‘If we leave it will be wiped out’: The residents staying south of the Litani amid Israel’s invasion

Nearly 30,000 people fled south Lebanon in the first moments after Hezbollah launched rockets over the border at the beginning of March. They had only a matter of hours before the Israeli military would issue sweeping evacuation orders for the southern villages; reigniting a war many felt never truly left their lands. Most of the tens of thousands who left were from Shia-majority areas. Since then, Israeli troops have pushed as deep as six kilometers into Lebanese land, clashing with Hezbollah forces who are now keeping the incursion at bay and preventing Israeli invaders from consolidating their attempted advances across multiple sites on the slopes of the southern front. As the fighting has spread, the Shia population has been almost completely displaced from the area south of the Litani River, with their towns along the border suffering the heaviest damage. But in pockets just a short distance away from the fighting, some villagers have refused to leave. These towns and villages are Christian, Druze and Sunni-majority areas. A month into the war — which has killed more than 1,400 people and injured over 4,000 — staying in these villages has become increasingly difficult even for those comparatively sheltered from the fighting. Roads are dangerous, airstrikes rain down on the surrounding hills and the threat of random or targeted attacks is ever-present. Some face the nearby threat of Israel’s advancing forces, especially Debel — which lies in the route of Israeli forces seeking to encircle the town of Bint Jbeil — where around 1,600 residents are stranded without access to fresh food in the face of the oncoming troops. Residents of these areas who spoke to Mada Masr last week about living in the shadow of war all voiced the same fear: “If we leave, our villages might be completely destroyed.” For this reason, municipalities across these border areas are calling on their people to remain steadfast while doing their best to provide access to basic necessities — water, electricity, medication, and food. Each village, depending on its location, faces unique restrictions. *** Kfarshouba landscape, 14 June 2025 , source: Kfarshouba baladna Facebook page., 14 June 2025 , source: Kfarshouba baladna Facebook page. In Kfarshouba, a Sunni-majority village perched on the southeastern edge of southern Lebanon, the land rises sharply in the direction of the slopes of the Shebaa. Terraced hills stretch into rocky highlands, while open fields shift with the seasons. Some 130 families are still holding on, Nazih Yehia, a municipal council member in Kfarshouba, tells Mada Masr. Lying in the Hasbaya District of the eastern sector, Kfarshouba still has relatively safe routes for people to navigate within the village or further to Hasbaya, a Druze-majority town a few kilometers deeper into the mountains that has so far not been directly approached by Israeli forces. While access is dangerous to the west, where clashes in the town of Khiam have raged on for weeks, Hasbaya serves as a main source of essential goods, medical supplies, food and produce for the Arkoub region, which includes the villages of Kfarhamam, Shebaa, Rashaya al-Foukhar and Kfarshouba. But while Kfarshouba’s residents are able to move freely, Israeli forces still regularly raid houses in the village, forcing entry, damaging property and even abducting residents. Earlier this week, the Israeli army warned both the Kfarchouba mayor and the mukhtar of nearby Hbariyeh: “Do not allow Hezbollah or [non-sectarian force] the Lebanese Resistance Brigades to enter the town, or you will be displaced.” As a result, many border villages hosting Shia residents displaced from other towns have made them leave, fearing their presence might provoke Israeli attacks. “There is definitely fear of what Israel can do to our people,” Yehia says. “But if they see that there is nothing that poses a threat, like armed groups, the village might not be a target.” Life in the village continues but in the shadow of war. Even if shops are open, few customers come. Daily sounds of bombs, missile fire and gunshots leave little space for ordinary life, even when attacks are not directed at the villagers themselves. Israeli airstrikes have also left the people of Kfarshouba and Shebaa largely without work. Most residents rely on shepherding and farming, activities now nearly impossible as Israel targets any movement it deems suspicious, especially on the village outskirts where shepherds have traditionally grazed their herds and which are constantly under Israeli bombardment. But even as conditions grow more perilous and terrifying, the families fear the consequences of leaving. Debel during good Friday, “If the village is taken this time, it might never return,” Yehia says. George Younis, Debel’s municipality media officer, a Christian-majority village that lies in the central sector of south Lebanon tells Mada Masr almost exactly the same thing. “If we leave, we know it will be completely wiped out,” Younis says, explaining why around 1,600 residents have remained in the village, even as Israeli forces completely encircle and besiege the area. Debel sits at a slightly high elevation, making it a vantage point over the surrounding valleys and farmland that stretch toward the Israeli border. Its rolling hills, low rocky ridges, cultivated terraces and mountainous terrain make it militarily advantageous, Younis says. Israeli forces are currently trying to push into Lebanese territory from several axes, including the nearby villages of Beit Lif, Qaouzah and Rashaf, as they seek to reach the strategically significant town of Bint Jbeil. They have been met with fierce resistance from Hezbollah fighters. In Debel, Israelis are positioned on the outskirts of the village, which covers around 13 square kilometers. They are taking more than half of the land, according to Younis. The residents remaining are concentrated in the village center, unable to move. No one can enter or leave. “We are doing everything we can as a municipality, reaching out to every official we can to try and ensure some kind of protection for our village,” says Younis. Village officials present outside the area met with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Beirut and  Lebanese Forces Party leader Samir Geagea in Kesrewan at the beginning of the month. “We are also trying to plead our case with the American Embassy [in Beirut], hoping it can have the most influence,” he adds. Time, however, is not on the side of Debel’s residents. After being positioned on the outskirts for two weeks, Israeli forces blew up 11 houses on April 1, shocking the villagers. “We didn’t receive any warning or any message telling us to evacuate, so why are they blowing up our houses? We don’t understand,” Younis says. He describes the Israelis advancing from the outskirts of Debel to encircle and move beyond it, rather than encroaching directly toward the village center. Still, their movement increasingly restricts the villagers’ mobility. Gas stations are all on the outskirts, leaving residents unable to fuel their cars. Vegetables, meat and poultry are no longer available, forcing people to rely on non-perishables and aid supplies. Nuns of the Saydet Lubnan Monastery in Rmeish. Residents also used to rely on hospitals and medical centers in nearby Rmeish, which are now inaccessible. Without the Lebanese military or any visible state authority, locals worry about who can help in an emergency. The LAF withdrew entirely from the village on March 25, despite persistent efforts and calls from the municipality and residents. The only aid reaching the village has come through the International Red Cross, which coordinated with the International Monitoring and Implementation Mechanism tasked with monitoring the pre-war ceasefire to provide medicine and food. But even this support is uncertain as Israeli attacks become more unpredictable. “The water wells are also on the outskirts, and we have no way of reaching them. We are trying to coordinate with UNIFIL [United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon] to get them operational for the people of the village,” Younis says. In the meantime, residents are rationing water, sharing among themselves to make do. There is also a severe lack of internet and mobile connectivity, preventing students from attending online classes and making communication increasingly difficult. In the western sector, in Rmeish, a predominantly Christian village former municipal head Milad Alam coordinated with Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahy to ensure the military would remain present. The army left its checkpoints, but 50 soldiers remain inside the village’s military healthcare clinic. “We have always called for state authority and protection from the state,” Alam tells Mada Masr . describing the situation as precarious. Rmeish has a large population, and residents rely on aid from organizations such as Caritas and the Order of Malta for medication. Rmeish is one of the few border villages whose residents have not evacuated since the start of the October 7 war in 2023. But this time, Israeli forces are slowly advancing from Debel, which lies to Rmeish’s northwest. “Our primary demand at the moment is to ensure safe passage through the International Red Cross,” Alam tells Mada Masr, in case residents need to evacuate or move in an emergency. On March 28, the Occupation army targeted a civilian vehicle traveling from Rmeish to Debel, killing two civilians , George Saeed and his son. Many point to the presence of soldiers from the Lebanese army as the key factor sustaining the villagers’ morale as they strive to stay. However, the LAF has withdrawn from stations across the border area, either relocating inside the villages or leaving completely. A Lebanese government official previously told Mada Masr that once Lebanon was notified by the American side that Israel was conducting a ground incursion into Lebanon, Cabinet members gathered to discuss the evacuation of army positions on the frontlines to spare Lebanese soldiers a direct confrontation with the Israeli army, “especially since they lack the necessary weaponry for such a confrontation.” Back in the eastern sector, in Kfarshouba and Shebaa, the army left the border posts but moved closer to the interior of the villages. “The presence of the army definitely makes us feel less afraid and alone,” Khedr Zahra from Shebaa tells Mada Masr, although he is fully aware that Israeli forces continue to target and kill Lebanese soldiers, soldiers in the United Nations peacekeeping force and residents of all sects and backgrounds. On March 30, Israeli attacks killed three United Nations peacekeepers from Indonesia in two separate incidents. But nonetheless, and aware that they themselves are potential targets, the people of Shebaa and Kfarshouba remain vigilant, monitoring the presence of militants from any armed groups to try and make sure their villages stay outside of the war. “All the armed individuals that we had either were killed in combat in the last war or have left. We don’t have anyone now,” Zahra says. Although Hezbollah fighters are not present in these villages, nor do locals host displaced residents from neighboring Shia communities, the villages remain targeted by Israeli invaders. Displaced Shia communities have faced discrimination and hardship while trying to find shelter elsewhere in Lebanon, as locals fear their presence could trigger attacks. Yet in the first month of the war, Israel has struck indiscriminately , targeting medical workers, journalists, Lebanese military and internal security personnel , farmers, men, women and children from all sects and backgrounds . As Israel broadens its attempts to advance — from the eastern sector through Khiam, Qantara and Deir Siryan, the central sector through Ainata, Qaouzah, Beit Lif and the coastal sector from Bayyada Shamaa and Naqoura — residents of these villages endure the most difficult circumstances. They appeal to the Lebanese government, but all describe an all but complete absence of state authorities. Disarmed and vulnerable, these residents are relying on their faith and love for their land as they try, in their own way, to defend it. In the words of Milad Alam from Rmeish: “They would rather die than leave their land.” The post ‘If we leave it will be wiped out’: The residents staying south of the Litani amid Israel’s invasion first appeared on Mada Masr .