Beirut, Lebanon (AFP) — In the buzz of a trendy Beirut neighborhood, the din of bars and laughter blend together, far from the border violence with Israel further south and fears of all-out war.

“I’m 40 years old, and each year they tell us that war will break out this summer,” Elie, a financial consultant who did not give his last name, said in a bar in the Lebanese capital with other locals chatting beside him.

“What we see in the street is different from what we hear in the media,” he said. “What the foreign press is reporting makes people think that Lebanon is at war.”