- By Kamakshi Bishnoi
- Sun, 12 Apr 2026 06:29 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Despite the international community’s focus on the rising tensions between the US and Iran, having seen the launch of missiles at each other and the now stalled peace negotiations, the situation in southern Lebanon took a dramatic twist when reports emerged about the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) engaging in wide-scale destruction in the area.
Israel Military have been demolishing entire villages close to the border by putting explosives in the houses and blowing them up remotely, as reported by the Guardian. The military has released videos on social media showing this type of action in villages like Taybeh, Naqoura and Deir Seryan.
Other Lebanese media outlets have reported similar events across other parts of southern Lebanon, but satellite imaging has only allowed for limited independent verification.
These demolitions appear to have occurred following a declaration made by Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, stating that he called for the destruction of all the houses in border villages, toning his call for demolition to the same types of tactics employed in Gaza against Gaza residents and their houses, including in Rafah and Beit Hanoun, where their houses were completely flattened.
According to a NDTV report, the Israeli military destroyed 90 per cent of homes in Rafah, in southern Gaza.
The practice of destroying civilian homes to create uninhabitable territories has been referred to as “domicide” by some analysts and has received significant international condemnation.
The Israeli military has characterised its recent violent actions as part of its battle against Hezbollah. Israel contends that Hezbollah has embedded its military forces, including tunnel networks, into populated civilian areas and moves its military from those locations to attack Israel.
Reported Deaths In Lebanon
According to Lebanon Media reports, Israeli airstrikes in the southern part of the country killed more than 18 people on Saturday, with the total number of deaths in Lebanon since the beginning of the most recent escalation now surpassed 2000.
The Israeli government began its military operations against Hezbollah in response to the recent barrage of rockets fired at Israel from inside Lebanon by members of Hezbollah. The Israeli military intends to continue to carry out its mission to destroy the threat posed by Hezbollah through both air and ground-based combat until that goal has been reached.
As the violence associated with the military operations of the Israeli forces in Lebanon continues to escalate, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed his commitment to reaching a formal peace agreement with Lebanon, but specifically excluded Hezbollah from this anticipated agreement, which is classified by the State of Israel as a terrorist organisation.
Security Zone Plan
In addition to Israel's efforts to eliminate Hezbollah's military capabilities, Israel has indicated that it has plans to create a "security zone" in southern Lebanon that will extend to the Litani River. According to the proposed plans of the Israeli military, the displaced people will not be allowed to return to their homes located in southern Lebanon until they feel secure enough to return safely to northern Israel. Many Lebanese citizens are therefore afraid that they will never be able to return home at all.
The ongoing diplomatic activity relating to this situation remains clouded by continued uncertainty. The most recent round of diplomatic negotiations between the United States and Iran has recently taken place in Islamabad, but no agreements were made as a result of the current diplomatic talks between these two governments.
American Vice President JD Vance described the United States' proposal to Iran as their "final and best offer"."We leave here with a very simple proposal," Vance said.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the Iranian side had made constructive proposals but ultimately found the US position lacking in trust.
Ghalibaf stated that his negotiating team had "put forward constructive initiatives, but ultimately the other side was unable to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations".
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