Man Searches Tyre Rubble for Family Mementos After Israeli Strike

Mohamad Ali Hijazi, 48, searched a pile of rubble in Tyre, south Lebanon, holding a damaged photo album while looking for mementos of his family. The family members were killed in an Israeli strike on April 16, just before a ceasefire began at midnight.

Hijazi, who lives in France with his wife and two daughters, stated he was trying to find his mother's hairbrush and a bottle of perfume he had sent her. Hijazi said his life has been destroyed and he has not slept for five days. His sister Ghazwa and her two young children were killed, along with his cousin.

His mother Ikhlass was rescued alive but died later, while his father and a nephew survived.

The strike flattened six buildings in a residential area of Tyre. It occurred shortly before the ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, which involved Lebanon in the Middle East conflict starting March 2. Excavators have been clearing rubble at the site for seven days.

Items such as curtains, cushions, mattresses, a red blanket, and a dish rack were scattered in the debris. A ground-floor minimarket was destroyed. Lebanese authorities reported that Israeli attacks have killed more than 2,400 people and wounded about 7,700 others.

Deputy mayor Alwan Charafeddine stated that 27 bodies have been recovered from the site, with searches continuing for at least one missing person. Body parts are undergoing DNA testing. Hijazi learned of the strike via social media while in France and described seeing the damage as like a horror film.

Hijazi visited his mother in the hospital before she died. Due to lack of space in the cemetery, she was buried in his grandfather's grave. Hijazi stated that the residents were innocent civilians with no links to any party.

Hijazi's father, Fadl Hijazi, 66, watched the excavators from across the street. He recalled trying to lighten the mood by pretending to shoo away Israeli warplanes before the strike and described the event as feeling like an earthquake, with a cupboard preventing the ceiling from crushing him and his grandson.

Fadl Hijazi said he was rescued about three hours after the strike, and his grandson was saved shortly before. He stated he lost his family and everything else, noting that many victims stayed in their homes because they could not afford to leave elsewhere.

Israel's army had issued general evacuation orders for parts of Tyre and southern Lebanon, but no specific warning preceded the April 16 strike. Fadl Hijazi questioned the reason for the strike, pointing out the absence of fighters or rockets in the area.

She stated that the strike brought down an entire street and described waking up thinking it was a bad dream. Melliji questioned the reason for what she called a massacre, noting that people were sleeping in their beds at the time. An Israeli drone was heard overhead during the rubble clearance, and smoke was visible along the coast where Israeli forces continue operating. S.

President Donald Trump announced a three-week extension of the ceasefire on April 23.