Sonic Booms Over Beirut: Echoes of Fear and the Reminders of Past Tragedies

Beirut resonates with the haunting sound of sonic booms, reviving the dread of the past and unsettling its residents. In a deliberate act reminiscent of psychological warfare, Israeli fighter jets have been breaking the sound barrier above Lebanon, triggering panic and memories of Beirut’s tragic 2020 port explosion. Eliah Kaylough, a witness to these fearsome booms and survivor of the port blast, reveals how despite a lack of physical harm, the mental wounds reopen with every thunderous crack in the sky.

Since October 7, the aggressive aural tactics of sonic booms have become a frequent occurrence over Lebanese airspace according to the Human Rights Watch researcher Ramzi Kaiss. These operations are not solely demonstrations of military might but serve a dual purpose: to terrify the Lebanese populace and to shadow the specter of turning Lebanon into a battlefield reminiscent of Gaza.

Lawrence Abu Hamdan, a sound expert, points to the continuous Israeli airspace violations as a non-declared element of warfare, perpetuating the mental anguish of a population still recovering from past conflicts and calamities. With over 22,000 violations since the ceasefire of 2006, these sonic disturbances serve as an omnipresent reminder of potential imminent violence.

The sonic booms serve Israel's objective, as Beirut resident Rana Farhat articulates, by instilling a fear that disrupts the daily life of civilians and reminds them of the horrors they've witnessed. Fears are ignited not just in adults but in children too, with no understanding of what such sounds could portend, leading to growing apprehension and insecurity.

Beirut's populace is no stranger to the psychological taxation of war's machinery. Abu Hamdan explains the substantial impact recurring explosive sounds have on mental and even physical health, citing an increased risk of stroke and other health complications. This underscores that the sonic booms are not a mere inconvenience but a significant public health concern.

As Lebanon endures the reverberating crises of economic meltdown, political instability, and the scars left by the Beirut port explosion, the Israeli sonic booms are not just sounds in the sky but echoes of a painful past and a dreaded future. Civilians like Kaylough and Farhat become the unwilling subjects of a strategy portending potential destruction, even as Israel and Hezbollah shadowbox in a contest that may determine the fate of a nation caught in the sound waves of conflict.