A Brazilian-Lebanese family murdered by Israel in South Lebanon, he was looking for clothes and belongings in the house where he lived, in Burj Qalowayh, in the Bint Jbeil district, when the house was bombed. Until now, The bodies were not found in the rubble of the house, which was completely destroyed.
Brazilian Manal Jaafar, 47, died in the attack; son Ali Ghassan Nader, 11; and the boy’s father, Lebanese Ghassan Nader, 57 years old. They had left their residence, in a hurry, at the beginning of the current phase of the conflict, on March 2, and took refuge in Beirut, the country’s capital.
With the ceasefire announced on April 16, the family decided to return to Bint Jbel in order to pick up more clothes and gather other belongings, before returning to Beirut again. They had arrived in South Lebanon last Saturday (25).
Ghassan’s younger brother, Lebanese-Brazilian Bilal Nader, 43, who lives in Foz do Iguaçu (PR), said that he planned to return on the same day, but ended up sleeping at the house to return on Sunday (26), when the bombing occurred.
“When there was a ceasefire, many people returned home at dawn. He still waited seven or eight days. He said he was just going to gather his things and come back, just to get more clothes. He even had the car running, you know, with the trunk already loaded”, said Bilal Nader.
The impact of the bomb also injured another of the couple’s children, student Kassam Nader, 21, who studies computing in Lebanon. He was discharged from hospital this Tuesday (28). The couple also had two other older children, aged 28 and 26, who live and work abroad.
Bilal Nader emphasized that his brother had no connection with a political party, living a life as an olive farmer in South Lebanon, and that he had hope that the war would end.
“My brother is a good person, he has no connection with anything, he doesn’t support any party, he is a very reserved, very quiet person. In fact, he has many friends here, in Foz [do Iguaçu]throughout Brazil. He has friends in Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, São Paulo. He was well known here,” he said.
Bilal Nader added that the region where his brother lived was not used to being the scene of recent fighting.
“The cities further ahead are where the bombings were happening, where they are robbing houses. There was nothing around his house, just civil buildings, with a normal civilian population”, he explained.
Agência Brasil contacted the Israeli Embassy in Brazil to find out the Tel Aviv government’s position on the bombing of the Brazilian family’s residence in Lebanon, but did not receive any response until the closing of this report.
Lebanon is home to the largest community of Brazilians in the Middle East. In total, 22 thousand Brazilians lived in the country in 2023, according to data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE). Brazil condemned the attacks that occurred during the ceasefire.
Family lived in Paraná
The Brazilian-Lebanese family lived for more than 15 years in Brazil, between 1995 and 2008, where his wife Manal Jaafar had children and acquired Brazilian nationality. Her husband Ghassan only did not obtain his nationality “due to lack of time”, as he was busy at work. He was a salesman in the electronics sector.
The Lebanese journalist, naturalized Brazilian, Ali Farhat was a friend of Ghassan and says that he was a very cultured person. Graduated in economics, he wrote a book, in Arabic, about the world economy.
“He was very active in the Lebanese community here in Brazil. He worked as a businessman here and also as an intellectual. He was trying to do some studies, some research and then he decided to travel to Lebanon to live with his family there”, Farhat told Agência Brasil.
Ceasefire violations
The supposed ceasefire in Lebanon has been violated by Israel. Hezbollah, a Shiite political-military group, has said it will react to violations of the fragile truce. On the other hand, Iran has been pressing that the ceasefire in the Middle East must include Lebanon.
According to the White House, Israel could carry out attacks against Hezbollah only “in self-defense, at any time, against planned, imminent or ongoing attacks.”
South Lebanon
The Israeli government had been defending the occupation of all of South Lebanon up to the Litani River, about 30 kilometers from the current border between the countries, saying it would not allow the civilian population to return to the region.
The forced displacement of civilian populations is considered another war crime. On the last day before the ceasefire, Israel bombed the last remaining bridge over the Litani River, the Qasmiyeh Bridge, isolating the southern region from the rest of the country and preventing connection between the cities of Tire and Sidon.
Geopolitical expert Anwar Assi told Agência Brasil that Israel’s actions in South Lebanon constitute ethnic cleansing to expel residents of the region and take over these territories.
“The main objective of the war is the expulsion of people from South Lebanon. That’s why they destroyed schools, hospitals, government buildings and all units that could support the return of civilians. They destroyed them precisely so that these people who returned to their cities would not find any type of support”, highlighted Assi.
On the other hand, Israel claims that it seeks to create a security zone against Hezbollah attacks.
Understand
The current phase of the war involving Israel and Lebanon began in October 2023, when Hezbollah began attacks against Northern Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian people, in the face of the massacres in the Gaza Strip.
In November 2024, a ceasefire agreement was reached between the Shiite military political group and Tel Aviv. However, the agreement was never respected by Israel, which continued to carry out attacks in Lebanon.
With the beginning of aggression against Iran, Hezbollah again attacked Israel on March 2, in response to systematic violations of the ceasefire in recent months and also in retaliation for the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.
On April 8, the ceasefire in the war in Iran was announced, but Israel continued with attacks in Lebanon, once again violating the agreement, this time made by Pakistan.
History
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah dates back to the 1980s, when the Shiite militia was created in reaction to Israel’s invasion and occupation of Lebanon to persecute Palestinian groups seeking refuge in the neighboring country.
In 2000, Hezbollah managed to expel the Israelis from the country. Over the years, the group became a political party with seats in Parliament and participation in governments.
Lebanon was also attacked by the Israeli government in 2006, 2009 and 2011.
*Brazil Agency
