{"id":1060,"date":"2026-06-24T06:07:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T06:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1060"},"modified":"2026-06-24T06:07:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T06:07:30","slug":"lebanese-on-the-edge-of-israels-occupation-live-with-fear-and-rising-tensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1060","title":{"rendered":"Lebanese on the edge of Israel\u2019s occupation live with fear and rising tensions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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JDEIDAT MARJAYOUN, Lebanon (AP) \u2014 Looking out from a friend\u2019s balcony, Milia el-Cheikh struggled to find her own home in the ruins of her now-deserted village, its entrances strung with barbed wire.<\/p>\n

Read more UN nuclear agency boss signals that inspectors will visit Iran\u2019s nuclear sites<\/a><\/p>\n

Her village of Dibbine is one of several Shiite-majority communities across southern Lebanon<\/span> destroyed by Israeli forces battling the Iran-backed Shiite Hezbollah. Israel has occupied vast areas and fighting has raged through declared ceasefires. The latest truce \u2014 part of the interim peace deal<\/span> between the United States and Iran \u2014 appears to be holding.<\/p>\n

El-Cheikh, one of the few Christians from Dibbine, found shelter in another village but regularly visits Jdeidat Marjayoun, a mostly Christian village next to her hometown, to have coffee with a friend from church. Before the war, it was a comforting ritual. Now it takes place against a backdrop of loss and fear.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t know anything about my house,\u201d she said. \u201cNothing is more agonizing than not being able to get to your home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jdeidat Marjayoun is one of a string of towns and villages visited by The Associated Press on the blurry edge of the Israeli-occupied zone<\/span> of southern Lebanon. The military has pushed out the mostly Shiite population, believing they harbor Hezbollah, and many towns have been demolished.<\/p>\n

Residents of neighboring Christian, Sunni and Druze communities have been allowed to stay, but the conflict has transformed their lives. Their homes have been struck, road closures have isolated them from the rest of Lebanon, and nighttime raids by Israeli troops have terrified residents.<\/p>\n

Israeli warnings against hosting Hezbollah fighters have effectively barred them from taking in displaced Shiites<\/span>, driving a wedge between longtime neighbors and stoking political and sectarian tensions.<\/p>\n

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Lebanon is a linchpin for the Iran deal <\/h2>\n

The latest conflict began when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel days after Israel and the U.S. launched their war on Iran on Feb. 28. Israel invaded Lebanon and has expanded its zone of control up to 12 kilometers (7 miles) deep in places.<\/p>\n

As troops advanced, Israel warned people to leave large areas of southern Lebanon, and in April published a list of 53 towns and villages \u2014 mostly Shiite \u2014 where residents are barred from returning. On Thursday, it added eight more predominantly Shiite villages.<\/p>\n

Israel says its troops will remain in southern Lebanon for self-defense. It says Hezbollah was deeply entrenched and has released videos purporting to show tunnels and other military infrastructure in residential areas.<\/p>\n

Iran says any wider truce must include Lebanon and that Israel must withdraw, while Hezbollah says it will resist occupation. Lebanon\u2019s government has also called on Israel to withdraw.<\/p>\n

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They live in the Israeli military\u2019s shadow<\/h2>\n

Mixed villages and towns on the edge of the security zone, spread over hills and valleys among orchards and olive groves, stand within sight of their devastated neighbors. Residents have vowed to stay. <\/p>\n

The Shiite town of Khiam \u2014 now an empty white swath of flattened buildings controlled by Israel \u2014 can be seen from the Christian village of Qlayaa.<\/p>\n

Qlayaa\u2019s residents are effectively barred from reaching their olive groves in the valley between. \u201cNow another season is lost,\u201d said Hanna Daher, Qlayaa\u2019s mayor.<\/p>\n

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