Lebanese search for dead in devastated villages as Israel withdraws

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel would complete its withdrawal from the south on Tuesday to meet a deadline set under a U.S.-backed ceasefire, but that it would temporarily remain in five points needed for its security.

Hezbollah, which was badly pummelled in the war, said Israel was still occupying Lebanese territory and put the onus on the Lebanese state to get Israeli forces out.

In the frontline village of Kfar Kila, barely a building was left standing. "I reached my neighbourhood and I couldn't tell where my house had been," said one resident, Noha Hammoud.

"The entire neighbourhood is destroyed."

Rescue workers had pulled several bodies from the rubble, and had even found two people still alive, she said.

The Lebanese Civil Defense said on Tuesday that 23 bodies were recovered from under rubble in the southern Lebanese villages of Kfar Kila, Mays al-Jabal, Odaisseh and Markaba.

Local sources said those found dead and alive were fighters from Hezbollah, thousands of whom were killed in the war.

Senior Lebanese politician Ali Hassan Khalil, who hails from the south, said hundreds of residents had gone to inspect more than a half dozen villages that became accessible, adding that the Lebanese army was still working to clear roads.

However, Israel's continued occupation left "an open wound", he added.

The conflict, which began when Hezbollah opened fire on Oct. 8, 2023 in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas, displaced tens of thousands of Israelis from northern Israel and more than a million people in Lebanon.

At the Israeli Kibbutz Misgav Am, next to the border with Lebanon, some residents visited and planted trees on Tuesday.

"Although we had to evacuate, our hearts stayed here," said one of the kibbutz members, Daniel Malik. "We really want to come back but there is big uncertainty because we don't know when it will be safe," he said.

Israel sent forces into the south during a major offensive against Hezbollah, the culmination of a year of hostilities ignited by the Gaza war. It inflicted major blows on the Iran-backed group, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah and other top commanders and leaving it dramatically weakened.

'JOY AND SADNESS'

In Yaroun, another frontline village in Lebanon, a woman held a bouquet of spring flowers in one hand and Hezbollah's yellow flag in another as she surveyed the destruction.

Rescue workers pulled at least one body from the rubble.

"Our feeling is a mix of joy and sadness because there are still martyrs we have yet to find," said returning resident Suhaila Daher. "All the destruction can be replaced, thank God, but the martyrs will not return."

The terms of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire required Israel to withdraw and barred Hezbollah from having any military presence in southern Lebanon, where the group enjoys political backing among Shi'ite Muslims. The deal also requires the U.S.-backed Lebanese army to deploy into the border region.

Israel had been due to withdraw by January 26, but this was extended to February 18 after it accused Lebanon of failing to enforce the terms. Lebanon at the time accused Israel of delaying its withdrawal.

Saar said Israel was pulling its troops out despite what he called violations by Hezbollah.

"The most basic violation is the presence of Hezbollah activists south of the Litani River," he said. "Once Lebanon implements its side of the deal, there will be no need to hold these points."

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah, speaking to Reuters in Yaroun, said: "The Israeli enemy is still occupying Lebanese land and this Lebanese land must be liberated and now the primary responsibility falls on the Lebanese state".

The Lebanese presidency, in a statement, said that Lebanon would consider any remaining Israeli presence on Lebanese land an occupation. Lebanon has the right to use any means to ensure an Israeli withdrawal, it added.

The United Nations said despite delays, "tangible progress" had been made since the ceasefire came into force in late November, noting that Israel had withdrawn from population centres in southern Lebanon and the Lebanese army had deployed "in challenging conditions".