Lebanese Border Village of Dhayra Mourns Amid Total Destruction
The residents of the Lebanese border village of Dhayra have come back to bury their dead as Israeli troops have left the country on the pretext of a ceasefire. The village which was heavily damaged during the months of war, had two burials of its citizens; Wiam Sweid, a soldier killed by an Israeli drone in October and his elderly relative Ghedia Sweid, whose body was found under the rubble. Dhayra’s two thousand residents fled in October 2023 after Israeli white phosphorus attacks which, according to Amnesty International, may have constituted a war crime. When they returned, they realized that the village was completely destroyed. The main road was almost a dirt track, many houses had been daubed with Hebrew graffiti, and many of the olive trees, which are an important source of income, had been burned or pulled up. The destruction was part of controlled demolitions by the Israeli army, which, as in Gaza, have left many border villages uninhabitable. Human Rights Watch noted that the permanent effect on the displaced civilians is that homes and infrastructure remain in tatters. The village, mainly Sunni and not friendly to Hezbollah, was used as a launch pad to launch attacks on Israel during the October 2023 conflict. However, the people of the area complained about the situation in their area, which has been worsened by the war. Dhayra people are now left with nothing but to sit and cry for their relatives and houses, in a country which has been transformed by the war.
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