Kfarkela & Khiam, LEBANON—What was once the village of Kfarkela—nestled along Lebanon’s border with Israel—is now a pile of ruins. Mounds of rubble, twisted rebar, and broken concrete are all that remain where houses once stood. Not a single structure was left untouched by the Israeli troops who had been occupying the area for months. The roads have been demolished; the Israelis bulldozed dirt paths through the middle of the village. As we drove through early on Friday, our driver showed us our route on the map on his phone. “We are driving over where houses once stood,” he said.
The Israeli military withdrew from Kfarkela and several others in southern Lebanon just three days ago, on February 18, after violating a “ceasefire” agreement for withdrawal that expired on January 26. Israeli forces remain illegally stationed inside Lebanon in five locations on hilltops near the border……more
