Tyr, Lebanon – The ancient port of the city of Tyre is bathing in glorious sunshine. It’s 20 degrees Celsius in the shade on this late April day. Usually, during this pre-summer period, the docks should be bustling with people, but the situation is far from normal. A deep rumble, that of an Israeli fighter jet, reverberates in the sky above our heads. It is accompanied by the intrusive hum of a drone flying over the port at a very low altitude. It is visible even to the naked eye.
Here, it’s hard to forget the ongoing war that continues to ravage the region, despite the ceasefire in effect for 12 days. This is because we are less than 10 kilometers from the buffer zone that Israel wants to establish along its border in southern Lebanon. Bordered by a red line drawn by Israel, this zone includes over 60 Lebanese villages, most of which have been partially or completely destroyed and are now off-limits to civilians.
The buffer zone extends into the sea, depriving southern fishermen of their traditional fishing grounds where fish are more abundant. Issa Darwish, a fisherman originally from Palestine living in Lebanon, who has been fishing since he was 9, clearly sees a before and after-war situation.
“Before the war, we could go offshore to Naqoura, Qlayleh, and Bayada near the border. There were lots of fish there – snapper, lobster. Fishing was good!” he says. But when Israel intensified its attacks on Lebanon on March 2, after Hezbollah launched rockets into its territory in response to the war against Iran, its sponsor, Tyre’s fishermen were confined to the port and their boats were immobilized at the dock.
It was only 46 days later, with the announcement of the ceasefire, that fishermen were able to head back to sea, but not without restrictions – they can now only navigate during the day and in one direction, north.
“Sometimes, [the Israelis] contact the Lebanese army intelligence services based at the port of Tyre to tell them that fishing boats are banned from going out to sea,” explains Issa, 22.
“If we are at sea, the Lebanese army contacts us every five minutes to tell us not to delay, to return to the port… What kind of ceasefire is this? It’s not a real ceasefire!”
Mohammad Darwish, Issa’s uncle, agrees that fishing is less profitable now. “There are a lot less fish off the coast of Tyre,” he says. “We make less money from fishing today. The price of fish has dropped due to low demand, there are fewer customers.”
Issa and Mohammad fish aiguilletes, a fish with a long beak that dwells near the coast. They didn’t have to venture far out to sea to catch it. On that day, they caught 150 kilos of fish. Before the war, they often came back with at least 400 kilos, and a greater variety.
Sitting on his fishing boat opposite the quay, Kamal Istanbouli, 53, is busy repairing his nets. “They need to be maintained from time to time,” he says. Kamal, who dropped out of school at 13 to pursue his love for the sea, hasn’t been as lucky as the Darwish family. His catch is meager: five kilos of sea bass and an octopus. He sold everything at the port fish market.
“I sometimes make $50-70 a day. It’s not like the West here, the state does not help us. If we don’t work, we don’t eat. We have to go out to sea every day to fish,” he explains.
Moustapha Chahine, the owner of the fish market, observes the exodus of fishermen from Tyre. Before the war, there were over 500. Today, there are about 70 left. He denounces the harassment they face at sea from the Israeli navy.
During the ceasefire that ended the last war between Israel and Hezbollah a year ago, two fishermen were kidnapped at sea, a few nautical miles from Tyre. They still have not been released. The Israeli army justifies these actions by saying they monitor the Lebanese coast to prevent any infiltration or Hezbollah-related activities. In October 2024, Israel had already ordered the evacuation of certain coastal areas in southern Lebanon for maritime operations, paralyzing the local fishing economy.
Moustapha, however, asserts that the Israeli practice of kidnapping fishermen at sea dates back to the 1980s, even before the creation of Hezbollah. He recalls how his father was kidnapped by the Israeli navy while fishing. “My father wasn’t affiliated with any political party. He was interrogated and held for 40 days in Israel before being released,” he says.
“We have suffered too much. Those who do not live in southern Lebanon do not know the suffering we endure. That’s why we defend our lands… It’s unfair.”
Despite everything, Moustapha refuses to leave Tyre. “I’m practically born in the sea. I have spent my whole life here,” he says while scaling a fish.
“I’m 40. I lived through the wars of 1990, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2006, 2024, and 2026. I have never left here. I will not leave,” he declares. The attachment to the sea is what binds all the fishermen who have stayed in Tyre, despite the restrictions and the war. Most feel safer on the water than on land. But they all hope for better days to return to the open sea, where fish abound.
