Beirut businesses struggle to stay afloat under Israeli raids

Lebanese business owners struggle to keep businesses afloat amid Israeli strikes, displacement, and economic crisis in Beirut.

Lina al-Khalil has fled her south Beirut home to escape escalating Israeli attacks on Hezbollah, but she still returns daily to the bombarded area to keep the family business running.

"It's more important than my house," said the pharmacist, in her 50s, of the business she inherited from her father in Haret Hreik, a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital where Iran-backed Hezbollah militants hold sway.

Whenever the Israeli military issues a warning to evacuate before a strike -- a near-daily occurrence for nearly two months -- she closes down the shop and rushes out.

Despite the ever-present fear and the steep decline in business activity, Ms. Khalil does what she can to keep her business afloat, like many other shopkeepers in Beirut's southern suburbs.

The vast majority of the area's estimated 600,000-800,000 residents have fled, seeking refuge elsewhere.

"With the drop in customers, the financial impact has been severe," Khalil told AFP, adding that she has had to halve the salaries of her employees due to the pinch.

Ms. Khalil has moved most of the pharmacy's stock to her second home in the mountains for safekeeping.