Fearing War, Some Lebanese Eye Syria as Unusual Backup Plan

Residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs are actively preparing contingency plans following an Israeli drone strike on a local apartment building that killed a top Hezbollah commander and sparked fears of a full-scale war. Many residents are opting to move in with relatives or rent homes in areas of Lebanon with Christian, Druze, or Sunni majorities, which are perceived as safer than the Shiite-majority neighborhoods that are Hezbollah’s stronghold. A smaller group is considering relocation to neighboring Syria.

Despite Syria’s ongoing 14-year civil war, much of the country has seen stabilized frontlines. Lebanese citizens can enter Syria without a visa, and the cost of living, especially rent, is considerably lower there compared to Lebanon.

Zahra Ghaddar, a local resident, was deeply affected by the sight of her neighborhood, Dahiyeh, turned to rubble by the July 30 drone strike, which also killed Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur, two children, and three women, and injured many others. This event was part of a broader pattern of near-daily cross-border clashes that have displaced roughly 100,000 people from southern Lebanon and thousands more in Israel since October 8.

Initially considering relocation within Lebanon, Ghaddar found the social climate and rising rent costs prohibitive. Her family found a more affordable option in Aleppo, Syria, where they secured a four-bedroom apartment for $150 a month, paying six months’ rent in advance before returning to Lebanon.

The broader conflict has seen periodic Israeli airstrikes in Syria, typically targeting Iranian-linked military sites, although the Syrian government under Bashar Assad has remained largely uninvolved in the current regional tensions.

The 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah devastated southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, driving about 180,000 Lebanese to seek refuge in Syria. Some of those displaced established permanent homes there.

Rawad Issa, who fled to Syria during the 2006 conflict, mentioned that his family had purchased a house in Hama province as a precaution. Recently, his sister and her husband prepared this house for potential use if the situation in Lebanon worsens.

The high rental costs in safer areas of Beirut and beyond are prompting some, like Issa who works in video production, to reconsider their options. Meanwhile, Azzam Ali, a Syrian journalist in Damascus, noted a recent uptick in Lebanese renting accommodations in Damascus, with some deciding to stay after initial fears subsided.

Despite anecdotal evidence of such movements, no official records track the number of Lebanese relocating to Syria. The migration appears limited, but significant for those with established connections in Syria. This scenario is unfolding as many Syrians in Lebanon, despite the calm in their homeland, hesitate to return due to fears of arrest or conscription.

Residents like Ghaddar remain anxious about the future, emphasizing the importance of having a backup plan amidst ongoing instability.