In the Lebanese border village of Houla, 55-year-old Fidaa Fawaz wakes each morning to the same haunting sight: Israeli rifles aimed in her direction from positions less than 700 meters away, according to Xinhua.
"Half my house is gone," she says. "We can't walk far -- there are landmines, and Israeli soldiers point their guns at us without warning. Houla used to be vibrant; now it's silent and anxious."
Two years after the war with Israel, devastation and military control have transformed Lebanon's southern border. Official data show that more than 30 towns and villages were almost completely destroyed, while about 100,000 residents fled northward to safer places.
The change is visible from the first stretch of road south of Marjayoun in southern Lebanon. Asphalt turns to gravel and then to mud, scattered with shell fragments. Formerly bustling routes are now carved open by craters and bulldozed barriers. Houses stand in ruins -- some erased from the map entirely, others clinging on as hollow shells.
A World Bank report released in March 2025 estimated that the year-long conflict between Hezbollah and Israel destroyed around 45,000 housing units and generated between 20 and 35 million tons of rubble across southern Lebanon. The report estimated that recovery and reconstruction needs would total around $11 billion.
According to Lebanese military sources, Israel now controls a border strip of roughly 850 square kilometers, stretching from the Shebaa Farms in the east to Naqoura in the west. Israeli forces have drawn new "red lines" around multiple villages, barring residents from approaching or crossing certain zones. Main roads connecting the communities have been destroyed, cutting off access and deepening isolation.
The affected villages -- Kafr Kila, Adaisseh, Houla, Markaba, Rmeish, Mays al-Jabal, and others in the eastern sector -- have seen their boundaries and terrain transformed. "The Israeli military presence on five strategic hills, along with other occupied areas, has entirely changed the border map," one Lebanese officer told Xinhua. "Areas once filled with life have turned into military zones under surveillance and control."
In Kafr Kila, 30-year-old Adel Sheet tries to adapt to a life stripped of its essentials. "Daily life has become almost impossible," he says. "There's no electricity, and water arrives by tankers at prices most families can't afford. Agriculture, which was the region's lifeline, has nearly vanished. Fields were destroyed, and large tracts of land were bulldozed."
He looks across the hills where his family once planted tobacco. "The markets are closed, jobs are gone, young people are leaving for the cities, and unemployment has skyrocketed. Poverty has become our daily reality."
Further west, in Aita al-Shaab, destruction reaches 85 percent, according to local estimates. Layla Choukeir, 22, surveys what remains of her home. "I was born here, but I don't know if I'll stay," she admits. "There's no work, no school, no electricity. We live as if cut off from the world. Even the roads that connected us to other villages have been bulldozed. We feel trapped. My heart belongs here, but my future may be elsewhere."
The war's impact stretches far beyond the border. Cities like Tyre, Sidon, and Nabatieh have absorbed thousands of displaced families, straining an already fragile economy. According to Internal Security Forces data, schools are overcrowded with displaced students, and hospitals are struggling to serve rising numbers of patients with limited resources.
Since Nov. 27, 2024, a U.S.- and French-brokered ceasefire has largely held between Israel and Hezbollah, ending months of cross-border clashes linked to the Gaza war that broke out in October 2023. But Israel has continued periodic strikes in Lebanon, saying they target Hezbollah threats, while maintaining forces at five main positions along the Lebanese border.
On Wednesday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun again called for Israel to withdraw from the occupied Lebanese territories.
"Without Israel's withdrawal and an end to its daily aggressions, the situation will remain unstable, and the army's plan to ensure that weapons are held exclusively by legitimate security forces will face serious obstacles," Aoun said during a meeting with a European Union official in Beirut.
MNA
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