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Israel implements Gaza playbook to erase south Lebanon towns

April 15, 2026

Rights groups have expressed concern over Israel’s brutal and systematic campaign targeting civilian infrastructure on the southern Lebanese border, pointing to the same policy used by Tel Aviv in the Gaza Strip.

“The possibility that Hezbollah may use some civilian structures in Lebanon’s border villages for military purposes does not justify the wide-scale destruction of entire villages along the border,” said Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) Lebanon researcher Ramzi Kaiss.

According to the National Council for Scientific Research in Lebanon (CNRSL), around 40,000 housing units have been blown up by the Israeli military since the start of last month.

~40,000 housing units destroyed or heavily damaged in just 35 days — ≈16% of total war damage since Oct 2023.
Most affected: Southern Beirut Suburbs, Nabatieh, Bint Jbeil, Sour.
CNRS-L/NCNE continues evidence-based monitoring. pic.twitter.com/cjB1K2ySLt

— CNRS Lebanon (@CNRSL) April 12, 2026

That marks more than 16 percent of the 230,000 homes destroyed in the south since October 2023.

https://twitter.com/krassenstein/status/2043961984824078821?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2043981222741938470%7Ctwgr%5Ef6b88f7b42c4b402e1ce61eb4b0b7fe3cd4a3e47%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthecradle.co%2Farticles-id%2F37122

The Guardian wrote on 12 April, citing academics, that Israel’s campaign of demolitions in south Lebanon amounts to “domicide” and aims to “render entire areas uninhabitable.”

Residents of south Lebanon spoke to the British outlet about Israel’s ongoing attacks.

“The first thing we saw was the town square being blown up. I have a shop there. A person’s whole life is in that place, their work, their memories, everything. Suddenly, you see it exploding in front of you,” a shop owner from Taybeh, Ahmad Abu Taam, said.

“I forgot the displacement then and started rebuilding my shop from scratch – without even feeling the fatigue. When you arrive, it feels like you’ve found something you lost. But this time, everything is gone. Everything has been wiped out,” he added.

Since killing hundreds of civilians in Beirut last week, the Israeli army has halted attacks on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, due to Iranian pressure exerted ahead of the recent talks in Islamabad.

Yet it continues to violate the airspace over the capital, flying drones and jets over Beirut at low altitude as airstrikes continue to hit southern Lebanon.

Israel has announced plans to establish a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, and is rapidly escalating the destruction of border villages.

“At the end of the operation, the IDF (Israeli military) will establish a security zone inside Lebanon – a line of defense against anti-tank missiles – and will maintain security control over the entire area up to the Litani River, including the remaining Litani bridges,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said last month.

“All houses in villages near the Lebanese border will be destroyed, in accordance with the model used in Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza, in order to permanently remove the threats near the border to northern residents,” he added.

Israel’s campaign of destruction comes as Hezbollah fighters are fiercely confronting an Israeli ground invasion.

Heavy battles are taking place in the strategic city of Bint Jbeil, which links the eastern and western sectors of south Lebanon.