BBC sees destroyed villages in Israeli-occupied southern Lebanon

The BBC has been given rare access to the part of southern Lebanon that is under Israeli occupation, as part of a humanitarian convoy of the Order of Malta distributing aid to Christian villages that have been isolated because of the war.

The mission happened on Thursday, a day before the announcement of a new ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and the Shia Muslim armed group Hezbollah. The team saw the Israeli military presence but was not allowed to film much of the journey.

Israel says it has no intention of withdrawing its troops from Lebanon, and that its plan is to create a security zone along the border, Hezbollah-free, to protect its northern communities from the group’s rockets and drones.

In the occupied areas, mainly Shia villages have been completely destroyed by Israeli air strikes or demolitions. Human rights groups say that some of what has happened there amounts to the deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure, a possible war crime.

The BBC’s Middle East correspondent Hugo Bachega and video journalist Neha Sharma report from southern Lebanon.

Additional reporting by Samantha Granville and Angie Mrad.

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