MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Lebanon - NPR has been reporting from the town of Marjayoun, which is on Lebanon's border with Israel.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Southern Lebanon is where the Israeli military is conducting a ground incursion, what it insists are limited raids on Hezbollah targets there. Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 2,100 people in Lebanon since the war began a year ago. NPR's Eyder Peralta says he spent the night listening to outgoing rocket fire and air raids.
MARTIN: And Eyder is on the line now to tell us more. Welcome, Eyder.
EYDER PERALTA, BYLINE: Hey, Michel.
MARTIN: So what does the ground incursion look like from where you are?
PERALTA: Well, you know, Israel has said that this would be a limited ground operation. But from here, it feels like a war. All day, all night, all we hear is the sounds of explosions.
(SOUNDBITE OF MISSILE EXPLODING)
PERALTA: On the way over here, one of the roads we were on had been destroyed by a missile. There was a hole in the middle that was so big that two mangled cars fit inside of it. The streets here are desolate. Life has stopped. Stores are closed, schools are closed and the few people who are left seem to just sit on their porches, smoking cigarettes, counting rockets, worrying about what's to come.
MARTIN: Well, I can hear that there are some people behind you. So there are a few people around, and I do understand that you've been able to talk to them. What are they telling you?
PERALTA: I mean, most of the people who have stayed are older folks who think that if they leave, they may never come back. Or they're scared if they leave, their house will be targeted by an airstrike. And they were surprised that we were here and happy to receive visitors. So they've been inviting us into their homes, they've made coffee for us, they've given us chocolates. And everyone told me the same thing - we want peace. This is Namir (ph), who asked us only to use his first name so he could speak candidly.
NAMIR: We are against the war because we are involved in the war not by us.
PERALTA: And he says it feels like Hezbollah has dragged them into a conflict that they want nothing to do with. I also spoke to Nabih Lahoud (ph), who is a teacher here. And what he said is that he's just tired of the constant disruption. He says that growing up, classes were often canceled because of war, and here we are again. At 71, he said he has never lived a good day. So I asked him do you have hope that one day Lebanon might actually be OK?
NABIH LAHOUD: It depends on the - shall I live till that day (laughter)? Hopefully. I'm hopeful, always.
(SOUNDBITE OF MISSILES EXPLODING)
LAHOUD: These are rockets from Hezbollah, three. You might hear one - four - count them. Some days ago, I counted 46, 46 after each other.
PERALTA: And that's what life is like here right now. Everyone is worried that things could get worse. A couple of days ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that if Lebanese do not turn their back on Hezbollah, Lebanon would turn into Gaza. And that is what everyone here is worried about.
MARTIN: What about the basics of right now, like food, water, medical supplies?
PERALTA: Right now, there's no hospital, no doctors, not even a pharmacy is open. So I've heard a lot of worry from people. What happens if we get sick? Right now, you know, there is food and there is water - it's hard to come by. But the U.N. says that they haven't been able to create a humanitarian corridor because of the uncertainty they have about any attacks. It means that the roads here are too dangerous. And they worry that if this keeps up, the humanitarian situation here could become dire.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Eyder Peralta in Marjayoun, Lebanon, near the border with Israel. Eyder, thank you.
PERALTA: Thank you, Michel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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