Accounts from residents, analysis of satellite images and observations by AFP journalists indicate that dozens of towns and villages near the Israeli border have suffered severe damage, including the destruction of homes, schools, religious sites, public infrastructure and agricultural land.

Israel launched a military campaign in southern Lebanon after Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group, opened a front against Israel on March 2. Israeli forces responded with large-scale airstrikes and a ground offensive in areas where Hezbollah maintains a strong presence.

Although a ceasefire came into force on April 17, residents and Lebanese officials say demolitions, bulldozing operations and strikes have continued across parts of southern Lebanon. Israel has maintained that its actions target Hezbollah infrastructure and operatives and are intended to prevent future attacks on Israeli communities.

Satellite images reviewed by AFP showed extensive destruction in the border village of Yaroun, located less than one kilometer from Israel. Residents said much of the town, including residential neighborhoods and public buildings, has been reduced to rubble.

Images from Bint Jbeil, a major town in southern Lebanon and a longstanding Hezbollah stronghold, also indicated widespread damage. Satellite photographs taken in early April showed relatively limited destruction, while images captured a month later suggested that large sections of the town had been demolished.

Lebanese Environment Minister Tamara Zein has accused Israel of carrying out what she described as “urbicide,” a term used to describe the deliberate destruction of urban areas. Researchers at Lebanon’s government-linked National Council for Scientific Research echoed concerns that destruction accelerated during the ceasefire period.

According to the council, Israeli attacks since 2023 have damaged more than 290,000 housing units across Lebanon, including roughly 61,000 since the latest conflict began. Researchers estimate that around 12,000 units were completely or partially destroyed after the ceasefire took effect.

Lebanon’s Agriculture Ministry said earlier this month that more than 560 square kilometers of farmland had been damaged by Israeli military operations and attacks.

Israeli forces continue to operate inside a self-declared security zone extending approximately 10 kilometers into Lebanese territory. Israeli officials say the measures are necessary to protect border communities from Hezbollah attacks and prevent the group’s military re-establishment near the frontier.

The destruction has complicated efforts by displaced residents to return home. More than one million people have been displaced from southern Lebanon during the conflict, according to Lebanese officials and researchers.

The latest allegations come as Lebanese and Israeli representatives continue direct talks in Washington aimed at preserving a fragile truce and preventing a broader escalation along the border.

Lebanon’s health ministry said three strikes hit the Saida-South coastal highway in the areas of Barja, Jiyeh and Saadiyat, resulting in eight fatalities. The ministry described the attacks as raids carried out by the “Israeli enemy.”

The Israeli military said it had launched a new wave of strikes against Hezbollah infrastructure across southern Lebanon, hours after issuing evacuation warnings to residents in several villages in the Tyre region.

“The IDF has begun striking Hezbollah terror infrastructure in several areas in southern Lebanon,” the military said in a statement.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli drones targeted two cars on the highway linking Beirut to southern Lebanon, while additional strikes hit vehicles in Saadiyat in the Chouf district and in the southern city of Sidon.

An AFP photographer at the scene near Jiyeh, roughly 20 kilometers south of Beirut, saw a charred vehicle on the roadside as emergency responders carried away a victim’s body.

The latest attacks followed similar strikes in the same area on Saturday and came amid continuing Israeli operations despite a ceasefire that took effect on April 17 to halt fighting with the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.

On Tuesday, Lebanon’s health ministry said 13 people were killed in separate Israeli strikes on southern towns. The ministry added that at least 380 people had been killed since the truce began.

The Israeli military’s latest evacuation warnings signaled expectations of additional strikes in southern Lebanon, where intermittent hostilities have persisted despite diplomatic efforts to contain the conflict.

The violence comes ahead of a new round of direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel scheduled to take place in Washington on Thursday under US mediation.
Hezbollah has opposed the talks. The group’s leader, Naim Qassem, warned on Tuesday that Hezbollah would turn the battlefield into “hell” for Israel if attacks continued.
Since Hezbollah entered the broader regional conflict in early March, more than 2,800 people, including around 200 children, have been killed in Lebanon, according to figures released by the Lebanese health ministry.