Israeli troops entrench in southern Lebanon

Israel’s army has carried out more than 500 raids in southern Lebanon in the two months since it agreed to a ceasefire with Hezbollah, with locals bracing for more destruction as Israeli troops plan to delay their withdrawal.

Israel has carried out regular attacks since a cease-fire with Lebanese militant groups took effect on November 27 after more than a year of conflict.

The non-profit group ACLED counted 515 operations from the start of the ceasefire to 17 January. These include air and drone strikes, as well as more than 206 incidents of property destruction in 39 villages. At least 37 people have been killed, according to the Financial Times.

According to the ceasefire, Israel was supposed to withdraw its troops by Sunday Lebanon And Hezbollah was supposed to move its weapons north of the Litani River, which runs 30 kilometers from the de facto border, to be replaced by the Lebanese Armed Forces. But Israel’s government said Friday that its forces would remain in Lebanon beyond the deadline, with officials negotiating a 30-day extension.

For residents of Lebanon’s border communities – many of whom have been unable to return – the prospect of continued Israeli occupation leaves them unsure of when they will be able to go home and what they will find when they do.

“They exploited the opportunity of the ceasefire,” Aita el-Chab mayor Mohamed Sarour said of the Israeli destruction in his border village. “Before the ceasefire they carried out artillery and airstrikes. But after the ceasefire they entered the village on the ground and caused much of the destruction.”

Some villagers are losing patience and are considering returning on Sunday regardless of the risk. “Whatever happens, happens,” said Najib Hussain Halawi, a local official in Kfar Qila, another community whose residents have been displaced. “Many dangers but what can you do? Just sit there and shut up?”

Israeli officials say their actions are in accordance 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 at bay.

Unable to return to his village, Srour sought refuge further north, but he contacted family and friends who returned to inspect the damage.

“Aita is a disaster,” he said of the village, which is under Israeli occupation near the border, the UN demarcated “blue line” that separates the countries. He said most houses were damaged, infrastructure bulldozed and everything from places 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 Sheba Farms area for “repeated” ceasefire violations.

Lebanon’s new president, Joseph Aoun, also said this month that “the bombing of houses and the destruction of border villages are in total opposition to the ceasefire”. UN peacekeeping forces this month cited Israeli bulldozing of an LAF observation tower and a UN border marker as “a flagrant violation”.

The Israeli military has not responded to requests for comment on its activities since the ceasefire. But it said on Thursday that Hezbollah used Aita “as a base to store weapons and fire hundreds of rockets and anti-tank missiles into Israel” and that troops were carrying out operations to “remove the threat”. It said they found more than 30 caches of weapons, including weapons stored in “residential buildings, yards, kindergartens and basements.”

Locals say Israeli destruction is a daily occurrence. In December and early January in another border village of Nakora, photographs taken by residents of the neighborhood show Israeli bulldozers apparently demolishing homes.

LAF enters Nacora 7th January But Mayor Abbas Awada said residents were waiting for the army to announce that they had removed all unexploded ordnance before returning.

Israeli forces before a ceasefire was agreed Planned demolition of buildings Near the border. Although they have moved out of more than a dozen villages west and center of the border, they remain mostly in the eastern part.

Local business owner Musa Hayuk lost his home along with a chicken farm and wood yard in Aita shortly after the ceasefire began. Having already fled the city to the southern suburbs of Beirut, he saw the destruction through photographs from other residents who returned briefly to visit the village.

Regardless of whether Israel’s operation involves Hezbollah or not, Hayuk said: “Their goals are well known, and we understand them.”

The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hezbollah began firing into Israel following a Hamas attack in southern Israel. A year of cross-border fire escalated dramatically when Israel launched a ground invasion and destructive offensive against Hezbollah in October last year.

More than 4,000 people in Lebanon and 140 Israelis were killed in the conflict. About 1 million people were displaced in Lebanon and 60,000 in Israel.

Ramji Kais, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, said the presence of Hezbollah military infrastructure does not justify many of Israel’s actions under international law.

“Even if those villages had military objectives like the tunnels used by Hezbollah, serious questions arose as to whether that level of destruction was necessary,” he said. “Entire border villages cannot be considered military objectives, contrary to what some Israeli officials like to claim.”

The most severe devastation occurred in the village of Halawi, Kfar Qila. “There are explosions every day,” Halawi said. He estimated that there had been a lot of damage since the ceasefire. He said Israel was “crossing many lines”.