Gulf between Hezbollah and Lebanese state grows wider as Israeli occupation continues

People in south of country rely on group’s longstanding social welfare system that cash-strapped state fails to provide Fatima al-Ashkar used toys to explain to her children that their father had been killed. She arranged toy soldiers in a mock battle and picked up an airplane, miming an air raid on the plastic men below. “I started explaining to them: ‘Israel came and bombed here. Daddy was here. Daddy was martyred. Daddy was protecting us from Israel,’” said al-Ashkar, a 26-year-old residen...

By William Christou and Ali Awada in Beirut