'Keys without homes' evoke destruction in Lebanon

BEIRUT — Tears streamed down south Lebanon resident Fatima Hajj Ali's face as she stared at a host of keys hanging like wind chimes from the ceiling of a museum in Beirut — each one symbolizing a home, like her own, destroyed by Israel.

Hajj Ali is among the thousands of southerners who lost their houses in the recent conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah militants, the first of which broke out in 2023 and the second in March.

"We were supposed to go home and open the door with the key, but there is no door anymore," the 23-year-old said.

Despite a lull in fighting following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran on June 17, intermittent Israeli strikes continue, as do widespread demolitions in and around occupied villages, making it impossible for many people to return.

The exhibition Hkeeli ya Jnoub, or "Tell me, O South", features pictures and videos preserving the memory of southern Lebanon at the capital's Beit Beirut museum.

Walking through, Hajj Ali reminisced on her home in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, which she was only able to visit once after an April truce that ultimately failed to stop the fighting.

"Half the house collapsed and half remained," she told Agence France-Presse.

"I long for sunset and to hear the call to prayer in our garden while I drink my coffee," said the psychologist, adding that Beirut had "beautiful" places, but "they are not home".

One of the projects on display is Keys Without Homes, which comprises videos of three southerners who kept the keys to their houses, even though they no longer exist.

The artist, 36-year-old Adeeb Farhat, himself from the south, said the idea came to him during the previous war in 2024, when he feared losing his own home.

There is a long-standing tradition among Palestinians of keeping the keys of homes they lost during the Nakba — the Arabic word for catastrophe — which saw the flight and expulsion of an estimated 760,000 Palestinian Arabs during the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun left Beirut on Saturday for Washington, where he is expected to meet United States President Donald Trump, his office said.

Aoun will hold talks "with several American officials on the situation in Lebanon and ways to strengthen the ceasefire", as well as on "the withdrawal of Israel from the Lebanese regions it occupies", the presidency said.

Confirming Aoun's arrival in a later statement, the Lebanese presidency said he would meet US State Secretary Marco Rubio on Sunday and Trump on Tuesday.

AGENCIES-XINHUA