Chicago – June 27, 2024
Satellite images showing much of the Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab in ruins after months of Israeli air strikes offer a glimpse of the scale of damage in one of Hezbollah’s main bastions in south Lebanon.
The images from private satellite operator Planet Labs PBC, taken on June 5 and analysed by Reuters, show at least 64 destroyed sites in Aita al-Shaab. Several of the sites contain more than one building.
Located in southern Lebanon where Hezbollah enjoys strong backing from many Shi’ite Muslims, Aita al-Shaab was a frontline in 2006 when its fighters successfully repelled Israeli attacks during the full-scale, 34-day war.
While the current fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Shi’ite Islamist movement is still relatively contained, it marks their worst confrontation in 18 years, with widespread damage to buildings and farmland in south Lebanon and northern Israel.
