Israel’s military has imposed a curfew and created a no-go zone where villagers are prohibited from going home to villages across southern Lebanon. NPR speaks to residents inside.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
One week ago tonight, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire. There was jubilation, but in the days that followed, there has also been violence. Israel has continued to fire at what it says are Hezbollah fighters. Both sides accuse the other of violating the truce. And to many residents in Southern Lebanon, this doesn’t feel like a ceasefire. Jawad Rizkallah reports from Beirut.
JAWAD RIZKALLAH, BYLINE: Late last month, before a ceasefire took effect, I reached Pierre Atallah in his village of Rachaya Al-Foukhar, about three miles from Lebanon’s border with Israel.
PIERRE ATALLAH: (Speaking Arabic).
JAWAD RIZKALLAH: He described seeing a cloud of dust rising as Israeli military vehicles invaded hilltop towns all around, in the distance, some of the fiercest battles of this war – the constant pounding of airstrikes, thousands of people killed, whole villages destroyed. Now that there’s a ceasefire, I called him back, expecting to hear relief, but he expressed only fear.
ATALLAH: (Speaking Arabic).
JAWAD RIZKALLAH: His village is in a zone where Israeli troops are still operating. The deal gave them 60 days to withdraw. They’ve imposed a 5 p.m. curfew on villagers. Artillery booms still ring out.
ATALLAH: (Speaking Arabic).
JAWAD RIZKALLAH: “We’re feeling optimism, pessimism and caution are all intertwined,” he says.
Israel has continued to hit Lebanon with airstrikes, artillery or gunfire every day since the ceasefire took effect. In each case, it says it’s detected Hezbollah activity and is acting to enforce the truce, not break it. Last night Hezbollah responded by firing into an Israeli-controlled area, and Israel unleashed its biggest barrage since the ceasefire came into effect. One of those airstrikes hit Tallousa – part of a no-go zone where Israel says people put themselves in danger if they go home. Ali Termos is a municipal official there.
ALI TERMOS: (Speaking Arabic).
JAWAD RIZKALLAH: (Speaking Arabic).
TERMOS: (Speaking Arabic).
JAWAD RIZKALLAH: Termos says four people were killed by an airstrike after entering the village on foot. An official with the United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon says they’ve counted around 100 ceasefire violations – two originating in Lebanon and the rest by Israel. The official asked not to be named because peacekeepers have yet to release an official count. In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matt Miller says he believes the truce is still holding.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MATT MILLER: If we do see violations of the ceasefire, we’ll go to the parties and tell him to knock it off. We want to see the ceasefire hold. We want to see it be successful. We want to see people be able to return to their homes in Southern Lebanon and Northern Israel.
JAWAD RIZKALLAH: In Northern Israel, many say they still don’t feel safe and are not returning home yet. In Southern Lebanon, many have and have then been fired upon. But Nader Abu Sari has not been able to go home.
NADER ABU SARI: (Speaking Arabic).
JAWAD RIZKALLAH: Every morning, an Israeli military spokesperson has been tweeting out a list of villages where those have been displaced are prohibited from returning. Abu Sari’s village of Al-Dhaira has been on the list every day.
ABU SARI: (Speaking Arabic).
JAWAD RIZKALLAH: He says, “the Lebanese Army has set up a checkpoint to keep civilians away from the no-go zone Israel has delineated. So we’re stuck sheltering in a school in another city, waiting, with 30 other families.”
He says the Lebanese Army promised they’ll be able to go home soon. But when I asked him whether he trusts that promise…
(Speaking Arabic)?
ABU SARI: (Speaking Arabic).
JAWAD RIZKALLAH: …He said, “honestly, no.”
The Lebanese Army has largely been on the sidelines of this conflict, even though dozens of its soldiers have been killed by Israel. Now it’s tasked with playing a critical role – deploying south and disarming Hezbollah there. Today Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz inspected troops on the Israeli side and issued a threat.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ISRAEL KATZ: (Speaking Hebrew).
JAWAD RIZKALLAH: “If the Lebanese Army does not dismantle all Hezbollah infrastructure in Southern Lebanon, it, too, will become a target,” he said, “along with the rest of the country.”
For NPR News, I’m Jawad Rizkallah in Beirut.
Copyright © 2024 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
Yorumlar kapalı.