In the early hours of March 2, 2026, three civilians – a small girl, Layal Rahal, and an elderly married couple, Abdullah al-Zain and his wife, Safia al-Zain, were killed in an alleged Israeli missile attack on Harek Hreik, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon.
Around 1:00 a.m on March 2, sources such as Facebook accounts ‘Free Latakia’ and ‘Hama Variety 2’ reported “Israeli airstrikes on Haret Hreik in Beirut.” ‘Port Lighthouse Site’ shared a photo around 3:30 a.m. showing an empty city street and noted that “the entire Haret Hreik neighborhood has been evacuated amidst a cautious calm prevailing in the area.”
Later that morning, reports of casualties began to appear.
At about 9:00 a.m., Facebook account ‘Events and oddities in Iraq’ announced that the “child Layal Rahal [was] martyred in the first dawn raids on Haret Hreik – southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon” and shared a photo of the young girl.
The Facebook account @ثانوية الكوثر- مدارس المبرات / Al-Kawthar Secondary School – Al-Mabarrat Schools mourned Layal’s passing as well, bidding “goodbye to the first grade student” and describing her as “innocence embodied in a conscious smile” and “one whose intelligence surpassed her years, and whose age outpaced time itself, soaring like a butterfly in the gardens of paradise.” The account praised Layal as “a lover of knowledge, a lover of others, a lover of friendship, and a world of sincerity,” and posted a photo of the small girl wearing what appears to be a school uniform with a yellow shirt, with blue and yellow scarf. She makes a love heart symbol with her hands, and poses for the photo.
Another photo posted from the account, @موقع يا صور / Ya Sour website, shows Layal, “the daughter of a doctor, Dr. Hassan Rahal,” wearing a yellow jacket as she gives a thumbs up sign with her hand. She’s almost smiling as she gazes past the camera with deep brown eyes, and wispy brown hair parted and clipped back with blue hairclips.
Loved ones also grieved the deaths of Abdullah al-Zain and his wife, Safia al-Zain. Facebook account @Kabrikha Ajmal Balad wrote that “With immense pride and honour, we announce the martyrdom of Haj Abdullah Al-Zein and his wife, Hajja Safia Al-Zein,” and shared a photo of Abdullah. The picture shows him as an older gentleman, with grey hair neatly brushed to the side and a neatly trimmed beard. He wears glasses, a brown suit jacket, and a black shirt without a tie. He sits on an angle, not directly looking towards the camera but gazing into the distance. A picture by @موقع معركة اونلاين / Battle Online website, shows Mr. and Mrs Al-Zain as a happy couple, smiling, picture with bouquets of pink, orange and red flowers in front of them. @Haitham Alzein prayed that “God have mercy on you both, my dear, pure aunt and my uncle, martyrs in a hateful raid.”
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Israeli forces.