Lebanese fishermen hope ceasefire with Israel means normal life returning

TYRE, Lebanon (AP) — The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brought hope for normality back to many in southern Lebanon on Friday, including fishermen who long launched their wooden-hulled single-engine boats into the Mediterranean at dawn.

During the last two months of its year fighting Hezbollah, Israel imposed a siege on southern Lebanon that kept hundreds of fishermen at this ancient Phoenician port, upending their lives and the industry.

While far less important than destruction and displacement, the port siege cut many off from the key ingredients for traditional Lebanese dishes like sayadiyeh — fish and rice boiled in fish sauce — or fish that is fried, grilled and eaten with hummus dip and tabbouleh or fattoush salads.

The loss of red mullet and sea bream damaged a link to the past for many Lebanese heartbroken over the destruction of their homeland. Now, in a tiny way, the possibility of renewed fishing on Lebanon’s southern coast is fueling hope for a brighter future.

On Friday, a few boats went out close to shore as fishermen in the port worked on the nets of small boats painted white, blue or red.

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Hussein Sukmani, 55, said that he was considering going out to sea but waiting to see things unfold.

He hasn’t dared set sail since the Israel-Hezbollah war intensified on Sept. 23, when Israeli strikes killed more than 490 people in the deadliest barrage since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

“They were days of fear and horror,” he said. “The most difficult days of our lives.”

A week ago, a drone killed two young fishermen in the city as they prepared their nets on the coast. The Lebanese army told fishermen that they would head out out at their own risk, some fishermen said Friday.

Among those who went to ply the coastal waters was Walid Darwish, who returned to the port with two mullet-filled plastic boxes.

“Today is the first time that we sail,” Darwish said, adding that fishermen had missed the prime season in October and November.

“We lost it,” he said.

The largely Christian neighborhood around the port has been mostly spared the airstrikes that leveled other parts of Tyre but the Israeli army barred any boats from an area 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the border in October. It has not said whether the warning is still in effect.

Sukmani said that most of the 700 fishermen who work on the 270 boats at the port have not sailed since the Israeli warning.

In peaceful times, the port is a major tourist attraction, beloved by Lebanese and foreigners who come for the views, the restaurants and the beaches.

Mohammed Hammoud walked along the white-sand coast of Tyre carrying his fishing rod and said, “It is enough that someone is able to stand in this beautiful area.”

“Fishing is everything for me,” said Hammoud, who went to catch fish several times in the area north of the city of Sidon that was not part of the siege.

In Tyre’s old market, Gilbert Spiridon watched from inside his shop as people came to buy fresh fish. Before the war, he sold out within hours 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.