BEIRUT — Israel’s intensified military operations in southern Lebanon have led to extensive damage across over a dozen border towns and villages, reducing many to fields of grey craters, according to satellite images provided to Reuters by Planet Labs Inc.

The affected towns, once home to residents for over two centuries, were largely abandoned due to the bombings. The images analyzed show towns from Kfarkela in southeastern Lebanon, stretching south past Meiss al-Jabal and westward to the small village of Labbouneh near a UN peacekeeper base.

"These are beautiful historic homes, hundreds of years old. Thousands of shells and airstrikes have struck the area," said Abdulmonem Choukeir, mayor of Meiss al-Jabal, one of the villages impacted by the attacks.

"Who knows what will remain standing when this ends?"

A satellite image from October 24, 2023, displays Yaroun before the destruction, as provided by Planet Labs Inc via Reuters.

Reuters compared these October 2023 images with those from September and October 2024. Over the last month, the visible damage to these hilltop villages overlooking Israel has been significant.

After nearly a year of cross-border fire exchanges, Israel has increased its strikes on southern Lebanon, deploying troops along the mountainous frontier and engaging in clashes with Hezbollah fighters within certain towns.

Lebanon’s disaster risk management unit, which documents casualties and attacks, reported that 14 towns reviewed by Reuters had sustained a total of 3,809 attacks by Israel over the past year.

A satellite image from October 23, 2024, shows Yaroun after the destruction amidst ongoing clashes between Hezbollah and Israel, shared by Planet Labs Inc via Reuters.

The Israeli military did not respond to Reuters’ inquiries about the destruction’s extent. Military spokesperson Daniel Hagari stated on October 24 that Israel had hit over 3,200 targets in southern Lebanon.

Israel’s military claims these strikes are in response to Hezbollah’s alleged use of civilian villages as fortified zones, hiding weapons, explosives, and vehicles there. Hezbollah denies using civilian infrastructure for combat, and local residents reject the accusation.

A source familiar with Israel’s operations in Lebanon revealed that Israel is systematically targeting towns with strategic vantage points, like Mhaibib.

According to this source, Israel has applied lessons learned from its 2006 conflict with Hezbollah, in which its troops faced attacks from Hezbollah fighters on southern Lebanon’s hilltops.

“This is why they’re focusing heavily on these villages — to gain freer movement,” the source explained.

Recent images of Kfarkela revealed numerous white patches along a main road into the town, contrasting last year’s imagery of a road lined with homes and greenery, indicating extensive destruction.

Further south, Meiss al-Jabal, situated 700 meters from the UN-designated Blue Line, experienced significant destruction of a block near its center. This area, spanning about 150 by 400 meters, now appears as sandy brown, showing that buildings there were completely flattened. Imagery from 2023 showed a densely built neighborhood.

'Signs of Life'

Over 1.2 million people have been displaced by Israeli strikes, with over 2,600 fatalities, most of which occurred within the last month, according to Lebanon’s government.

Residents of these border towns have been unable to return home for months. "Since the war hit Meiss al-Jabal and people left, we have no idea what’s become of the village," shared the town’s mayor.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from Reuters file