As the deadline for Israeli troops to withdraw from southern Lebanon passed, residents of the border village of Dhayra returned home to bury their dead and confront the devastation left behind. The scene that greeted them was one of utter ruin – not a single building remained standing after the Israeli army’s controlled demolition of the town in late October.
Ceasefire Brings Uneasy Calm
The withdrawal of Israeli forces came as part of a ceasefire agreement brokered in November to end fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militia. Under the deal, Hezbollah is meant to pull back its fighters north of the Litani River, about 18 miles from the border, while the Lebanese army deploys in the south to reassert state control.
However, tensions remain high as Israel accused Lebanon of not fully meeting its obligations, a claim the Lebanese government denies. In several southeastern villages, Israeli troops stayed put past the deadline, leading to deadly clashes with civilians that left 26 dead and over 150 wounded before the White House extended the withdrawal timeline to February 18th.
Mourning Amid the Rubble
For the people of Dhayra, the ceasefire brought a solemn homecoming. Villagers gathered to bury two of their own killed months earlier – a Lebanese soldier slain by an Israeli drone and an elderly woman who refused to evacuate and died when an airstrike collapsed her neighbor’s home.
“The whole time I had been dreaming of having a cup of coffee and smoking a cigarette on my son’s veranda. Now it’s gone. If only I had died so that I didn’t have to see my home like this,”
– Um Oday, Dhayra resident
The villagers found Dhayra unrecognizable, with homes razed, roads torn up, and their olive groves – a vital source of livelihood – burnt and uprooted. Hebrew graffiti tagged on walls served as stark reminders of the occupying forces, artillery shells littering the ground beneath.
Caught in the Crossfire
Dhayra, a Sunni town whose residents largely do not support Hezbollah, found itself a staging ground for the militia’s attacks on Israel from the war’s start on October 8th, 2023. Many felt unfairly dragged into a conflict they wanted no part of.
“We didn’t want this war; we were dragged into it. We didn’t want to stand for Gaza, or for Syria. We are Lebanese, we just want the army and state.”
– Sabrina Fanash, Dhayra resident
Rights groups have denounced Israel’s use of white phosphorus munitions, which drove out Dhayra’s population, and the razing of villages as possible war crimes that critically impair people’s ability to return home. With much of southern Lebanon’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed, residents face a long road to rebuild as they grapple with all they’ve lost.
Long Road to Recovery
As the people of southern Lebanon begin the slow process of piecing their lives back together, many questions remain over how to reconstruct what was destroyed and compensate those harmed. International aid will be vital, as will renewed diplomatic efforts to forge a lasting peace between the two sides.
For the villagers of Dhayra and towns like it along the border, the scars of this latest conflict – both visible and those carried within – will endure far beyond any ceasefire or withdrawal of forces. Healing and rebuilding, much like the pursuit of genuine stability in this war-weary region, is destined to be a lengthy and painful endeavor.
