The late 2024 Israeli invasion of South Lebanon did tremendous damage but failed to capture a single southern town, due to the fierce resistance from Hezbollah, Amal and Palestinian fighters.

The ceasefire which began on 27 November 2024 ended on 26 January 2025 but was extended to 18 February. Lebanese villagers flocked back to their homes on 27-27 January, but the Israelis fired on them, killing 24 and injuring 141.

The invading Israelis have kept their troops in parts of the South, carrying out home demolitions in several areas including on the outskirts of Yaroun and Kfarkila, all in violation of the ceasefire and of UN resolution 1701. Israeli leaders now say they plan to remain in five areas of South Lebanon, despite the ceasefire agreement.

While some Israeli sources claim this ongoing occupation is authorized by the Trump administration, none of the Lebanese leaders accept the demand. Several UN experts have condemned the killing of civilians and insist the Israelis must withdraw.

The infamous Israeli savagery was on full display in the South as they shot unarmed civilians trying to return to their homes when, according to the ceasefire terms, all Israeli troops were meant to have withdrawn.

That and the useless role of UNIFIL forces, who did nothing to oppose the Israeli invasion, helps explain the popular anger in demonstrations outside Beirut airport in mid-February. One UNIFIL car was overturned and burnt. The Lebanese army tear-gassed protesters the next day.

These rallies came after the Lebanese government blocked the arrival of a plane from Iran, apparently in obedience to the demands of Washington which, in typical tyrannical mode, demanded the exclusion of Hezbollah and its allies from government.

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While that move failed, Lebanese people now face the most reactionary leadership in a very long time. Former army chief Joseph Aoun is now president and former ICJ judge Nawaf Salam is Prime Minister, according to the sectarian formula (a Maronite Christian must be president and a Sunni Muslim must be PM) which has crippled the formation of a genuine national government for decades. Neither Aoun (no relation to former President Michel Aoun) nor Salam have shown any sign of defending the country from US domination or Israeli invasion. Not even Hezbollah has challenged the sectarian formula, reinforced by the Taif agreements at the end of the civil war.

But it is only Hezbollah and its allies which protect the country from collapse into a complete US-Israeli colony. For that reason, there are still many patriotic Lebanese, probably a large majority, who support the 'loyalty to the resistance' bloc.

In addition, the ongoing occupation and home demolitions suggest an Israeli strategy of trying to make the border areas unlivable, as in Gaza.

We can see a similar aim in the state in which they left houses that they occupied during the assault on Khiam village. There was wanton vandalism of one house which senior Israeli officers used as a base during the failed attempt to take over Khiam, a beautiful village with views of Mount Hermon (Jabal al Sheikh) and the Syrian Golan. The Resistance (fighters from Hezbollah, Amal and several Palestinian factions) made defending Khiam a priority, and around 300 were martyred there.

While most houses suffered serious damage, the one used as an Israeli HQ was left standing, but covered in filth and with serious internal destruction. The state of the occupied house reflected the character of the occupiers.

This writer visited Khiam and that house in January and February. Meal screen doors had been blasted open with explosives and the outside and inside walls had been sprayed with automatic weapon fire, shattering walls and windows and shredding children’s clothes.

Food items including Israeli packaged rations, were strewn all over the floors and each room had been wrecked in some way. Bathroom fittings were smashed and bullets fired at the refrigerator. Bullet cartridges, weapon packages, condoms and women’s sanitary products were all over the floor, alongside the rotten food. Furniture was damaged or destroyed.

For some reason these Israeli officers did not use the toilets but rather collected their excrement in plastic bags, which were then dumped in the washing machine.

It is hard to see an objective of this wanton destruction and piggish behavior as anything other than a message of contempt for the owners, aimed at discouraging return to a region that they had tried to colonize. If there is no withdrawal by 18 February it seems likely the Lebanese resistance will again move to punish and expel the last of them.