Agnese Stracquadanio, a CELIM contributor in Lebanon, wrote this article about the village of Chebaa, located in the vicinity of the territories that have always been disputed between Lebanon and Israel. The article tells about life at the border, the UN mission in the area, and the civilian casualties in the south of a country whose fate is dangerously intertwined with the one of those living beyond the mountains.
Chebaa is a small mountain village of Southern Lebanon, where the roads are narrow and the houses cluster together. It is not far from the frontier where the borders of Lebanon, Israel and Syria overlap, often quarrel.
There are no many villages around Chebaa. The surrounding mountains are bare and many of those peaks no longer belong to Lebanon.
On the other side, there are territories whose borders are disputed: The Golan Heights, mountainous territories disputed between Syria and Israel, well known for its fertile soil and aquifers and the Chebaa Farms. The Chebaa Farms are territories claimed by Lebanon that have been occupied by Israel since 1981, when the Israeli parliament passed the law annexing the disputed areas to the State of Israel.
In Chebaa, the slow life of a mountain village is mixed with the tension of a close volatile border. In cooperation with the municipality, CELIM has been working in Chebaa since 2022, implementing a waste management project with the goal to improve the conditions of the open dumpsite located on the outskirts of the village and limit its environmental impact.
Due to its location, the town is also among the last Lebanese villages that fall under the intervention scope of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The 120-kilometer long border between Lebanon and Israel runs not far from Chebaa. Also known as Blue Line, the border is constantly monitored by the UNIFIL. The area of intervention of the peacekeeping mission goes from Naqoura in the South-West of the country, to Chebaa in the South-East, covering an area of approximately 1,000 square kilometre area.
Established in 1978, the peacekeeping mission’s mandate is renewed annually to maintain a buffer zone between the two sides of the border. The mission has the aim to prevent past clashes, such as those that initiated a 34-day war in 2006, from occurring again avoiding new escalations.
Forty-nine countries contribute to the mission that counts almost 10,000 peacekeepers on the ground. Italy is among the largest contributors with more than a thousand peacekeepers.
Over the years, the UNIFIL forces have not always been able to avoid clashes between the armed group and Lebanese political party Hezbollah, and Israel. However, UNIFIL acts as a deterrent and mediate between the two sides of the border.
Tension all over the border area and along the Chebaa Farms has risen since the 7th of October. Aligned on the position of Hamas, Hezbollah has repeatedly stressed that it is not a neutral player and its influence in southern Lebanon could open up a new front.
The first strikes launched by Hezbollah in the aftermath of the Hamas attack hit Israeli military positions in the Chebaa Farms. “The village emptied. Many Lebanese or Syrians living in Chebaa have left,” says one resident who stayed in the village. The intensity of the fighting has severely heightened in the last days since the beginning of the war, affecting several villages alongside the border.
Although limited in scope, the strikes have caused casualties, not only among the ranks of the army or militants engaged on both sides of the border, but also among civilians.
Civilian casualties on the Lebanese side of the border have been reported with an escalation in the last few days. At least three journalists who were covering the clashes at the border and an elderly couple who lost their lives as a result of an Israeli bombardment that hit their home in the outskirts of Chebaa are among the victims. Referring to them as martyrs, the mayor of the village, Mohamad Ahmad Saab, explains that life in Chebaa continues at a reduced pace, despite the accumulating tension.
Many of the municipal employees moved to safer areas. “Those who have stayed are afraid to move because of the shelling that occur regularly. We are cautious, but concerned” he says.
CELIM staff is usually engaged in the area, but currently work from the headquarters in Beirut and is in constant contact with Lebanese staff living in different areas of the south, not directly affected by the clashes.
via Donatello 5 B
