Last week, as I made my way to Beirut airport, I drove through bombed out streets in an empty city. The Lebanese national airline still bravely flew in and out, its planes weaving their way between Israeli airstrikes. I boarded my flight to attend a conference, hoping we would make it out safely. I left behind a population that had paid a very heavy price for 13 months of war between the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israel: thousands of dead and injured, thousands of homes and businesses destroyed, and over 1.2 million displaced.
For most of those 13 months, the U.S. has tried to mediate a ceasefire, so I had little reason to hope that an end to this fighting was imminent. But history can sometimes take positive turns. Like millions in Lebanon – and, I’m sure, in Israel as well – I was overwhelmed with mixed emotions to hear that a ceasefire had finally been reached. I mourn the thousands who paid with their lives. But today, as the guns fall silent, I am hopeful and happy for tens of thousands of people who will be able to return to their homes and can now start rebuilding their lives.
Photo credit: Sally Hayden via Getty Images
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