JULY 26, 2026
Displaced Lebanese villagers pool money to buy satellite images of homes demolished in ongoing conflict
Lebanese residents displaced from southern villages including Yaroun have turned to commercial satellite imagery to determine whether their homes are still standing, as Israel blocks their return to the area. Israel launched airstrikes and ground operations in March 2026, displacing hundreds of thousands of people from more than 100 villages, and has continued demolishing buildings after an April 17 ceasefire. Satellite images purchased by residents have shown widespread destruction across the village of Yaroun, where the mayor said approximately 180 of the village's roughly 200 homes have been destroyed.
Residents of Yaroun, a village in southern Lebanon, have organized to purchase commercial satellite images — each costing at least $112 — to monitor their properties from abroad. Israel has prevented displaced residents from returning, and those in neighboring villages have avoided taking photos or video out of concern for Israeli retaliation, leaving satellite imagery as one of the few tools available for documentation.
Mazen Farah, a Yaroun resident, described watching satellite images slowly load on his phone to reveal the destruction of a two-story stone house his father built after 25 years of work in the Gulf. Geryes Saloum, a municipal employee who also built a home in Yaroun, said he waits daily for new images. Satellite companies have sometimes declined requests, citing U.S. government requests; NPR reported that in April, some providers declined to supply imagery of Lebanon and other countries at the request of the U.S. government.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in March that Israel intended to depopulate Lebanese villages near the border to permanently remove threats to northern Israel and establish what Israel calls a "buffer zone." The Israeli military did not respond to NPR's requests for comment on the destruction in Yaroun. After an April ceasefire, Israel sent in bulldozers to demolish additional buildings, stating it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure, though it has rarely provided specific details or evidence to support those statements.