Throughout a year of ongoing conflict, Lubnan Baalbaki observed his ancestral village under continued bombardment, trapped in the ongoing clashes between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hizbollah. Baalbaki, who serves as the conductor of Lebanon’s philharmonic orchestra and is the son of a prominent Lebanese artist, had held hopes that his family’s museum, a rare cultural center in the southern Lebanon hills, would be left undisturbed.
However, his hopes were dashed when a video surfaced last week showing the Israeli military conducting a controlled demolition in Odaisseh. From the relative safety of Beirut, Baalbaki witnessed the destruction of the house that his father had meticulously built over 25 years and where his parents were laid to rest.
“This has been devastating for all of us,” Baalbaki commented, speaking about the impact on his six siblings, which include his sister Soumaya, a singer, and his brother Oussama, a notable artist. “I’m 43 years old, and it feels like I have lost 43 years of my life.”
Analysis of satellite imagery by the Financial Times confirms that the building was destroyed by Israel between October 21 and 23. The video captured the building’s collapse amid a series of simultaneous explosions.
The village of Odaisseh is one of at least 30 ancient towns and villages along the border that have been damaged by Israel since the start of October, according to FT analysis using satellite imagery and video. At least 12 of these villages have had lines of buildings demolished through controlled detonations by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
The pattern of demolitions suggests that Israel is creating a roughly 3km buffer zone along the countries’ informal border. Social media footage from the past month shows multiple controlled detonations flattening residential neighborhoods in swift actions.
Captured moments include detonations in Aitaroun and the destruction of a mosque in Yaroun. The border area, which houses villages with predominantly Christian, Sunni Muslim, and Druze populations, has seen destruction primarily among Shia Muslim communities, where Hizbollah exerts influence and garners support.
According to video evidence, areas such as Mhaibib saw hilltop buildings destroyed, and in Dheyra, at least one mosque and multiple buildings were demolished via remote detonation. Meanwhile, Odaisseh experienced five simultaneous explosions with multiple clusters of blasts.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant informed the Financial Times that the 3km strip, referred to as “the first belt,” is being cleared of Hizbollah’s attack infrastructure, with ground offensives into Lebanon to continue as necessary. Earlier this year, the FT documented how Israeli airstrikes had already rendered these areas largely uninhabitable.
In September, Israel intensified its campaign against Hizbollah, targeting the group’s senior leadership and launching numerous airstrikes and a ground invasion in southern Lebanon. Israel’s goal is to rid southern Lebanon of Hizbollah, warning that it would use force to maintain any ceasefire.
A year of near-daily rocket barrages by Hizbollah has caused destruction in Israel’s northern regions, displacing 60,000 Israelis following a Hamas assault last year.
In October alone, over 12% of buildings on the Lebanese side of the border were damaged or destroyed, based on FT analysis of satellite images and radar data. Southern villages have been on the frontline throughout the past year, an intensity that increased after Israeli ground operations began in October.
The Israeli military did not comment but asserts it targets only Hizbollah militants and infrastructure, claiming the group embeds itself in civilian areas. An Israeli military official involved in operations against Hizbollah in Shia villages claimed the objective was to target elite Hizbollah forces to eliminate future threats of ground attacks. The military infrastructure is said to be located within civilian areas, including alleged tunnel networks.
Israel’s more aggressive strategy has resulted in significant damage in many villages. While Israeli officials maintain their conflict is with Hizbollah, not the Lebanese people, experts question the systematic clearance of the area.
Alonso Gurmendi Dunkelberg, an international law expert, disputed Israel’s assertion that the villages are valid military targets, stressing that the existence of Hizbollah infrastructure in a civilian area is insufficient to justify their demolition. According to international law, any military advantage from such actions should be considerable.
Moreover, more than one million people, or about one in five in Lebanon, have been displaced due to fighting and Israeli evacuation orders. Retired Lebanese General Akram Kamal Srawi pointed out that Israel’s strategy of detonations serves to clear sightlines and psychologically affect Hizbollah’s support base, tactics he deemed unlikely to succeed.
In Dheyra, recent controlled demolitions leveled much of the town center, including at least one mosque. An Israeli soldier was heard commenting on video about the event as religious songs followed the collapse.
In Beirut, Baalbaki is contemplating a return to Odaisseh to rebuild what his father, artist Abdel-Hamid Baalbaki, had made a cultural center and exhibition space filled with art, pottery, and thousands of books and manuscripts. The family now fears the loss of the building where their parents are buried as well.
“It was a deeply emotional project for him and for all of us because we grew up with this dream,” Baalbaki said, expressing his commitment to rebuilding the museum.
