Damaged vehicles are seen following an Israeli airstrike that targeted an apartment in Choueifat, south of Beirut, Lebanon, on May 28, 2026. The Lebanese Ministry of Health said that, as of that date, Israeli attacks across Lebanon had killed more than 3,275 people and injured more than 9,850 since renewed hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah began. Photo by Wael Hamzeh/EPA
BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 31 (UPI) -- Lebanon's Muslim Shiite community, whose fortunes rose with the once-powerful Hezbollah, is facing what many are likening it to a "semi-Nakba."
Shiites are bearing much of the cost of Israel's campaign against the Iran-backed group through the systematic displacement, destruction and depopulation of southern Lebanon -- their historic heartland.
Fear, anger, and anxiety are mounting: this time not only over the community's future, but over its existence.
The devastation wrought by Israel's attacks since October 2023 -- killing thousands and wiping out entire villages, with a weakened Hezbollah unable to retaliate forcefully -- has never been seen before.
