‘Did he plant cluster bombs there?’: Lebanese celebrity chef’s orchard strike claims stir uproar

Prominent Lebanese chef Husen Fayad said in a series of Instagram posts last week that an Israeli airstrike had hit an orchard he owns in southern Lebanon. He shared a video purportedly showing the strike but did not specify the orchard’s location. It was not the first reported strike on property belonging to Fayad, a Lebanese celebrity named TikTok’s best cooking content creator for 2025 in the Middle East and North Africa. The reported strike was the third in several months on properties belonging to Fayad and his family, raising questions about the sites as the Israeli military targets Hezbollah-linked facilities and operatives it says pose a threat to Israel.

Last Sunday, Fayad wrote on his Instagram account, which has more than 4.5 million followers: “My restaurant was bombed, then my new project, and today they bombed my orchard in southern Lebanon. An orchard covering 10,000 square meters, full of vegetables, fruit, citrus and olives. Land into which we poured our hard work, where every tree had its own story and a season we eagerly awaited. It is truly heartbreaking. May God protect the land of the south and its people.”

He added: “Even the trees and fruit have become targets for strikes. Look at this produce, look at this abundance. What did the tree ever do? All it ever gave was fruit, life and good things.” Lebanese influencer Ibrahim Allo said in a video after the strike: “I don’t understand what these people want from this man. A respectable man. First they struck his restaurant, then they struck the project he was working on. And this morning, again, they struck his orchard.

I don’t understand. What did he plant there? Cluster bombs? Do the figs pose a danger to them? Do the clementine trees pose a danger to them?” The orchard strike followed two earlier reported attacks on Fayad’s properties in May and September. On May 30, a Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese outlet reported: “The Israeli occupation is destroying the Arsh al-Molouk resort and restaurant in Wadi al-Hujair, one of the most prominent and beautiful tourist destinations in the south.”

According to the reports, the restaurant, whose name means “Throne of Kings,” opened in 2011 and included a swimming pool and recreational facilities. Wadi al-Hujair lies between the Marjayoun, Bint Jbeil and Nabatieh areas. Fayad posted photographs of the site before and after the strike on Instagram, writing: “Here stood our restaurant, in the heart of our beloved south. A place filled with memories, laughter and years of hard work has been reduced to rubble.

Heartbreaking.” Another Lebanese outlet reported: “One of southern Lebanon’s most famous restaurants became a pile of rubble in an instant because of Israel’s systematic destruction. Arsh al-Molouk was not just a restaurant. It was an entire tourist destination in the green south. Red-roofed buildings, a blue swimming pool, sun loungers, outdoor seating areas. This was not merely a restaurant that was attacked. It was a national memory, a tourist attraction and a source of livelihood.”

The outlet said the restaurant had been completely destroyed and described an outpouring of solidarity with Fayad online. It argued that the loss extended beyond a single establishment to “a south losing its homes, its people, its economy and its memories.” After the large restaurant was struck in May, a Hezbollah-affiliated outlet reported on Sept. 15: “After Israel destroyed his restaurant, ‘Throne of Kings,’ chef Husen Fayad has now also lost his new venture, Buyout al-Molouk, which he had not yet managed to open, in Israeli strikes.”

The new venture’s name means “Houses of Kings.” “War takes everything,” Fayad wrote online. “I built a new project, six villas with a large kitchen, and had not yet announced it. I dreamed of opening it this coming summer and finally seeing all those years of hard work become a reality. It never got to welcome even a single guest. My restaurant is gone, and today my new project is gone, too.” He also shared footage showing the development under construction, writing that his dream had been for the world to see the beauty of Lebanon and its south.

Lebanese media, along with outlets across the Arab world, covered the September strike and the chef’s posts. Egypt’s Al-Ghad channel reported: “An entire project, built to put smiles on Lebanese faces, became a pile of rubble and earth in an instant, before it had even opened its doors. Well-known Lebanese chef Husen Fayad is confronting his second loss. He is stunned by a reality that shows no mercy toward people or their dreams. “A few months ago, his restaurant, Arsh al-Molouk, was destroyed in an Israeli strike.

But Husen did not give up and started again. His passion, his effort and his savings went into a new project called Buyout al-Molouk in southern Lebanon. He was waiting for summer to open its doors and welcome people, but destruction came before the opening.” On April 9, before the Israeli strikes on his family’s properties, the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar published a favorable profile of Fayad. It said many viewers connected with the artistry behind his videos and that he had “become an unrivaled social media star.”

The newspaper said his following had grown further since the outbreak of the war with Israel because of his humanitarian and community work. It reported that Fayad had prepared food for people displaced from southern Lebanon and pledged to continue until they could return home. Al-Akhbar also quoted him as saying in one of his videos: “I expanded the kitchen to provide 500 meals a day for orphans and displaced people, and I will continue doing so until the war ends.

But I need your help through donations to complete my project. One hand cannot clap.” When Fayad won TikTok’s award for best cooking content creator in the Middle East and North Africa for 2025, he shared photographs announcing the honor on Instagram. He told followers the award reflected their affection for him, adding: “You are the reason I have come this far. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support and the kind words you always shower on me.”

Fayad is known for the phrase he regularly uses to open his videos: “Let’s make.” He is considered one of the leading culinary stars in Lebanon and the Arab world, preparing traditional Lebanese dishes as well as other food. One Lebanese website described his videos as fast-paced but distinctive, presenting a fresh approach to cooking and serving food. It said millions watched him on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, and that some considered his dishes too beautiful to eat, better suited to being displayed as decorative objects at home.

In a profile this year, BBC Arabic reported that he trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris before beginning to present traditional Lebanese cuisine in a contemporary style, combining professional cooking techniques with the south’s culinary heritage. Meanwhile, Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon continue, with strikes targeting terrorist elements, facilities and Hezbollah-linked operatives it says pose a threat. Wadi al-Hujair, where the family restaurant was struck, has been targeted repeatedly during the fighting with Hezbollah in recent years.

Another strike in the area was reported Sunday.