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This Lebanese couple is among those returning to shattered homes under US-brokered deal with Israel
AP News • • world
Key Points:
- Mahasen Faqih and her husband returned to their heavily damaged home in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, southern Lebanon, as part of a U.S.-brokered agreement where Israel agreed to withdraw in exchange for Hezbollah's disarmament.
- Despite significant destruction, only about 15 families have returned to the village, with nearly half of its 500 homes destroyed and many others uninhabitable, according to the local mayor.
- Hezbollah opposes the deal and ongoing talks between Israel and Lebanon, which remain technically at war, while Israeli forces continue to control large parts of southern Lebanon following the March conflict.
- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that 24 villages were destroyed due to Hezbollah's hostile actions, and Israeli troops maintain control to prevent attacks on Israeli communities.
- Further Lebanon-Israel talks are scheduled in Rome in early August to discuss additional pilot zones, but local residents and officials express insecurity and doubt about the effectiveness of the current arrangements.
