A woman looks at a field of rubble in Beirut’s Bashura district, where an Israeli rocket struck on March 18.Image: EPA
As the war between Israel and Iran escalates, the frontline in Lebanon has flared up again. Dentist Fadel Khalasi explains how everyday life in Beirut has changed since the attacks.
Mar 18, 2026, 8:06 p.mMar 18, 2026, 8:06 p.m
Fadel Khalasi is sitting in a café in Beirut when Watson reaches him by phone. He says:
“I don’t feel safe anywhere in Beirut right now.”
Fadel Khalasi
According to Kahalasi, who works as a dentist, there is a lot of insecurity throughout the city. “The attacks can hit you anytime, anywhere.”
Fadel Khalasi works as a dentist in Beirut.Image: zvg
While Israel and Iran are at war, the front with Lebanon has also escalated again. After rocket attacks on Israel by the pro-Iranian Hezbollah – in retaliation for the attacks in Iran – Israel significantly expanded its offensive against the militia in Lebanon.
There have been loud noises since the recent fighting began in early March Reuters More than 900 people were killed in Lebanon, and over a million more had to leave their homes and some are on the run.
Dentist Khalasi still stayed in his home. He describes an everyday life that is characterized by uncertainty. In his view, the attacks do not only affect clearly demarcated military zones. People were on the streets, on motorcycles or in residential buildings when it hit.
Khalasi talks about how a high-rise building in the city center was hit just a few hours before the conversation with Watson.
One of his two dental practices in Beirut was completely destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, says Khalasi. The target of the attack was a branch of the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association in the same building, says Khalasi. Israel classifies the organization as part of Hezbollah’s financial infrastructure.
Khalasi sends pictures of a burned-out house where his dental practice is said to have been located. His statements cannot be completely verified.
This is where his dental practice was, says Fadel Khalasi.Image: zvg
When talking to Watson, Khalasi is in a predominantly Christian neighborhood in Beirut. “Here I’m a little safer from the explosions and destruction,” he says.
Nevertheless, Khalasi keeps going. “Yesterday I went there at eleven o’clock at night because a woman needed dental treatment but couldn’t have it until after sunset because of Ramadan.” Khalasi carried out the treatment despite the danger. Professional pride, he says.
He has been running his two dental practices with electricity from a generator for months. The electricity grid in Lebanon works for an average of two hours a day and the water is contaminated.
A firefighter tries to put out the flames in the rubble of a multi-story house in Beirut.Image: www.imago-images.de
Does the war against Iran worry him further, perhaps because of rising energy prices? Khalasi reacts dryly: “The prices in Lebanon have been horrendous for a long time.”
He has already thought about leaving Lebanon several times. Last year he was in Tunisia for three months – as long as was possible with his tourist visa. He could also basically imagine Europe, such as France or Germany. The dentist originally comes from Syria and only came to Lebanon in 2021. Khalasi, who belongs to the Alawite religious minority, cannot imagine returning to his homeland.
His family remained politically reserved under the Assad regime and had no problems. This is not comparable to the current situation. Khalasi says: “There is no place for me in Syria at the moment.”
These are Alawites
The Alawites continue to suffer from reprisals to this day, particularly in Syria. where they have been persecuted by the new rulers of the terrorist militia HTS since the fall of Assad.
Image: www.imago-images.de
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