Border town stands amid conflict

Tel Aviv [Israel], November 16: Since the start of the Israel-Hezbollah war, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese have fled their homes because of the fighting. But the residents of one town right in the combat zone have decided to stay.
Rmeish, just 2km (1.2 miles) from the border, is home to 7,000 Maronite Christians - and surrounded by firing on all sides.
A day after Hamas launched its unprecedented attack on southern Israel from Gaza on 7 October 2023, its Lebanese ally Hezbollah began launching rockets into northern Israel, which in turn, started to strike Lebanon.
The residents of Rmeish began seeing rockets flying in both directions above them.
After Israel began its ground invasion of Lebanon on 1 October this year, the war drew closer to Rmeish, with heavy fighting taking place in two villages both less than 1.6km away.
Rasha's family of six moved to another house in the center of town after theirs became uninhabitable.
Israel has issued a general evacuation order for the south of Lebanon since its ground invasion began. The UN says over 640,000 people have been displaced from there as they flee the fighting.
The Israeli government says that its military goals in southern Lebanon are to push back Hezbollah and return 60,000 Israelis displaced from its northern border towns to their homes.
On the border with Israel, Rmeish is the only Lebanese town that has not been directly ordered to leave.
While neither side has directly threatened the residents of Rmeish during the conflict, they have had their loyalty to Lebanon questioned.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Cooperation