Report: IDF Strikes in Southern Lebanon Create 5-Kilometer ‘Dead Zone’

By Yoni Weiss

Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon have resulted in a “dead zone” extending approximately 5 kilometers (3 miles) along the border with Israel, according to a report on Thursday by the Financial Times based on aerial photograph data.

“Near-daily aerial bombardment, artillery shelling, and the use of incendiary white phosphorus have rendered much of the area north of the Blue Line uninhabitable,” the report said.

The Financial Times analyzed data from commercial satellites and collaborated with researchers from the CUNY Graduate Center and Oregon State University to detect changes to buildings in the region.

According to the report, only a few Lebanese civilians remain in the area, with most buildings either empty or destroyed.

Mohammad Srour, the mayor of Aita al-Chaab, described the strikes as “systematic destruction.”

Under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006 to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah, U.N. peacekeepers were deployed to monitor a ceasefire along the 120-kilometer (75-mile) Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon. The resolution also called for Hezbollah to withdraw its forces behind the Litani River, approximately 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of the border — a demand the terror group has ignored.

An unnamed Hezbollah terrorist quoted in the report said, “Asking us to withdraw from the south is like asking a fish not to swim in the sea.”