Lebanese farmers harvest olives in the south amid Israeli drones, shelling and unexploded ordnance

Mixed · 2Farmers in southern Lebanon are bringing in this year's olive harvest under threat from Israeli military activity, with drones overhead, nearby shelling and fears of unexploded munitions. 1 2 Right · 1In Zibqin, next to what Israel calls a "security zone", residents picked olives while Lebanese Army soldiers stood nearby, after asking the army to accompany them to their fields, according to Reuters (carried by The Straits Times). 2 Right · 1Reuters reports that Israeli troops have demolished dozens of villages in that zone, saying Hezbollah had embedded itself in civilian infrastructure, which the group denies. 2

Left · 1Al Jazeera reports that Israel occupies nearly 630 sq km of southern Lebanon, and that farmers such as Khaled Farhat of Majdel Selm must request access through the municipality and the Lebanese Army, which coordinates with a mechanism set up under June's Tripartite Framework Agreement between the US, Israel and Lebanon. 1 Left · 1Farhat said he was given only a two-week window to work his land, that weeds had grown during his displacement, and that an Israeli shell had landed near him an hour before he spoke to Al Jazeera. 1 Left · 1Al Jazeera says at least two people were killed in olive groves in early October, one by Israeli artillery fire in Yater and one when ordnance exploded in Froun, and that a police officer was killed in an explosion in Ain Ebel a day later. 1

Left · 1The Mines Advisory Group's Lebanon manager, Hiba Ghandour, said the group had identified 444,000 sq metres of confirmed hazardous areas for farmers, a figure likely to rise, and that economic pressure pushes people back to land before it is cleared. 1 Left · 1Lebanon's Environment Minister Tamara Elzein said more than 16,000 hectares have been torched since Israel began bombing and later invading in October 2023, including with white phosphorus, and Al Jazeera quotes AUB professor Ramy Zurayk describing Israeli policy as an attempt to make the area "sterile". 1 Right · 1Reuters quotes Zibqin farmers on the toll: Ali Bzieh, 65, said his harvest was half normal after months of displacement, and carpenter Mustafa Barakat said he now works only when the army is present and no longer brings children, though he doubts the army can protect them. 2

Right · 1Reuters adds that Israeli attacks have killed 26 Lebanese soldiers in 2026, according to Lebanese Army statements, and 38 Israeli soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon this year, according to the Israeli military's website. 2 Right · 1Responding to Reuters, the Israeli military said its strikes target Hezbollah and its infrastructure, not the Lebanese Army or civilians, and that it is working to "enable the olive harvest and assist residents in carrying it out". 2