As if Lebanon did not have enough problems we were woken up just before 02.00 a m last night by a noise that sounded like automatic weapon fire. Looking out of the windows we could see no activity and eventually went back to bed. Next morning we discovered that we have been through an earthquake, registering 4.2 on the Richter scale – not that strong, but quite strong enough for someone who has never experienced an earthquake before!

At last, the fighting ceased, but not before some 1000 Lebanese civilians had been killed, hundreds of thousands left homeless and crippling damage had been inflicted on the country's infrastructure. By that time, I was in Dar es Salaam for some consultancy work and it was not until 10 days later that I was able to contemplate returning to Tyre. Due to the continuation of the Israeli sea and air blockade, the only possible air route in was via Amman, from where MEA and Royal Jordanian Airlines were allowed to operate a shuttle service to Beirut. And so, on 26 August I set out from Dar es Salaam, via Dubai to Amman and Beirut. The journey from Beirut airport to the house, which had generally taken 50 minutes before the war, took 2.5 hours because of diversions, usually unsigned, around the damage to roads and bridges. The house had suffered no damage other than the front door but an apartment building about 700 metres away had been bombed and several buildings in the city had been destroyed.

As I wrote this, some two months after the cease-fire, Tyre was enjoying something of a boom from the influx of United Nations forces and many aid agencies. The rubble of the destroyed and damaged buildings had been removed and roads were gradually being repaired, although some major bridges on the highways would take up to 2 years to rebuild.

What did it all achieve?

I arrived at the Rest House at 07.15. On the way, there was a lone road sweeper at work; otherwise, the streets of Tyre were virtually deserted, although the quantity of laundry drying on balconies seemed to indicate that more people had remained in the city than was generally estimated.

There were already quite a number of people waiting at the rest House, almost entirely Lebanese with dual nationality, mainly German. Designer jeans and T-shirts were much in evidence among the men but most of the women wore headscarves and long dresses. No one seemed to be organising anything and I learned from a German TV reporter that the departure of the ship from Cyprus had been delayed and that it was now expected to arrive at 11.00 a.m. instead of 8.00 a.m., and leave at 5 p.m.

There seemed to be more journalists than potential evacuees at the Rest House at times and since there were only two real foreigners amongst the evacuees, an English teacher at the Evangelical School in Tyre and I, they gravitated to us. I was interviewed for BBC TV and Radio, ITN, Channel 4 and Sky News, plus the Daily Telegraph, Sun, Mirror and Mail.

The ship finally arrived about 11.30 a.m. but had to unload humanitarian aid first. Finally, we left the Rest House in buses escorted by the Lebanese army, who also transported some people in their trucks. They even had their own video cameraman recording the event, no doubt for PR purposes. On arrival at the port, we discovered that the Princessa Marissa was lying offshore and that we would be taken out to her in the ship's lifeboats. There was some Lebanese bureaucracy to deal with while our passports were checked against the lists of each nationality and we were given a voucher stamped by the official, which got us through the barrier and handed over to the German embassy staff, who were assisted by representatives of the Canadian and Australian governments. The Australians dealt with the British citizens and we were quickly into a lifeboat and on the way to the ship. Transferring to the ship was a bit difficult, but there were plenty of willing hands to help, especially with the luggage, children, and older people. Representatives of the German Red Cross were on hand to deal with medical problems. There were at least two wheel chair cases and two children with severe burns.

By 14.00, I was on board and in my cabin. Since the boat could carry 800 passengers and the number of evacuees was not much more than 200, there was no problem with space. Shortly after boarding, I went to the bar and had a pint of Keo lager to cool me down. Lunch was soon offered and the ship sailed on time at 17.00.

Local TV reported that an evacuation ship, Princessa Marissa, would be in Tyre Monday morning. Later, when I was able to check email I found a message from the Foreign Office advising that a German chartered ship would be in Tyre Monday and would take any EU nationals wishing to leave to Cyprus. It advised those who wanted to leave to contact the embassy. I phoned the embassy, who knew nothing about it! This time they did call back within an hour to confirm, and give me contact details of the warden in Tyre who was co-ordinating the arrangements with the German embassy.

While in town during the morning, we received some mazoot sent on a bus by a friend in Sidon. This gave us about 500 litres in the generator fuel tank, but we sent the containers back for another shipment as, with no mains electricity, we were dependent on the generator for power.

The Tyre warden, Cliff Clarke, called and confirmed that my name was on the list of those to be evacuated the next day. I was instructed me to be at the Rest House at 7.00 a.m. Monday although the sailing time was unknown.

Spent the last night in the basement.

There were regular targeted bombings around us during the night, the blast from one of which set off the Pajero car alarm. The front door of the house succumbed to the repeated blasts again and we had to nail wooden bars across the inside to keep it shut.

We went into town about 11.30 a.m. Abu George, the wine merchant, was open, so we stocked up on red wine and tonic, as well as cigarettes, vegetables and bread but very few shops were open.

Another night in the basemen

There were still occasional bombings around us early this morning, but fewer than before. Attempts to arrange a cease-fire were being ignored in Israel but they did agree to set up a “humanitarian corridor” from Cyprus. How and when was not clear.

An announcement on BBC World Service radio for British citizens in Lebanon said that the government was trying to arrange safe evacuation from south Lebanon. I called the British embassy to get advice. They knew no more than I did from the BBC news report but took my number and said they would call back. They never did. It was not clear why they did not coordinate with the UN, who had chartered a ship to come to Tyre the previous day.

Throughout the morning, there were regular bombings in a valley behind the house. Local television reports that Israeli military chiefs admitted that they had not broken the will or ability of Hezbollah seemed to be supported by continuing attacks on the same locations. The possibility of a large-scale invasion of the border area was raised again. Bombings continued in afternoon until about 4.00 p.m.

Jim Muir reporting from Tyre on the 9.00 p.m. BBC World Service TV news spoke of a mass burial in Tyre – but bodies had been gathered from all over south. In addition, there were reports of leaflets dropped on Tyre from by Israeli planes, telling those left in south Lebanon to move north of the Litani River. Our local information was that the leaflets found in Tyre were brought there from other villages in the south.

At 9 p.m., Al Jezeera TV reported Hassan Nasrullah saying that Hezbollah would let the Lebanese government decide about handing over two soldiers they had kidnapped

There were some bombings in the orchards between 3.00 and 5.00 a.m., after which it was quiet.

We could see a ship coming to Tyre, which turned out to be the Louis Cruise Lines ship charted by the UN. At that time, we did not know whom it was there to evacuate and I had not been informed about the sailing by the Embassy. It later transpired that, as well as UN civilian staff and dependents, it had taken out other foreigners, including some UK citizens.

We went into town while ship was lying offshore. The coast road to Tyre was obstructed by two large craters, but we were able to pass them. The town was very quiet. Some small shops and bakeries were open and we were able to get bread, which was rationed to two bags per person; I got my allocation. The wine merchant was closed, so we were unable to replenish our red wine stocks! We returned home by 11.00 and shortly after bombing of the orchards began again and lasted until 1.00 p.m.

The evening news on one of the local TV stations was still interrupted by Libanpost advertisements. We continued to sleep in the basement

It was a relatively quiet night. There were a couple of bombs within 2 or 3 km but generally, throughout the country, few new incidents. The Israeli emphasis seemed to be very much on Hezbollah sites in south, close to the border.

It was reported that the Security Council would meet the next day to receive a report from its delegation that had been in area and that Condoleezza Rice might travel to region on Friday.

Attacks on the orchards below us continued throughout the morning until about 2.30 p.m. After that hardly a sound of aircraft. What we had seen seemed to confirm Israeli statements that they are now targeting Hezbollah locations and supply routes only. We suspected that Hezbollah were using agricultural roads through the orchards below us to move missile launchers.

A local radio station reported that the Electricity Authority bill collectors were working in Jounieh and were threatening to cut off supplies if bills were not paid. They were lucky to have a supply to cut!

We continued to spend most of time in the basement and sleep there. I passed the time reading a biography of Adolf Hitler. It seemed appropriate somehow.

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.

Again, a quiet night, after there had been some nearby bombing during Sunday evening. The telephone landlines had ceased to work because, as we later discovered, bomb blasts had brought down the overhead cables. This meant that there was no longer an internet connection and I was unable to send out my usual daily bulletin.

We went into Tyre about 09.30 a.m. Once again, there were very few people around and only a few small shops open. We were able to buy more supplies for some of our neighbours as well as for ourselves.

News reports of the bombing of the road just south of Sidon seemed to be substantiated by ambulances heading that way from Tyre as we returned to the house. People continue to leave Tyre, often with no clear idea of where they were going. The bombing of the road seemed to confirm that staying put was the best thing to do, especially as a seat in a service taxi from Tyre to Beirut, usually about $5, was by then costing $100.

The Embassy advised that Royal Navy vessels were on the way to Beirut however, a decision on evacuation, especially from the south, depended on security guarantees from both sides.