South Lebanon: Residents Watch as Israeli Forces Destroy Mansouri
Residents of the village of Mansouri in south Lebanon are witnessing the systematic dismantling of their community by Israeli military forces, a process that has intensified significantly since the recent ceasefire. Perched on a hill just south of the coastal city of Tyre, the village is being erased from the map despite official agreements intended to stabilize the region. The Israeli army, which designated Mansouri as an operational stronghold for Hezbollah, has maintained a relentless pace of demolitions using explosives and air strikes, leaving approximately 5,000 inhabitants in despair.
The conflict has effectively split the village along the "Yellow Line," the security demarcation imposed by Israel. Although the line cuts through Mansouri on paper, the reality is total occupation. This summer, all residents who had attempted to return were forced to flee again under fire from the Israeli air force. The village mayor reported attacks involving artillery, hand grenades, and stun grenades dropped by drones. He survived an Israeli attack that wounded him, while other residents have documented the destruction via social media livestreams.
From the neighboring village of Hanniyeh, which remains accessible to Lebanese civilians, displaced Mansouri residents watch the devastation unfold. Ahmad, a 47-year-old resident, uses a tripod-mounted phone to broadcast the destruction of his yellow house, the last standing structure in his immediate vicinity. Ali, another resident whose home was destroyed during the war, expressed the humiliation of watching his farmland burn nearby. He noted that he has lost his work and refuses to abandon the land, stating that the situation is worse than anything previously experienced.
Groups of neighbors gather daily to observe the operations, killing time according to the rhythm of Israeli military activities. One resident shared video footage showing a drone slowly lowering explosives via cable onto a rooftop before detonating them. Another man observed a tractor clearing rubble, reducing houses to empty plots. Ibtissem, a 38-year-old woman, described the psychological toll, saying, "It’s torture, they are razing our lives before our eyes." Despite the trauma, she affirmed that the land is everything to them and vowed to return and rebuild.
The inaction of the international community and the Lebanese government has become a central theme in conversations among the displaced. The Lebanese army is absent from the area, and residents feel completely abandoned. During the summer, protesters organized a sit-in near the al-Amiriya checkpoint with the slogan "Mansouri is not occupied," calling for the army's return and an end to bombardments. They stated they were ready to march alongside the army but received no support. One resident lamented that nobody has helped them, leaving them displaced and unemployed.
Even Hezbollah, which historically supported affected communities, reportedly lacks the means to intervene effectively today. Mansouri, along with nearby areas like Tallouseh and Mais al-Jabal, remains a primary theater for Israeli operations. Many Lebanese interpret these actions as an attempt to finalize the destruction of the area, thereby preventing any possibility of residents returning to their homes permanently.
This report was produced in the Europe Brief News newsroom.
