Mahasen Faqih gestures toward the rubble of her neighborhood from inside her destroyed home after returning to it following the Israeli military operation in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Lebanon, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
An Israeli tank drives through Zawtar al-Sharqiyah village, occupied by Israeli forces, as seen from the southern village of Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Lebanon, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Mustafa Jamalddine)
An Israeli drone flies overhead as journalists, Lebanese soldiers and residents gather in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Lebanon, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Mahasen Faqih and her husband, Mohammed Sobeih, inspect their home, destroyed during the Israeli military operation, after returning to it in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Lebanon, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Mohammed Sobeih laughs as he smokes a cigarette while sitting amid the rubble of his home after returning to it following the Israeli military operation in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Lebanon, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Mohammed Sobeih clears debris inside his home after returning to it following the Israeli military operation in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Lebanon, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Mahasen Faqih is seen through a shattered glass door as she checks her home, destroyed during the Israeli military operation, after returning to it in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Lebanon, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Mohammed Sobeih returns to his home, destroyed during the Israeli military operation, carrying a cooler in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Lebanon, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Ihsan Yaghi gestures inside her fire-damaged home, showing what she says, is graffiti left by Israeli forces, following a military operation, in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Lebanon, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A resident stands behind a mirror riddled with bullet holes inside his home following an Israeli military operation in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Lebanon, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Mahasen Faqih and her husband, Mohammed Sobeih, stand inside their destroyed home overlooking the rubble of their neighborhood after returning to it following the Israeli military operation in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Lebanon, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Mohammed Sobeih gestures inside his home, destroyed during the Israeli military operation, after returning to it in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Lebanon, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Smoke rises following an explosion in an Israeli-occupied area, as seen from Zawtar al-Gharbieh, southern Lebanon, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Lebanese soldiers and a resident inspect the rubble of a home destroyed during an Israeli military operation in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, southern Lebanon, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A resident inspects his home, which was burned during an Israeli military operation, in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Lebanon, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A Lebanese military vehicle drives past homes damaged during the war in the southern village of Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Lebanon, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Mustafa Jamalddine)
Mahasen Faqih and her husband, Mohammed Sobeih, smile as they sit amid the rubble of their home after returning to it following the Israeli military operation in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Lebanon, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Audio By Carbonatix
1:48 PM on Tuesday, July 28
By HASSAN AMMAR and MUSTAFA JAMALDDINE
ZAWTAR AL-GHARBIEH, Lebanon (AP) — Residents are returning to a largely destroyed village in southern Lebanon after a U.S.-brokered agreement opened the area to civilians as part of efforts to end the latest fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
They are finding shattered or blackened homes, with damage as intimate as a bullet-pocked mirror or graffiti thought to be scrawled by Israeli forces. The turquoise roof of a mosque's minaret has been cracked.
Mahasen Faqih and her husband, Mohammed Sobeih, are among the few who have returned to Zawtar al-Gharbieh, which was damaged during the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the militant group based in southern Lebanon. Their home is uninhabitable, with collapsed ceilings and shattered rooms, but the couple said they will live in their grocery store until it is rebuilt.
The U.S.-brokered “pilot zones” agreed to in landmark direct talks between Lebanon and Israel allows civilians and the Lebanese army to enter the area. But Israeli military vehicles remained visible nearby, with a tank churning up dust, and Israeli drones flew overhead, underscoring the fragile situation.
Uncertainty remains along Lebanon’s southern border after the fighting that began shortly after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February, as Hezbollah fired at Israel and Israel responded with airstrikes and ground forces.
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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
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