Displaced Lebanese residents returned to Nabatieh on Sunday to inspect homes and businesses damaged by months of Israeli airstrikes [1, 2].
The return follows an order from Israel to halt fighting in southern Lebanon [1, 2]. This movement marks a critical moment for civilians attempting to determine if their properties are habitable or completely destroyed after prolonged conflict.
The decision to cease attacks reportedly follows news of a peace deal involving Iran and increased pressure from the U.S. for Israel to observe a truce [3, 4]. While some reports indicate that fighting has stopped, other accounts suggest that certain Israeli attacks in the region have continued despite the U.S.-Iran agreement [4].
In Nabatieh, the scale of the devastation is evident in the shattered streets and rubble-strewn neighborhoods. Residents who had fled their homes are now walking through the wreckage to assess the structural integrity of their belongings and dwellings [1, 2].
The displacement crisis has been vast, with hundreds of thousands of people forced from their homes amid the strikes [5]. The emotional toll is visible as families reunite with their properties and face the reality of the destruction.
"This is wrong," a Lebanese resident said as they surveyed the damage [5].
The return to Nabatieh is part of a broader effort by displaced populations across southern Lebanon to gauge the safety of their hometowns. The current pause in hostilities provides a narrow window for these families to coordinate recovery efforts, and identify the needs of the most affected areas [1, 2].
“"This is wrong,"”
The return of displaced civilians to Nabatieh signals a precarious transition from active combat to a tentative truce. The contradiction between the announced halt in fighting and reports of ongoing strikes suggests that the ceasefire's stability depends heavily on the durability of the US-Iran peace deal and continued diplomatic pressure. For the residents of southern Lebanon, this period is less about permanent peace and more about the immediate, practical necessity of damage assessment before any long-term reconstruction can begin.
