BBC Travels Inside Occupied Lebanon as Israel Expands
Constantvpn.com – When the BBC travels inside occupied Lebanon, the first thing that strikes you is the silence. The coastal road that once threaded through terraced orchards, fishing harbours, and sleepy residential lanes now runs past shattered facades and abandoned plots. Surveillance drones hum overhead at irregular intervals, and the only human activity visible is the slow crawl of a UNIFIL humanitarian convoy. What was, until recently, a corridor of ordinary daily life has been redrawn as a contested frontier, its boundaries marked by poured concrete, barbed wire, and rows of blue-and-white flags.
The Checkpoint That Marks the Line
Driving south toward Naqoura, the final symbol of Lebanese state authority is a military checkpoint painted in the white and red of the national flag. Behind poured-concrete barriers, soldiers scan an empty stretch of tarmac. A short distance further south, roughly a dozen Israeli flags appear in rapid succession — a visual threshold beyond which no one passes without Israeli clearance. That threshold now encloses a strip amounting to approximately five percent of Lebanon’s total land area, extending in places up to ten kilometres (six miles) inland from the border.
The territory in question is the ancestral heartland of Lebanon’s Shia Muslim community and the principal base of support for Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia and political party that has shaped Lebanese governance for decades. Within the past twenty years, Israeli forces have invaded this region on three separate occasions. The most recent incursion opened in March, triggered when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel following the killing of Iran’s supreme leader — an event that also marked the start of a broader US- and Israel-led war against Tehran.
What the Ground Shows
Access to the area under Israeli military control remains tightly restricted. One of the few viable routes runs through a humanitarian convoy operated by UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force stationed in Lebanon. Last month, a reporting team accompanied such a mission, escorted by Finnish troops serving in the UNIFIL contingent, as the convoy ferried civilians to and from Christian villages clustered near the border. Those communities were deliberately spared from Israeli strikes and ground operations during the war; now that the surrounding areas sit under occupation, they are effectively severed from the rest of the country.
Entry was permitted through a deconfliction mechanism negotiated between the Israeli military and the United Nations. Along the route, the visual evidence of sustained military activity was difficult to miss: newly constructed service roads running parallel to the border wall, heavy troop movement, and residential buildings repurposed as Israeli positions. Several structures were draped in protective netting, a measure designed to shield occupants from Hezbollah’s explosive drones. In the sky, surveillance aircraft hummed at altitude; in the distance, muffled detonations suggested ongoing demolition work in occupied villages.
The scale of the build-up is not incidental. During a visit to the region last month, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that he had directed the military to:
“take all necessary steps to prepare for a long-term presence in the area.”
Israeli officials frame the objective as the creation of what they term a “security zone” — a buffer intended to shield communities in northern Israel from rocket and drone fire originating in southern Lebanon, as well as from the prospect of a future ground incursion by Hezbollah. According to UNIFIL, the Israeli military has erected four new bases within the invaded territory, raising the total number of such positions to nine. This follows the previous war against Hezbollah in 2024, after which Israeli forces remained stationed at five points in violation of the agreement that ended that conflict.
Kandice Ardiel, a UNIFIL spokeswoman, described the observable changes on the ground:
“In the past months, we’ve seen the consolidation and fortification of Israeli positions, construction of protective infrastructure, and other engineering works. We have [also] observed what appear to be Israeli civilian personnel carrying out demolition and engineering activities in support of military activities in south Lebanon.”
For the Lebanese population, the practical consequence is displacement on a massive scale. Hundreds of thousands of residents remain uprooted from their homes, uncertain whether — or when — they will be permitted to return. The question of accountability, of who decides the future of this strip of land, and of how long the occupation will persist, remains unanswered as the BBC’s reporting from inside the zone underscores just how entrenched the current military posture has become.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much of Lebanon is currently under Israeli military control? Approximately five percent of the country’s total territory, extending up to ten kilometres (six miles) inland from the border in places.
How did the current incursion begin? Israeli forces entered southern Lebanon in March after Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel following the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, an event that also opened a broader US- and Israel-led war against Tehran.
What is the stated Israeli objective? Officials describe the goal as establishing a “security zone” to protect northern Israeli communities from rocket and drone fire. Defence Minister Israel Katz has directed the military to prepare for a “long-term presence” in the area.
How are civilians moving in and out of the zone? Access is tightly restricted. One of the few viable routes is through UNIFIL humanitarian convoys, which operate under a deconfliction mechanism negotiated between the Israeli military and the United Nations.
How many Israeli military positions now exist in the territory? UNIFIL reports a total of nine bases, including four newly erected positions. Five positions had already remained after the 2024 war, in violation of the agreement that ended that conflict.
