Photos of UNIFIL base in Kafr Kila that overlooks a valley of dust and reconstruction

SULUKI VALLEY, Lebanon (AP) — A convoy of armored vehicles carrying French peacekeepers barrels through southern Lebanon. Last year’s war between Israeli forces and Hezbollah left villages scarred and empty. Rubble lines the roads. Torn Lebanese flags and Hezbollah banners flutter from shattered buildings.

From a UNIFIL base above Kafr Kila, the town below looks like a wasteland of crumpled concrete. Across the valley, bulldozers churn dust as they build new positions on land held by Israeli forces despite the November ceasefire.

French peacekeepers trek up wooded slopes in the Saluki Valley, under the hum of an Israeli drone. Less than 200 meters in, they uncover remnants of a Hezbollah post: a cannon hidden among trees, an abandoned shack with blankets, playing cards, and books—frozen traces of fighters who once occupied the hillside.

A French U.N. peacekeeper stands on a hill overlooking Kfar Kila, a Lebanese border village destroyed by Israeli airstrikes and a ground offensive, in south Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Israeli bulldozers work at one of five new positions the Israeli army established inside Lebanese territory along a road between Houla and Kfar Kila, border villages destroyed by Israeli airstrikes and a ground offensive, in south Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

French U.N. peacekeepers patrol the Saluki Valley in south Lebanon as they search for Hezbollah weapons, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A French U.N. peacekeeper inspects a destroyed Hezbollah position in the Saluki Valley, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)”

A French U.N. peacekeeper walks past a destroyed Hezbollah artillery cannon in the Saluki Valley, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A French U.N. peacekeeper takes position as he enters a damaged room once used by Hezbollah fighters in the Saluki Valley, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

French U.N. peacekeepers walk through bushes as they search for Hezbollah weapons in the Saluki Valley, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Electrical wires snake toward destroyed rocket launchers. Empty rocket cartons and torn manuals litter the hillside.

“We find all kinds of weapons — rocket launchers, cannons, small arms, mines, IEDs, ammunition,” said Col. Arnaud de Coincy, commander of UNIFIL’s Force Commander’s Reserve, about 700 French and 200 Finnish troops.

Earlier this month, Lebanese soldiers were killed dismantling an arms depot. Their deaths underscore both dedication and the urgent need for support.

At a base in Deir Kifa, peacekeepers track Israeli overflights with a Mistral missile system. On this day alone, they counted more than 10 drones.

UNIFIL’s future depends on an upcoming Security Council vote. Critics call it costly and ineffective. Lebanon’s government says the force is vital.

A French U.N. peacekeeper examines a destroyed position Hezbollah in the Saluki Valley, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

French U.N. peacekeepers inspect a destroyed Hezbollah position in the Saluki Valley, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A French U.N. peacekeeper, foreground, checks ammunition boxes next to a destroyed Hezbollah rocket launcher in the Saluki Valley, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

U.N. vehicles drive through destruction near the Lebanese-Israeli border in the village of Kfra Kila, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Workers stand beside a bulldozer at one of five new Israeli army positions built inside Lebanese territory along the road between Houla and Kfar Kila following airstrikes and a ground offensive that destroyed nearby villages, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

French U.N. peacekeepers use a Mistral air-defense system while inspecting their base in Deir Kifa, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A French U.N. peacekeeper stands beside an armored vehicle at his base, waiting to move with his unit for a patrol along the Lebanese-Israeli border in Deir Kifa, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A French U.N. peacekeeper rides on an armored vehicle during a patrol along the Lebanese-Israeli border in the village of Kfra Kila, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A French U.N. peacekeeper, foreground, watches an Israeli bulldozer building a sand barrier at one of five new Israeli army positions along the road between Houla and Kfar Kila, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025, following airstrikes and a ground offensive that destroyed nearby villages. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

Photos of UNIFIL base in Kafr Kila that overlooks a valley of dust and reconstruction

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