Residents of Mansouri in Lebanon watch Israeli drones destroy their village
In the village of Mansouri in southern Lebanon, residents who were forced to leave watch from the neighboring village of Hanniyeh as Israeli drones drop crates of explosives on homes. Asharq Al-Awsat reports.
Groups of men and children gather at an observation point overlooking Mansouri. According to the outlet, this has become a daily ritual for residents who left the village several weeks ago. Large clouds of smoke and dust periodically rise above the village, while people try to determine whose home was destroyed.
Destruction of school and homes
Lebanese state media reported that on the morning of September 11, Israeli forces blew up a local school in Mansouri. The Israeli army did not immediately comment on the demolitions in the village.
Mansouri residents also criticize the Lebanese authorities for their lack of response. Farmer Ali Hussein Ghanem, who grows tobacco and now lives in Hanniyeh with his wife and children, said the state should have protected the village. Beekeeper Wissam Hashabi said residents had lost property, orchards and their livelihoods.
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Ceasefire and displacement
Active fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group eased after a ceasefire was reached in June. At the same time, Israeli forces, according to the outlet, control significant areas of southern Lebanon and regularly carry out controlled demolitions there.
Many Mansouri residents left the village after the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah began in March. They returned after the June ceasefire, but left their homes again when the Israeli army called for evacuation last month and resumed strikes. Israel said at the time that it was responding to Hezbollah's violations of the ceasefire.
At the peak of the war, about 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon. After the ceasefire, most of them returned home, but more than 300,000 people remain displaced. Negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, as well as between the United States and Iran, have reached a deadlock; Lebanese and Israeli officials are expected to hold a new round of talks in Rome later this month.
