The fragile ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hezbollah final month is holding.
However satellite tv for pc imagery exhibits that at the least 46 of 54 cities and villages inside the Israel Protection Forces (IDF) “Yellow Line” in southern Lebanon have been closely broken or, in some instances, totally flattened.
A lot of the destruction and demolition has taken place in latest weeks.
Bellingcat’s satellite tv for pc imagery evaluation examined cities and villages recognized on OpenStreetMap, a community-driven map database. Medium decision PlanetScope satellite tv for pc imagery masking every of the areas was offered by Planet Labs, a US firm that lately restricted a few of its imagery within the Center East.
Bellingcat is sharing the annotated PlanetScope imagery for the dates of March 2 and Could 8, 2026, exhibiting the size of injury that has occurred throughout roughly the primary two months of the US-Israeli conflict towards Iran.
The cities and villages detailed within the map are color coded. Crimson exhibits areas which have suffered various levels of injury or destruction, whereas yellow exhibits areas that had been broken previous to the US-Israeli conflict with Iran. White exhibits areas that haven’t been considerably broken at time of publication.
Scroll and zoom to see injury all through southern Lebanon in every of the date tabs. The primary picture is from March 2, 2026, shortly after the US and Israel attacked Iran. The second picture is from Could 8, 2026, greater than two months after the beginning of the conflict and amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. PlanetScope imagery through Planet Labs PBC.
Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, is reported to have said that “all houses in Lebanese villages close to the border will probably be destroyed — in accordance with the Rafah and Beit Hanoun mannequin in Gaza”. The intention, Katz mentioned, is to “take away, as soon as and for all, the threats close to the border”. Israel has adopted related strategies of flattening buildings and houses near Israel’s border in Gaza.
The massive-scale destruction in southern Lebanon has been reported by a number of shops together with the BBC, CNN, SkyNews and The New York Instances. These experiences have shared photographs from a number of cities and villages, however Bellingcat is publishing satellite tv for pc imagery for the whole thing of southern Lebanon. The adjustments between the 2 dates present the size and tempo of destruction.
Throughout the Yellow Line — the realm occupied by the IDF since a ceasefire was agreed between Hezbollah and Israel on April 16 — some cities had been reported already destroyed or closely broken through the 2024 Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon. Some — just like the coastal border city of Naqoura or the southeastern border city of Kfar Kila — have now been largely demolished. That is seen in each the medium-resolution PlanetScope imagery, and in high-resolution imagery obtained from Airbus by the BBC.
Every thing south of Lebanon’s Litani and Zahrani Rivers has been below evacuation orders issued by the IDF since early March, with common updates warning residents to go away forward of airstrikes.
A lot of the destruction inside the “Yellow Line” seems to be from both managed demolitions utilizing explosives or building automobiles. The IDF has shared quite a few movies exhibiting large-scale demolitions performed within the cities and villages in southern Lebanon, whereas movies shared elsewhere on social media present the aftermath — giant elements of cities like Beit Lif or Kheim lowered to rubble.
One notably giant explosion came about within the small village of Qantara, the place the IDF says it discovered two giant tunnel methods constructed by Hezbollah.
The tunnels had been detonated with 450 tonnes of explosives, leaving giant elements of the village obliterated. One other video launched by the IDF confirmed a few of the few remaining buildings within the close by village of Aadashit being demolished with explosives. The IDF claimed the buildings had been “Hezbollah infrastructure”.
Earlier than and after imagery from Planet Labs exhibits the villages of Qantara and Aadshit in southern Lebanon on March 2 and April 30, 2026. The April imagery exhibits the aftermath of two giant demolitions performed by the IDF. Massive elements of each villages have additionally been demolished. The UNP 7-1 label particulars the place of a UN peacekeepers facility.
Bellingcat contacted the IDF for touch upon the small print on this story however didn’t obtain a response earlier than publication.
A full measurement model of the map might be discovered right here.
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The publish Satellite tv for pc Imagery Exhibits Ongoing Demolitions Throughout Southern Lebanon appeared first on bellingcat.
