Empty Corniche

It just keeps changing here. With all the shops in Hamra closed, I wandered around until I found a place to eat. I headed back to the hotel and tried to read, but gave up in favour of a walk along the Corniche. I wanted to gauge the Beirutis’ mood.

I managed to cross the Corniche road to the edge of the coast with ease – a sign of how quiet it was. Quite a contrast to Tuesday night, when I walked with Salam. That evening, we negotiated roller skaters, moped riders, kids on bikes, joggers, nargileh smokers and couples arm-in-arm.

Tonight it was subdued. Only a hundred or so people were scattered along the full length of the Corniche. Most looked melancholy and thoughtful. I took a few photos and ambled around.

Then came a loud explosion. This sounded close. Everyone stopped and looked towards Beirut. Mobile phones were pressed to ears, with everyone looking tense.

I was tense. A guy resting on the metal rail saw my dawdling. “You’re worried!” he laughed. “You never heard bombs before? You’re lucky.” We had a brief talk about Wales, after I told him where I was from. His friend came back, looking preoccupied. The friend mentioned the name of the district that had been hit, but I didn’t catch it.

Saying goodbye, I turned around and looked along the Corniche. A place bustling with life two days ago was now virtually empty.

I headed along the coast path back to the hotel. There was no traffic. One more large explosion punched the evening air as I strode back, trying to enjoy the sunset at the same time.

I’m now back at the hotel. It turns out that Haret Hreik has been hit once again. This time the Hizbullah HQ has been flattened. But Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has come out fighting. In a statement just released, Nasrallah pledged to take war to Haifa and beyond.

Immediately afterward, shots and cheers of celebration could be heard close to my hotel. With that, I had a text message from my dissertation tutor Zahera, advising me not to leave my room.

I’ve had messages from home, saying the UK is planning to get 4000 nationals out of Lebanon, while my Norwegian friend Jon Martin messaged to say that Norway is planning evacuation of its nationals. All I can do is keep my head down, like most Beirutis. There’s no room for heroics at the moment – I’m not resourced for news hunting. This was meant to be a pleasant research trip!

The next 24 hours are going to be critical – especially as a rocket has just hit an Israeli ship off the coast of Lebanon.

Right, back to the hotel... I was just about to add a picture when gunfire rang out. The net cafe is closing. I'm going where it's safe!