The Lebanese government has agreed to disarm non-state groups including Hezbollah but wants guarantees that Israel will withdraw. Israel says it will not deescalate until disarmament begins. DW gained rare access to the frontline.
00:00Along the border between Lebanon and Israel, there's very few signs of life.
00:07We are embedded with the UN peacekeepers during their watch on what's called the Blue Line.
00:17Violations of the ceasefire agreement occur daily, a brigade officer tells me.
00:22This is the last Lebanese army checkpoint on the western sector.
00:26Behind me is the wall that separates Lebanon and Israel.
00:31This wall has been here for years, obviously, but recently, during the last war,
00:36the Israeli military built a gate that you can see over there
00:41that gives the military access through tanks and troops to Lebanese territory.
00:49The UN mission, UNIFIL, has been helping the Lebanese army to disarm Hezbollah in the south of Lebanon.
00:56It's part of a last-November ceasefire agreement that also stipulated Israel should withdraw by the end of January this year.
01:05But after the deadline expired, Israel's military announced it would remain in strategic locations inside Lebanon,
01:11along the border, for security reasons.
01:14The situation still remains tense. We're seeing a lot of violations, particularly from the Israeli side, drone strikes.
01:22We see the Israel defense forces that have a presence in five different positions that they've maintained in Lebanese territory,
01:32along with two buffer zones. And we're continuing to discover arms caches that have been left behind every day.
01:38The peacekeeping forces are also under pressure from local residents who often block their patrols.
01:46They believe that UNIFIL is serving Israeli interests in the area.
01:50Do you see this military post behind the tree?
01:56It's pointing out at the Israeli military position, very close here behind this tree.
02:04It's like 40 meters away from here. This is definitely inside Lebanese territory.
02:10These violations have hit residents in the border communities hardest.
02:15Hadi Awada's family home was destroyed by the Israeli military, like nearly all the houses in Kverkela.
02:22He's retrieving whatever is left of his family's life here.
02:27It's very painful, and it's a disgrace that the Israeli soldiers come in whenever they want and continue to blow up houses.
02:36I have nothing to do with arms and militias. I'm a farmer, and I want to take care of my land, despite the destruction.
02:44I still want to be here. That's the message I want to send by being here.
02:49I don't feel safe, but what's the alternative? To start a new life somewhere else and forget that I'm from here,
02:55and that I own land here? That doesn't make sense.
02:59Lebanon and Israel share an 81-kilometer border.
03:07But because of the ongoing hostilities between the two countries, it's not officially demarcated.
03:14We drive further north, away from the border.
03:18Even here, Israel's continued airstrikes have postered Hezbollah's narrative that the militia is needed to defend the country.
03:26This town, Kafr-Ruman, has long been considered a stronghold for secular and leftist Shiites, very critical of Hezbollah.
03:33But the pressure from Israel is mounting, and the mood is changing.
03:37Some here, even those most outspoken against Hezbollah, now feel that the entire Shiite community is being targeted, and not just the militant group.
03:46A few kilometers away from Israel's wall, the Staiha, or Taras Social Space, is hosting a seed-swapping workshop and film screening.
03:58It means a lot to us as villagers. We are very attached to our roots and land, and we won't leave it. That's why we always make sure to cultivate it. We will never leave.
04:10Your land is your integrity, your blood, your life, and your death, your ancestors, and your ethics. Whoever neglects this land has no principles.
04:22Hadi is also here, sharing his experience with the local community. He says this event is a display of resilience and sovereignty.
04:31We should not forget that we are the owners of this land, and it's us who will live on it and cultivate it, for we have inherited its olive trees for generations.
04:44For us, the seed represents the idea and the belief, but also food sovereignty, which gives us the right to cultivate our land and produce our food and pass it on to our children.
04:59Lebanon is in a difficult position. On the one hand, it wants financial support from the international community and for the Israeli attacks to end.
05:12And on the other, it must convince a defiant Hezbollah to lay down its weapons.
05:18Meanwhile, these Lebanese villagers have been left bearing the brunt.
05:29They are from the one hand over to the island.
05:32They are from the island who live in a unstable house.
05:34They are from the island where they can't develop their food and
05:46who have lost a man's life.
05:47Now, the human who live in the island under the island is made by the island.
05:48They are from the island of the island of the island of the island of the island.
Be the first to comment