Long Island families with loved ones in the Middle East are continuing to hope for a peaceful end to the Lebanese-Israeli conflict.

A 19-year-old college student who had been studying Hebrew at Israel?s Haifa University is thankful to be back at her Lindenhurst home Wednesday. Allison Kushner says she was walking to class when bombs started dropping nearby. She says she was shuffled to a shelter, where she was unsure if the next bomb would land right in front of her or miles away. Kushner says she managed to get a seat on a flight to Kennedy Airport, but she hope to continue studying in Israel if and when the fighting stops.

A former Bay Shore resident living in Beirut has not been as lucky. Houda Taha is an American citizen who moved back to Lebanon a few years ago. Her daughter, Lana Safah, says Taha fled to the mountains after the international airport was bombed. Safah says her mother is trying to get evacuated through the American Embassy.