Lebanese Return to Devastated Nabatiyeh
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- Nabatiyeh residents returning after the Israel-Hezbollah war that began March 2 found extensive destruction, with Lebanese health officials reporting at least 4,200 people killed and at least one in five victims being women or children
- Mayor Abbas Fakhreddin said the city cannot welcome residents back, citing both the security situation and the absence of basic necessities, with the historic Ottoman-era covered market now largely in rubble
- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in July that Israeli forces demolished more than 15,000 homes in border villages to prevent residents from returning to what Israel calls a "buffer zone"
- Amnesty International investigated the March 31 airstrike that killed the Basma family — parents and four children ages 7 to 16 — finding no apparent military targets nearby and calling it a potential war crime; two children ages 8 and 11 remain under the rubble
- Israeli forces killed at least 130 Lebanese first responders, including 16-year-old Jude Sleiman, son of Nabatiyeh Emergency Medical Services commander Mohammad Sleiman, who died in uniform while delivering food by motorcycle alongside a 23-year-old colleague
- Israeli forces seized crusader-era Beaufort Castle in May and have expanded beyond what Israel describes as a "security zone" in southern Lebanon, according to resident Najib Ayyad, who fled but returned briefly to salvage belongings
- Israel told Amnesty it is investigating the Basma family strike but provided no further information, refused an NPR request for an update, and would not specify what precautions it takes to mitigate civilian harm
Why it matters: With 15,000 border homes demolished to create a buffer zone, 130 first responders killed, and a teen paramedic among the dead, the military campaign's signature is the systematic emptying of southern Lebanon rather than discrete Hezbollah strikes. The destruction forecloses near-term return for displaced families even if a ceasefire holds, and the refusal to detail civilian-mitigation measures undermines Israel's stated proportionality claims.
