Looking out from a friend’s balcony, Milia el-Cheikh struggled to locate her home amid the ruins of her now-deserted village, its entrances sealed off with barbed wire.
Her village, Dibbine, is one of several Shiite-majority communities across southern Lebanon that have been devastated by Israeli forces battling the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement. Israel has occupied large swathes of territory and fighting has continued despite successive ceasefires. The latest truce — part of the interim peace agreement between the United States and Iran — appears to be holding.
El-Cheikh, one of the few Christians from Dibbine, found refuge in another village but regularly visits Jdeidat Marjayoun, a predominantly Christian community neighbouring her hometown, to share coffee with a friend from church. Before the war, it was a comforting routine. Now, it takes place against a backdrop of destruction and uncertainty.
“I don't know anything about my house,” she said. “Nothing is more agonising than not being able to get to your home.”
Jdeidat Marjayoun is one of several towns and villages visited by The Associated Press on the blurred frontier of the Israeli-occupied zone in southern Lebanon. Israeli forces have driven out much of the predominantly Shiite population, believing they harbour Hezbollah fighters, and many communities have been reduced to rubble.
Residents of neighbouring Christian, Sunni and Druze areas have largely been allowed to remain. Yet the conflict has transformed their lives. Homes have been damaged, road closures have cut them off from the rest of Lebanon, and nightly raids by Israeli troops have left many living in fear.
Israeli warnings against hosting Hezbollah members have effectively prevented residents from sheltering displaced Shiites, driving a wedge between long-standing neighbours and fuelling political and sectarian tensions.
The latest conflict erupted after Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel days after Israel and the United States began military operations against Iran on 28 February. Israel subsequently invaded Lebanon and expanded its zone of control, in some areas reaching up to 12 kilometres (seven miles) inside Lebanese territory.
As its forces advanced, Israel ordered residents to evacuate large areas of southern Lebanon. In April, it published a list of 53 towns and villages — mostly Shiite — whose residents were prohibited from returning. On Thursday, eight more predominantly Shiite villages were added to that list.
Israel says its troops will remain in southern Lebanon for self-defence. It maintains that Hezbollah was deeply embedded in civilian areas and has released footage it says shows tunnels and other military infrastructure located within residential neighbourhoods.
Iran insists any broader truce must include Lebanon and requires a full Israeli withdrawal, while Hezbollah says it will continue resisting occupation. The Lebanese government has also called on Israel to pull out of the territory.
Mixed towns and villages on the edge of the occupied zone, spread across hills and valleys lined with orchards and olive groves, remain within sight of their devastated neighbours. Their residents say they are determined to stay.
The Shiite town of Khiam — now a deserted expanse of flattened buildings under Israeli control — is clearly visible from the Christian village of Qlayaa.
Residents of Qlayaa are effectively barred from reaching their olive groves in the valley below.
“Now another season is lost,” said Qlayaa mayor Hanna Daher.
A local priest was killed while inspecting the aftermath of an earlier strike, while a father and his two children died in a drone attack as they travelled towards the village. Israel says it only targets militants.
In Jdeidat Marjayoun, a house was bombed amid suspicions that militants were using it. Rockets, believed to have been fired by Hezbollah, damaged the dome of a church. Elsewhere, solar panels, power transmitters and water facilities have also been struck.
El-Cheikh fled Dibbine with her neighbours in early March after Israeli forces warned residents to leave. Following weeks of fighting, Israeli troops raided the village in late May before withdrawing in early June.
During the conflict, her friend Lolitta Costantine sheltered with her husband in their home in Jdeidat Marjayoun and at times stayed with neighbours. Cracks caused by nearby explosions run through the walls of her house. Windows were shattered and doors blown from their frames. She keeps pieces of shrapnel as a reminder of the ordeal.
“We didn’t know where the danger was coming from,” Costantine said.
Shiites seeking refuge from the fighting have increasingly been turned away by residents fearful of Israeli attacks or forced evacuations, reigniting tensions that have largely remained dormant since Lebanon’s 1975–1990 civil war.
According to Mayor Daher, when a resident of Qlayaa hosted a friend from a neighbouring Shiite village in his orchard, the host’s house was subsequently bombed. Since then, some residents have asked displaced Shiites to leave.
“We told them, we don’t want problems for you or for us,” Daher said.
Jdeidat Marjayoun’s municipality said on social media that Israeli authorities had warned it not to admit displaced residents from neighbouring villages, claiming this could place the town at risk or lead to its evacuation.
“We were forced to ask some to leave the town,” said parish priest Father Philip Habib Okla. “It caused many disagreements and tension.”
“We are counting on faith to remain united,” he added.
The Israeli military said it had warned residents in parts of southern Lebanon not to allow Hezbollah to operate from their villages, arguing that the group’s presence places civilians in danger.
During Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon between 1982 and 2000, the region served as a stronghold of the South Lebanon Army, a predominantly Christian militia allied with Israel. When Israeli forces withdrew, some members fled to Israel while others faced prosecution in Lebanon, where many regarded them as collaborators.
Some residents now fear they may once again be unfairly labelled as collaborators simply for remaining in their homes. Many are reluctant to discuss tensions openly, fearing reprisals from either Israel or Hezbollah.
At one church visited by AP, a frustrated parishioner complained that everyone had become suspicious of one another, even among fellow Christians. He blamed Hezbollah for dragging Lebanon into the conflict, saying the group had made a grave mistake.
Shiites seeking refuge from the fighting have increasingly been turned away by residents fearful of Israeli attacks or forced evacuations, reigniting tensions that have largely remained dormant since Lebanon’s 1975–1990 civil war.
According to Mayor Daher, when a resident of Qlayaa hosted a friend from a neighbouring Shiite village in his orchard, the host’s house was subsequently bombed. Since then, some residents have asked displaced Shiites to leave.
“We told them, we don’t want problems for you or for us,” Daher said.
Jdeidat Marjayoun’s municipality said on social media that Israeli authorities had warned it not to admit displaced residents from neighbouring villages, claiming this could place the town at risk or lead to its evacuation.
“We were forced to ask some to leave the town,” said parish priest Father Philip Habib Okla. “It caused many disagreements and tension.”
“We are counting on faith to remain united,” he added.
The Israeli military said it had warned residents in parts of southern Lebanon not to allow Hezbollah to operate from their villages, arguing that the group’s presence places civilians in danger.
During Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon between 1982 and 2000, the region served as a stronghold of the South Lebanon Army, a predominantly Christian militia allied with Israel. When Israeli forces withdrew, some members fled to Israel while others faced prosecution in Lebanon, where many regarded them as collaborators.
Some residents now fear they may once again be unfairly labelled as collaborators simply for remaining in their homes. Many are reluctant to discuss tensions openly, fearing reprisals from either Israel or Hezbollah.
At one church visited by AP, a frustrated parishioner complained that everyone had become suspicious of one another, even among fellow Christians. He blamed Hezbollah for dragging Lebanon into the conflict, saying the group had made a grave mistake.
Late one night in March, Israeli troops surrounded a building in the predominantly Sunni village of Halta. According to his mother, Ayesha al-Qaderi, soldiers stormed the building, beat her son Chadi Abdel-Al and dragged him into a military vehicle as he cried out, clutching his chest.
Amid the chaos, a 15-year-old relative, Mohammad Abdel-Al, ran towards the building in his pyjamas, according to his grandfather Hatem. Israeli soldiers shot him dead. A neighbour standing on a balcony was also wounded.
The Israeli military said it had detained the commander of a local militant group.
In a separate operation, Israeli troops detained three farmers from Halta during a raid on a nearby village.
According to Lebanese media, they are among at least eight people detained by Israeli forces since March. Israel says those detained were suspected of involvement in militant activity and plots against its troops.
“We still don’t know why they kidnapped them. Maybe to instil fear in the village and send a message that they are watching everyone,” said community leader Issa Abdel-Al.
“It has become like the West Bank here,” he added, referring to the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory.
Al-Qaderi, who says she has received no information about her son since he was taken away, voiced a simple plea:
“I just want to know his fate.”