Monday, September 23, 2024

'Southern Lebanese villages are empty': IDF air campaign spurs mass exodus


'Southern Lebanese villages are empty': IDF air campaign spurs mass exodus



IDF calls on Lebanese residents to leave homes near Hezbollah weapon sites, prompting mass exodus; schools in Beirut, Tripoli and eastern Lebanon truned into shelters; UN reports over 113,000 people displaced before latest attacks.

Thousands of residents in southern Lebanon were seen fleeing their villages and towns toward Beirut and northern regions on Monday, as the IDF launched extensive airstrikes across the country.

The mass evacuation followed an unusual warning from IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, who revealed that Hezbollah operatives had planned to launch a cruise missile from a civilian home in southern Lebanon and urged residents to distance themselves from Hezbollah weaponry.

Hagari’s warning, widely covered by Arab media, stated that Israeli strikes would continue, advising residents to leave areas near Hezbollah assets. “Hezbollah is endangering you,” Hagari said. The Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat headlined, “The Israeli military urges Lebanese residents to avoid Hezbollah positions,” while social media was flooded with images and videos of the exodus from southern Lebanon.
A split-screen broadcast by Saudi Arabia’s Al Hadath TV showed heavy traffic at the southern entrance to Beirut on one side and footage of the intense Israeli airstrikes on the other.
Lebanese Education Minister Abbas Al-Halabi announced that schools in Beirut, Tripoli and other cities would open as shelters for those displaced from the south. “The displacement to Mount Lebanon and Beirut has forced us to open schools as shelters,” Al-Halabi told Qatar’s Al Araby TV.

According to AFP, hundreds of families have fled southern Lebanon following the airstrikes. The dramatic move comes after Lebanese Health Minister Firas Al-Abiad said on Saturday that preparations were underway to accommodate displaced persons should the conflict escalate.

Although the images of evacuation were particularly striking on Monday, residents had already been gradually leaving southern border villages since the start of hostilities.
According to Arab reports, in November 2023, the number of displaced people stood at 29,000, rising to 110,000 by August. The Saudi network Al Arabiya recently reported that “Southern Lebanese villages are empty—113,000 displaced cannot return,” citing a United Nations report stating the number of displaced as of September 6.
The report also noted that nearly a year after the conflict began, residents are unlikely to return anytime soon, and the number of displaced continues to grow each month. Visits to southern Lebanese border villages, even briefly, now require coordination with the Lebanese army, the Red Cross and UNIFIL forces.

In recent weeks, Lebanese media have shown images of residents systematically evacuating belongings from villages like Odaisseh and Meiss El Jabal in southern Lebanon.

Ibrahim, a resident of the town of Kfarkela near the Israeli border, told Al Arabiya last week, “The town is almost empty due to the ongoing fighting. Some residents return only to check on their properties or take a few items, at pre-arranged times and under the escort of the Lebanese army and UNIFIL.”

Ibrahim, who has refused to leave Kfarkela, said that over 500 of the town’s 1,500 homes have been destroyed in the strikes.
Another resident, from the village of Khiam, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “The village is deserted. The destruction is extensive, and it’s impossible to return until the war is completely over.”
Reports from early 2024 indicated that most displaced persons were from the areas of Bint Jbeil, Marjayoun and Tyre in southern Lebanon and had sought refuge in other parts of Tyre, Nabatieh, Sidon, Baabda, Beirut and other locations. The number of displaced has increased since then, with more villages joining the list.
Following Monday's airstrikes and images of the highways, it seems that even those who had insisted on staying in southern Lebanon over the past few months are now changing their minds.


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