Security

'Bitter reality' for south Lebanon towns scarred by Hizbullah's actions

Six months after Hizbullah began to attack Israel from southern Lebanon, provoking retaliatory fire, area residents are still paying the price.

In the Lebanese border town of Tayr Harfa, houses like this one were turned into rubble, agricultural lands set on fire, and residents displaced since Hizbullah and Israel started exchanging fire across the border. [Al-Fassel]
In the Lebanese border town of Tayr Harfa, houses like this one were turned into rubble, agricultural lands set on fire, and residents displaced since Hizbullah and Israel started exchanging fire across the border. [Al-Fassel]

By Nohad Topalian |

BEIRUT -- During periods of calm, al-Dhahira resident Fatima Sweid takes videos of her hometown with her phone camera, documenting houses that have been turned into piles of rubble and fire-scorched agricultural land.

Her experience is shared by the residents of other villages on Lebanon's southern border with Israel who have been waking up to this bitter reality since Hizbullah entered the fray in the Israel-Hamas war.

About 100,000 people have been displaced from the south, according to an April 8 MTV news report.

More than 8,000 dunams of agricultural and forest land have been scorched or fully burned in fires caused by the bombardment, it said, and 55,000 old olive, oak and pine trees have been lost.

A resident of Tayr Harfa inspects the remains of his house. [Al-Fassel]
A resident of Tayr Harfa inspects the remains of his house. [Al-Fassel]
Houses in the southern town of al-Dhahira have been destroyed as Hizbullah steps up its attacks on Israel. The owners of this house and their four children survived the recent bombardment. [Al-Fassel]
Houses in the southern town of al-Dhahira have been destroyed as Hizbullah steps up its attacks on Israel. The owners of this house and their four children survived the recent bombardment. [Al-Fassel]

Hundreds of thousands of head of livestock have been killed, it added, with farmers in the area losing more than 75% of the agricultural operations that they rely on.

Agricultural losses in the south are estimated at $3 billion, in addition to the partial or total destruction of approximately 9,000 housing units.

More than 300 people have been killed in more than 55 southern villages and towns, the majority of whom are Hizbullah fighters and combatants from other armed groups, with 66 civilians included in the toll.

Missile platforms from towns

Residents who spoke to Al-Fassel said they are not counting on Hizbullah to compensate them for their losses.

"Our village is on the border, and it is exposed daily to bombardment and destruction because Hizbullah has turned it into a front," an area resident told Al-Fassel, on condition that neither his name nor the name of his village be used.

"We were displaced from our homes, and we lost our property and the future of our children who are no longer in school," he said.

"Hizbullah has dragged us into a war that we do not want, and has placed its missile launchers in our midst, threatening our safety," he added.

"Hizbullah and the armed groups chose our town to open a war front by placing their missile platforms here," Sweid told Al-Fassel.

"My three children are out of school, and there is no decent life away from my destroyed home in al-Dhahira," she said.

Sweid said Hizbullah will not compensate them for their losses "because it does not care about us but rather about what Iran dictates to it."

More than 100,000 displaced

The south "is paying with its villages, towns, cities, people, lives and property the price of the distraction war that Hizbullah launched by an Iranian decision," Tayr Harfa resident and Hizbullah opponent Hussein Ataya told Al-Fassel.

In Tayr Harfa, 70% of the homes have been partially or completely destroyed, "and the majority of our agricultural lands are no longer suitable for the cultivation of wheat and tobacco crops."

Hizbullah placed rocket launchpads in al-Dhahira, Marwahin, Aita al-Shaab, Aitaroun, Blida, Hula, Mays al-Jabal, Marjayoun and Hasbaya, he said, which put these towns in danger and led to massive displacement.

More than 100,000 people were forced to flee the area, Ataya said, adding, "We are facing the repercussions of Hizbullah's war."

"Who will compensate us for our heavy losses? Certainly not Hizbullah, which puts Iran's interests ahead of the interests of the Lebanese people."

Massive blow to economy

The south "has become a disaster area after the war between Hizbullah and Israel expanded and activity in all productive sectors came to a halt," economist Antoine Farah told Al-Fassel.

Losses amount to an estimated $2.5 billion, he said, with the destruction of homes and institutions approaching an additional $300 million.

"The Lebanese state does not have the financial capacity to compensate for these losses, and is not responsible for the compensation as Hizbullah is responsible for opening and directing the war front," he said.

The south does not bear the losses alone, Farah said, noting that all the Lebanese people and the Lebanese economy suffer, especially the tourism sector.

Hizbullah's war "painted a dark picture of Lebanon abroad, and it will be difficult to restore the world's confidence in it and invest in it any time soon," he added.

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