Vigil for Lebanese victims of Israeli attacks calls for defense of country’s sovereignty

Members of Australia’s Lebanese community gathered in Sydney’s west to mourn those killed in Israeli attacks and demand protection of Lebanese sovereignty.

The Hands Off Lebanon rally, held in Merrylands on Sunday afternoon, coincided with other events taking place around the world and came two days after the country celebrated 81 years of independence.

One of the organisers, journalist Daisy Gedeon, described the situation as “heartbreaking”, saying that what they feared most had happened.

“It started two and a half months ago, but now it has gone beyond anything reasonable.”

She is in regular contact with friends, family and the local community back home, who have told her the Israeli attacks have been “indiscriminate,” targeting all religious groups, and they are scared.

Ms Gedeon, whose family emigrated to Australia when she was five, said “enough is enough” because Lebanon’s sovereignty is at stake.

Hezbollah, which operates as a political party and militant group in Lebanon and is classified as a terrorist organization by the Australian government, and Israel have been exchanging fire since war broke out between Israel and the Gaza Strip after October 7 last year.

According to the Lebanese government, about 1.2 million civilians in the country have been displaced.

Lebanon’s health ministry also said Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,670 people and injured more than 15,400 since October 2023.

“It’s so unstable”

PhD student Nora Chalu grew up in Lebanon until he moved to Australia last year, leaving his parents behind.

“I’m worried about my parents, but I’m also very worried about my friends who live in the affected areas and the friends who lost their homes,” he said.

“It’s so unstable and you don’t really know where they (Israel) are going to strike or why they are going to strike.”

Mr. Chaloui said the recent unrest was “fueling the embers of trauma” from Lebanon’s civil war, which ended in 1990.

“How long will we be subject to this generational cycle of trauma?” – he said.

“There is a constant fear that this could happen again, and it does again and again.”

Mr Chaloui said Australia and the international community must ensure there were consequences for why civilians continued to pay the price for Israeli attacks.

“I wouldn’t want Gaza to set a precedent for what they were allowed to do, because it was terrible,” he said.

Assmaa Salabi Eldirani grew up in Lebanon, in the south and in the capital Beirut. Both of her houses were destroyed.

She said it was hard for her to take it all in.

“I feel like this is a nightmare and I’ll wake up any moment,” she said.

“The first thing I do when I wake up is check the news and check the death toll. I feel so guilty living my life day after day knowing that all these people are suffering at home.”

Like Mr. Chaloui, she is also frustrated by the threat of war that has always loomed over Lebanon.

“You spend your whole life living in fear, you spend your whole life waiting for a war to start, and why should we get used to that?

“We could stay in Lebanon because that’s where my heart is, that’s where my friends are, my family is there, and I’d love nothing more than to go back, but I can’t because it’s just not safe.”

Attack in the center of Beirut

Israel has vowed to continue attacks after an air strike Saturday morning on an eight-story building in central Beirut that killed at least 20 people and injured more than 60.

The Israeli military said it carried out strikes against Hezbollah-linked targets.

Hezbollah launched rockets at parts of Israel from Lebanon’s borders.

Last week, Israeli officials said Hezbollah missile strikes killed 43 civilians in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, while 73 soldiers were killed in both the strikes and fighting in southern Lebanon.

A member of parliament representing Hezbollah, Amin Chirri, said there was no Hezbollah leader in the destroyed building.

The Health Ministry said another 13 people, including at least four children, were killed in attacks on the villages of Chimsar and Bodai northeast of the capital in the Baalbek region.

Federal Labor MP Andrew Charlton, NSW Greens senator David Shoebridge and Cumberland Mayor Ola Hamed were among the dignitaries expected to attend the vigil.