Israel's border violations are preventing many Lebanese from going home

For Fatma, a resident of Lebanon's southern border village of Aitaroun, home remains a farfetched dream. Thousands of displaced Lebanese people have returned to their villages amid a 60-day ceasefire with Israel. But more than one month on, Fatma remains displaced, and her nearly one-year-old daughter has still never seen her family's home.

"We tried to go back to Aitaroun within the first days of the ceasefire, but we were fired upon by Israeli forces camped there," the 26-year-old told TRT World, asking to be referred to by her first name only for security reasons. "We had no choice but to turn back, and we haven't been able to return since" out of fear, she added.

More than 500,000 Lebanese people rushed to their villages and homes in the south of the country within hours of the November 27 ceasefire, which Israel reached with the Lebanese military group Hezbollah.

Within three days, more than half the displacement centres set up to accommodate those who fled the violence were shut, according to the International Organisation of Migration (IOM). Families, eager to pick up the pieces after a year-long war, ignored warnings against returning home so soon.

But Fatma and her family of four, currently living in a flat in Beirut, are among the 123,744 Lebanese people who remain displaced as a result of continued Israeli aggression on Lebanese territories. The US-brokered truce called for a halt to all military operations from both sides, stipulating that Israel would withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon within 60 days. By the end of that period, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) troops were to replace Israeli soldiers, followed by the deployment of the Lebanese army to restore sovereignty over the region. Meanwhile, Hezbollah fighters agreed to withdraw to behind the Latani River.

However, the reality on the ground paints a very different picture.

Broken resolutions

UNIFIL has repeatedly expressed concerns over continued Israeli violations. On Dec 26, the UN agency said in a statement that "there is concern at continuing destruction by the (Israeli soldiers) in residential areas, agricultural land, and road networks in south Lebanon," adding that "this is in violation of resolution 1701," a 2006 UN resolution that governs the relationship between Hezbollah and Israel.

More recently, UNIFIL said in a statement on January 4 that its peacekeepers witnessed a bulldozer by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) destroying a blue barrel marking the line of withdrawal between Lebanon and Israel, along with an observation tower belonging to the Lebanese Armed Forces.

The tower was located beside a UNIFIL position in Labbouneh. "The IDF's deliberate and direct destruction of both clearly identifiable UNIFIL property and infrastructure belonging to the Lebanese Armed Forces is a flagrant violation of resolution 1701 and international law," said the statement.

Such violations, along with reports carried by multiple Hebrew media outlets, including Yedioth Ahronoth, which quote Israeli military sources as suggesting that Israel does not view the date for withdrawal as "sacred," worry Fatma the most.

"We were among the first to flee our homes, and are the last ones to go back," said Fatma, recalling how they left everything behind in Aitaroun on October 9, 2023.

"That is, if we ever get to go back. We know nothing of what happened to our houses and affairs there, especially as the bombings and destruction continue,” she added.

Incomplete ceasefire

Similarly, 28-year-old Ibrahim al-Hajj said he was unable to approach the edges of his hometown of Kfar Kila, in the southern borders, as a result of the heavy Israeli presence there and the wide destruction there.

"The news we hear is frightening. Some say Israel plans to create a buffer zone, isolating our town and keeping it under occupation. Even if that's not true, the destruction here is so severe that our town has become uninhabitable," the government employee said.

Lebanon's news agency has reported various incidents of Israeli aggression and violations of the truce in multiple villages. On December 27, the National News Agency (NNA) reported that UNIFIL and Lebanese Red Cross members found that a 75-year-old woman was killed by gunfire in her home in the border village of Yaroun, even though she had not left her home throughout the war.

The agency also reported incidents of the Israeli flags being raised on Lebanese soil and the erection of sand barriers.

According to reports, Israel committed more than 800 aerial and ground violations to the truce between November 27 and December 22.

"We could not even get close to our homes, because Israeli forces are still controlling the area and continuing their barbaric practices," al-Hajj said.

Resolute villagers

Hussein Jaafar, the deputy mayor of Yaroun, told TRT World that a significant number of the village's residents are worried that Israeli forces may not withdraw as promised. "There is a growing sense of uncertainty about whether Israel will leave at all. We are worried that this ceasefire is just a way to buy time, not a real path to peace," Jaafar said.

However, he emphasised that despite the ongoing bombardments, the people of his town remain resolute. "We refuse to leave our land. The enemy may occupy our land, but we will never abandon it. We will fight to protect our homes."

"Lebanon is today undergoing a new type of experience, an experience based on the extent of the ability of the Lebanese state, the Lebanese army, and the international umbrella that sponsored the agreement to control the Israelis and prevent them from penetrating. "In the event of failure, the state will become concerned with searching for solutions, and one of the most prominent solutions that will be put forward directly is resistance," he said.

For Fatma, however, the prospect of a prolonged displacement remains her worst nightmare. "My infant has experienced nothing but displacement, uncertainty and war," she said sadly.

This piece was published in collaboration with Egab.