Key facts
- Video and satellite imagery show widespread destruction in Bint Jbeil, southern Lebanon.
- Homes, businesses, and infrastructure have been heavily damaged or completely destroyed.
- Israeli forces have leveled the town, described as a central hub for Hezbollah.
- A 400-year-old Great Mosque and over 1,500 buildings are among the destroyed structures.
- Analysis suggests a deliberate policy to make southern Lebanon uninhabitable and create a buffer zone.
- The mayor of Bint Jbeil reported that demolitions continued even after a ceasefire announcement.
Footage circulating online and analysis of satellite imagery reveal extensive destruction in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, following repeated Israeli air strikes and military operations. Entire neighborhoods, homes, businesses, and local infrastructure have been heavily damaged or reduced to rubble, with comparisons drawn to the tactics employed in Gaza. Israeli forces have been observed operating tanks in the town's heavily damaged streets.
Israeli media, including reports from Channel 12 journalist Amit Segal, have shown the complete leveling of Bint Jbeil, which has long been a significant center for Hezbollah fighters and operations. Al Jazeera Arabic's fact-checking team, through analysis of satellite imagery and open-source intelligence, has documented a deliberate Israeli policy aimed at rendering southern Lebanon permanently uninhabitable, potentially to create a depopulated buffer zone.
The destruction in Bint Jbeil, described as the epicenter of this devastation, includes the ruin of a 400-year-old Great Mosque and over 1,500 buildings. According to the mayor of Bint Jbeil, Mohammad Bazzi, more than 70 percent of the city has been destroyed and 20 percent partially damaged. Bazzi also noted that these systematic demolitions have continued even after the announcement of a ceasefire, suggesting a long-term strategy of territorial erasure.
Visual evidence, including 14 videos published by Israeli soldiers and journalists between April 16 and 24, indicates a highly concentrated campaign of destruction, with 93 percent of documented demolitions occurring within the Nabatieh governorate. Half of these were focused within the Bint Jbeil district, flattening entire blocks, while another 43 percent targeted towns administratively tied to Nabatieh. A single demolition was recorded further west in Naqoura.