Displaced families in Lebanon who return home are faced with piles of rubble

HANOUIYEH, Lebanon (AP) — During their 37 years of marriage, Mariam Kourani and her husband ran a butcher shop in southern Lebanon, started a business selling serving containers and opened a small restaurant.

An Israeli airstrike in late September destroyed it all.

Walking through the rubble of what used to be her house and restaurant in the village of Hanouiyeh, Kourani, 56, watched as her son-in-law picked up some of his young daughter's clothes and toys from the ruins.

“This was my house, my dreams and my hard work,” she said, holding back tears. She pointed to one of the serving containers she used to sell, and estimated her family’s total losses at $120,000.

Kourani is among the tens of thousands of residents who have started streaming back into southern Lebanon to check on their homes after the U.S.-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect early Wednesday. Intense Israeli airstrikes over the past two months leveled entire neighborhoods in eastern and southern Lebanon, and in the southern suburbs of Beirut, which are predominantly Shiite areas of Lebanon where Hezbollah has a strong base of support. Nearly 1.2 million people have been displaced.

Like Kourani, many are returning home to find that their homes are gone.

The World Bank said earlier this month that housing has been the hardest hit sector with almost 100,000 units partially or fully damaged during the 14-month war, which intensified in late September. It estimated the damage at $3.2 billion.

Who will pay for the reconstruction is unclear. Iran has offered to help, but it’s under Western sanctions and its economy has suffered. Kourani said Hezbollah members have told her those who lost a house during the war will be given a place to stay until their homes are rebuilt. After spending thousands of dollars in rent for the two months the family was displaced in the village of Qarnayel in Mount Lebanon, Kourani said her priority is to fix their butcher shop across the street so they can start earning money.

“We are starting from below zero,” she said.

Ali Saleh lost his home in 2006, during the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah. He was able to rebuild when the gulf nation of Qatar funded the reconstruction of several areas in southern Lebanon.

On Wednesday, Saleh drove to his hometown near the border with Israel, only to find that it had happened again: his two-story home was gone.

“All the memories are gone,” he said, as he smoked a cigarette.

The 59-year-old man drove back with his wife and three of his six children hoping to find a place to stay close to his hometown of Aita al-Shaab, a village that witnessed some of the most intense fighting.

“It is a disaster-stricken village,” he said.

In the ancient city of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, 34-year-old Souad al-Outa walked around what was left of her home, shocked.

She knew her neighborhood had been badly hit like many other parts of this city, a designated UNESCO World Heritage site famous for its ancient Roman ruins. She was not prepared for the devastation she saw when she went back on Thursday.

A strike earlier this month killed multiple people in the street nearby, she said, including several of her husband's relatives.

“I feel like my heart has come out of its place,” she said as she looked around what used to be her children’s bedroom.

“We had a beautiful life here.”

About 170 kilometers (105 miles) southwest of there, in the village of Qana near the port city of Tyre, Abu Ahmad Salameh stood in what was left of several buildings that belonged to his family. He was able to pull two carpets from under the rubble.

“All this damage can be rebuilt. This is our land and we will stay here no matter what,” Salameh said. “It is painful to see the destruction. These are the homes of my parents, grandparents, daughter and my house.”

He said that when the area was struck about two weeks ago, Hezbollah fighters found a safe full of jewelry and cash in the rubble of his house, and returned it to his family.

Back in Hanouiyeh, Kourani said the family left their home in the early afternoon on Sept. 23, the day the war intensified, and moved in with relatives a few miles away. Shortly after they got there, they received a call saying that their house had been destroyed.

As the Israeli airstrikes increased, they fled north to Qarnayel, where they rented an apartment for 1,000 a month in addition to $250 for electricity and water.

Once the ceasefire went into effect, she drove back home with her husband, son and her daughter’s family. They spent the night with relatives.

Despite everything, Kourani said she is embarrassed to speak about her material losses at a time when thousands of people have been killed, including friends and relatives and Hezbollah fighters among them.

“Israel has filled our land with blood. Our big loss is our men,” she said.

Associated Press writer Lujain Jo in Baalbek, Lebanon contributed reporting.

Safaa Haidous, carries her daughter Yara, 4, while walking on the rubble of her parents destroyed house after she returned to Hanouiyeh village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Mariam Kourani, 56, stands on her destroyed butcher shop after she returned with her family to Hanouiyeh village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Residents collect personal remains from their destroyed house after they returned to Chehabiyeh village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Ali Haidous carries a plastic bag with the remains of her family clothes, as he walks on the rubble of his destroyed house after he returned with his family to Hanouiyeh village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Ali Haidous, removes the debris from his destroyed butcher shop after he returned with his family to his village of Hanouiyeh, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Mariam Kourani, 56, removes a toy car from the rubble on her destroyed house after she returned with her family to Hanouiyeh village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Safaa Haidous, carries her daughter Yara, 4, as she speaks with her husband Rawad Srour, who is stands on the roof of their family destroyed house, as they collect the remains of their belongings after they returned to Hanouiyeh village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Mariam Kourani, 56, and her husband Ali Haidous, stand on the rubble of their destroyed house after they returned to their village of Hanouiyeh , southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Yara Srour, 4, holds her photo album, as she sits in front of her grandparents destroyed house after she returned with her family to Hanouiyeh village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Mariam Kourani, 56, sits on the rubble of her destroyed house after she returned with her family to Hanouiyeh village, southern Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus could apply to become a member of NATO once its armed forces receive the necessary training and equipment with U.S. help to bring them up to the standards of the world's premier military alliance, the president of the Mediterranean island nation said Thursday.

President Nikos Christodoulides put Cyprus on a trajectory for possible NATO membership, ending weeks of media speculation about his government's intentions following his meeting with President Joe Biden in Washington last month.

The development goes against Cyprus' long-held policy of neutrality harking back to the Cold War era, when it walked a political tightrope between Washington and Moscow.

Christodoulides said that although Cyprus cannot join NATO at this time because of objections that alliance member Turkey would raise to its potential membership, the Cypriot National Guard shouldn't be denied the opportunity to upgrade its defensive capabilities with U.S. assistance.

Turkey, which maintains more than 35,000 troops in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot northern part of ethnically divided Cyprus, doesn’t recognize the island’s government, which is based in the Greek Cypriot southern part.

Christodoulides did not elaborate on how Turkish objections could be sidestepped. But the U.N. is currently working to prepare for a resumption of peace talks between the rival sides in Cyprus, which was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded, following a coup by supporters of uniting the island with Greece.

Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu quoted unnamed Turkish Defense Ministry officials as saying that any Cypriot bid for NATO membership is “an unacceptable development for Turkey,” which would disrupt “the delicate balance concerning the Cyprus issue and negatively affect” any peace talks.

“Because we don't want the National Guard to lose such opportunities, we're in talks with the U.S. — and we thank them for their positive response — on how the Cyprus Republic can make the best use of these opportunities, so when everything is in its place, the Cyprus Republic can become a member state of NATO,” Christodoulides told The Associated Press.

“The strengthening of the Cyprus Republic's deterrent capabilities is of the utmost importance, and we take advantage of every opportunity, both in the direction of the United States and NATO, but also the European Union,” he added.

Christodoulides said Cyprus' geographic location — it's the closest EU member state to the Middle East, at just 182 kilometers (114 miles) from the Lebanese capital, Beirut — has given impetus to planned upgrades to its military infrastructure. He said the government is currently in talks with the U.S. for upgrades to a key air base and with the EU for a naval base.

Following his meeting with Biden, Christodoulides told the AP of his government's commitment to expanding defense and security cooperation with the U.S.

Cyprus' Andreas Papandreou air base on its southwestern edge is currently hosting a U.S. Marine contingent and a number of V-22 Osprey tiltrotor military transport and cargo aircraft prepositioned to assist in potential evacuations from nearby Lebanon and elsewhere.

FILE - A police officer holds a Cyprus' flag as two soldiers salute during a ceremony before a military parade marking the 63th anniversary of Cyprus' independence from British colonial rule, in divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias, File)

FILE - Cyprus' soldiers on a military vehicle pass during a military parade marking the 63th anniversary of Cyprus' independence from British colonial rule, in divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Sunday, Oct. 1 2023. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias, File)

FILE - A Cyprus' military helicopter flies over a military parade marking the 63th anniversary of Cyprus' independence from British colonial rule, in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias, File)