BEIRUT, LEBANON: As the leader of Hezbollah threatened Israel with crushing retaliation for the killing of their top commander, thousands of people in Beirut broke out in an extremist dance that was a stark reflection of Lebanon's deep divisions.
In the southern suburbs of the capital – one of Hezbollah's strongholds – tens of thousands of black-clad men and women in military uniforms joined the funeral of slain commander Fawad Shekar on Thursday.
Across town on Beirut Beach, nearly 8,000 people took part in a spectacular dance performance that night by Maya, who won the 2022 TV competition “America's Got Talent.”
Olga Farhat, 45, said: “I'm sorry that people are dying in southern Lebanon and Gaza, but the resistance is not just carrying weapons and fighting.
This human rights activist told AFP: “Joy, art and celebrating life is also a form of resistance.
Fireworks set off the dance show hours after Hezbollah buried Shakar, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs on Tuesday.
Titled “Qami” – Arabic for Risen – the show was an ode to the Lebanese capital, which has endured decades of conflict, upheaval and a prolonged economic crisis.
“There is a divide in the country between those who don't care about the war and feel that … Hezbollah wants to impose its collective identity on them while the other group is fighting,” Farhat said.
“I understand both points of view, but we are tired of war and crisis, we want to enjoy life.”
In the southern suburbs, thousands of Hezbollah supporters chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
Across the city, dozens of Mayan dancers paid tribute to war-torn southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah has exchanged fire with the Israeli army almost daily since the Gaza war began on October 7.
“I grew up during the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990) and believed in the Palestinian cause,” Farhat said.
But today I say “Lebanon first”.
The attack that killed Shakar and an Iranian military adviser also killed three women and two young siblings, officials said.
In a video clip that went viral, their bereaved mother said that their lives were “sacrificed for you, Seyed (Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah).
“We love life like everyone else… but if Israel drags us into war, our duty is to die as martyrs,” said 36-year-old Hossein Nasreddin, speaking from the southern suburbs.
According to the AFP report, cross-border violence has killed at least 542 people in Lebanon since October, most of whom were fighters, and 114 civilians were also seen among them.
On the Israeli side, the army reports 47 dead, including in the annexed Golan Heights.
In June, Mohammed Ra'ad, head of the Hezbollah bloc in Lebanon's parliament, who lost a son in border clashes, criticized Lebanese who “want to go to nightclubs … beaches and enjoy their lives.” South.
This week, independent lawmaker Mark Dow drew the ire of Hezbollah supporters by posting a photo of Thursday night's show, writing: “The most extreme response to Israel is the culture of life and beauty.”
Daou, who was elected after widespread protests against the political leadership responsible for the country's descent into economic crisis, told AFP he was not ready to reduce Lebanon to a battlefield.
Many politicians, especially from Lebanon's Christian community, have criticized Hezbollah for threatening war with Israel.
“The bigger the disaster, the more division” in Lebanon, said Sonia Nekad, a peacebuilding expert.
In Lebanon, power is divided along sectarian quotas, with communities so divided over the country's past that events after 1943 do not appear in official history books.
Each side, he said, “wants the other to be an exact copy of them so that they can coexist, while they are opposites in everything.”
“The Lebanese have still refrained from using violence against each other, no matter how much they disagree,” he said.
Foreign airlines have suspended or canceled flights to Beirut, but many Lebanese migrants are still arriving, although some have cut their holidays short.
Rabab Abu Hamdan said he planned to return to the Gulf after feeling very stressed in the past few days.
“Despite the difficult conditions, Lebanon remains the best holiday destination,” he said.
