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Lebanon decries Israeli demolition of homes in areas occupied after ceasefire
UN peacekeepers say demolitions have been observed in several areas as Lebanon seeks a truce extension and warns displaced residents may have nowhere to return.
On Thursday, Lebanese officials will raise widespread demolitions in southern Lebanon during ceasefire talks with Israeli counterparts in Washington, as President Joseph Aoun seeks to halt destruction affecting displaced residents.
In areas of southern Lebanon occupied since the ceasefire, the Israeli army has been destroying homes it claims were used as outposts by Hezbollah, asserting it operates under international law to target infrastructure.
UNIFIL spokesperson Tilak Pokharel said peacekeepers "have observed demolitions taking place in several areas," while photographs show bulldozers flattening neighborhoods in villages such as Beit Lif and Khiam.
Widespread destruction prevents displaced residents from returning, deepening a humanitarian crisis, while Hezbollah has justified recent attacks by pointing to the Israeli military's destruction of houses.
Israeli officials have issued maps of a "forward defense line" extending several miles into Lebanon, encompassing dozens of villages where residents are not allowed to return.
Thousands of southern Lebanese displaced by war try to return home in the early hours of the ceasefire. Hezbollah warns that its militia “keep their finger on the trigger”
Consider This from NPR reports from a southern Lebanon village as residents return during a fragile ceasefire amid advancing Israeli forces and ongoing demolitions