Lebanese flock to beaches amid hot weather despite threat of Israeli attack

By Idiris Okuduci

TYRE, Lebanon (AA) - Amid sweltering temperatures, Lebanese people are flocking to beaches and shores to cool off, despite a mounting threat of an Israeli attack on Lebanon.

For the past 10 months, there have been reciprocal attacks between the Israeli army and the Lebanese Hezbollah group along the 120-kilometer (75-mile) border.

Tensions have further escalated following a missile attack on a football field in the town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights.

The missile strike on Saturday killed 12 people. Israel blames Hezbollah for the attack, but it denies playing any role.

Despite Israel's threat of all-out war, Lebanese people, especially residents of Tyre, a city about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from the conflict zone, continue to head to the beach.

An Anadolu reporter interviewed people in Tyre who were swimming in the sea as they cooled off with their families and friends at a public beach.

Rayan Fayad, a Lebanese expat from Abidjan, Ivory Coast who was visiting his hometown with his family, said he loves the beach in Tyre.

"Everyone is happy and no one is afraid. People are carrying on with their lives as usual," he said.

Another resident, Abdullah Yahya, subtly referring to Hezbollah said there is a force in Lebanon to prevent Israel from targeting civilians, which is why civilians continue to live normal lives.

"Our home is very close to Israel. Yet we still go out, come to Tyre, and continue our lives as we did before," Yahya said.

Fears of a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah have grown amid an exchange of cross-border attacks between the two sides.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of a deadly Israeli onslaught on Gaza which has killed more than 39,300 people since last October following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz