01.08.2026 - 23:32 [ NPR.org ]

Lebanese who fled the Israeli invasion visit to see what‘s left

Hamadi says the Basma family, who lived just across a lane from them in a neighborhood called the Nuns‘ Quarter, was killed in an airstrike in March — the parents along with all four of their children. The impact collapsed the house on top of them and two of the children — ages around 8 and 11 — are still under the rubble, she says.

„Now when I look at the neighborhood they are the only ones I can think about,“ she says.

She says in a quiet area full of older people, the family‘s four children brought life to the neighborhood. „They were the ones who made all the noise and activity,“ she says.

Hammadi says she used to drink coffee with the mother, who was in her late 30s. She would talk about waiting for her children to grow up.

„They were wonderful people,“ she says. „Now there‘s no one left from the family.“