Since early March, Tyre, about 50 miles south of Beirut, has lived in the shadow of the war between Hezbollah and Israel. The New York Times reporters repeatedly returned as deadly strikes and tenuous cease-fires disrupted water, electricity and daily life. Residents slept outdoors, convinced they were safer in the open air than in their homes. In July, UNESCO added some of the city’s archaeological sites to its list of World Heritage sites in danger.

The war has killed more than 4,380 people and displaced over a million, with Israel occupying large parts of Lebanon’s south. Israel has said it wants to dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure and prevent attacks on Israeli communities near the Lebanese border.

Rida Hijazi al-Dahab lost his home, business and nearly everything he owned. Minutes before a cease-fire took effect, Israeli airstrikes flattened buildings where his coffee shop stood. Mr. al-Dahab said he was inside when the strikes hurled him against a wall and knocked him unconscious. He later described the neighborhood’s loss: “The candle of life has been switched off from this neighborhood.”

Across Tyre, funerals became part of daily life. More than 130 medical workers have been killed since the war began. Hussein al-Sati was killed in April while responding to an Israeli strike; at his funeral, his 4-year-old daughter, Tala, called him a “hero.”