While the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire is holding across most of the country, the far south area of Lebanon occupied by Israel continues to see some limited fighting, and a massive amount of destruction as the systematic destruction of towns and villages by Israeli forces continues.
Israel would just as soon the population of displaced civilians who lived there stay out of the way why they continue leveling their homes to create a military “buffer zone,” and has warned residents of over 50 municipalities in Lebanon to just not attempt to return home.
IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee said residents shouldn’t attempt to return to 58 towns and villages to fall south of the Israeli-imposed “Yellow Line,” and also added that they shouldn’t attempt to approach the Litani River at all.
Israeli drone strikes continue in southern Lebanon | Image from X
The Litani River aspect is substantial, because Israeli officials had presented their intention earlier in the war to occupy the entire nation south of the river, and during the war destroyed every single bridge spanning that river. Defense Minister Israel Katz bragged that many hundreds of thousands of people were displaced from south of the river, and would not be allowed to return, though by the time the current ceasefire was reached, Israel had only captured a fraction of that territory.
An estimated 1.2 million Lebanese were displaced in the course of the war, and while a lot of the territory they were expelled from was as yet not occupied by the Israeli military. Whether those people can safely return either is uncertain though because it’s not clear the ceasefire will hold.
Even with the ceasefire in effect, Israel is still reporting some strikes, like a claim of destroying a rocket launcher near Kfar Kela. Even though the IDF noted that the launcher was north of the “forward defense line (which is to say Yellow Line)” they justified attacking it for posing an “immediate threat” to occupation forces still within Lebanon.
Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri reported that the US is pushing for the two sides of extend the 10-day ceasefire, and the US is reporting additional talks will be held on Thursday, according to the State Department.
