Residents await return to Lebanese towns, villages levelled by Israeli forces
The Lebanese army is still clearing areas of unexploded munitions as Israeli forces withdraw from towns and villages along the border.
People who have been displaced from the area for more than a year have been waiting here for hours to go back to their homes and see what is left, but most of them will tell you they know there is nothing left because most of these towns along the border have been levelled to the ground.
It is not just because of the war. Since that ceasefire took effect in late November, Israeli troops have been demolishing infrastructure and homes, saying they are Hezbollah’s military infrastructure.
So, people here will tell you they are going back to nothing but they still want to go back home.
Israeli military vehicles and bulldozers operate in Kfarchouba, a town in Lebanon’s Nabatieh governorate, on February 17
Katz threatens Lebanon with more violence as Israeli forces remain in buffer zone
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says the army will “forcefully” enforce the ceasefire deal in Lebanon and act against any Hezbollah threat, as Israeli troops remain in five strategic posts.
“Starting today, the [army] will remain in a buffer zone in Lebanon in five strategic outposts along the border line, to ensure the protection of the northern communities,” he said on X, adding that the army would “continue to enforce forcefully and without compromise against any violation by Hezbollah”.
“We will not allow a return to the reality of October 7th,” he concluded.
Video shows southern Lebanon village in ruins after Israeli military withdrawal
Footage verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency depicts the scale of destruction in the village of Markaba near the border with Israel.
Israeli forces reduced almost the entirety of the village in southern Lebanon to rubble before withdrawing. The Lebanese army announced today the deployment of its military units there.
Returning residents of Lebanon’s Naqoura saddened, perplexed by destruction
Dressed in an olive green jacket and jeans, municipal head Abbas Awada stood next to the remains of the family home where he lived with his wife and two children for the last 15 years.
The soft-spoken, charismatic, 40-something Awada used to welcome town residents in the family home and host big family gatherings with his wife.
The house survived more than a year of war, including a 66-day invasion, which saw Israeli air raids destroy much of Lebanon’s infrastructure. It was after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah began in November that Israeli forces demolished the home where Awada’s children had grown up.
From the time Hezbollah and Israel began fighting on October 8, 2023, until a ceasefire began on November 27, 2024, Israel killed nearly 4,000 people and left waves of devastation across Lebanon, particularly in the south.
And, despite the ceasefire, the Israeli military has continued to attack Lebanon.
Ali Shaabi’s relatives stand outside their homes destroyed during the ceasefire in Naqoura, south Lebanon
