By Nohad Topalian | 2025-03-19

BEIRUT -- Voices in south Lebanon demanding that Hizbullah be held accountable for the widespread destruction of homes are growing louder, with many pointing to the party's careless disregard for civilian lives.

"We demand that any Hizbullah official come forward, admit all mistakes, and be held accountable for their gravest error -- placing rocket launchers among our homes in the south," Amal member Ayman Assi said in a video on social media.

The party's decision to place rocket launchers in residential areas "led to the martyrdom of hundreds of innocent civilians," he said in the clip.

"I never expected Doueir's houses to be completely destroyed," said Mohammad, a resident of the southern village who withheld his full name out of concern for his security.

"The scene was terrifying," he told Al-Fassel. "We discovered, like other villagers, that Hizbullah had turned our homes into rocket storage facilities and positioned launchers in residential areas."

In the nearby village of Kfarreman, Mohammad said, a relative of his still cannot inspect her home due to a rocket launcher positioned nearby.

"People in Zrariyeh, Bisariyeh, Aqibiyeh and Sarafand quietly complain about the same issue -- our homes were destroyed because of rockets placed between houses," he said.

"Our losses are massive. We know full well Hizbullah caused this. When we're finally free of them, we'll hold them accountable."

Hidden weapons, visible damage

"Hizbullah's authority, though weakening, still weighs heavily on southerners who paid the price with the destruction of their homes and villages," said a party opponent from a prominent Shia family who requested anonymity.

"People fear demanding accountability would cost them monetary compensation for war damages, since Hizbullah controls these payments," she told Al-Fassel.

After the mass exodus of civilians, Hizbullah fighters hid in homes, leaving rocket launchers exposed in courtyards to Israeli reconnaissance planes, she said.

The historic Nabatieh market was completely destroyed due to launchers being visible to Israeli aircraft, she added, while in rural areas the party installed launchers in gardens and olive groves after residents fled.

"When Arabsalim residents returned, they found massive rockets in their houses, which the Lebanese army had to dismantle," the party opponent said.

"The extensive destruction in Kfarreman's western neighborhood was caused by a single rocket launcher placed between homes," she added.

The Lebanese army discovered rockets and weapons caches hidden between civilian homes and beneath graves in Rayak, in the Bekaa Valley, political activist Raymond Hakim said in a March 12 post on X.

"Even in our cemeteries, Sheikh Naim! Do you realize what could have happened to the town if these had exploded?" he wrote, addressing Hizbullah chief Naim Qassem.