[News] Lebanon’s southern villagers confront Israeli soldiers as they fight to return

[Anti-Imperialist News]

middleeasteye.net
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/lebanons-southern-villagers-confront-israeli-soldiers-they-fight-return>
Lebanon’s southern villagers confront Israeli soldiers as they fight to
return
By Hanna Davis in Maroun al-Ras, Lebanon
February 1, 2025
------------------------------

On the outskirts of the southern Lebanese
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/lebanon> border village of Yaroun,
residents stood atop a dirt barricade, looking down at their homes and
olive groves. Below, Israeli
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel> soldiers waited, their
snipers ready for anyone who dared to cross.

An elderly woman, Fatima Jaafar, boldly climbed down from the barricade and
was soon followed by a young man waving a Hezbollah flag. Seconds later,
Israeli gunshots rang out, and the two rushed back, narrowly escaping the
fire.

Yaroun is one of several villages where Israeli troops remain stationed
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-continue-occupy-lebanon-beyond-deadline>
after
the 26 January withdrawal deadline set by the US-brokered ceasefire
agreement. Israel has accused Lebanon of not fully enforcing the terms,
while the US announced
<https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/white-house-says-ceasefire-agreement-between-lebanon-israel-continue-until-feb-2025-01-26/>
the agreement would remain in effect until 18 February.

Despite the lingering presence of Israeli troops, many residents of
villages in southern Lebanon are determined to return in defiance of
Israeli orders.

Near the barricade in Yaroun, a group of people camped beside a roaring
fire said they had been there for three days when Middle East Eye visited
on Tuesday.

One of them was a 51-year-old woman who asked to be referred to as Imm
Hassan. “I have my house [in Yaroun]. I had chickens and goats. I was
living a very happy life,” she told MEE.

“This is our land. When I die, my kids will come; my grandkids will come,”
she said. “No one can leave their land, especially next to this neighbour
who wants to take it over.”

Like many from Yaroun, Imm Hassan holds US citizenship and speaks in a
crisp American accent. She says her heart is in Yaroun, the village of her
ancestors and the place where she has lived most of her life.

“Yaroun is a very special place, with very special nature,” Imm Hassan
said, describing its bountiful farmland and “heavenly” forest of ancient
oak trees, where she would often bring her goats to graze and picnic with
her friends.

But much of that land, she says, is now gone. “They’re trying to make a
desert here, to make it inhabitable.”
‘People are not afraid’

An Israeli drone hovered above Imm Hassan as she spoke. She said it had
been firing into the crowds, pointing to blackened spots on the ground
where it had struck.

Later on Tuesday, Israeli sniper fire wounded six civilians attempting to
enter Yaroun, as well as one Lebanese soldier, according to Mohammad
Salman, a 28-year-old medic at the scene. He told MEE that the victims -
some elderly and in critical condition - were shot in the faces, chest and
back.

One of them, he added, was a US citizen, Israel’s largest backer.

An elderly cleric, Nasser Abu Aliwi, stood firmly with his cane before UN
peacekeeping troops stationed nearby. “The people of this town are
determined," Aliwi said. “Families want to find and bury their loved ones.”

Many of the dead, he added, remain beneath the rubble.

[image: 'The people of this town are determined', says Sheikh Nasser Abu
Alawiye (Hanna Davis/MEE)]
'The people of this town are determined', says Sheikh Nasser Abu Aliwi
(Hanna Davis/MEE)[image: image.gif]

“Israel is killing just to kill so that people will lose hope and leave.
But the people are not afraid. They will stay here, even through the cold
nights and attacks, ” he said.

Israeli attacks
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-forces-shoot-kill-lebanese-people-returning-south>
on citizens attempting to enter their villages have killed over 24 people
and wounded over 150 others, including nine children and a paramedic,
according <https://x.com/mophleb/status/1884186126161961032> to Lebanon’s
health ministry.
‘Israel out’

Other villages along the Lebanon-Israel border bore scenes similar to those
in Yaroun. In Aitaroun, about a 15-minute drive from Yaroun, a group of
women chanted “Israel out”. They stood behind a line of Lebanese soldiers
and another dirt barricade, where Israeli troops remained stationed in
their village.

Among them was 10-year-old Fatima Dau, dressed in the yellow and green of
the Hezbollah flag. She stood with her three younger siblings, holding
large photos of their father, who was a Hezbollah fighter killed in battle.
They were waiting to retrieve his body.

<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/short-history-ancient-lebanese-villages-destroyed-israel>

A short history of the ancient Lebanese villages destroyed by Israel


On 26 January, five people were killed
<https://x.com/mophleb/status/1883550481001357396> while attempting to
enter Aitaroun, Lebanon’s health ministry reported. One of them was Moussa
Alayiwe. He was shot dead in front of his two young children, Mohammad
Hamad, 18, told MEE while sitting with friends near the Aitaroun barricade.

He said the Israelis also killed a woman named Amal, an Arabic teacher from
the village when she tried to enter. “They shot her in the head. She
instantly died.”

Hamad, who used to work at a gas station in Aitaroun, recalled seeing Amal
regularly. “She was known by everyone,” he said.

He had remained in the village during the 60-day ceasefire period, when, he
said, Israeli forces "were exploding things and bombing homes”.

Lebanon has recorded at least 823 Israeli ceasefire violations since the
agreement took effect on November 27. Israel said its attacks targeted
Hezbollah's military infrastructure and “threats” it said remained
“unaddressed”.

“Now, everything is destroyed,” Hamad said.
‘We will stand our ground until they’re gone’

In the village of Maroun al-Ras, neighbouring Aitaroun, crowds gathered
outside a barbed-wire fence. They were unfazed by the Israeli soldier just
metres away, holding them at gunpoint.

“We’re not afraid,” said 51-year-old Houda Jibahi, who had come with her
daughter from the southern village of Aaitit to support the residents of
Maroun al-Ras.

'Israel is killing just to kill so that people will lose hope and leave.
But the people are not afraid'

*- Nasser Abu Aliwi, cleric*

“This is our right and this is our land. But since Sunday, they’ve been
shooting at us with their tanks and guns,” her daughter, 29-year-old Noura
Dakka, said.

Dakka said that the Israelis had “become more aggressive” in recent days,
pushing them farther out of the village each day. She pulled out her phone
to show a video she had taken on Sunday. An Israeli tank was ploughing
towards her and the crowds around her.

Israeli forces arrested
<https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1445570/israeli-forces-arrest-shoot-at-maroun-al-ras-residents-attempting-to-return.html>
four people from Maroun al-Ras on Wednesday, the Lebanese daily L’Orient
Today reported. Dakka, who was there, said they were mostly elderly
residents who had entered the village through a road where Israeli troops
were not visible. One man, who Dakka said was 28 years old, was still being
held.

“We will stand our ground until they’re gone, even if they push the
ceasefire agreement until February or until next year,” Dakka said.

Lebanese security officials fear Israel is planning to occupy five
strategic hilltop areas in southern Lebanon beyond 18 February, a concern
that intensified after Israeli troops installed heavy surveillance
equipment in the areas, The National reported
<https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/01/30/lebanon-fears-israel-preparing-to-occupy-five-border-areas-beyond-withdrawal-deadline/>
on Thursday.
‘She went back walking’

Back in Yaroun, as an Israeli drone hovered overhead, those gathered
outside the barricade shared the story of Najwa, an elderly woman in her
mid-70s who refused to leave her home during the war.

“I knew her very well,” Salman said.

Salman and his team of rescue workers would periodically check on her,
bringing her food and water. At one point, they convinced her to leave for
safety - but she returned shortly afterwards.

“I swear to God, she went back walking,” he said.

After the ceasefire began on 27 November, Salman said that each time they
tried to reach Yaroun to check on Najwa, Israeli troops opened fire,
blocking their entry for 30 days.

When they finally entered on 27 December, Salman found Najwa dead. He said
she had been shot three times in the chest, her body covered in bruises as
if she had been beaten or stepped on.

“Her death is so painful for us because she was an old lady,” said Imm
Hassan, who also noted Najwa was a US citizen.

“Imagine if it was your mom. It’s unbelievable… just because she didn’t
want to leave her home.”
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