
Relatives inspect the destruction in Kfar Kila (Marjayoun), in July 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin)
The municipality of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil) on Wednesday urged its residents not to move around the village or take pictures of buildings to avoid potential Israeli attacks.
“The Israeli enemy is lying in wait for us. Moving around the village and taking pictures is dangerous ... Every time a photo is taken, the enemy burns and blows up what remains of the homes,” the municipality said in a statement. “After several residents have been intimidated or assaulted, we ask you not to go to the village until authorization is granted by the security forces and the Lebanese army.”
On Tuesday, a statement signed by local villagers urged residents “not to head to the village and to take precautions” following “the entry of Israeli tanks at dawn” into the area, where the Lebanese army was supposed to be deployed.
The president of the municipality, Salim Mourad, confirmed to L'Orient Today that the Lebanese army had entered the village on Wednesday morning to carry out road-clearing work.
"This morning, the army opened several roads inside the village that had been blocked by the Israeli army with mounds of earth and obstacles," he said, noting that the army had not yet deployed to their positions on the outskirts of Aitaroun due to the presence of the Israeli army.
Mourad reiterated the warning to residents not to return to the village, as the situation there remains "dangerous." Israeli soldiers carried out new detonations of houses on Tuesday in the village, as they do daily in many border villages that remain occupied since the cease-fire in Lebanon came into effect.
“Bulldozers have cut roads with sand mounds, while soldiers have thrown stun grenades and fired automatic weapons inside the village,” the statement said.
Despite a 60-day cease-fire adopted on Nov. 27, 2024, between Hezbollah and Israel, after a conflict lasting over a year, the Israeli army continues to blow up homes in southern Lebanon, conduct operations and occupy part of the territory.