In war-battered Tyre, fishermen test the waters of the ceasefire
Israeli restrictions during fighting barred vessels from the sea near border; while many are waiting to see how the truce develops, others hope for a return to the ‘good old days’
TYRE, Lebanon — The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brought hope for normality back to many in southern Lebanon on Friday, including fishermen who have long launched their single-engine wooden boats into the Mediterranean at dawn.
Israel, which sent troops into southern Lebanon during the last two months of its war with the Iran-backed terror group, carried out an intense bombing campaign against Hezbollah that kept hundreds of fishers at this ancient Phoenician port on shore, upending their lives and the industry.
Hezbollah, unprovoked, had begun firing into Israel the day after Palestinian terror group Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught in southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, and its relentless attacks forced the displacement of some 60,000 residents of northern Israel. Hezbollah, like Hamas, is avowedly committed to destroying Israel.
Amid the destruction and displacement as Israel struck back, the siege on Tyre’s port cut many people off from key ingredients for traditional Lebanese dishes like sayadiyeh — fish and rice boiled in fish sauce — or fried and grilled fish eaten with dips such as hummus and tabbouleh or fattoush salads.
The loss damaged a deep association with home. Now, the possibility of renewed Lebanese fishing on the country’s southern coast is helping fuel hope for a brighter future.
On Friday, a few boats went out close to the shore as fishers in the port worked on the nets of small boats painted white, blue or red.
Hussein Sukmani, 55, said Friday that he was considering going to sea in the coming days but was waiting to see how things unfold.
He hasn’t dared set sail since September 23, when Israel invaded Lebanon and stepped up airstrikes in the country after nearly a year of persistent rocket fire from Hezbollah.
“They were days of fear and horror,” he said. “They were the most difficult days of our lives.”
A week ago, a drone strike killed two young fishers in the city as they prepared their nets on the coast. Some fishermen said Friday that the Lebanese army had told them that if they head out it would be at their own risk.
Among those who sailed near the coast on Friday was Walid Darwish, who returned to the port with two plastic boxes filled with mullet.
“Today is the first time that we sail,” Darwish said, adding that fishers had missed the prime season in October and November.
“We lost it,” he said.
The IDF barred any boats from an area 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the border in October and has not said whether the warning is still in effect.
Sukmani said that most of the 700 fishers who work on the 270 boats at the port have not sailed out of concern since then.
The area around the port is a predominantly Christian neighborhood that has been spared much of the airstrikes that leveled buildings in other parts of Tyre.
In peaceful times, the port is a major tourist attraction, beloved by Lebanese and foreigners who come for the views, restaurants and beaches.
On Friday, Mohammed Hammoud walked along the coast of Tyre carrying his fishing rod.
“It is enough that someone is able to stand in this beautiful area,” he said, pointing to the white sands.
“Fishing is everything for me,” added Hammoud, who went to fish several times in the area north of the city of Sidon that was not part under restrictions.
In the old market of Tyre, Gilbert Spiridon watched from inside his shop as people came to buy freshly brought fish. Before the war, it took hours to sell all his fish to people from around Lebanon.
“All I wish is that the war has ended and we are back on track to the old good days,” he said.
Amid initial fears that Hezbollah would invade the north after it entered the fighting a day after Hamas’s invasion and massacre, and with the Lebanese terror group’s rocket fire battering communities all along the border, 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from their homes for almost 14 months.
Some 1.2 million Lebanese were displaced by Israel’s bombing campaign starting in September, when it stepped up its assault on Hezbollah. The campaign was launched after Israel added to its official war aims the secure return home of its displaced northern residents.
Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel since October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of 45 civilians. In addition, 76 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes, attacks on Israel, and in the ensuing ground operation launched in southern Lebanon in late September.
Two soldiers have been killed in a drone attack from Iraq, and there have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
The IDF estimates that some 3,500 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict. Around 100 members of other terror groups, along with hundreds of civilians, have also been reported killed in Lebanon.
