The Israeli military destroyed most of a village in southern Lebanon this week with a series of explosions, according to videos verified by The New York Times and satellite images. About two dozen buildings were demolished in the village, which The Times identified as Mhaibib, just over a mile from Israel’s northern border.
In a video taken from a distance, which circulated widely online, soldiers who appear to be wearing Israeli uniforms react with exclamations in Hebrew as they watch buildings explode simultaneously.
It was not possible to determine the source of that footage. But The Times confirmed that it depicted the same demolition shown in another video, published by an Israeli radio station, in which Israeli soldiers give thumbs-up signs as they watch the destruction of the buildings on a drone controller screen.
In a series of posts on social media, the Israeli military said that its soldiers had “dismantled” a tunnel network used by Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force on Wednesday, saying that it ran through “the heart of a village.” Accompanying the statement was aerial footage that showed several explosions and smoke rising from the village. The statement did not name the location, but The Times geolocated the video to Mhaibib. Hezbollah has made no public comment on the Israeli assertion, and the Israeli military, asked about the village on Friday, said that it was “checking.”
Satellite imagery of the village captured before and after the detonations show that only a couple of buildings are left standing after the Israeli operation, which the military’s statement said had been carried out by the 91st Division.
One of structures that appears to still be standing is an ancient shrine that has attracted pilgrims from around the region. It is dedicated to Benjamin, a son of Jacob, whom Islam regards as a prophet. It was not possible to determine from the images whether the shrine had been damaged.
Mhaibib, which sits atop a hillside overlooking the Israeli border, was the scene of heavy fighting in 2006, during a monthlong war between Israel and Hezbollah. Over the last year, it has been hit repeatedly by strikes as the Israeli military battles cross-border fire from Hezbollah, which began just after its fellow Iranian-backed militant group Hamas led the devastating Oct. 7 attacks.
Israel began a ground invasion of Lebanon almost three weeks ago.
The Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah has killed more than 2,400 people in Lebanon since last year, most of them in its recently intensified operations, including a ground invasion that began less than three weeks ago. In that time, Israel has flattened several other villages.
It was unclear whether there were any injuries or deaths in Mhaibib; many southern Lebanese border villages were already largely emptied of residents when hostilities flared last year. The village chief, Qassem Ahmed Jaber, was quoted by Anadolu, Turkey’s state-run news agency, as saying that the residents had already fled. He could not be reached for comment by The Times.
Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman, said at a news briefing on Wednesday that he had seen the video and that U.S. officials had been in contact with the Israeli government but that he did not have any details.
“We understand that Hezbollah does operate at times from underneath civilian homes, inside civilian homes,” Mr. Miller said. “So Israel does have a right to go after those legitimate targets, but they need to do so in a way that protects civilian infrastructure, protects civilians.”
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