by Israeli blasts, leaving their Ottoman-style ornate frames bare. 

She walked up to the terrace, where the extent of damage to her neighbourhood was clear. Just across the street, a giant crater could be seen where her neighbour’s home once was. To the left, two cars were stuck in a pile of charred debris, their window panes blown out and doors left ajar. 

Despite the strength of the nearby blasts, the herbs potted on the terrace were still alive. Amina dusted off a fresh basil plant and plucked one of its leaves to breathe in its scent. 

Just as she took a breath, an Israeli warplane swooped overhead.

“Warplane,” Amina screamed and rushed downstairs. Minutes later, a thunderous explosion from an Israeli strike nearby shook the stone walls, as she huddled in the foyer with her father, aunt and brother. 

Since Israel escalated attacks on the country on 23 September, it has pounded Nabatieh with nearly-daily air strikes.

Israeli raids overnight on 12 October caused a massive fire to erupt, burning many shops and homes in the Ottoman-era market to the ground. On 16 October, Israel hit Nabatieh’s city hall, killing 16 people, including the city’s mayor, several members of the municipal council and the Lebanese civil defence. 

“I pray for the war to end, I’m tired of everything,” Amina told Middle East Eye, “Every day I’m nervous. My mental health is not good, no one is ever relaxed in their home.”