Fear of War Expansion Empties Border Towns in Southern Lebanon

Israeli soldiers from the artillery unit at a location near the border with Lebanon (AFP)
Israeli soldiers from the artillery unit at a location near the border with Lebanon (AFP)
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Fear of War Expansion Empties Border Towns in Southern Lebanon

Israeli soldiers from the artillery unit at a location near the border with Lebanon (AFP)
Israeli soldiers from the artillery unit at a location near the border with Lebanon (AFP)

Ahmed, a 38-year-old resident of Khiam in southern Lebanon, left his home on Oct. 8 and has not returned since.

“There is no prospect of return as long as the war persists,” he tells Asharq Al-Awsat, citing the high risks of targeting, especially after the Saturday evening strike on a civilian house in the town square.

Additionally, the living conditions in the town have deteriorated with shortages of goods and companies refraining from delivering to the area.

The border region in southern Lebanon appears almost deserted, according to visitors in the past week.

Daily shelling continues to impact various towns along the more than 110-kilometer border area, reaching depths of 5 to 8 kilometers.

Visitors describe sudden clashes and the constant sound of artillery, with Israeli drones dominating the area.

Most residents of Lebanon’s southern region left their homes in the first week of the war. Those with homes in Beirut moved there, while others who could afford to rent in Beirut, Nabatieh, or Sidon also relocated.

Only those who have never left their homes throughout their lives or those forced by their work to stay, such as farmers and livestock breeders, remain.

Residents now lack the “security” they experienced for 17 years.

Many residents in Beirut refrain from visiting their villages and homes during the weekend, and few dare to visit their villages for olive harvesting this season.

Thousands of residents evacuated in the first week, fearing the expansion of the conflict into a full-scale war.

Approximately 38 towns and villages along the border from Shabaa in the east to Naqoura in the west have been evacuated.

Estimates suggest that more than 40,000 displaced people from southern Lebanon are spread across various regions, including Tyre, Sidon, the southern suburbs of Beirut, and the southern Mount Lebanon districts of Shouf and Aley.



Top Houthi Leaders Flee Sanaa Amid Trump-Ordered US Strikes

Top Houthi leaders disappear from Sanaa, communication cut off (Houthi Media)
Top Houthi leaders disappear from Sanaa, communication cut off (Houthi Media)
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Top Houthi Leaders Flee Sanaa Amid Trump-Ordered US Strikes

Top Houthi leaders disappear from Sanaa, communication cut off (Houthi Media)
Top Houthi leaders disappear from Sanaa, communication cut off (Houthi Media)

Senior Houthi leaders have disappeared from public life in Sanaa, gripped by fear of US airstrikes ordered by President Donald Trump, now entering their third week, sources in Yemen said.

The first-tier leadership of the Iran-aligned group is believed to have fled the capital, which remains under Houthi control, seeking shelter in remote areas of Saada and Amran provinces.

According to informed sources, the group’s leaders have severed traditional communication channels and several have either gone into hiding or relocated to undisclosed locations as a precaution against possible targeted strikes.

Since the launch of US airstrikes on March 15, senior and mid-level Houthi leaders have vanished from public view and social media platforms, Yemeni sources say, as fear of targeted attacks continues to grow within the group’s ranks.

Informed sources confirmed there has been no trace of the group’s top two tiers of leadership - neither in the institutions under Houthi control in Sanaa, nor on the streets and neighborhoods they once frequented in luxury vehicles.

Even the sectarian events that Houthi leaders were known to regularly attend have reportedly gone on without their visible presence.

The Houthi group has remained tight-lipped about the extent of its human and military losses following US airstrikes ordered by Trump.

However, sources say several leaders not belonging to the ruling family of Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi are still believed to be in Sanaa.

Many of these figures have adopted strict security measures to avoid detection, including travelling in vehicles with tinted windows and covering their faces with cloaks when leaving temporary residences, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The precautions reflect growing fears of betrayal or being targeted by further strikes.

A source in Sanaa revealed that third-tier Houthi officials—mostly tribal figures and field supervisors—were instructed to flee to the northern provinces of Saada, Amran and other areas as US air raids intensified.

According to the source, mid-level Houthi officials have lost all direct contact with the group’s senior leadership after the latter switched locations and shut down their communication lines.