Israel bombs flatten Lebanon village amid war fears

Jerusalem [Israel], June 28: Satellite images showing much of the Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab in ruins after months of Israeli air strikes offer a glimpse of the scale of damage in one of Hezbollah's main bastions in south Lebanon.
The images from private satellite operator Planet Labs PBC, taken on June 5 and analysed by Reuters, show at least 64 destroyed sites in Aita al-Shaab. Several of the sites contain more than one building.
Located in southern Lebanon where Hezbollah enjoys strong backing from many Shi'ite Muslims, Aita al-Shaab was a frontline in 2006 when its fighters successfully repelled Israeli attacks during the full-scale, 34-day war.
While the current fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Shi'ite Islamist movement is still relatively contained, it marks their worst confrontation in 18 years, with widespread damage to buildings and farmland in south Lebanon and northern Israel.
The sides have been trading fire since the Gaza war erupted in October. The hostilities have largely depopulated the border zone on both sides, with tens of thousands of people fleeing their homes.
The destruction in Aita al-Shaab is comparable to the damage done in 2006, a dozen people familiar with the damage said, at a time when escalation has prompted growing concern of another all out war between the heavily-armed adversaries.
Reuters does not have satellite images from 2006 to compare the two periods.
Israel says fire from Lebanon has killed 18 soldiers and 10 civilians. Israeli attacks have killed more than 300 Hezbollah fighters and 87 civilians, according to Reuters tallies.
At least 10 of Hezbollah's dead came from Aita al-Shaab, and dozens more from the surrounding area, according to Hezbollah death notices reviewed by Reuters. Six civilians have been killed in the village, a security source said.
The village, just 1 km (0.6 miles) from the border, is among the most heavily bombarded by Israel, Hashem Haidar, the head of the government's regional development agency the Council for South Lebanon told Reuters.
Most of the village's 13,500 residents fled in October, when Israel began striking buildings and woodland nearby, he added.
The bombing campaign has made a swath of the border area in Lebanon "unfit for living," Haidar said.
The Israeli military has said it has hit Hezbollah targets in the Aita al-Shaab area during the conflict.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation