Sawt Falasteen - UN peacekeepers patrol in Lebanon as truce deadline nears

The situation is "still very fragile", said Indian peacekeeper Gurpyar Sharma from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) amid the wreckage of several destroyed buildings near the town of Marjayoun.

"We are carrying out these kind of patrols" to help prevent any "further escalation of the violence", he said as AFP accompanied peacekeepers on a tour of the area.

Clothes and photographs were strewn among shattered cement blocks and other debris from the destroyed buildings, in a scene of devastation repeated across south Lebanon.

A delicate truce took effect on November 27 between Israel and Hezbollah after more than a year of hostilities initiated by the Iran-backed militant group over the Gaza conflict, including two months of all-out war when Israel also sent in ground troops.

Under the ceasefire, the Lebanese army is to deploy alongside UN peacekeepers in the south as the Israeli army withdraws over a 60-day period, which expires on January 26.

Hezbollah is to withdraw its forces north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the country's south.

- Displacement -

AFP saw several small deployments of Lebanese soldiers during Tuesday's patrol, which traversed several areas near Marjayoun, including villages around five kilometres (three miles) from the border.

White peacekeeping vehicles rolled past civilian cars and people on foot in the crisp winter air, with some of the route overlooking the nearby town of Khiam.

On December 11, the Israeli army withdrew from Khiam, which had seen heavy fighting and bombardment, and the Lebanese army deployed there, in the first such move under the truce deal.

UNIFIL "helped the Lebanese army to confirm... that there were no Israeli troops in Khiam", said Angel Saldana, a peacekeeper from Spain, noting it was a challenging operation due to the risk of unexploded ordnance.

Monday saw a second Israeli troop withdrawal in the coastal town of Naqura, and the Lebanese army said the following day that it began deploying to several other border areas after Israeli forces pulled out.

Saldana said local residents "are trying to go home as far as they are allowed to", noting some areas are still unsafe.

Many in Lebanon are anxiously awaiting the 60-day withdrawal deadline, fearing more violence.

Marjayoun resident Tamame al-Kadri, 54, who fled last year after a strike nearby, said she came back the same day as the ceasefire but does not "feel like the situation is calm".

"There is no place to shelter here... we're really psychologically exhausted," she said, recalling the "terror" of months of hostilities.

- 'Still afraid' -

The Israeli army has repeatedly warned residents not to return to villages and towns in a strip of Lebanese territory along the frontier.

The UN migration agency said this month that more than 120,000 people remain displaced in Lebanon, while Israeli authorities say some 51,000 people are displaced from their country's north.

Lebanese authorities have said the violence since October 2023 has killed more than 4,000 people, mostly since September last year, including some after the ceasefire, without detailing the number of combatants.

On the Israeli side of the border, 77 people including soldiers have been killed, according to an AFP tally based on official figures, with an additional 56 troops dead in southern Lebanon during the ground offensive.

Both sides have accused the other of violating the ceasefire and have issued threatening statements.

From a modest stone house warmed with a traditional heater, Kadri said the UN peacekeeper presence was reassuring, and expressed optimism at the army deployment in the area.

But "we're still afraid", she said.

"We're waiting for these 60 days to pass" to see what happens, she added.

E.Qaddoumi--SF-PST