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Lebanon Israel Buffer Zone
This Oct. 24 2024, satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the village of Ramyah in southern Lebanon. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Israel's path of destruction in southern Lebanon raises fears of an attempt to create a buffer zone

Satellite imagery and data collected by mapping experts show extensive destruction in 11 villages in southern Lebanon located immediately next to the border with Israel

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB, JULIA FRANKEL and BASSEM MROUE
Published - Nov 02, 2024, 02:27 AM ET
Last Updated - Dec 16, 2024, 05:44 PM EST

BEIRUT (AP) — Perched on a hilltop a short walk from the Israeli border, the tiny southern Lebanese village of Ramyah has almost been wiped off the map. In a neighboring village, satellite photos show a similar scene: a hill once covered with houses, now reduced to a gray smear of rubble.

Israeli warplanes and ground forces have blasted a trail of destruction through southern Lebanon the past month. The aim, Israel says, is to debilitate the Hezbollah militant group, push it away from the border and end more than a year of Hezbollah fire into northern Israel.

Even United Nations peacekeepers and Lebanese troops in the south have come under fire from Israeli forces, raising questions over whether they can remain in place.

More than 1 million people have fled bombardment, emptying much of the south. Some experts say Israel may be aiming to create a depopulated buffer zone, a strategy it has already deployed along its border with Gaza.

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