Lebanese army sources told the London-based newspaper Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed this morning that residents have begun returning to towns in southern Lebanon. The report follows a wave of earlier displacements related to IDF operations and ceasefire implementation south of the Litani.
Lebanese army sources told the London-based newspaper Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed this morning that some residents have started returning to towns in southern Lebanon. The statement is the first official confirmation of a trend that had been reported over the past week by multiple Lebanese and Israeli media outlets, which documented convoys of residents heading back to villages in the Nabatieh district and other areas south of the Litani River.
As The Zioneer reported at 08:12 this morning, independent analyst Yossi Eliezer described a "massive movement" of residents returning to their villages, attributing it to an Iranian directive — a claim that remains unverified. The Lebanese army source did not mention any external coordination or directive, and no official confirmation from the IDF or the UNIFIL peacekeeping force has been issued.
The development comes against the backdrop of stalled implementation of the November 2024 ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon. Under those terms, the Lebanese army was to deploy south of the Litani in parallel with an IDF withdrawal. In recent days, Lebanese media reported that the US is preparing to allow the Lebanese army to gradually return to the area, alongside an Israeli pullback. The IDF has continued to operate selectively in the region, including ground advances reported as recently as Saturday evening in the villages of Tabnit and Majdal Zoun.
No casualty figures or official Israeli response to the current return movement have been reported.
5 developments
- DevelopingSouthern Lebanon residents return to widespread destruction in Hezbollah strongholds
- StrongLebanese army calls on residents to slow return to southern border towns, citing Israeli aerial surveillance
- DevelopingSouthern Lebanon residents report destroyed tanks, military vehicles along road
- StrongLebanese residents still barred from entering southern border zone near the Yellow Line
Source and signal
- Internal intake