The southern Lebanese city of Sidon is experiencing an overwhelming surge of displaced residents following Israeli military orders for civilians to evacuate areas south of the Litani River, sparking concerns that this historic waterway may once again become a central battleground in the ongoing Israel-Lebanon conflict. The humanitarian crisis is becoming increasingly visible throughout the city’s streets and waterfront areas as thousands seek shelter with limited options.
“It breaks my heart to see all the people sleeping on the Corniche,” Malik, a Sidon native who owns a trucking company, told The Media Line while standing in front of one of the bombed buildings in the city.
The 59-year-old businessman stands beside a structure reduced to a single remaining wall, its twisted metal and scattered staircase debris telling the story of recent shelling. Malik had parked his trucks adjacent to this former Muslim Brotherhood building and managed to leave just three minutes before the initial strike occurred.
“They hit it twice,” he said.
This time, he managed to preserve all his vehicles.
“Each one is worth $100,000, and during the Beirut port explosion [in 2020], I already lost two,” he said.
“This will be the last war; Hezbollah will keep fighting until the end, they won’t give up, but we can’t take it anymore. We’re tired,” says Malik, his hands blackened from removing debris that landed on his vehicles.
However, not all Sidon residents share his optimism about the conflict’s conclusion.
“This won’t be the last war, because Israel can’t achieve its goal,” the 21-year-old Palestinian-Lebanese student from Sidon tells The Media Line.
Sara believes Israel’s mission extends beyond simply disarming Hezbollah to include capturing significant portions of Lebanese land.
“It’s a very, very important geographical position; that’s why Lebanon has suffered so many wars,” she said.
The Litani River has maintained its position as a crucial element in Israel-Lebanon tensions, serving both as a geographical boundary and strategic military position. Historically known as the Leontes and thought to originate from ancient Semitic terminology, this waterway flows approximately 30 kilometers north of the two nations’ border and extends 140 kilometers from its Bekaa Valley origins to where it meets the Mediterranean Sea above Tyre.
The region surrounding the Litani River houses substantial Shia populations, while Sunni communities primarily inhabit coastal areas like Sidon. Christian settlements dot the landscape throughout the nation, especially along northern Beirut’s coastline, and the Druze minority resides in Lebanon’s mountainous regions. This river traverses one of Lebanon’s most population-dense and politically volatile areas.
Israel’s initial significant Lebanese operation in 1978, designed to force Palestinian militants away from border areas during Lebanon’s Civil War, bore the name Operation Litani. Four years later, Israel initiated a second incursion to drive Palestinian forces an additional 40 kilometers northward. During that 1982 campaign, which included the Sabra and Shatila massacre, Israeli military units crossed the Litani River, proceeded to Beirut, and ultimately forced Palestinian fighters to depart Lebanon by sea.
While Israel eventually retreated from Beirut, it continued controlling much territory south of the river through 2000. Following Hezbollah’s capture of three Israeli soldiers in 2006, Israel commenced another 33-day military operation. This conflict concluded with a ceasefire under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which demanded “the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani River of a zone free of armed personnel, property and weapons, except those of the Government of Lebanon and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.”
During Israel’s autumn 2024 military campaign, Israeli forces penetrated six kilometers into southern Lebanon. This operation proved less extensive than the 2006 conflict, when Israeli troops again reached the Litani River and displaced tens of thousands of Lebanese northward. Since that time, Hezbollah has maintained its position as the primary armed force in southern Lebanon. The 2024 ceasefire, structured around Resolution 1701’s provisions, demanded armed group withdrawal from the region, though complete compliance remained elusive for both parties.
Following two days of renewed military activity, Israeli forces have now demanded complete population evacuation from all areas south of the Litani River, intensifying concerns about potential deeper Israeli ground operations.
“We could find ourselves maneuvering in that area [south of the Litani River] one way or another, and we don’t want any civilians there,” a senior military officer told the BBC last week, on condition of anonymity.
“We have plans to go as deep as necessary, even to the Litani River and beyond, if ordered,” he stated, adding that forces were on site and ready to move immediately if ordered.
Israeli political figures are also expressing support for expanded buffer zone concepts.
Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid has publicly advocated creating “a barren zone without Lebanese villages,” arguing on a local television channel that Israel “would have no choice.”
“Perhaps it’s unsightly, or unpleasant, to eliminate two or three Lebanese villages, but they brought it on themselves,” he declared.
An Israeli-controlled permanent zone reaching the Litani River would encompass approximately 8% of Lebanon’s total territory.
Beyond its strategic military importance, the Litani River serves as a critical water resource. It provides irrigation for the Bekaa Valley and supplies much of southern Lebanon, particularly Tyre, the nation’s third-largest city. Prior to the 2024 military offensive, this river system irrigated roughly 6,000 hectares of southern Lebanese agricultural land.
Human rights organizations are expressing mounting concerns alongside the military escalation.
“Calling on everyone who lives south of the Litani to evacuate immediately raises serious legal and humanitarian red flags and fears for the safety of civilians,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, who is monitoring the situation and alleged violations of human rights and the laws of war.
United Nations reports indicate that over 100 villages across southern and eastern Lebanon received evacuation orders within just two days. This week’s Israeli evacuation directives have impacted 300,000 individuals.
Sara expressed her position directly: “The Litani River belongs to the Lebanese, just as southern Lebanon belongs to us.”
