The recent Israeli airstrikes on the south of Lebanon have revealed a calculated shift in Israel’s military strategy. The deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure and attempts at reconstruction, from excavators and asphalt factories to olive trees and beehives, sends one clear message: there is no return to the south of Lebanon.

Since the ceasefire deal was announced on the 26^th of November of last year, the Lebanese government has shown limited involvement in any post-war reconstruction efforts in the South. Today, almost a year later, according to Lebanese authorities, Israel has breached the deal over 2,500 times, yet the government has taken no action ­– a reality that has pushed many in the south to take matters into their own hands.

Machinery yards and cement factories targeted in Msayleh

Israel’s escalating airstrikes in October 2025 reveal a clear aim at disrupting infrastructure and reconstruction in the south of Lebanon. On the 11^th, in the village of Msayleh, six heavy machinery yards that included 300 reconstruction vehicles such as bulldozers, excavators, trucks, and rollers, were targeted and destroyed by Israeli airstrikes.

Following the attack, Ahmad Tabaja, the owner of one of the warehouses affected, Tabaja Equipment Inc., issued a statement denouncing the attack and stating that Israel’s goal is to “prevent the reconstruction of towns and villages in the south of Lebanon,” adding that he does not belong to or work with any political party, as Israel claims to only target members of Hezbollah.

Furthermore, in another attempt to cripple reconstruction on the south of Lebanon, on the 17^th of October, the Israeli army committed one of its heaviest airstrikes since the ceasefire deal, destroying an asphalt and cement manufacturing site near Ansar, in the district of Nabatiyeh. This attack, carried out by 12 Israeli air raids, as reported by the Lebanese National News Agency, destroyed concrete mixers, pumps, fuel tanks, and cranes. The site workers report that they lost the work of a lifetime.

“This is a war on construction, this is a war on the people of the south…they’re going to hit everything related to reconstruction, this is just the beginning, the worst is yet to come,” another factory worker in Ansar told local media.

Hitting the heart of the water supply

On the same day, Israel targeted one of the main sources of livelihood for every southerner: water.  A fuel depot that belongs to the South Lebanon Water Establishment (SLWE), the official public utility responsible for water distribution across all of southern Lebanon, was struck by Israeli airstrikes and lost more than 500,000 liters of fuel.

The Israeli attacks on essential water sources left 25 border towns without water after their networks were completely destroyed. According to SLWE, the estimated cost of repair is around 100,000,000 USD.

“It did not stop there,” Dr. Wassim Daher, President and General Director of SLWE, tells Executive. “Around 25 local pumping stations and 45 solar power systems used to operate these stations in the south were affected, in addition to major pumping stations that supply water to multiple towns, some serving more than 40 towns, such as the Taybeh, Wazzani, and Nabaa Al-Tasseh stations” he added.

Despite the continuous efforts of SLWE to provide water to the citizens in the south and carry out its daily tasks, the war has also impacted the mobility of its employees particularly maintenance workers.

“There has been an increased demand for water in certain areas north of the Litani River due to the displacement of residents from areas south of the river,” says Daher. “This situation has required extended pumping hours and higher water production, as well as the establishment of temporary water points in shelter centers, in coordination with governmental and non-governmental organizations and associations.”

The shortage of water supply in the south has made it harder for the people to return to their houses after the war, according to Daher. “Because,” he explains, “this directly affects the lives of citizens and, consequently, influences their decision to return to their towns and resume their activities, especially since many residents of border villages rely on agriculture.”

“The government is as good as nothing”

The crippling of the water infrastructure has contributed to the high displacement numbers reported. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as of December 2024, roughly 178,817 civilians remain displaced and are unable to return to their homes in the south of Lebanon.

The scale of destruction and widespread displacement has grown an urgent need for the support of the government and its institutions, yet the near total absence of it has been all the more frustrating for southerners.

 “Assistance from the government?” laughs Ahmad Hmadi – a young chef from the South whose family is trying to rebuild their home in Shabriha – when asked if they had received any help for the reconstruction process. “We did not receive assistance from anyone, the government is as good as nothing. The house my dad worked all his life to build in our village, Maroun Al -Ras, and cost him about 500,000 USD, is gone. We had another house in Shabriha, a village near Tyre, also gone. Our apartment in Dahye, in the area of Jamous is also gone.”

The family is now waiting for a government permit to excavate their land in order to rebuild. “We don’t know when – or if – we will get it, the government always seems to make things harder for the people instead of easier,” Hmadi says.

When asked why the family did not build in their own border village Maroun Al Ras, he explains, “The Israelis do not want us to rebuild — they are not even allowing us to excavate the land and remove the rubbles.”

The ecological backbone of the South

Houses, water, and roads are not the only forms of infrastructure Israel has been targeting; the ecological and agricultural infrastructure of the South—olive trees and beehives—have also been among the focuses. In June 2025, Israeli troops bulldozed olive groves in Meis El Jabal. The municipal leader in the village told local media, “they don’t want any signs of life…including olive harvest operations.”

Israel’s frequent use of white phosphorous has led to the destruction of thousands of olive trees. According to a report conducted by the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture and UN-ESCWA, between 6 October and 24 November 2023, over 53,000 olive trees were destroyed in 53 villages. What the olive trees represent to the southerners is not only a source of income, but a part of their environmental culture and heritage.

“My father has been growing olive trees with his bare hands for 40 years now, he lost more than 400 olive trees by Israeli strikes” Hmadi tells Executive.

The bees have not been spared either. The Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture reports that around 3,500 beehives were completely or partially damaged, putting the regions apiculture at risk. It does not stop at the bees themselves – those who care for them have also become targets. In June 2025, Israel killed a beekeeper in the village of Houla.

“From the people to the people”

Since the beginning of the war, residents of the south have lost all confidence in the government and its institutions to help them get back on their feet. This factor contributes to the existing solidarity between the people, making them rely even more on each other, help each other, and pull each other up through community-driven initiatives.

These initiatives come in different forms. In Ramyeh, Hussein Saleh, an activist and municipal council member in the Ramyeh Municipality, fled to the north during the war and started a grassroots campaign that helped more than 4000 southerners, through what he calls “The One Dollar Campaign.”

The name of the campaign was inspired by the monthly funding project ‘One Lebanese Pound’ launched by Sayed Mousa Sadr in the early 1960s as a part of his work on social welfare in the south of Lebanon.

The One Dollar campaign is made to help the people that are living in southern border villages. “It is for the people that stayed in their land, that are living with broken windows, collapsed walls and roofs ruptured by Israeli missiles. Being a one-dollar campaign encouraged people to collectively participate and pay even more than a dollar” explains Saleh. It helps with providing basic utilities like solar power panels, glass restoration, walls, roofs, and doors, before the winter arrives. The campaign includes other initiatives like collecting unwanted furniture and distributing them to those in need, through Saleh’s own means.

 “Just imagine, some of them are living across from the Israelis without even having electricity. I am not claiming to have ‘saved the south,’” adds Saleh. “The south needs billions of dollars to be rebuilt, but I refuse to sit and do nothing. I care about the people and these small acts have had a huge positive impact on their lives and spirits.”

It was work done from the people to the people, according to Saleh.

But how many One-dollar Campaigns would it take to rebuild the South? In the March 2025 Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment report released by the World Bank, South Lebanon’s recovery and reconstruction costs are estimated at 11 billion USD, with 4.6 billion USD needed for the housing sector alone – much of this concentrated in the border villages and Nabatiyeh district.

The Strategy of Attrition

Beyond the physical losses of houses and loved ones, the war has taken a psychological toll on the people of the South. The evidence presented above suggest that the pattern of relentless flows of attacks, are not only for military control but have been designed to undermine the morale of the people and their power to resist. By systematically targeting different forms of infrastructure, the livelihood of southerners has deteriorated drastically.

Ramyeh, the village Saleh comes from, is among the five points where the IDF maintains illegal military presence. He explains that it is not fear that stops people from rebuilding, but common sense. “How can you rebuild under occupation? The Israelis are destroying every wall we try to build, but despite that, people in the south remain resilient and are fueled by the power of resistance.”

As the attacks continue on a daily basis and reconstruction is at a halt, the question remains: until when will the people in the south remain resilient and patient? And when will the government take action and prioritize the return and safety of the southerners from Israel’s clear intentions of occupation?

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