Abbie Cheeseman, Suzan Haidamous
TYRE, Lebanon — The bodies were laid out in long rows, hundreds of them, mostly fighters but civilians too, in plywood boxes poking out from heaps of earth.
“It’s our culture to view this as a victory,” said Mahmoud, a police officer, standing by the grave of a relative and tracing the outline of the coffins with his finger. “But anyone who tells you that we won militarily … something has gone wrong in their head.” Like others in this story, Mahmoud spoke on the condition that he be identified by his first name, fearing retribution from Hezbollah.
The ceasefire in Lebanon that came into force last week was spun by the Iranian-backed militant group as a triumph over Israel, but among its supporters — now getting a first glimpse of their devastated villages — the sense of loss is overwhelming. After more than a year of cross-border fire between the Israeli military and Hezbollah, which began its attacks on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas, Israel ramped up its aerial campaign in late September and sent ground troops across the border soon after, laying waste to much of southern Lebanon.
The first stop for many returning families was to makeshift graveyards like this one in Tyre, where women wailed over their loved ones as they ran their hands through the dirt. With the Israeli military still holding its positions inside Lebanon, and civilians warned to stay away from communities close to the border, many of the dead are still in temporary resting places, awaiting final burial.
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