As Israel resumed airstrikes and issued evacuation orders in southern Lebanon, residents in the area voiced anger and despair amid ongoing negotiations between Lebanese and Israeli officials.
For families forced to flee their homes, the latest round of strikes on Thursday, which wounded at least eight people, was evidence that the June ceasefire agreement could not shield them from Israeli military actions. The Israeli army triggered a new wave of panic by issuing a forced evacuation order for the town of Mansouri on Wednesday, marking the first displacement directive in weeks.
"Mansouri is not in the Israeli-occupied zone," Yousef Shehemi, mayor of the neighboring town of Majdal Zoun, told Al Jazeera. "But Israel has no red lines—they target wherever they want. They have never respected any ceasefire agreement."
Families from Mansouri who fled remained gathered on the outskirts of the town on Thursday, waiting for word that it was safe to return. Anger swelled as residents watched Israeli forces demolish homes and burn farmland, with many expressing little faith that ongoing talks between Beirut and Israel would secure their safety upon return.
Abu Rached, a resident of Majdal Zoun, said the destruction had drawn no response from Lebanese officials. "Don't you see what they have done to southern Lebanon? They are destroying it, displacing people—even the Lebanese army cannot stay in Mansouri," he told Al Jazeera. "Where are the officials?"
Lebanese and Israeli representatives met in Rome earlier this week for another round of talks, after the two governments signed a "framework" aimed at securing Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon once Hezbollah disarms. Hezbollah, which is not participating in the current negotiations, has publicly rejected the deal.
The agreement also proposed "pilot zones" where Israel would withdraw and the Lebanese army would enter to ensure no weapons remain outside state control, allowing displaced residents to return. But so far, the deal has not led to any significant Israeli withdrawal in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military has systematically razed villages in southern Lebanon, demolishing buildings and burning olive groves—an action critics say amounts to an ethnic cleansing campaign. The area had seen relative calm in previous months. Fighting resumed this week after an explosive device killed two Israeli soldiers, though it was unclear whether the device was planted before or after the ceasefire. Hezbollah did not claim responsibility for the attack.
Israeli strikes were concentrated in Mansouri but not limited to it. Further north, in Burj al-Shemali, an Israeli airstrike hit a civilian home, marking the first attack on the town since the ceasefire took effect in June. Almaza Hazim, a resident, described to Al Jazeera the chaos as she tried to help a neighboring family affected by the blast.
"Our neighbors screamed from the explosion. We ran to help—some were injured—before another airstrike destroyed the house," Hazim said.
