On July 17, an Israeli drone strike killed at least one person and injured two others in Lebanon’s Nabatiyeh governorate, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The missile struck a civilian vehicle—part of the Israeli military’s ongoing aerial campaign in southern Lebanon, carried out in defiance of the declared ceasefire. In the past two weeks alone, at least 11 Israeli attacks have targeted towns and villages across the area.
Since a ceasefire with Lebanon was declared last November, Israel has violated it over 3,000 times. As part of that agreement, Israeli forces withdrew from Aita al‑Shaab—a southern border village in Nabatiyeh governorate, just 1,000 meters from multiple Israeli military outposts. But before it did, Israel systematically detonated nearly every home and building in the town. Since the withdrawal, a de facto “no‑rebuild” policy has taken hold: residents attempting to repair roofs or clear rubble are targeted. Drone surveillance, sniper fire, artillery shelling, and air‑to‑ground missile strikes have all been used to enforce this policy. Today, the town is littered with Hezbollah flags and posters of fighters killed while attempting to defend it.
Aita al‑Shaab is one of dozens of villages across the south that have faced near-total destruction at the hands of Israeli forces. Last month, journalist Jeremy Loffredo traveled to Aita al-Shaab for Drop Site News, documenting the ongoing destruction and the atmosphere of terror imposed by Israeli troops who remain stationed on five mountaintop positions inside Lebanese territory, surveilling and targeting civilian communities.
We have a commitment to ensuring that our journalism is not locked behind a paywall. But the only way we can sustain this is through the voluntary support of our community of readers. If you are a free subscriber and you support our work, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription or gifting one to a friend or family member. You can also make a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible donation to support our work. If you do not have the means to support our work financially, you can do your part by sharing our work on social media and by forwarding this email to your network of contacts.