{"id":410130,"date":"2026-04-25T11:32:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T11:32:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/410130\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T11:32:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T11:32:20","slug":"life-along-israels-new-yellow-line-in-southern-lebanon-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/410130\/","title":{"rendered":"life along Israel\u2019s new yellow line in southern Lebanon \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was the sound of an explosion, then smoke rose in the near distance \u2013 a controlled demolition, one journalist suggested. Another pointed out an Israeli flag. A second explosion sounded and black smoke rose. This was the view from the village of Majdal Zoun in southern Lebanon <\/a>this week: a final stop before the Israeli military\u2019s newly declared \u201cyellow line\u201d, which journalists visited at the invitation of Hizbullah. <\/p>\n

Lebanese citizens risk death<\/a> if they attempt to go beyond this line \u2013 an area that includes at least 55 towns and villages. From a distance instead, they watch as their homes and all the history that goes with them are deliberately destroyed.<\/p>\n

Despite the fragile ceasefire, the Israeli <\/a>military has continued occupying and demolishing areas of south Lebanon. It says it aims to create a buffer zone to prevent Hizbullah <\/a>attacks and ensure safety for its citizens in the north of Israel. <\/p>\n

\"IsraelMap: Paul Scott <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Nakba of South Lebanon,\u201d read<\/a> the front page of Lebanese French-language newspaper L\u2019Orient-Le Jour this week. <\/p>\n

Nakba, \u201ccatastrophe\u201d in Arabic, was previously used to refer to the 1948 displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians around the creation of the state of Israel. <\/p>\n

The new Israeli-occupied area runs between five and 10km deep into Lebanese territory, covering more than 500 sq km. <\/p>\n

Hostilities between Hizbullah and Israel reignited on March 2nd, when the Lebanese group opened fire in support of Iran. More than 2,400 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel launched an offensive in response to the attack.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe remains of a religious school in the village of Jibchit, Nabatieh district. All photographs: Sally Hayden <\/p>\n

Over three days reporting in south Lebanon since a ceasefire came into force on April 17th, The Irish Times witnessed widespread destruction and fear, with many expecting fighting to restart soon or saying it has not really stopped. <\/p>\n

Israeli surveillance drones are regularly audible, while GPS often does not work because of what locals say is jamming. Outside the occupied area, citizens are still frightened to return home, and shocked by the devastation when they do. <\/p>\n

In Gaza<\/a>, where there is also a \u201cyellow line\u201d \u2013 agreed<\/a> in a US-brokered truce last October \u2013 the Israeli military has continued to expand<\/a> its control, with new areas coming under attack. Hundreds of people, including more than 100 children, have been shot near the line since the ceasefire, according to UN data.<\/p>\n

In Lebanon, the fragile 10-day ceasefire was due to expire on Sunday, although US president Donald Trump<\/a> said \u200bon Thursday that it \u200bwould be \u2060extended \u2060by \u200bthree weeks.<\/p>\n

What happens next is unclear. Hizbullah has said it has the \u201cright to resist\u201d if Israeli occupation continues, \u201cand this matter will be determined based on how developments unfold\u201d.<\/p>\n

On Thursday a Unifil<\/a> spokesman said peacekeepers continued to observe Israel Defense Forces<\/a> ground activities in southern Lebanon \u201cincluding demolitions\u201d, and had recorded \u201ca handful of Israeli drone strikes\u201d. They also recorded more than 450 launches from Israeli-controlled territory in the first six days of the ceasefire, including mortar and artillery shells, and four projectiles fired into Israel from Lebanese territory. Hizbullah says it fired rockets and drones as a reaction to Israeli violations.<\/p>\n

Lebanon\u2019s National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS) says more than 62,000 housing units were completely or partially destroyed over around 45 days of all-out war. Destruction continued after the ceasefire, with the organisation estimating that 428 housing units were destroyed and 50 damaged during the first three days, according to Dr Chadi Abdallah, CNRS secretary general.<\/p>\n

Last year Amnesty International called<\/a> for Israel\u2019s \u201cextensive and deliberate destruction of civilian property and agricultural land across southern Lebanon\u201d to be \u201cinvestigated as war crimes\u201d, with a report documenting how Israeli forces \u201cmanually laid explosives and bulldozers to devastate civilian structures, including homes, mosques, cemeteries, roads, parks and soccer pitches, across 24 municipalities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA damaged cemetery in the village of Mansouri, southern Lebanon <\/p>\n

As the Lebanese assess the latest damage, they also grieve. A series of mass funerals took place this week, as those kept in temporary graves were finally brought back to their hometowns for a proper burial.<\/p>\n

In the village of Mansouri, a cemetery is littered with debris, gravestones in it smashed. A man is preparing for funerals \u2013 there are 21 local \u201cmartyrs\u201d, he says.<\/p>\n

Another local, Hussein Hayda (56), says that before 2024 the village was \u201cnormal; we were happy\u201d. He tried to return to the village recently, thinking a ceasefire had come into force, but says he came under attack. They were \u201cshooting fire on us\u201d, he said, and his neighbour was killed. He survived by hiding under a building, he says.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Israeli strikes kill a journalist and injures another in LebanonOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Last Sunday the Israeli military invited Israeli journalists to visit the border village Ayta al-Shaab. A Jerusalem Post reporter claimed there was no occupation there because <\/a>\u201cit has been depopulated and largely reduced to rubble\u201d. In November 2025 The Irish Times visited<\/a> the same village with its Lebanese residents. \u201cYou feel like you\u2019re walking in Gaza, not Lebanon,\u201d said a local woman \u2013 one of about 16,000 residents who are now displaced.<\/p>\n

In mid-April, UN experts said<\/a> the deliberate destruction of homes in Lebanon was \u201ca weapon of war and a form of collective punishment, particularly in Shia areas in the rural south of the country. It also points to ethnic cleansing.\u201d They added that forced displacement of a civilian population \u201cconstitutes crimes against humanity and is a war crime under international law\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"HusseinHussein Fahas, the mayor of the municipality in Jibchit, Nabatieh district <\/p>\n

Hussein Fahas, the mayor of the village of Jibchit in Nabatieh district, and a physics professor, says the Israeli-occupied area starts about 7km in one direction and 15km in another. <\/p>\n

During the war, 100 buildings were destroyed in the village, making up about 300 units. The civil defence centre, three generators that supplied electricity to the village and the mosque were destroyed. The water supply was damaged. According to Fahas, an estimated $20 million of damage took place in central Jibchit alone. This included $120,000 for each of the generators.<\/p>\n

About 70 locals were killed, including about 15 fighters. Another 50 were killed during the 2024 war, and at least 12 during the 15-month ceasefire, during which Israel continued to carry out near-daily attacks on Lebanon. <\/p>\n

Fahas says the Israeli military has targeted \u201cany movement\u201d during the war, regardless of whether the people are civilians or not. This is a tactic to empty the area, he suggests. One of the 18 municipality members is among the dead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the war stopped the municipality started cleaning,\u201d Fahas says. About 50 per cent of the population, of about 17,000, has returned. About 1,200 lived there during the war, he says. <\/p>\n

He says it is now US president Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s decision as to whether war will start again. \u201cWe hope that the war will stop totally, not partially,\u201d he says. \u201cFor every action there\u2019s a reaction. The occupation is the action. If the Lebanese army could defend us there\u2019s no need for resistance. We have confidence in the resistance. We have confidence in the Lebanese army but they don\u2019t have proper weapons to defend us, not since 1948.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says Israelis have \u201cno mercy for the children, for the people and for the buildings\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe coffins at a funeral for three children, Narges (8), Mohammed (11) and Zainab (15), and their mother, Khadija, in Jibchit, Nabatieh district. They were killed by an Israeli airstrike while displaced, relatives said <\/p>\n

In the same village on Monday, three children \u2013 Narges (8), Mohammed (11) and Zainab (15) \u2013 and their mother, Khadija, were laid to rest. Their father was a Hizbullah member, attendees whispered, but his family were alone \u2013 displaced a 26km drive away in Ghaziyah \u2013 when they were killed by an Israeli air strike. Their bodies were covered in Hizbullah flags because of his position.<\/p>\n

Khadija\u2019s child nephew \u2013 whose father was also a Hizbullah \u201cmartyr\u201d \u2013 lay on top of one of the coffins, wearing a khaki uniform as it approached the cemetery.<\/p>\n

\"AA young relative is carried on a coffin at the funeral <\/p>\n

In the village of Qlaileh, Tyre district, 15 Hizbullah fighters were buried on Tuesday. Mourners prayed, cried and chanted \u201cdeath to Israel\u201d and \u201cdeath to America.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hizbullah media officer Salman Harb says they want journalists to \u201csee the faces of those who defended the land.\u201d He perceives Hizbullah fighters as \u201cthose who took the place of the Lebanese army … We\u2019re proud of them. Our community supports us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding the ceasefire, he says \u201cIsrael and the peace are opposite directions. They\u2019re working not in parallel … Look at what happened in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says Hizbullah does not agree to direct talks with Israel and if there is dialogue with them, through Lebanese officials, \u201cwe\u2019ll punish them later\u201d.<\/p>\n

Nearby is a widow holding a picture of her husband, Abed Asad Hawila (43). He is in a temporary grave in the city of Tyre, she says, awaiting a funeral. Beside her are three teenage daughters. They all agree that they are proud of their father. \u201cAll the world loves him,\u201d one says.<\/p>\n

\"eianeian Hassan (82) holds a photo of her son, Hizbullah fighter Mehdi Hassan, during a funeral for him and 14 other Hizbullah fighters in the village of Qlaileh, Tyre district <\/p>\n

Sitting back from the crowd is 82-year-old Heian Hassan, the mother of one of the men being buried. She grips his picture, saying her son became involved with Hizbullah when he was still a teenager, after seeing his older brother killed. When he died, he was 47 with a \u201csweet wife\u201d he married in Africa, and three children, including a three-month-old girl.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the people know him,\u201d she says. \u201cHe was very strong, Israel was afraid of him.\u201d She says Israeli forces discovered her son and a friend planting bombs, but he survived after hiding for days. Mehdi was killed a day before the latest ceasefire, she says. Three of his brothers are still fighters, and another died earlier in the war.<\/p>\n

Yet Hassan says, \u201cIf you go to sacrifice you will be in paradise. I encourage all my sons to be in Hizbullah, I want them to all be martyrs like their brother. We are proud of this thing.\u201d She says she would even encourage her grandchildren to join.<\/p>\n

Back in Majdal Zoun, the village on the new frontline, a group of men \u2013 using shovels and bricks \u2013 are \u201cwidening\u201d the cemetery, one explains. \u201cWe are preparing for the last battle.\u201d Soon, they will bury nine Hizbullah fighters and two civilians but \u201cwe are ready for 20 more. Don\u2019t worry about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearby, a group of young women, one with a baby in her arms, sits at the grave of their father. They are some of seven sisters, and their father was a civil defence member killed by Israel in 2024. They come to the village each day and sleep elsewhere at night \u2013 their home has no windows and doors.<\/p>\n

Whether they will lose access to their father\u2019s grave in the future is far from clear, but they seem definite in this moment. \u201cThe most important thing is we will not leave our land,\u201d one says, the others nodding in agreement. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There was the sound of an explosion, then smoke rose in the near distance \u2013 a controlled demolition,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410131,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[54,69,85,46,65589,88,43,66160],"class_list":["post-410130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-donald-trump","tag-gaza-strip","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-israel-defence-forces","tag-lebanon","tag-news","tag-unifil"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}