Israel orders Christian villages in south Lebanon to push displaced out

Mayors of several towns in southern Lebanon said the Israeli military had ordered them to force out the displaced who had escaped their Shia-majority towns, considered Hezbollah strongholds, during the war with Israel.

Since Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war following Iran-backed Hezbollah's March 2 rocket fire on Israel, more than a million people have been displaced by Israeli strikes.

Most of the displaced have fled southern and eastern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs, all areas where Hezbollah is dominant.

"I received a phonecall on Sunday from the Israeli army demanding that my town be 'cleaned up within 24 hours,'" Elie Abu Nakoul, mayor of Kawkaba in the Hasbaya district, told AFP.

"I have 21 displaced families and 200 local families, so who will I protect?" he said, adding that he had "no other option but to protect the displaced families from any Israeli targeting and to protect the people of my town from danger".

The displaced families were due to leave Kawkaba later on Monday.

Over the past week, Abu Nakoul said he had received repeated calls by the Israeli army demanding he provide the names of displaced people sheltering in his village.

"I refused to provide the names, as this would violate Lebanese law, and I emphasized that the displaced families are innocent civilians, in an attempt to keep them here," he said.

In nearby Abu Qamha, town notable Michel Abu Rashed received a similar call from Israel, but he also refused to provide names of the displaced.

Lebanon is home to an array of religious communities, and the Hasbaya district includes several Druze, Christian and Sunni Muslim towns.

It borders the Marjayoun district, which has seen Israeli army incursions and clashes with Hezbollah fighters in several areas.

The municipality of Al-Mari in Hasbaya announced in a statement its "commitment to these forced directives" expressing that it regrets forcing displaced people to leave as it was "imposed" on it.

Lebanese take pride in their country's diversity, but in wartime, fissures along sectarian lines become more pronounced.