BEIRUT (Combined Sources) — The Israeli military is continuing its sustained attacks on Lebanon. It has demolished entire villages as part of its invasion of south Lebanon, rigging homes with explosives and razing them to the ground in massive remote detonations.
The Guardian reviewed three videos posted by the Israeli military and on social media, which showed Israel carrying out mass detonations in the villages of Taybeh, Naqoura and Deir Seryan along the Israel-Lebanon border. Lebanese media has reported more mass detonations in other border villages, but satellite imagery was not readily available to verify these claims.
The demolitions came after Israel’s minister of defense, Israel Katz, called for the destruction of “all houses” in border villages “in accordance with the model used in Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza” to stop threats to communities in northern Israel. The Israeli military destroyed 90 percent of homes in Rafah, in south Gaza.
The tactic of mass destruction of homes in Gaza, where Israel has been accused of committing genocide, was described as domicide by academics, a strategy that is used to systematically destroy and damage civilian housing to render entire areas uninhabitable.
The Israeli military has said they are targeting Hezbollah infrastructure such as tunnels and military facilities, which it claims the armed group has embedded in civilian homes, through these demolitions.
Israel has said that it will occupy vast swathes of south Lebanon, establishing a “security zone” in the entire area up to the Litani River, and that displaced people would not be allowed to return to their homes until the safety of Israel’s northern cities is guaranteed, prompting concern there will be long-term displacement.
