Bodies of two Bangladeshis killed in Israeli drone strike in Lebanon returned home

The flag-draped coffins of two Bangladeshi migrant workers, killed in an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon nearly five weeks ago, arrived in their home villages of Satkhira on Sunday (June 7).

Shafiqul Islam, 40, and Nahidul Islam, 20, both from Satkhira district, were killed on 11 May when an Israeli drone struck the residential building where they lived in the Jibdin area of Nabatieh, in southern Lebanon.

Their remains were repatriated through government arrangements and landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka late Saturday night, where officials formally handed them over to the families.

After the Dhuhr prayer on Sunday, both men were laid to rest in their respective family cemeteries.

The deaths have left both families in acute distress. Shafiqul was the sole earner supporting his elderly parents, wife, and two daughters — the elder of whom, Mou Akhtar, is described by local officials as a promising student. His parents, Afsar Ali and Ajea Khatun, told reporters their son had gone abroad on borrowed money, dreaming of a better life for the family. They appealed to the government for financial support to ensure their granddaughters' education continues.

"I never imagined my son would come back in a coffin. I sent him abroad to pay off our debts — he was supposed to bring us a better life," said Abdul Kader, father of Nahidul Islam.

Panel Chairman of Dhulihar Union Parishad, Faruk Hossain Mithu, who received the bodies at the airport along with family members, confirmed that Shafiqul's death had plunged his household into deep uncertainty. "He was everything to that family," he said.

The government has extended financial assistance to both families. According to Md. Khaledur Rahman, Assistant Director of the Khulna Expatriate Welfare Centre, a cheque of Tk 35,000 was handed over at the airport to cover funeral and burial expenses.

Families of workers who had migrated through legal channels are also entitled to further support from state mechanisms.

The two deaths are among the most recent in a series of casualties among Bangladeshi workers caught in the ongoing Israel–Lebanon conflict. Both men had taken out loans to finance their overseas employment — a common and precarious pathway for migrants from rural Bangladesh — leaving their families now burdened with debt alongside bereavement.