The Israeli military has carried out more than 500 operations across South Lebanon in the two months since it agreed to a ceasefire with Hizbollah, and locals have called for more destruction as Israeli troops plan to delay their withdrawal.
Israel has carried out regular attacks since a ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group took effect on November 27 after more than a year of conflict.
The non-profit group Acled counted 515 operations from the beginning of the ceasefire until January 17. This includes air and drone strikes, as well as more than 206 cases of destruction of property in 39 villages. At least 37 people were killed, according to the Financial Times.
According to the ceasefire, Israel was supposed to withdraw its forces from the Lebanon And Hizbollah was supposed to move weapons north of the Litani River, which extends up to 30 km from the de facto border, to be replaced by the Lebanese Armed Forces. But the Israeli government said Friday that its forces would remain in Lebanon beyond the deadline, and officials discussed a 30-day extension.
For residents of Lebanese border communities – many of whom have not been able to return – the prospect of continued Israeli occupation leaves them uncertain when they can go home and what they will find when they do.
“They took advantage of the opportunity provided by the truce,” Mohammad Srour, the mayor of Ait El-Chaab, said of the Israeli destruction in her border village. “Before the ceasefire, they shelled each other with artillery and airstrikes. But after the ceasefire, they entered the village on the ground and much of the destruction ensued.”
Some villagers lose patience and consider returning on Sunday regardless of the risks. “Whatever happens, happens,” said Najib Hussein Halawi, a local official in KFAR Kila, another community whose residents were displaced. “There’s a lot of danger, but what can you do? Sit there and shut up?”
Israeli officials say their actions are in line with the ceasefire agreement, and they continue to operate because Hezbollah still has operatives and infrastructure in the area, while the LAF has yet to deploy in sufficient numbers to keep the militants out.
Unable to return to his village, Srour sought refuge further north, but was in contact with family and friends who returned to survey the damage.
“Aita is a disaster,” he said of the village, which remains under Israeli occupation near the border, the unwelcome “blue line” that separates the countries. He said most houses were damaged, with infrastructure bulldozed and everything from houses of worship to schools wiped off the map.
Hezbollah has warned Israel not to test its “patience” and last month fired rockets at Israeli positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms territory over what it called “repeated” ceasefire violations.
Lebanon’s new president, Joseph Aoun, also said this month that “the bombing of houses and the destruction of border villages completely contradicts the ceasefire.” The UN peacekeeping force this month cited Israel’s bulldozing of an A LAF observation tower and UN border marking as an “egregious violation”. The Israeli military said the episode was a mistake.
The IDF denied violating the ceasefire and said its actions in Lebanon were in “strict compliance” with international law and the agreement. He accused Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire “hundreds of times” and using civilian infrastructure for military purposes.
“These operations are defensive and necessary measures aimed at neutralizing immediate threats to Israel’s security,” it said.
On Thursday, he said Hezbollah was using Aita to “storage weapons and as a base to fire hundreds of rockets and anti-tank rockets into Israel,” and those troops were conducting operations to “remove threats.” It said they found more than 30 caches of weapons, with weapons stored in “apartment buildings, backyards, nurseries and basements”.
Locals say that Israeli demolitions are a daily fact. Pictures taken by people around Naqour, another border village, in December and early January show Israeli bulldozers apparently demolishing houses.
The LAF entered Naqoura on January 7 But Abbas Awada, the mayor, said residents were waiting for the army to announce it had removed all unexploded ordnance before returning.
Before the ceasefire was agreed upon, Israeli forces already had Systematically destroyed buildings near the border. While they have withdrawn from dozens of villages along the western and central border, they remain in most of the eastern part.
Local business owner Musa Hayouk lost his home, along with his chicken farm and wood yard, in Aita shortly after the ceasefire began. Having already fled the city to Beirut’s southern suburbs, he saw the destruction through images from other residents who returned briefly to survey the village.
Israel’s operation amounted to collective punishment of residents regardless of whether they were affiliated with Hizbollah, Hayouk said: “Their goals are well known and we understand them.”
The conflict began after Hezbollah began firing toward Israel following a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, in southern Israel. The year of cross-border fire escalated dramatically when Israel launched an invasion of the country and a devastating offensive against Hezbollah last October.
More than 4,000 people in Lebanon and 140 Israelis were killed in the conflict. Some 1MN people were displaced in Lebanon and 60,000 in Israel.
Ramzi Kaiss, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that the presence of Hezbollah’s military infrastructure did not justify many of Israel’s actions under international law.
“Even if there are military targets in these villages, such as the tunnels used by Hizbollah, there are serious questions about whether that level of destruction is necessary,” he said. “Entire border villages, contrary to what some Israeli officials would like to claim, cannot be considered military targets.”
Some of the most intense demolitions were in the village of Halawi, KFAR KILA. “There are explosions every day,” Halawi said. He estimated that much of the damage occurred after the ceasefire. Israel was “crossing a lot of borders,” he said.
