“There is no state help’ Shop owners in Lebanon start to clear and rebuild

For two months, the only sounds in Nabatieh were the buzzing of an Israeli drone overhead and the dull thump of distant airstrikes.

- William Christou Nabatieh

The day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect, the drone was gone and south Lebanon's second largest city was filled with the sound of hammering, shifting glass and the clang of excavator buckets lifting rubble from blocked streets.

Wafiq Jaber, the owner of al-Sharq sweet shop in Nabatieh, said: "We started repairs this morning, why would we wait? We have to stand on our own two feet."

Six weeks ago he watched on his wifi-enabled cameras as Israeli bombs fell on one building after another until suddenly the footage cut - and he knew his business had been hit.

Jaber directed workers as he spoke, pointing to growing piles of glass and twisted metal that were the remains of his shop. Four out of the six branches of his stores in Lebanon were damaged by Israeli strikes - he estimated he had lost about $2m (£1.6m) in the past two months.

He did not expect help in rebuilding from the Lebanese government which, even before the war, was on the brink of bankruptcy and unable to provide basic services.