Nasrallah is a bad surname to have in Lebanon, as Israel tries to break the militant group Hezbollah. Fourteen-year-old Mohammed Hassan Nasrallah found out the hard way when Israeli airborne commandos seized his father and four other men in eastern Lebanon, even though they are unrelated to Hassan Nasrallah, the firebrand head of the Shi’ite Muslim movement. | “Hassan Diab Nasrallah, did not want to leave his grocery because he was afraid of thieves...” |
Hay al-Osseira, located at the eastern entrance of Baalbek, a main Hezbollah stronghold, had been abandoned by its residents following Israeli bombardments. But MohammedÂ’s father, Hassan Diab Nasrallah, did not want to leave his grocery because he was afraid of thieves.
But Wednesday’s night visitors did not want to steal canned food. “About a dozen soldiers broke into the house. They put the women and children on one side without tying them up. They placed the men on the other side. I was with the men,” Mohammed said. Israel said 200 elite commando troops carried out the operation, the deepest ground incursion into Lebanon since the Jewish state launched its offensive on its northern neighbour. “They were shouting and mistreating us. My mother interfered and told them to have pity on the children and treat us nicely,” Mohammed said. But one of the Israelis responded: “Shut up or I will kill you,” according to Mohammed, who said the serviceman also “fired shots over her head.”