A few months after the Israel-Hezbollah War that devastated southern Lebanon, the Alawyers were able to visit the hillside near the ruined home to get a glimpse of what was left of it.
Their olive tree is gone. So were their goats, as did the lemon and fig orchards, which had taken years to bear fruit. Their house was a mountain of tile rubs.
Israel had agreed to the January 26 deadline – two months after the ceasefire came into effect, they withdraw the remaining troops from southern Lebanon. That day, Musa Alawye departs with his three teenagers and one cousin, wanting to see what remains in their homes in the border town of Atalun.
Alawie, a 45-year-old metal worker, had been evacuated for over a year and struggled to achieve his goals. He wanted to save as much property as he could from the wreckage, the family said.
But he never made it home.
As he and his family were driving through a flat town, they shot the family's car multiple times and killed Mr Alawie, according to video footage verified by the New York Times and his accounts. I met at least two Israeli soldiers. brother and brother-in-law.
Asked about Alawie's shooting, Israeli forces said the issue was “under review.”
Israel had delayed its withdrawal that day, but Alawie had not noticed and believed the army had begun to withdraw from Atalun, according to his brother Jacob Alawie.
The displaced people are unsure whether Israel will remain indefinitely in Lebanon and whether they will be able to return home. Many of their towns and villages are now abandoned. It is also unclear who will draft the mammoth bill to rebuild it.
After Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend the withdrawal deadline on January 26th, Israeli forces continued to occupy most of southern Lebanon. A new date for withdrawal was set on Tuesday, with Israeli forces being drawn from the remaining populated towns and villages along the border.
However, Israeli forces said this week that they intend to remain at many strategic points within Lebanon, exceeding the deadline for a full withdrawal.
Israel once occupied southern Lebanon for 18 years, but each delayed withdrawal raises fears about another long-term occupation.
The latest war began brewing after a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has begun attacking Israel's status, which is solidarity with Hamas.
After nearly a year of low-level clashes, Israel launched a full-scale attack in September, assassinating many of the Hezbollah leaders and destroying many of its stockpiles of weapons. It was Lebanon's most destructive war in decades.
Israel issued a series of warnings to residents of South Lebanon, including January 26th – making sure that they still return to their homeland as the troops were still deployed there. However, thousands of Lebanese ignored those orders with their enthusiasm to go home.
According to Lebanon's Ministry of Health, Israeli forces killed at least 24 people in southern Lebanon on January 26 alone, and then more were killed afterwards.
Mr Arawier was so excited to go home that he didn't check the news that day, his brother said, and he was under the impression that Israeli forces had begun to retreat to the outskirts of Atalun. Ta.
However, when his car rounded the corner of the town, at least two Israeli soldiers suddenly appeared on the road ahead, according to video footage taken from inside the car by Ali, Ali, Ali, 15-year-old son. .
Alawie panicked and slammed the vehicle in reverse. The family raised their hands in the air. Gunshots rang out – 1, 2, 20 – A salvo of metal, glass and bullets with holes in their skin.
“Get off, dad, get off!” cried Ali from the back seat, his sisters screaming in terror.
“No, dad!” cried Ali. “Dad! Dad! Dad!”
When his father began bleeding, Israeli soldiers ordered the children from their cars to question them, Alawie's brother said. The soldiers told them to walk straight without turning around. They left their father in the car, injured, but still alive.
Arawie's 18-year-old daughter, Lucaya Arawie, was injured in the shooting and took an hour to arrive at the hospital closest to find help from her father. By the time the ambulance arrived in the car, he was dead.
According to his brother, Alawie, like many other residents in southern Lebanon, was affiliated with Hezbollah. But he was not a fighter jet or a full-fledged member, the brothers said. Hezbollah has long run a roster of social and humanitarian services in place of Lebanon's illness, and Alawier became involved in the group's social work shortly before his death.
Many residents who were able to return to their homes in southern Lebanon often arrived back to rise.
The expanded Alawier family has lost 11 homes, and Mr. Alawier's brother-in-law, Marwan Kasem, owns a home in Atalun, and now runs a large family farm in abandoned. Ta.
“When I saw the damage to the house, I asked myself, where should I start?” he said.
During the war, Mr. Kasem and Mr. Alawyer spent months trying to flee Israel's attacks by bouncing between temporary accommodations with their families.
First, they fled the border areas and fled to areas where airstrikes were soon attacked. They then headed to the capital, Beirut, which was also bombed. It was a seemingly endless loop, and I was looking for safety, but it was never safe.
Today, his family is in Limbo, but still can't return home and consumes sadly at their losses. Kasem said the children were forced to leave their father from the family cemetery, and the children had a hard time dealing with what had happened.
Ali's cheeky laugh gave way to silence. And his sister Lucaya, who scrambles to find help after her father is shot and killed, is traumatized.
“Sometimes she's silent,” Kasem said. “Sometimes she cries.”
Alignata radio and Myra Novek Reports of contributions.
