‘No red line’: South Lebanon residents outraged as Israel resumes strikes

People in South Lebanon question their government’s approach as Israel launches more attacks and displacement orders.

As Israel resumes strikes and displacement orders in southern Lebanon, residents of the region are expressing anger and helplessness during ongoing talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials.

For displaced families, Thursday’s latest round of strikes, which injured at least eight people, is further evidence that the June ceasefire has failed to protect them from Israeli military action. The Israeli military sparked this latest wave of panic by issuing a forced evacuation order for the town of Mansouri on Wednesday, marking its first displacement directive in weeks.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3WHO chief: Ebola outbreak in DRC spreading at ‘unprecedented rate’
• list 2 of 3Toronto police arrest two in US Consulate shooting investigation
• list 3 of 3Trump signs new executive orders seeking to limit US birthright citizenship

“Mansouri is not part of Israel’s occupation zone,” Yousef Shehemi, mayor of the neighboring town of Majdal Zoun, told Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr. “But Israel has no red lines—they target where they want. They have not respected any ceasefire.”

Families from Mansouri who fled were still gathered on the outskirts of the town on Thursday, waiting for word that it was safe to return.

Outrage was mounting on the ground as residents watched the Israeli military demolish homes and set fire to farmland, with many expressing little faith that ongoing negotiations between Beirut and Israel will secure their safe return.

Abu Rached, a resident of Majdal Zoun, said the destruction had gone unanswered by Lebanese officials. “Can’t you see what they did to south Lebanon? They’re destroying it, displacing people—even the [Lebanese] army can’t stay in Mansouri,” he told Al Jazeera. “Where are the officials?”

Representatives from Lebanon and Israel met in Rome for another round of negotiations earlier this week, after both governments signed a “framework” intended to secure an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon once Hezbollah is disarmed.

Hezbollah, which is not a part of the ongoing talks, has publicly opposed the deal.

The deal also envisioned “pilot zones” where Israel would pull back and the Lebanese army would move in to ensure there are no weapons outside the control of the state, allowing displaced people to return. But so far, the agreement has not secured any significant Israeli withdrawal in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli military has been systematically wiping out villages in south Lebanon, demolishing buildings and burning olive groves —a push that critics say amounts to an ethnic cleansing campaign.

Still, the region had seen relative calm over the past months. Hostilities renewed this week after an explosive device killed two invading Israeli soldiers, though it is not clear whether it was planted before or after the ceasefire.

Hezbollah did not claim responsibility for the attack.

The Israeli attacks were concentrated in Mansouri but not confined to it.

Further north, in Burj al-Shemali, an Israeli strike hit a residential home, marking the first attack on the town since the ceasefire took effect in June. Almaza Hazim, a resident, described to Al Jazeera the chaos of trying to help a neighboring family caught in the blast.

“Our neighbour was screaming from the explosion. We ran to help them—there were injuries—before another strike destroyed the house,” Hazim said.