Lebanese villagers return to find homes in ruins

Abed Hachem rebuilt his home when it was damaged in a ​conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2024, but is at a loss ‌now that most of his village has been destroyed in Israel’s latest round of strikes. Where his house once stood in Qlaileh is now rubble; where his garden bloomed, dust, with more dust covering the toys and furniture strewn around ​the remains of his living room. “Oh dear… Oh God. There was a building here… here… ​there was a building here,” the 46-year-old father of three said as he ⁠pointed to the husks of buildings that once housed his neighbors. The spire of the local mosque ​is one of few structures still standing. A woman returning to her village after displacement by the war smiles as she holds a box salvaged from her neighbour’s house, which was destroyed by an Israeli strike, in Qlaileh, Tyre district, southern Lebanon. — Reuters The latest round of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel erupted on ​March 2. Israel carried out air strikes and a ground invasion that occupied parts of southern Lebanon. More than 3,900 people have been killed, ​and 1.2 million people have been displaced, with Israel’s forced evacuation orders emptying entire villages in southern ​Lebanon. Israel claims its campaign was aimed at Hezbollah’s forces and military infrastructure. Now, as people like Hachem return to their ‌homes ⁠and try to stitch their lives back together, they are reckoning with the heartbreak of seeing their communities wiped out. “The whole village is destroyed. My house is destroyed. The village is destroyed. Where are we supposed to go now?” he said. “There is nothing left. A lifetime’s work is all gone.” A view of a house and a shop which were damaged by an Israeli strike, in Qlaileh in the Tyre district, southern Lebanon. — Reuters His neighbor, ​a man Hachem saw as ​a brother, and ⁠with whom he shared a cup of tea every morning, has been killed, along with his son. “They have nothing to do with political parties, nothing to ​do with weapon