For months after the Israel-Hezbollah war that devastated southern Lebanon, the Alawieh household would go to a hillside close to their ruined dwelling to catch no matter glimpse they may of what remained.
Their olive timber have been gone. So have been their goats, and the lemon and fig orchards that had taken years to bear fruit. Their home was only a pile of rubble.
Israel had agreed to a Jan. 26 deadline — two months after a cease-fire took effect — to withdraw its remaining forces from southern Lebanon. That day, Mousa Alawieh set out along with his three teenage kids and a cousin, wanting to see what was left of their dwelling within the border city of Aitaroun.
Mr. Alawieh, 45, a steel employee, had been displaced for greater than a yr and struggling to make ends meet. He had hoped to salvage no matter possessions he might from the wreckage, relations mentioned.
However he by no means made it dwelling.
As he and his household have been driving by means of their flattened city, they encountered not less than two Israeli troopers on the highway who shot a number of occasions on the household’s automotive, killing Mr. Alawieh, based on video footage verified by The New York Instances and accounts from his brother and brother-in-law.
Requested in regards to the taking pictures of Mr. Alawieh, the Israeli navy mentioned the matter was “beneath evaluate.”
Israel had delayed its withdrawal that day, however Mr. Alawieh was unaware and believed the navy had begun to drag out of Aitaroun, based on Yaacoub Alawieh, his brother.
The displaced are unsure about whether or not Israel will stay indefinitely in Lebanon and when they’ll be capable to return dwelling. Lots of their cities and villages now lie in ruins, and additionally it is unclear who will foot the mammoth invoice for reconstruction.
After Israel and Lebanon agreed to increase the Jan. 26 withdrawal deadline, Israeli forces continued to occupy giant parts of southern Lebanon. A brand new date for the withdrawal was set for Tuesday, and Israeli forces pulled out of the remaining populated cities and villages alongside the border.
However the Israeli navy mentioned this week that it meant to stay at a number of strategic points inside Lebanon past the deadline for its full withdrawal.
Israel as soon as occupied southern Lebanon for 18 years, and with every delay within the pullout, fears of one other prolonged occupation have grown.
The newest battle started brewing after the shock Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah started attacking Israeli positions in solidarity with Hamas, its ally.
After practically a yr of low-level clashes, Israel launched a full-scale offensive in September, assassinating many of Hezbollah’s leaders and destroying a lot of its weapons stockpiles. It was Lebanon’s most damaging battle in a long time.
Israel has issued a collection of warnings to residents of southern Lebanon — together with on Jan. 26 — to not return to their hometowns but as a result of its navy forces have been nonetheless deployed there. However thousands of Lebanese have defied these orders of their eagerness to go dwelling.
Israeli forces killed not less than 24 individuals in southern Lebanon on Jan. 26 alone, based on Lebanon’s well being ministry, and more were killed within the days that got here after.
Mr. Alawieh was so excited to go dwelling that he didn’t even test the information that day, his brother mentioned, so he was beneath the impression that Israeli troops had begun to withdraw to the outskirts of Aitaroun.
However as his automotive rounded a bend within the city, not less than two Israeli troopers immediately emerged within the highway forward, based on video footage filmed from contained in the car by Ali, Mr. Alawieh’s 15-year-old son.
Mr. Alawieh panicked and slammed his car into reverse. The household raised their palms within the air. A gunshot rang out — one, two, then 20 — a salvo of bullets puncturing steel and glass and pores and skin.
“Get down, Dad, get down!” shouted Ali from the again seat, his sisters screaming in worry.
“No, Dad!” shouted Ali. “Dad! Dad! Dad!”
As their father started to bleed, the Israeli troopers ordered the youngsters out of the automotive and questioned them, Mr. Alawieh’s brother mentioned, relaying what he was informed by his relations who have been within the automotive on the time. The troopers then informed them to stroll straight forward with out wanting again. They left their father behind within the automotive, wounded however nonetheless alive.
Rukaya Alawieh, Mr. Alawieh’s 18-year-old daughter, was wounded within the taking pictures and it took her an hour to succeed in the closest hospital to seek out her father assist. By the point the ambulance arrived on the automotive, he was lifeless.
Like many different residents of southern Lebanon, Mr. Alawieh was affiliated with Hezbollah, based on his brother. However he was not a fighter or a full-fledged member, the brother mentioned. Hezbollah has long operated a roster of social and humanitarian companies in lieu of Lebanon’s ailing state, and Mr. Alawieh turned concerned within the group’s social work shortly earlier than his demise.
Many residents who’ve been in a position to return to their houses in southern Lebanon have usually arrived again to seek out nothing left standing.
The prolonged Alawieh household misplaced 11 of their houses, mentioned Marwan Qassem, Mr. Alawieh’s brother-in-law, who owned a home in Aitaroun and likewise ran a big household farm there, each now in ruins.
“Once I noticed the harm to the home, I requested myself, the place do I start?” he mentioned.
Through the battle, Mr. Qassem and Mr. Alawieh spent months bouncing between non permanent lodging with their households, making an attempt to flee Israel’s widening offensive.
First they fled the border area to an space the place the airstrikes quickly struck. Then they headed for the capital, Beirut, however that was bombed too. It was a seemingly limitless loop, looking for security, however by no means fairly secure.
As we speak, his household is in limbo, nonetheless unable to return dwelling and consumed with grief over their losses. Pressured to put their father to relaxation away from the household cemetery in Aitaroun, the youngsters have struggled to course of what occurred, Mr. Qassem mentioned.
Ali’s cheeky chuckle has given method to reticence. And Rukaya, his elder sister who scrambled to seek out assist after their father was shot, is traumatized.
“Generally she is silent,” Mr. Qassem mentioned. “Generally she cries.”
Arijeta Lajka and Myra Noveck contributed reporting.
