Aya Hamdan, a mother, was martyred on September 20, 2024, as she held her daughter Fatima in her arms during an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Qaem (AJ) building in Beirut’s southern suburbs. The enemy claimed to target leaders of the Islamic Resistance — but cared nothing for the civilians living there. Aya never stopped dreaming of going back home.
I don’t know what she was thinking in the moment her soul rose, or what she saw on the other side that made her let go of that dream and soar.
All I know is that she was an angel among us. She lived like the martyrs she admired — moved by their stories, following their news, until she joined them. Once, I was talking to her about the village and the hope of return. She sent me a voice message, sharing her deepest wish. 

تسجيل صوتي للشهيدة آية حمدان اسم الفنان
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Aya couldn’t go a single day in displacement without speaking of Mais al-Jabal — without imagining the day she would return, unbound, unrestricted, and free from occupation. She never stopped waiting for a ceasefire — not for safety, but simply so she could go back. In one of our conversations, she sent me a voice recording. In it, she said:

تسجيل صوتي للشهيدة آية حمدان اسم الفنان
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Aya returned to Mais al-Jabal — but carried on the shoulders of her loved ones, who waited 19 agonizing hours to retrieve her and her daughter Fatima from under the rubble. Fatima was not yet two years old. Alongside them, three other family members were also recovered. They were laid to rest on September 22, 2024 — just one day before the Battle of the First Fierce Ones began, and one week before the martyrdom of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of Hizbullah. Aya’s coffin was wrapped in the flag of Imam Mahdi Scouts, where she served as a devoted Scout leader. She and her daughter were buried in the same grave. The other martyrs were shrouded in the Lebanese flag.

Aya remained buried in Mais al-Jabal, her grave unmarked, with no headstone, and no visits. She was laid to rest in the village’s Martyrs’ Cemetery, and then… came the waiting — waiting for her family and friends to return to Mais, to visit her grave, to keep her company. But the Battle of Eternal Might began soon after, lasting 66 days, followed by a two-month-long Israeli occupation of the village.

Martyrdom for the Sake of Return 

After the 66-day deadline ended under the ceasefire agreement, the people of Mais al-Jabal attempted to return to their village. Among them was Noor Faraj Karout, who stood — unarmed, peacefully — in front of Israeli tanks that had blocked the road into the village, trying to prevent the residents from going home. The gathering was peaceful. Just bodies and hope. But the enemy never misses a chance to leave its mark in blood. As Noor began to pray, one of the Israeli soldiers took aim and deliberately fired. She was martyred — right at the edge of her hometown — still holding on to the dream of return, like so many others who left their shadows on the road and crossed over. 

There are also those who return from war.
They go back to their homes, shed the garments of displacement, and wear instead the robes of resilience and will.
They resume their lives and their work — in the very land they were once forced to leave. And perhaps that is what the enemy fears most,
To see the people of the border strip return, rebuild, clear the rubble, and insist on coming back — again and again. For that reason, the enemy sees no other option but intimidation and assassination.

Ezzat Karout, the hardworking young man who, immediately after returning to the village, rushed to work—collecting iron and clearing rubble—was targeted by the Israeli enemy. Two missiles struck in front of his home, killing him and making him a martyr.

As for Osama Farhat, a young man who worked with civil defense throughout the war, both inside and outside the village, he returned to his hometown to live—a basic human right anywhere in the world. What hurt the enemy most was that he simply came back. He was targeted twice: he survived the first attack but was martyred in the second. This is one example of the enemy’s arrogance.

As of the date of writing this story, June 26, 2025, the Israeli enemy continues to target, kill, and destroy

The latest victim of the occupation was the young man Mohammad Ali Karout, who was working in the southern town of Braishit. He carried no weapon and posed no threat to the enemy — he was simply rebuilding destroyed homes, something the occupier does not want. 

The people of Mais al-Jabal live in constant anticipation, wondering: which door will death knock on tonight? Which family will be struck by tragedy? They live with the haunting question: “Who’s next?”