A large number of videos showed the destruction of homes and infrastructure in southern Lebanon, where the Israeli army announced that it intends to establish a “defense zone.” Our observers, many of whom wanted to return to their homes after the ceasefire, told us about empty villages and razed houses.

Published on: 04/27/2026 - 18:54

A bulldozer demolishes the roof while two bulldozers finish demolishing the remaining walls. Within minutes, the house collapses piece by piece, in a cloud of dust. The scene takes place in the village of Naqoura in southern Lebanon on the border with Israel, on April 13, 2026.

Bernard Farhat witnessed the destruction of his home over the phone, and today he is a refugee in Beirut. Bernard Farhat left his hometown of Naqoura when the area was evacuated of its residents in light of the military advance of the Israeli army.

“It took my parents more than ten years to build this house.”

Bernard Farhat narrates:

This is not the first time we have lost a home. In the 1980s, my family was displaced from the area. I was born in 1987, and for me it is not just a village, it is the cradle, and my entire childhood. It took my parents more than ten years to build this house, stone by stone. At first, I had seen videos showing destroyed homes and thought to myself that it had to do with the work of the Israeli army. One day, I saw my house. On April 13, I received video clips in which we see bulldozers demolishing it, two in the front and one on the side, dropping it part by part. The area was originally empty, there were no residents, only the Israeli army had been there since late last March. This house is not just stones for me. It is my memories, my place of rest, and the last thing that connects me to my father, who died in 2019. Today, nothing remains of it, only a pile of stones.

Since the beginning of March 2026, southern Lebanon has once again turned into a theater of military operations launched by the Israeli army in the midst of escalating tensions with Hezbollah.

Officially, Israel confirms that it wants to remove the fighters of the Lebanese Shiite party from its borders and prevent any military repositioning near the territory of the Hebrew state. However, these operations were accompanied by the destruction of a large number of civilian homes in several border towns. The Israeli army says it only targeted Hezbollah's infrastructure, which according to the Israeli army is most often located near civilian areas.

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On April 19, the Israeli army announced the establishment of what it called the “Yellow Line” in southern Lebanon, which was presented as a security border buffer zone aimed at preventing any Hezbollah presence near its forces.

In Naqoura, and in several other towns such as Bint Jbeil, Ainata and Rab al-Talatheen, photos posted on the Internet showed explosions in buildings that were sometimes far from active combat zones.

Although the general headquarters of the United Nations force, UNIFIL, is located in the town of Naqoura, residential structures have been destroyed there over the past few weeks. On April 4, homes located near the beach were crushed, causing rubble to fall on empty streets. The scene was filmed on UNIFIL surveillance cameras.

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Several video clips showed the destruction of buildings in a large number of villages in southern Lebanon, such as Ainata, Jebin, and Rab al-Talatheen.

“Hezbollah fighters told us that we should leave to leave the place to them.”

Following the announcement of a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel on April 17, a large number of residents of the region expressed a desire to return to their lands, as did our observer Samar, who lives in the Tyre region:

We left Beirut at 6 a.m. on April 18, 2026, and arrived in Tire at 4 p.m. due to road traffic. On the way, we crossed Al-Qasimiya Bridge, which was bombed, and then a deep hole that was closed. But we got there in the end, I didn't recognize the south. I saw a large number of Hezbollah and Iranian flags, pictures of fighters and even street vendors offering to sell flags on both sides of the road. There was no flag of Lebanon. The south is almost empty, there is no normal life anymore. There were not many services, electricity was only available for a few hours a day, and Hezbollah fighters asked us to leave so we could leave the place to them. Some people left but others refused, but I decided to stay despite everything.”

Since March 2, the Israeli army has successively destroyed four main bridges located on the Litani River, which cuts through southern Lebanon. The last bridge to be destroyed was Al Qasimiya Bridge, which was the bridge through which our watchdog crossed to return to her home.

“An Israeli drone asked us to turn back.”

Abu Karim, a farmer from the border village of Houla, in southern Lebanon, tried to return to his home after the ceasefire came into effect on April 16. Abu Karim narrates:

Since the ceasefire was announced, I have wanted to go back. I love this land, I am a farmer, and all my life is here. During the truce period, it was said that the roads were open and that the army secured them. But in fact, all the bridges were destroyed. We crossed the damaged Qaqaiya Bridge, without any security presence to regulate the crossing. We had to take alternate routes, and it took us several hours to make our way. The village of Hula was destroyed by up to 70 percent. Burnt houses and destroyed agricultural lands. It is indescribable destruction. The furthest point I could reach was the villages of Al-Shaqra and Majdal Shams. At one point, a drone spoke to us and told us to turn back or it would shoot us. We had no choice, so we left the place. There is no real ceasefire, it is only on paper. When I was in the town of Al-Shaqra, I saw heavy Israeli vehicles such as bulldozers and tanks. They were destroying and burning homes, roads, and infrastructure... Even trees were not spared from them in the village of Al-Houla, which is located about two kilometers away. They have completely changed the face of the region. They talk about a "yellow line" but for us, it does not exist. It is our land. Today, there are entire villages to which no one can return. They can destroy homes and burn trees, but they will not be able to destroy our resolve. We will return, and we will rebuild homes and farm again. This land is ours.

“Destruction beyond military targets”

According to several military sources, the area that the Israeli army wants to evacuate of its residents covers between 55 and 70 villages. Except for some villages that are still partially inhabited, according to Lebanese sociology researcher Ahmed Baydoun.

For researcher Ahmed Baydoun, the observed destruction operations by the Israeli army cannot be explained exclusively by military objectives. He adds:

The Israeli army confirms that it is destroying Hezbollah's infrastructure, but in reality, we see villages that have been completely destroyed, including in particular Bint Jbeil, Ainata, and other towns. In some cases, it is a systematic process of destruction. We also note that, in some villages with a Christian majority, residents remained in their homes. No one knows how long this situation will last, but we can wonder whether this region is planned to remain devoid of its population or will be practically annexed to Israel, similar to what happened with the Syrian Golan region. “There is an impression that a repeat of the Gaza scenario, with a security buffer zone evacuated of its residents, is happening in southern Lebanon.”

According to Israeli sources, hundreds of facilities were destroyed in this area.

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