Ahmed Yahia Dabbas, 37, escaped the relentless bombing of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and its Russian allies in northwest Syria over a decade ago, seeking refuge in Lebanon’s southern Beirut suburbs. He worked as a doorman, building a new life with his wife and four children (aged 4-9).

Following Israeli retaliatory strikes in late September, and the destruction of their home, the family decided to return to Syria.

In a phone interview with [Digital], translated by the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), Dabbas recounted their arduous five-day journey. “We went to Lebanon, and war followed us,” he explained. “We had to leave everything again for safety.”

Their journey involved navigating numerous Assad regime checkpoints, where they were forced to pay bribes to proceed. After reaching Aleppo late at night, they moved towards a crossing point into non-regime-held territory.

They then spent three nights in a contested zone between regime and rebel areas, facing abuse and deprivation – being spat upon, beaten, and denied food and water, a common experience for those fleeing regime-controlled areas. It took two days before they received any sustenance.

Finally reaching the rebel side, they registered with authorities in Idlib’s northern countryside on October 4th.

The Dabbas family is one of many escaping torture, disappearances, and death at the hands of the Syrian government, seeking safety in non-regime areas.

SETF’s executive director, Mouaz Moustafa, expressed alarm at the normalization of relations with Assad by some Gulf states and the potential for European countries to forcibly return refugees to Syria. “Syria’s not safe,” Moustafa stated, highlighting the dangers in regime-held areas.

The UN refugee agency reported over 470,000 people (30% Lebanese, 70% Syrian) crossed into Syria from Lebanon to escape Israeli bombardment.

Israel’s intensified bombing campaign against Hezbollah in September followed over a year of cross-border exchanges, triggered by the October 7th, 2023 Hamas attacks. Prominent Hezbollah figures, including Hassan Nasrallah and Ibraham Aqil (with a US State Department bounty), were targeted.

Despite a late-November ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, Dabbas stated his family won’t return to Beirut. His brother, also displaced in northwest Syria, assists them, but resources are dwindling, and finding work is difficult.

They share crowded housing with extended family who couldn’t escape Syria in 2014 and remain vulnerable to Assad’s regime, Russia, and Iranian-backed forces.

“There is no safety and security,” Dabbas emphasized, expressing happiness at being home but yearning for peace and an end to the bombing.

Northwest Syria’s humanitarian crisis has worsened, with rising displacement and increased drone attacks on civilians. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates 3.5 million displaced persons in northwest Syria, 2 million in camps.

Ismail Alabdullah of the White Helmets, a rescue organization, described a new Assad regime tactic: suicide drone attacks on residential areas. Since November 10th, they responded to 876 attacks targeting civilian infrastructure.

“This kind of weapon…is very dangerous,” Alabdullah said. “They are cheap, and they can attack any place they want.”

Alabdullah noted families fear sending children to school. “Maybe the world…they don’t want to hear about this,” he added. “Northwest Syria is not safe. The attacks are still going on, especially in Idlib.”

Syrian regime forces and allies have recently intensified operations in western Aleppo and eastern Idlib, displacing more families.

In a surprising development, Syrian rebels entered Aleppo for the first time since 2016 after a recent offensive against regime forces, marking their first territorial advance since 2020.

Alabdullah stressed the White Helmets’ continued need for international aid, particularly with winter approaching and increased displacement. “We need everyone to stand with us to stop the atrocities,” he pleaded, describing the plight of children unfamiliar with basic necessities like doors and keys.

“The whole thing needs to be stopped. People need to return to their homes to end the suffering, to get their lives back.”