We were woken about 3.30 a.m. by an extremely load explosion that seemed to be very close. On going downstairs, we found the front door blown in as well as one air conditioning grill from the ceiling now on the floor. We retreated to basement until daylight. We were unable to see where the bomb had fallen; later news suggest in a village about 1.5 km south of the house.
During the morning, with the help of a neighbour, we were able to make emergency repairs to the front door, but it remained unusable for the duration. Because of the lack of email, I sent a text message about the situation to my brother-in-law and we arranged that I should do this daily and that he would pass it on by email to the various family and friends who were on my distribution list.
Maarouf needed medication under a regular prescription so he called the pharmacist that he normally uses at home. She sent someone to the shop to get the required medicine, delivered it to Maarouf’s nephew who lives near to it, and refused to take money in case he might need it for other things. This is how the Lebanese were helping each other during the crisis.
A truck loaded with medical supplies from the UAE was bombed by Israel en-route to the south. In the meantime, people continued to leave Tyre, some in busses sent there from Sidon by Bahia Hariri, and the first UK citizens were evacuated from Beirut to Cyprus on HMS Gloucester.
UN attempts to negotiate a ceasefire received cool reception in Tel Aviv. The United States and Israel seemed to have a plan and the time had not yet arrived for this gesture.
Although it was a quiet evening, after the experience of the previous night, we decided to sleep in the basement, and continued to do so every night.
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