GHANDOURIYYEH, LEBANON — September 2026: Families returning to Ghandouriyyeh in southern Lebanon are trying to rebuild everyday life amid widespread destruction, unexploded ordnance and continuing uncertainty following the June ceasefire.
Hassan Makki says his family was the first to return to the village. What they found, he recalls, was “a ghost village.” The main structure of their home was still standing, but its windows had been shattered and several openings remain covered with nylon as repairs continue little by little.
The return home has not meant a return to safety. Makki says unexploded ordnance remains scattered in the surrounding area, while explosions have left large craters in the ground. Despite the danger, his family insisted on returning and is attempting to restore a normal routine.
Mohammad Ali Nader, mayor of Ghandouriyyeh, rejects the village being presented as part of the so-called “pilot zone” concept discussed in connection with the post-ceasefire arrangements in southern Lebanon. After spending years working in Brazil, Nader remembers Ghandouriyyeh as a peaceful community surrounded by nature, where residents knew one another.
Today, he walks through a very different landscape. A mosque has been destroyed and homes have been reduced to rubble, with clothes, shoes and children’s toys still lying among the remains.
At night, residents continue to hear explosions and other loud noises from nearby areas. The possibility of renewed displacement remains part of everyday life.
For Hassan Makki and other families who have returned, reconstruction is taking place one room and one house at a time. Their immediate aim is simple: to recover some sense of normality in a village where lasting security still feels distant.
Photo: © José Manuel Izquierdo Mota / MedPress
