Southern Lebanon Villagers Return to Rubble After Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire

Abed Hachem returned to Qlaileh on June 19 to find his rebuilt house reduced to rubble and his garden covered in dust that buried toys and furniture. The spire of the local mosque remained one of the few structures still standing in the village. Hachem, a 46-year-old father of three, had rebuilt the home after damage during 2024 fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Overnight clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah on the outskirts of Tyre resumed the same day, prompting another family to load belongings onto a car and head north. The latest round of fighting began March 2 when Hezbollah fired at Israel in support of Iran. Israel responded with air strikes and a ground invasion that occupied parts of southern Lebanon.

2 million displaced, with forced evacuation orders emptying entire villages. Hachem's neighbor and the neighbor's son were killed in the fighting. He described both men as having no connection to political parties or weapons.

An interim deal between the United States and Iran produced a lull earlier in the week that allowed some displaced residents to return. Fighting flared again before a new ceasefire took effect Friday afternoon. "Oh dear...

Oh God. There was a building here... here... "The whole village is destroyed. My house is destroyed. The village is destroyed.

" "There is nothing left. A lifetime's work is all gone," he added. "They have nothing to do with political parties, nothing to do with weapons, nothing to do with wars. " "This agreement they reached, they should have made it from the very beginning," Hachem said.