Beirut Food Delivery Drivers Risk Lives to Serve Customers During Israeli Strikes

Food delivery drivers in Beirut continue working despite escalating Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah positions throughout the Lebanese capital. The couriers navigate dangerous streets, avoiding vehicles with tinted windows and adjusting routes when strikes occur, as many residents rely on delivery services while staying home for safety.

Food delivery driver Hamza Hareb has developed a new survival strategy while working the streets of Beirut: he avoids any vehicle with darkened windows. Word on the street suggests Hezbollah operatives travel in such cars, and Hareb doesn’t want to be nearby when Israeli forces launch their next attack on the militant organization.

Israeli military operations have intensified across previously untouched areas of Beirut over recent days, demolishing apartment complexes and leveling entire structures in what officials describe as targeted operations against Hezbollah. The armed group dragged Lebanon into the broader regional conflict on March 2 when it began launching attacks into Israeli territory.

Wednesday’s strikes hit multiple districts in central Beirut, creating massive debris piles just hundreds of meters from government offices, dining establishments and typically busy thoroughfares.

While frightened residents remain indoors, they’re increasingly relying on food delivery services for their evening meals — creating dangerous working conditions for drivers like Hareb who must traverse the hazardous urban landscape.

“Of course, we are afraid. That is ever-present,” Hareb explained. He’s among 3,000 delivery workers employed by Toters, one of Lebanon’s leading food delivery platforms. Like other gig economy workers, Toters drivers earn money based on completed deliveries.

For many workers, these jobs represent crucial income sources in the debt-ridden nation, which has endured years of economic turmoil and governmental instability since its financial system collapsed in 2019.

“You don’t know when the strikes will come, so we have adapted to everything,” Hareb noted.

Israeli forces occasionally broadcast evacuation alerts before conducting strikes, instructing civilians to evacuate targeted zones. However, three of Wednesday’s four Beirut attacks occurred without any advance warning.

“Right now they’re increasingly striking without warning, and of course this is instilling a sense of fear among us (since) we spend most of our time out in the street,” Hareb told reporters.

When unexpected explosions rock Beirut, drivers immediately stop to determine which area was hit and modify their delivery routes accordingly. When evacuation notices are issued, workers share the information through company communication systems so colleagues can stay away from dangerous zones.

Roland Ghanem, Toters’ operations director, confirmed the company suspends deliveries to any neighborhoods covered by Israeli evacuation orders and prohibits drivers from using potentially dangerous routes near likely targets.

“These drivers navigate into uncertainty… just to make sure that others can still have access to food and basic needs,” Ghanem stated. “They understand that behind every order, there is a family that has been displaced, or an elderly person that cannot go to the store and get some food, or just a regular person trying to get through the day.”

Lebanese officials report that Israeli military actions have resulted in nearly 1,000 deaths and forced another million people from their homes across Lebanon.

Some delivery workers have experienced the conflict’s impact directly on their personal lives.

Mahmoud al-Benne, 34, was forced to abandon his residence in Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier this month after Israeli forces issued comprehensive evacuation orders for the entire district and commenced intensive bombing campaigns.

Despite his displacement, he continues working.

“Whether you are displaced or not displaced, you need to earn money,” Benne explained. “You have responsibilities. We are in a state of war, but at the end of the day we want to work.”

Marie Katanjian represents an unusual presence among her peers as one of the few female delivery drivers. Her spouse also works for Toters, inspiring her to join the profession.

“We have to work in this situation because we have families. We’re helping each other out, hand in hand,” she said.

Nevertheless, she dreams of returning to normal conditions in her city.

“We want the war to end, so we can take a breath.”