At Lebanon’s border with Israel, residents of a Christian village are hoping conflict will be prevented at the same time as they put together for the opportunity of worsening hostilities between the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah and Israel.
Situated simply a few kilometres from the frontier, the village of Rmeich has already suffered fallout from three weeks of clashes alongside the border between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, the dominant power in southern Lebanon.
The village, together with the remainder of Lebanon, is feeling the turbulence unleashed by the battle raging some 200km (124 miles) away between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, an ally of the closely armed Hezbollah.
Those that stay in Rmeich seem reluctant to debate the politics of the disaster that has introduced battle to their doorstep, attempting to protect some normalcy within the village whose 18th-century church nonetheless holds a mass thrice a day.
“I gained’t say we’re feeling protected however the scenario is steady,” village priest Toni Elias, 40, stated as a army drone buzzed overhead.
“If we don’t hear the drone, we predict one thing odd is happening. We’re used to it daily, 24/7,” Elias stated.