Lebanon on the First Days of the Truce: Israeli Violations, Victims Under Rubble, and War Remnants Haunting Returnees

The first hours of the ceasefire agreement coming into effect in Lebanon witnessed escalating field tensions. Official sources reported the martyrdom of a boy and the injury of another due to the explosion of remnants from the Israeli army in the town of Majdal Zoun, in the Marjayoun district. This incident highlights the grave dangers facing displaced people returning to their villages amidst the spread of mines and unexploded ordnance.

In a clear violation of the ten-day truce announced by US President Donald Trump, Israeli occupation artillery and machine guns targeted an ambulance team belonging to the Islamic Health Authority in the town of Konin, in the Tyre district. This assault resulted in varying injuries among the paramedics, hindering humanitarian efforts aimed at providing urgent medical assistance in the affected areas.

For its part, the Lebanese Army officially announced monitoring a series of Israeli violations that affected several towns and villages in South Lebanon since midnight Thursday/Friday. A military statement clarified that Israeli forces carried out intermittent shelling operations, in addition to engineering activities that included booby-trapping and demolishing residential buildings in the border town of Khiam.

The Lebanese Army command reiterated its warnings to citizens about the necessity of exercising caution when returning to villages and towns located on the front lines, emphasizing that the area is still not entirely safe. Military units deployed in the south urged residents to fully adhere to their directives and avoid approaching sites that witnessed intense military operations to preserve their lives.

In the town of Khiam, local sources reported that the Israeli army carried out extensive booby-trapping and demolition operations of buildings, in a move aimed at changing the field landscape before a full withdrawal. The town of Deirmimas also came under artillery shelling before the truce came into effect, causing widespread fires in homes and properties before civil defense teams brought them under control.

On the humanitarian front, the head of the Lebanese Red Cross, Antoine Zoghbi, affirmed that relief teams prioritize extracting victims from under the rubble at this stage. Zoghbi indicated that assessing the total extent of the damage requires extensive coordination between various official and international bodies to ensure an effective response to the increasing needs.

Zoghbi pointed out that the Red Cross is currently working to identify the victims who have been transferred to morgues, in preparation for handing them over to their families. He warned that the humanitarian aid currently reaching Lebanon covers only 30% of the actual needs of the affected and displaced populations, portending a severe living and health crisis.

In the city of Tyre, civil defense revealed the presence of more than 12 martyrs still under the rubble of destroyed buildings in the surrounding villages, where rescue teams face logistical difficulties in reaching them. Field sources confirmed that work is ongoing without interruption to extract the bodies, despite continuous security threats and violations that hinder the movement of heavy machinery.

These field developments come amidst international anticipation of the parties' commitment to the ceasefire agreement, which aims to end an aggression that has left thousands of martyrs and wounded since October 2023. Observers believe that the repeated Israeli violations in the first hours put the agreement to a real test, especially with the continued systematic demolition and destruction operations in border villages.

Displaced Lebanese are living in a state of anticipation and anxiety between the desire to quickly return to their homes and military warnings of mines and shelling. Diplomatic efforts continue to strengthen the stability of the temporary truce and transform it into a permanent cessation of hostilities, while medical and relief teams race against time to extract victims and treat the wounded in complex field conditions.

The current priority is to extract victims from under the rubble, and work is underway to identify those in morgues.