Lingering threat: Unexploded cluster bombs haunt southern Lebanon

Southern Lebanese border villages continue to pay the price for Israel's actions during the July 2006 war, when they left behind 4 million banned cluster munitions, which were internationally forbidden but were used during the war.

Since the end of the war and the return of residents to their villages, these unexploded munitions have claimed the lives of 200 individuals.

As part of an international agreement, the Lebanese Army has diligently worked on their removal.

The priority has been on clearing roads, followed by residential areas, and finally, agricultural zones. Up to 90% of these cluster munitions have been successfully removed, with the gradual elimination of the remaining artillery targeted for completion by 2026, as outlined in a new international agreement.

In the past 48 hours, the residents of villages in the Alma Al Shaab and Naqoura regions have heard the detonations of the remaining unexploded cluster bombs ignited by Israeli airstrikes causing wildfires.

Despite enduring Israeli airstrikes and the use of white phosphorus and cluster bombs, many of Naqoura's residents steadfastly refuse to leave. Residents near Ras Naqoura hold firm in their belief in the possibility of survival.

Therefore, Naqoura, a border village in southern Lebanon, stands as a unique model of resilience, where life persists, even amid the echoes of explosions.