Israeli strikes in Lebanon stir fears of sectarian strife

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. DEIR BILLA, Lebanon—Christians in this small northern Lebanese village keep a lookout at night for unwanted visitors, asking drivers headed up the hill toward the Shia part of the neighborhood what their purpose is. They have installed cameras and often sit around until 3 a.m.

smoking shisha, keeping an eye on the road. “They know we are watching," said Farid Sammour, a 31-year-old restaurant owner. “Before we were living together.

Now there is no trust." Lebanon’s religious fault lines—the patchwork of Christian, Shia and Sunni Muslim, and other faith groups making up this country of some 5.5 million people—are straining as Israel’s war with the Hezbollah militant group grinds on. Several weeks ago, an Israeli airstrike hit a Shia house in this village 70 miles from the Israeli border, killing two people the Israeli military described as “terrorist assets." The broadening air campaign has pulled villages and towns such as Deir Billa into the conflict if they house Shia Muslims, from whom Hezbollah draws most of its support. Christians and Shia Muslims live side-by-side here and were already on edge before the airstrike.

In September, days after Israel remotely detonated thousands of sabotaged pagers and walkie-talkies in the hands of Hezbollah members, a group of men arrived seeking shelter. Residents saw the men had injuries on their faces and hands. They persuaded them to leave, fearing that the village could be targeted if they were linked to Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group deemed a terrorist organization by the U.S.