A Lebanese family planning for a daughter’s wedding is killed in an Israeli strike on their home

BEIRUT (AP) — The family WhatsApp group chat buzzed pinch changeless messages. Israel was escalating its airstrikes connected villages and towns successful confederate Lebanon. Everyone was glued to nan news.

Reda Gharib woke up uncharacteristically early that day, Sept. 23. Living a continent distant successful Senegal, he scrolled done videos and pictures shared by his sisters and aunts of explosions astir their vicinity successful Tyre, Lebanon’s ancient coastal city.

His aunts decided to time off for Beirut. His father, mother and 3 sisters had nary specified plans.

This June 2023 photograph provided by Reda Gharib, shows Reda Gharib, right, and his mother, Hanan, who was killed pinch different family members successful an Israeli airstrike connected nan family’s flat successful al-Housh, successful nan confederate Lebanese metropolis of Tyre connected Sept. 23, astatine nan commencement of an escalation successful its warfare against Hezbollah. (Reda Gharib via AP)

Then his begetter announced to nan group that he had received a call from nan Israeli subject to evacuate aliases consequence their lives. After that, nan chat fell silent. Ten minutes later, Gharib called his father. There was nary answer.

The Gharibs’ flat had been straight deed by an Israeli airstrike. The family had nary clip to get out. Gharib’s father, Ahmed, a retired Lebanese service officer, his mother, Hanan, and his 3 sisters were each killed.

FILE - Smoke rises from buildings deed successful Israeli airstrikes successful Tyre, confederate Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari, File)

“The full flat was gone. It is backmost to bare bones. As if location was thing there,” said Gharib, speaking from nan Senegalese capital, Dakar, wherever he has been surviving since 2020.

The Israeli subject said it struck a Hezbollah tract hiding rocket launchers and missiles.

Gharib said his family had nary relationship to Hezbollah. The nonstop deed gutted their apartment, while those supra and beneath suffered only damage, suggesting a circumstantial portion of nan building was targeted. Gharib said it was his family’s home.

The onslaught was 1 of much than 1,600 Israel said it carried retired connected Sept. 23, the first time of an intensified bombardment of Lebanon it has waged for nan past month. More than 500 group were killed that day, a casualty fig not observed successful Gaza connected a azygous time until nan 2nd week, said Emily Tripp, head of London-based Airwars, a conflict monitoring group.

This December 2022 photograph provided by Reda Gharib, shows Reda Gharib, right, and his father, Ahmed, who was killed pinch different family members successful an Israeli airstrike connected nan family’s flat successful al-Housh, successful nan confederate Lebanese metropolis of Tyre connected Sept. 23, astatine nan commencement of an escalation successful its warfare against Hezbollah. (Reda Gharib via AP)

Israel has vowed to cripple Hezbollah to put an extremity to much than a twelvemonth of cross-border occurrence by nan Iranian-backed militant group that began nan time aft Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught triggered nan war successful Gaza. It says its strikes are targeting Hezbollah’s members and infrastructure. But location are besides hundreds of civilians among nan much than 2,000 group killed successful nan bombardment complete nan past period — often full families killed successful their homes.

Since then, nan thoroughfare wherever nan Gharib family lived — an area of shops, residential buildings and offices of world agencies successful Tyre’s al-Housh territory — has been battered pinch repeated airstrikes and is now deserted.

Gharib, 27, a aviator and entrepreneur, moved to Senegal successful hunt of a amended early but ever planned to return to Lebanon to commencement a family.

He was adjacent to his 3 sisters, nan keeper of their secrets and champion friend, he said. Growing up, their begetter was often away, truthful he and his mother took complaint of family affairs.

The past clip he visited his family was successful May 2023, erstwhile his sister Maya, an engineering student, sewage engaged. She had planned to wed connected Oct. 12. But arsenic tensions pinch Israel grew successful September, Gharib’s plans to travel location for nan wedding were uncertain. She told him she would put it disconnected until he could get there.

FILE - Smoke rises from buildings deed successful Israeli airstrikes successful Tyre, confederate Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari, File)

After nan strike, her fiancé, besides an service officer, recovered her assemblage and those of nan remainder of her family successful a infirmary morgue successful Tyre.

“She was not destined to person her wedding. We paraded her arsenic a bride to paradise instead,” Gharib said. On nan time nan wedding was to person taken spot he posted pictures of his sister, including her wedding dress.

His sister Racha, 24, was astir to postgraduate arsenic a dentist and planned to unfastened her ain clinic. “She loved life,” he said.

His youngest sister, Nour, 20, was studying to beryllium a dietitian and prepping to beryllium a individual trainer. Gharib called her nan “laughter of nan house.”

There is thing near of his family now isolated from for a fewer pictures connected his telephone and connected societal media posts.

“I americium truthful hurt. But I cognize nan wounded will beryllium hardest erstwhile I travel to Lebanon,” Gharib said. “Not moreover a image of them remains hanging connected nan walls. Their apparel are not there. Their smell is nary longer successful nan house. The location is wholly gone.”

“They took my family and nan memories of them.”