Israeli demolitions in the border village of Halta (Hasbaya). (Credit: Photo provided by our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah)
SOUTH LEBANON — The bodies of two young men reported missing in southern Lebanon, Fadl Abbas al-Roumi and Ali Mustafa Fawaz, were found Wednesday near the La Feta area of Nabatieh Fawqa, after their families lost all contact with them on Tuesday. Joint teams from the Lebanese Red Cross and the Lebanese Army recovered their bodies from an area between Zawtar Sharqieh and Mayfadoun, near Nabatieh Fawqa, our regional correspondent reported.
The municipality of Ghassanieh, in the Saida district, had reported the two young men missing earlier in the day, announcing in the late afternoon that joint Red Cross and army teams were heading to the Farah amusement park in Nabatieh Fawqa to continue the search.
Earlier in the day, rumors circulated that the two missing men had been found and were in the custody of Lebanese intelligence services. The municipality denied the reports, saying it hoped they would soon return home to their families, and called on “residents of the town, as well as those across the South, to exercise the utmost caution and refrain from going to areas of tension for their own safety.”
Our correspondent reports that the two young men, who were from Ghassanieh, had gone on Tuesday to take photos of Nabatieh Fawqa to post on social media and send to friends before their families lost all contact with them. They appear to have ventured too close to Nabatieh Fawqa and were targeted by the Israeli army. According to several residents of the village, the two men, aged between 17 and 18, were not affiliated with any known political party. Fadl al-Roumi was pursuing vocational training, while Ali Fawaz worked as a street vendor selling household goods.
The disappearance of Roumi and Fawaz came a day before the Israeli army abducted two residents of Halta for questioning. Israeli soldiers infiltrated Halta (Hasbaya district) at dawn Wednesday, abducting two residents for questioning and detaining one of them before imposing a brief curfew in the border village. The troops have since withdrawn, according to our correspondent.
Heavy gunfire and demolition
In Halta, a hamlet attached to the municipality of Kfar Shuba, an Israeli unit entered the locality under cover of intense machine-gun fire. Several men from the village were abducted for interrogation, similar to what happened during a previous Israeli army infiltration at the beginning of the month.
Israeli forces subsequently carried out demolitions to destroy two houses on the outskirts of the village. They had previously dismantled internet equipment and solar panels installed on rooftops, then conducted bulldozing earthworks and uprooted olive trees in the same area. A curfew was also imposed in the village, with residents forbidden to leave their homes.
These new incidents in Halta have prompted residents to issue a call for help, asking the Lebanese authorities, the Lebanese Army, UNIFIL peacekeepers, and the Lebanese Red Cross to intervene, as Israeli troops are still present in this (predominantly Sunni) locality, our correspondent adds.
New explosions in Mansouri
Elsewhere in the South, the Israeli army continued Wednesday afternoon the demolition operations it had begun at dawn. Three explosions were heard in Mansouri (Sour), while another very powerful blast was heard in Tiri (Bint Jbeil).
At dawn, explosions had targeted an area between Braasheet and Beit Yahoun (Bint Jbeil), as well as Mansouri, which was again hit by several powerful blasts overnight before coming under renewed artillery fire.
Split in two by the “Yellow Line,” which marks the areas occupied by Israel in southern Lebanon, the coastal village of Mansouri, south of Sour, has been subjected to systematic destruction by Israeli forces for several weeks, with daily bombardments and demolition operations.
Israeli artillery fire also targeted Kfar Tibnit (Nabatieh) several times, as well as the outskirts of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun), while a Merkava tank fired several shells toward the Wadi Slouqi valley, another border of the "buffer zone." Machine-gun fire was also reported in Zawtar Sharqieh (Nabatieh) and surrounding areas.
Despite the "cease-fire" announced on June 29 in Lebanon, Israel continues to bomb, destroy homes and infrastructure, uproot olive trees, and set lands on fire across the South on a daily basis. It currently occupies more than 600 square kilometers of Lebanese territory along the southern border.
According to a Tuesday summary of Israeli attacks provided by our correspondent, Israel targeted five locations in southern Lebanon with airstrikes, thirteen villages with artillery fire, and conducted demolition operations in four locations.
In its latest official toll, the Health Ministry reported that Israel has killed at least 4,383 people and injured 12,406 others since March 2.
Reporting was contributed by our correspondent in southern Lebanon, Muntasser Abdallah.
