Lebanese farmers and residents of Beirut suburbs hit by drones on Sunday vowed on Monday to stand their ground in the event of any Israeli attack, amid heightened tensions between the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization and Israel.
Two drones crashed on Sunday in Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, prompting the group to warn Israeli soldiers at the border to await a response. Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Monday likened the drone strikes to "a declaration of war."
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Although Israel has not claimed responsibility for the Beirut attack, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah described it as the first Israeli attack inside Lebanon since the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
Workers harvesting okra near the border with Israel in southern Lebanon struck a defiant tone on Monday.
"Those who attack us, we are standing ready waiting for them," said Abou Jamil, a sesame seeds farmer.
Hassan Chalhoub, whose balcony in the Lebanese village of Kfarkila overlooks the border, said he was confident that Hezbollah was stronger than before and would protect the south.
"Times have changed," he said.
The building of a Hezbollah media center in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh had its glass windows blown out by one of the two drones when it exploded.
Mohamad Sarawan, who runs a barbershop next to that building, said he had not left his home in the 2006 war and would not "run away now."
His customer, Firas Darwiche, said he would also stay put. "At the end of the day... we die with our heads held high."
In Israel, meanwhile, the IDF said its northern command, responsible for the borders with Syria and Lebanon, was on elevated alert.
While soldiers remained vigilant on the Golan Heights, Israeli holidaymakers and northern residents went about living their lives as usual.
"I don't really feel the [tension] here on the border. We live normally, we have fun, we go to the river," said Oz Shachari, 25, a baker in the northern town of Kiryat Shmona.
Yaniv Elhadif, 44, said he lived near the border fence and had got used to bouts of tension: "We are not afraid, we are aware. They're constantly provoking us... So we're always with one ear and one eye open."
