Farmers in Zibqin, southern Lebanon, are harvesting olives with Lebanese soldiers nearby as residents seek protection from shelling and one farmer reports a crop half its usual size after months of displacement, Reuters reported.
Ali Bzieh, 65, told Reuters that displacement kept him away from his trees for several months. He said his latest harvest was about half its normal volume. Reuters described olives as a major source of food and earnings for growers.
The village sits beside an area Israel has declared a security zone. Israeli troops have demolished dozens of villages in the area. Israel says Hezbollah embedded itself in civilian infrastructure, an allegation the group denies, Reuters reported. Israeli shelling frequently hits the valley below the groves despite a June ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Raef Bzieh, a local official, told Reuters that bombing and attacks on the village outskirts had left residents anxious. Villagers asked the Lebanese Army to accompany them into the fields. Mustafa Barakat, a 50-year-old carpenter, said the soldiers’ presence has not made residents feel safe. He now goes to the groves only when troops are there and keeps children away because they could be hurt by bombing.
The Israeli military told Reuters that its strikes target Hezbollah and its infrastructure, not civilians or the Lebanese Army. It said it was helping residents carry out the olive harvest.
Reuters reported that conflict has disrupted the harvest for a fourth consecutive year. Some residents continue to rent apartments farther north, while others have arranged places to stay if the conflict escalates. Barakat summed up the community’s bond with the farmland: “This land is our identity.”
