A short history of the ancient Lebanese villages destroyed by Israel

Soon after Israel launched its ground invasion of Lebanon in October, videos began to emerge of soldiers blowing up entire Lebanese villages in the south, leaving their heritage sites and homes in ruins.

Many of these villages already suffered extensive damage from Israeli bombardment, which began a year earlier when Hezbollah opened a “support front” in solidarity with its Hamas allies in the Gaza Strip.

On Wednesday morning, a ceasefire agreed between Hezbollah, Israel and the Lebanese government came into force.

Hundreds of thousands of displaced Lebanese were able to return to the homes they were forced to flee from.

Yet in the deep south, Israeli troops continued to occupy villages they had laid waste to, firing at civilians trying to reach their homes. Below are profiles of four villages Israel has destroyed.

Read more: A short history of the ancient Lebanese villages destroyed by Israel