Residents of Kfarchouba, a mountain-side town on the Lebanon-Israel border, say they live in fear of nightly raids and daytime bombings by Israeli forces occupying their land. The Israeli military has allowed people to remain in a handful of non-Shia-majority villages within a 6-mile-wide strip known as the ‘yellow line’, established after the 17 April ceasefire with Lebanon.
Hussein Abdel al-El and his wife Um Alaa, both in their 70s, hid in their bathroom for hours during a recent Israeli raid on a neighbour’s house. In the neighbouring home, soldiers forced residents against a wall, zip-tied their hands, and interrogated them before taking a shepherd, Qassem al-Qadari, to an Israeli military base across the border. The elderly couple’s neighbours have since abandoned their homes.
During the day, residents gather in the town centre to watch Israeli F-16s bomb towns below, as Hezbollah fighters are pushed back. At night, families stay indoors while Israeli soldiers patrol the streets, enforcing an unofficial curfew and conducting raids. ‘Out there, it’s Gaza: they are levelling everything,’ said Nazih Yehya, a shop owner in his 70s. ‘Here it is the West Bank: it’s not destroyed, but they want to make sure this area is under their control.’
Israel has not destroyed Kfarchouba or displaced its residents, but they must obey strict conditions. They must guard against Hezbollah, cannot access the southern part of the town, and must not interfere with nightly raids. A 15-year-old boy, Mohammed Abdel al-El, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in March when he emerged to check on a woman screaming during a kidnapping operation in the neighbouring town of Halta.
The mostly Sunni residents are no supporters of Hezbollah, which used the town to fire rockets during the 2024 war, leaving half of it in ruins. The mayor now holds court in an ad-hoc town hall across from the bombed municipality building. Those who have stayed, mostly elderly, have agreed to Israel’s terms to remain in their homes.
