In Lebanese village near Israeli troops, farmers brave danger to harvest their olives

In a field overlooking a lush valley in southern Lebanon, residents of the village of Zibqin balance on branches to pick olives as Lebanese Army soldiers stand nearby, with Israeli shelling continuing in the surrounding area despite a June ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Zibqin lies next to Israel’s self-declared “security zone” in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops have demolished dozens of villages, saying Hezbollah had embedded itself in civilian infrastructure. The group denies the claim.

As Palestinians, Israeli rights groups and the United Nations report rising violence and olive thefts by Israeli settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Lebanese farmers are also facing growing risks, highlighting how conflict is once again disrupting the annual harvest.

Despite the danger, farmers are returning to fields their families have cultivated for generations, determined to gather olives, a key source of income and nutrition.

Ali Bzieh, a 65-year-old farmer from Zibqin, said he had no choice but to return to his fields.

“This is my land, this is my livelihood, this is a harvest we wait for from one year to the next,” he said, sitting beneath an olive tree. “We have an attachment to this land, to the plants, and to the crops — we don't leave them.”

Many families returned to Zibqin after the ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, but the situation remains unstable, local official Raef Bzieh said.

“The ongoing bombing and the aggressions taking place on the outskirts of the village have of course caused worry and panic among the people,” he said.

Residents asked the Lebanese Army to accompany them to their fields, but Mustafa Barakat, a 50-year-old carpenter, said the military presence offered limited reassurance.

“If the Israelis decide to cause harm, they can harm us, and the army,” he said. “They have struck the Lebanese Army more than once.”

Israeli attacks have killed 26 Lebanese soldiers in 2026, according to statements posted by the Lebanese Army on X. The Lebanese Army is not a party to the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

In response to questions from Reuters, the Israeli military said its strikes in Lebanon targeted Hezbollah and its infrastructure, not the Lebanese Army or civilians. It also said it was working to “enable the olive harvest and assist residents in carrying it out”.

Thirty-eight Israeli soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon in 2026, according to posts on the Israeli military’s website.

The conflict has changed the rhythm of the harvest. Barakat, who once spent entire days in the olive groves, now limits his time in the fields to periods when Lebanese Army soldiers are present.

The danger has also disrupted what was traditionally a family occasion, when relatives gathered to harvest olives and prepare meals together.

“In the past, we used to treat this harvest season like an outing,” Barakat said. He used to bring his family to the fields and prepare food with them. “Now, you can’t bring children… bombing could occur, and they could get hurt,” he said.

The fighting has also reduced yields. Ali Bzieh, who was displaced for several months, said farmers had been unable to tend their trees as usual.

“We weren't able to tend to our olive trees, so our olive trees did not yield as they usually do,” he said, adding that his harvest was about half its normal size.

Ali said he hoped the situation would not escalate and force his family to flee again. But many residents of Zibqin were preparing for that possibility. Some continued to pay rent for apartments farther north, while others had already arranged alternative accommodation in case the conflict worsened.

Yet, as war casts a shadow over the harvest for the fourth consecutive year, farmers remain determined to hold on to their land.

“This land is our identity, it is the passport we carry,” Barakat said. “If we abandon it, we are truly left without an identity.”