'Israel destroyed houses, roads, even trees': People return to destruction in southern Lebanon
Many videos document the Israeli army’s destruction of houses and infrastructure in southern Lebanon, where it is creating a buffer zone along the border. Our Observers, many of whom wanted to return home after a ceasefire was announced, describe empty villages and razed homes.
Issued on: 28/04/2026 - 14:12
6 min Reading time Share By: The FRANCE 24 Observers / Djamel BELAYACHI / Ahmed ALMASSALMAH
Bulldozers ram the walls of a house in Naqoura, a Lebanese village on the border with Israel, in a video filmed on April 13, 2026. After just a few minutes, the home collapses in a cloud of dust.
This home belonged to a man named Bernard Farhat, who fled his hometown of Naqoura for Beirut as the Israeli army advanced. He watched the footage of his home collapsing on his phone, powerless to save it.
‘It took my parents ten years to build this house’
"It’s not the first time that we’ve lost a home. My family was displaced back in the 80s. I was born in Naqoura in 1987. For me, Naqoura isn’t just a village – it’s a refuge, it’s my entire childhood. It took my parents ten years to build that house, little by little, each week.
When I first saw the videos of homes destroyed, I thought to myself that it was perhaps linked to the Israeli army’s activities. And then one day, I saw my own home in one of these videos. On April 13, I received videos that showed three bulldozers demolishing it – two in front and another on the side, breaking it piece by piece. The area was already empty – everyone left. Only the Israeli army has been there since late March.
This home, it wasn’t just made of stones. It was also my memories, the place where I found refuge and certainly the last link that I had with my father, who died in 2019. But now, there is nothing left – just stones."
The Israeli army has been carrying out ground operations in southern Lebanon since early March 2026, as tensions continue to escalate with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Officially, Israel says that it wants to create a barrier between Hezbollah fighters and its border and prevent them from re-establishing any military positions. However, Israel’s operations in the area have included the destruction of many civilian homes in several border towns. The army claims that it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure, which they claim is often located within civilian zones.
The Israeli army announced on April 19 that it was setting up what it called a "Yellow Line" in southern Lebanon, which they say demarcates a “security zone” meant to prevent any Hezbollah presence near the Israeli border.
Images posted online show explosions in buildings in Naqoura and the nearby villages of Bint Jbeil, Ainata and Rabb el-Thalathine – explosions taking place far from the zones of active combat.
In fact, even residential buildings located right next to the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Naqoura were destroyed in recent weeks. UN surveillance cameras captured images of several seaside homes being destroyed on April 4, sending debris flying into the deserted streets.
Several videos show demolitions taking place in a number of southern villages, including Ainata, Jubbayn and Rab el-Thalathine.
‘Hezbollah fighters told us to go to leave them space’
After the ceasefire was announced on April 16, some people wanted to return to their homes. One of them was our Observer Samar, who is from the Tyr region.
"We left Beirut at 6am on April 18, 2026 and we only arrived in Tyr around 4pm because of the traffic jams. We crossed the Qasmiyeh bridge, which had been bombed. There was still an enormous hole that had been filled in. However, I didn’t recognise the south when I got there! I saw lots of portraits of Hezbollah fighters as well as Hezbollah and Iranian flags – there were even vendors selling them alongside the road. I didn’t see any Lebanese flags.
The south is nearly empty. There is no longer any normal life. There are very few services. You can only get electricity a few hours a day. The Hezbollah fighters told us to go, to leave them space. Some people left, others refused. I decided to stay, in spite of everything.”
The Israeli army has destroyed four different main bridges on the Litani River, which crosses southern Lebanon. The most recent is Qasmiyeh bridge, the bridge that our Observer had to take to return home.
‘A drone ordered us to turn around’
Abu Karim, a farmer from the border city of Houla in southern Lebanon, tried to return to his home just after the ceasefire was put in place.
"As soon as they announced the ceasefire, I wanted to return home. I love this land: I’m a farmer, my whole life is here. When the truce was called, they said that the roads were open and that the army had secured them. But in reality, the bridges had been destroyed. I crossed the damaged Qaquaiya bridge and there was no one there to organise the traffic. We had to take alternative roads and it took us hours.
My village, Houla, was more than 70 percent destroyed: homes burned, the burnt-out carcasses of cars and impassable roads. Even the agricultural land was ravaged. The destruction is indescribable. The farthest I got was to the villages of Shaqra and Majdal Selm. At that point, an Israeli drone spoke to us in Arabic, telling us that we needed to turn around or they would open fire. We didn’t have a choice, so we left. There’s no real ceasefire, it’s just on paper.
When I was in Shaqra, I saw Israeli equipment including bulldozers and tanks. They were destroying and burning down homes, roads and infrastructure. They even destroyed the trees about two kilometres from Houla. They are completely altering the terrain.
They speak of a ‘Yellow Line’, but that doesn’t exist for us. It’s our land. Today, there are entire villages that no one can access.
They can destroy homes and burn trees, but they can’t take our will away from us. We’ll come back. We’ll rebuild and replant. This land is ours.”
‘Destruction that goes beyond military objectives’
According to several sources, the area that the Israeli army wants to clear includes between 55 and 70 villages. Some of the villages are still partially inhabited, Lebanese sociologist Ahmed Baydoun says.
Baydoun says that the destruction that has been observed can’t be explained by just military objectives:
"The Israeli army says that they are destroying Hezbollah infrastructure but, in reality, we are seeing entire villages being destroyed including Bint Jbeil and Ainata. In some cases, the destruction is systematic. We’ve also seen that in some villages with majority Christian populations, the residents have remained.
No one knows how long the situation will last, but it’s worth asking if Israel wants this region to remain empty of residents or even de facto integrate it into Israel, like what happened with Syria’s Golan Heights. We feel as if the Israelis are applying the Gaza model - of having a buffer zone emptied of its population - to southern Lebanon."
Israeli sources reported that several hundred structures are thought to have been destroyed in this region.
This article has been translated from the original in French by Brenna Daldorph.
Advertising Keywords for this article