Naqoura, Lebanon | Nov. 06, 2026, 2:17 p.m. ET | 5 min read

The last time Carolina Rizkallah opened the door to her family restaurant in southern Lebanon was early this year. She wasn’t returning to work. It was to feed the stray cats.

Chez Samir, named after her late father, had once served grilled fish in the Mediterranean town of Naqoura, just two miles from the Israeli border. Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah had driven Ms. Rizkallah from her hometown, and going back was dangerous.

When she arrived, Ms. Rizkallah says, two strange men were there – along with her feline dependents.

“‘Carolina, come inside. We need to speak with you,’” she recalls the men saying to her. “‘Where are you going? Come back, come back,’” they shouted as she fled.

Ms. Rizkallah, now in the city of Tyre, says she still doesn’t know if the men who startled her were Hezbollah or Israeli. She never did make it back to the restaurant.…