Mhaibib
Geographical Position
Mhaibib (also spelled “Muhaibib”) is a village located at 33° 9’ 17”N, 35° 30’ 20” E in the Marjayoun District of the Nabatieh Governorate in Lebanon. Only about 2 kilometres separate the village and the Israeli border.
The village is located in the very southern part of Lebanon, close to the border with Israel and the Blue Line. Speaking from the etymological perspective, the meaning behind the name ‘Mhaibib’ means ‘the lover’/ ‘the beloved’.[1] The Israeli military confirmed that the cause behind the bombing of the village was to destroy Hezbollah’s underground tunnels. On the other hand, the village has explicit connection to the Islamic religion itself: there is an important shrine of Prophet Benjamin, who was the son of the Prophet Jacob.
Relevance
During the start of the 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the Mhaibib nearly completely destroyed by a series of Israeli missile strikes.[2] Videos of its destruction were verified by the New York Times newspaper and satellite imagery.[2] A video started circulating on October 16th, 2024 of Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers viewing the destruction of the village.[3] The IDF later made a statement that the video was allegedly of the destruction of a large tunnel network underneath the village.
The Lebanese narrative believes that the purpose of the attack was to erase the important cultural and religious sites in the village. [4]
| Before Israeli bombing | After Israeli bombing | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | around 1100 | 0 |
References
- ↑ Aljoud, Sally Abou (2024-11-04). "In Lebanon, a family's memories are detonated along with their village". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Triebert, Christiaan; Ward, Euan (2024-10-18). "Israel Destroys Nearly All of a Lebanese Village, Photos and Videos Show" (in en-US). The New York Times. . https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/18/world/middleeast/israel-lebanon-mhaibib-photo-video.html. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
- ↑ Chaabane, Hussein (2024-11-25). "Lebanon’s Mhaibib Between Destruction and Disinformation - Legal Agenda" (in en-US). Legal Agenda. https://english.legal-agenda.com/lebanons-mhaibib-between-destruction-and-disinformation/. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
- ↑ Chaabane, Hussein (2024-11-25). "Lebanon’s Mhaibib Between Destruction and Disinformation - Legal Agenda" (in en-US). Legal Agenda. https://english.legal-agenda.com/lebanons-mhaibib-between-destruction-and-disinformation/. Retrieved 2025-05-22.