As it does virtually weekly, Israel reiterated today that civilians are not to return to their homes in any areas of southern Lebanon Israel currently occupies. This apparently includes not just villages, but the Mediterranean Sea as well, as an Israeli military boat captured a Lebanese fisherman near the coast at Ras Naqoura.
Naqoura is the southernmost Lebanese coastal village, only a couple of miles from the Israeli border. There is no specific Israeli order against fishing there, however, and this is just another expansion of an open-ended occupation of Lebanese territory.
Earlier in the weekend, Israel was reportedly “withdrawing” from the western part of southern Lebanon. This, in spite of an IDF surveillance post overlooking the Tyre District, which includes Naqoura. Even fishing in the presence of Israeli forces isn’t allowed apparently, so the withdrawal seems very much overstated.
Not that Israel hasn’t withdrawn from a few places. Further east, Israeli troops did leave the village of Ayta ash-Shab last week. Reporters from Asharq al-Awsat returned to the village with residents, and found that 90% of homes were totally destroyed, and any remaining buildings have sustained major damage. Water and electricity infrastructure in the border village was also totally destroyed.
This is a recurring theme, as throughout the “ceasefire” Israel continued to demolish and burn homes, and the few places the IDF abandoned were those it had finished destroying. Over the weekend, there were additional reports of Israeli troops burning homes in the Marjayoun District.
Despite Israeli threats and last week’s killing of dozens of civilians in the area, many are still trying to return home, as open-ended displacement is simply no longer an option for them. A group of civilians gathered at the village of Kfar Kela, planning to return there and to surrounding villages. Israeli gunfire was reported, but any casualty figures are not yet available.
The 60-day ceasefire went into effect on November 26, with Israel supposed to withdraw from Lebanon during that period. However, the US and Israel extended the ceasefire to February 18 once it became apparent Israel had no intention of pulling out by the deadline.
Throughout the ceasefire and its extension, Israel has committed a massive number of violations and killed scores of Lebanese civilians. And now Israel’s focus seems to include Hezbollah drones. Last week Israel shot down a Hezbollah surveillance drone inside Lebanon near Israeli airspace.
Subsequently DM Israel Katz, visiting the southern Lebanon occupation on Sunday, threatened Hezbollah over “drone attacks.” There is no indication that the downed drone was armed, and at the time even Israeli outlets described it as a surveillance drone.
Katz though, tied it to the “reality of October 7” and said Israel will totally wipe out Hezbollah if there are any more drones. Hezbollah has yet to respond to this latest Israeli threat, but their officials have warned patience is wearing thin as Israel continues to extend the occupation of Lebanese soil.