(18 Feb 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Khiam, southern Lebanon – 17 February 2025
1. Various of excavator at work and destroyed buildings
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dalal Abdallah, Khiam resident: ++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT AND IS PARTIALLY OVERLAID BY SHOT 3++
"With the strength of our youth, their efforts and the blood they have shed on this land – they soaked all this land with blood, the blood of the finest young men, the best youth and the best people. No one can drive us out of here and no one should think that we would ever abandon our land."
3. Various of debris and poster of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last year
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Wissam Hassan, Khiam resident: ++SOUNDBITE IS OVERLAID BY SHOT 5++
"The army did not allow us to enter until the Israelis withdrew, but after they had destroyed everything, leaving nothing behind. No infrastructure, no electricity, no water, no roads. Any building that was standing, they leveled to the ground, and they burned what remained. These are the corrupters on Earth."
5. Tracking of destruction and destroyed buildings
6. Damaged cemetery
7. Various of women visiting cemetery, crying over grave of family member
STORYLINE:
Israel’s military says its forces will remain in five strategic locations in southern Lebanon after Tuesday’s deadline for their withdrawal under a ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group.
One of these locations is the Hamamis hill on the southern outskirts of Khiam and on Monday, bulldozers could be seen from a distance doing works in what appears to show that Israel’s military is planning to stay long beyond Tuesday’s deadline.
The 60-day ceasefire that was supposed to end on Jan. 27 with an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and Hezbollah ending its armed presence along the border area was extended until Tuesday.
Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said in a speech Sunday that Israel will have to fully withdraw from Lebanon on Tuesday saying “there is no pretext for five points nor other details.”
He added that the Lebanese state should prevent Israel from staying in the country after Tuesday as stated in the ceasefire deal.
The Israel-Hezbollah war began a day after Hamas carried out its deadly attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7,. 2023 killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 people hostage triggering the Israel-Hamas war.
The war intensified as of Sept. 23, when Israel expanded its attacks and killed Hezbollah’s top leader and one of its founders Hassan Nasrallah.
Khiam, one of the largest towns close to the Israeli border, suffered wide damage including entire blocks that were turned to piles of debris while marks left behind by Israeli troops could been seen on the walls on as well as inside homes.
Khiam resident Dalal Abdallah said that if Israel decides to stay in Lebanon, it will be eventually forced to leave again.
"This is our land, and we will never give it up. We will return to our homes, whether Israel withdraws or not. It will withdraw, whether it wants to or not," she said.
"No one can drive us out of here and no one should think that we would ever abandon our land," she added.
On Monday, workers were removing debris in different locations in Khiam as many residents come during the day to spend few hours and leave before sunset since the town still has no electricity or running water.
New poles were being placed by the country’s state electricity company as the infrastructure suffered severe damage.
AP video shot by Mahamad Anouti
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