Beirut, Lebanon - Recent The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has compounded Lebanon's economic woes, and people in Lebanon are hoping for a new year with both political and economic stability. Lebanon's real GDP growth has been cut by an estimated 6.6 percent in 2024 as a result of the conflict, bringing the cumulative decline in real GDP since 2019 to more than 38 percent by the end of the year, according to the latest World Bank Lebanon Economic Monitor (LEM) released earlier in December. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) estimated that the unemployment rate in Lebanon may rise to a staggering 32.6 percent by the end of 2024. Israel's deadly attack targeting Hezbollah in September, in which thousands of handheld pagers exploded across Lebanon and Syria, sharply escalated cross-border hostilities between Israel and Lebanon that have persisted since October 2023. Many restaurants in Beirut were forced to close since the conflict intensified. An Italian restaurant has reopened after a suspension of around two months, and immediately it found itself caught in the plight of deteriorating energy shortage and currency devaluation. Lebanon faced multiple crises in 2024, grappling with the aftermath of the destructive conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, a prolonged financial collapse since 2019, and ongoing political paralysis marked by the failure to elect a new president. Already reeling from a financial crisis that has devalued its currency by over 90 percent since 2019, the country now has nearly 44 percent of its population living in poverty, according to the World Bank. Shotlist: Beirut, Lebanon - Recent: 1. Various of destroyed buildings, debris; 2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mansour, coffee shop owner in Dahieh (full name not given): "My coffee shop over there was destroyed in the blast which also damaged my car and house. My three children were in the rooms, and we were sleeping when the explosion happened."; 3. Various of Mansour working, talking; 4. Various of destroyed buildings, debris, traffic; 5. Various of exterior, interior of Italian style restaurant; board showing New Year's Eve celebration menu; 6. SOUNDBITE (English) owner, Italian restaurant (no name given) (starting with shot 5): "Those people (customers), they had their money in the banks. They tell us 'We love you and we love your food and everything, but we can't afford to go out and spend money.'"; 7. Sea, buildings seen from restaurant; 8. SOUNDBITE (English) Maya Nun, official, association of owners of restaurants, coffee shops, night clubs and bakeries in Lebanon (partially overlaid with shot 9/ending with shot 10): "The political instability, the lack of security, and these are very important factors for any country which would like to attract tourism. The purchasing power has decreased a lot. We've also lost the most important aspect of our human resource. We've had the hope that we are going to have a great year with economic stability."; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] Beirut, Lebanon - Dec 2, 2024 9. Damaged buildings, debris, residents; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] Beirut, Lebanon - Dec 2, 2024 10. Various of damaged buildings, debris; residents, traffic. [Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]