Rubble inside a church in the village of Derdghaya, south Lebanon, more than a month after it was partially destroyed by an Israeli strike, Nov. 29, 2024. (Credit: Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP)
The Habboush municipality (Nabatieh) ordered, in a statement quoted by L'Orient Today's correspondent, displaced Syrians who are not in good standing with the authorities to "no longer return" to the village until further notice. It stressed the need to use the housing for displaced Lebanese who lost theirs in the Israeli bombings. The message is addressed to both Syrian nationals and Lebanese owners who may have rented them housing.
"All displaced Syrians and their families are requested not to return to Habboush, except for workers with legal papers, until a new statement authorizing their return is issued," it read. The municipality also asked owners who rented their houses "to comply with this decision, as there is an urgent need for housing for those whose houses were destroyed." It added that the measure "is binding on everyone, in the public interest, taking into account that the housing is intended for Syrian brothers, but also for individual workers without families, after verification with the municipality."
Around a million people have fled Israeli bombardments that have ravaged entire areas of south Lebanon over the past two months, causing damage and losses worth billions of Lebanese pounds. At least 3,961 people have been killed since Oct. 8, 2023, most since late September.