I feel sorry for your friend...but this situation was inevitable. Lebanon has been hurt so bad by having terrorists in its bosom, but has not had the power to keep them out. First they got bit by the PLO, and now it's the Hizbolah. Neither group has done that country any real favors...
At the risk of sounding a little like Kos here, I've personally never had much sympathy for Americans who voluntarily go, and take their families, to potential or actual war zones like Beirut, whether the purpose of their presence is work or vacation.
If you go to places like that at the request of the gov't and with its express or implicit agreement to protect you, then the gov't has a duty to get you out safely. But otherwise, you're pretty much on your own. So good luck with all that.