AP PHOTOS: Graffiti left by Israeli soldiers turn south Lebanon homes into a canvas of war
Residents of southern Lebanon have been gradually returning to their villages to find their homes heavily damaged by the fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
As they scour what remains, they are discovering that the battle-scarred walls of their houses served as a canvas for Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah supporters that tell the story of the war.
The scrawled messages give insight into the battles that erupted after Israel launched a ground invasion into southern Lebanon in October 2024, months after Hezbollah began firing rockets and drones at Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
A ceasefire in November allowed Lebanese residents to begin returning to their homes, which had been occupied by Israeli troops.
One yellow wall had written on it signs of preparedness: the cardinal directions in red. On another is what appears to be a battle plan: a hand-drawn map, a list of soldiers slated for a task and supplies — a drone, a stretcher.
'Wake up Kochuk every hour on the hour from 20:00,' reads one instruction, apparently referring to a soldier.
Elsewhere, a warning to the returnees: 'We will be back,' scribbled in English, in gray spray paint, with a Star of David; the word Lebanon in red, with a large X crossing it out. One message reads cynically, 'Thanks for the hospitality,' with a heart.
Others reveal moments of boredom — the rules of a card game spelled out in meticulous detail in Hebrew, along with sketches of most of the suit of hearts; a drawing of SpongeBob SquarePants, a dog, a ninja.
And still other messages appear intended to leave a personal mark: 'Congratulations, mom,' scrawled in dark red on a bright pink bedroom wall, above a bed piled with belongings and near a photo of a local couple.
In another room, with windows blacked out by tarps and littered with garbage, a Bible verse. In a kitchen, inside an empty refrigerator alcove, a drawing of a blue menorah.
But not just messages from Israeli soldiers were left behind. Peppered throughout homes in the village of Khiam are notes in Arabic written by Hezbollah fighters or their supporters after Israeli forces withdrew earlier this month.
They underscore the continued allegiance to Hezbollah despite the hard blows it endured during the war. 'Wish we lost everything and you stayed, Sayyed,' referring to Hezbollah's longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in Israeli strikes in southern Beirut in September.
'Khiam is Golani's graveyard,' reads a warning on one wall, referring to an Israeli military unit. On another, a message of defiance: 'Our flag will not fall. ... We will not drop our weapons.'
___
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
12 minutes ago
- The National
Air India flight bound for Gatwick crashes with 244 people on board
The Air India flight was departing from Ahmedabad airport with 244 people on board, including 53 British nationals. A large explosion was seen as the plane crashed in a residential area, with many people feared to have been killed. READ MORE: UK 'currently' training Israeli soldiers on UK soil, Labour Government admits Air India's chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran described the incident as a "tragic accident" and a "devastating event" and said emergency response teams are at the site. He said: 'With profound sorrow I confirm that Air India Flight 171 operating Ahmedabad London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today. 'Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event. 'At this moment, our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families. 'We are doing everything in our power to assist the emergency response teams at the site and to provide all necessary support and care to those impacted.' Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: 'The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating.' He added that he is being kept updated on the incident. READ MORE: Popular family-run shop in Scottish city set to shut after 40 years First Minister John Swinney said: "Terrible news emerging from India this morning. Unimaginable pain for all those involved and affected by this incident. I extend my sympathy to all." Air India said 169 of those on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft are Indian nationals, while 53 are British, one is Canadian and seven are Portugese. Twelve of those on board were crew members, while the remaining 232 were passengers. Flight tracking website Flightrader24 said on social media that it received the last signal from the aircraft at 08:08:51 UTC (shortly before 9.09am BST), "just seconds after take off".
Western Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Western Telegraph
Some of Skomer Island's many puffins should come to Cardigan
The WTSWW said: "Puffins are listed as vulnerable to extinction on the global red list". Therefore, since Skomer is so overcrowded, why don't they move around 200, or maybe even the odd 626, to their 38-acre property of Cardigan Island off the coast of Gwbert, near Cardigan. There used to be puffins there in the past; an 1890 Guide Book called them "Welsh parrots." I now discover that Skomer Island is actually owned by Natural Resources Wales [NRW], that's us Welsh tax payers!! Therefore, it's even more reason to relocate some of the puffins. WTSWW only manage Skomer on our behalf! We are the landlords! Furthermore, WTSWW receive public funding to count the puffins, which they don't actually own. What, I wonder, do they do for them apart from count them? Meanwhile, in Anglesey, the RSPB recently received almost a quarter of a million pounds from the Welsh tax-payer for their cafe at South Stack, Holyhead, where there are also puffins. Puffins must be big business!! At a risk of repeating myself, I stated in your columns recently, that the return of puffins to Cardigan Island would greatly boost the tourist economy for 25 miles radius around Cardigan and create maybe 500 or more jobs in hundreds of little businesses, because they are truly iconic, attractive birds that visitors wish to view and photograph!! Both tourists and locals would be able to do so on beaches and in villages from Newport Pembs to New Quay, if they started breeding again on Cardigan Island, because BIRDS CAN FLY!!! The Welsh name for the puffin is 'Pal' [with a circumflex over the 'a' to elongate it]. Pal is also the Welsh for 'spade,' hence given to the bird because it uses its wide, colourful beak to dig a burrow for nesting. Maybe they're called 'puffins' in English because they're out of breath after all the hard work!!!??? Yours faithfully, Lyn Jenkins, Cardigan
Leader Live
6 hours ago
- Leader Live
Rare hazel dormice released to create Leicestershire's only known population
The tiny mammals were reintroduced this week to an undisclosed area of the Bradgate Park Trust estate by wildlife charity People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and its partners. It comes as part of national efforts to help the endangered species come back from the brink of extinction. The native dormouse, immortalised as the sleepy guest at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party in Alice in Wonderland, has suffered declines of 70% nationally since 2000 and has vanished from 20 English counties. Annual dormouse reintroductions began in 1993 and have been managed by PTES since 2000, with 1,142 being released into 26 different woodlands in 13 counties, including six English counties where they had previously been lost. The reintroduction in Leicestershire follows the successful reintroduction of 38 dormice to the National Forest from the National Trust's Calke Abbey in Derbyshire. The conservationists say this secondary reintroduction is a vital step forward for dormouse recovery nationally and regionally. The hope is that these two populations of dormice will one day form part of a wider population spanning the whole forest. Bradgate Park Trust, which is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) and part of a national nature reserve, was chosen with the help of local wildlife groups to ensure the woodland is suitable for dormice now and in the future. Ian White, PTES dormouse and training officer, said: 'Despite once being a common part of Britain's woodlands and hedgerows, hazel dormice have experienced a historic and catastrophic decline due to habitat loss, degradation and poor management of woodlands and hedgerows, compounded by a changing climate. 'PTES's reintroductions, alongside habitat management, landscape projects and monitoring, are paramount to their long-term survival.' James Dymond, director of Bradgate Park Trust, said: 'As a small charity, we are proud to be entrusted with the care of these rare and charming creatures. 'This reintroduction is a testament to the past woodland management efforts on the estate, and we are committed to ensuring this special habitat continues to thrive—not only for the dormice, but for a wide range of other rare species that call it home too.' Ben Devine, head of nature recovery at the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, added: 'This release is an exciting first step in helping dormice not only locally, but nationally too. 'Ensuring the right landscape and habitat is in place is key to ensuring continued nature recovery, and we will continue to monitor the dormice to ensure that Leicestershire's only known population thrives and one day expands beyond Bradgate Park estate.' The dormice are bred in captivity and undergo an eight-week quarantine with regular health checks before their release, to ensure only healthy animals are put into the wild. They have been released into their woodland habitat, which has been selected to make sure it meets their needs, in large wire mesh cages with food and water. Local volunteers from Bradgate Park Trust and the Leicestershire and Rutland Mammal Group will regularly check the cages and top up their food and water before the doors are opened after 10 days to allow them to start to explore their new home.
